INVESTMENT
MICHEL PIREU: Opposite approaches can succeed within the vast array of options
Investment pundits thrive by dispensing conspicuously contradictory advice because quandaries are never settled
Wall Street wisdom, such as it is, largely revolves around a few eternal quandaries. And because they are never settled in one direction or the other, investment pundits thrive by dispensing conspicuously contradictory advice. According to some, investors should cut their losses and allow their profits to run, while others warn that the greedy quickly become the needy. Then there’s the maxim that “Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered”. So which is it? Should investors resist the urge to cash in while they’re ahead, or should they take the money and run? There’s no right answer — both approaches can just as easily produce the right or wrong outcome innumerable times. The problem with stock-market truisms, what eventually makes them untrue, is that while they might apply to some, even most, situations, they won’t always apply to all situations. At some point, they turn out to be poor counsel. When it comes to the stock market, contradictions can seemingly be found ...
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