MICHEL PIREU: What is the difference between risk and uncertainty?
The greatest risk is a failure of imagination in understanding how the game might fundamentally change
Unprecedented events occur on a regular basis. Under the best of circumstances we remain uncertain about almost everything: how the economy will perform, corporate results and so on. In the end, investing pretty much comes down to informed guesswork. No-one can predict the future. And while at times like these the “norm” goes out the window, it doesn’t change the amount of uncertainty we face about the future. We simply become unable to ignore it.
We had better understand the need for a “plan” that we can execute when disaster strikes. We’re not talking apocalyptic investing here. As Ben Inker at GMO pointed out: “The one charm of civilisation-destroying events is that you do not have to worry about their impact on your portfolio! It’s the bad, but not civilisation-ending events that you need to prepare for.”..
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