KIM: Herd mentality dangerous for coaches and investors
Investors are often reluctant to act on their own information and go against the comfort of the herd, fearing damage to their reputations as sound decision-makers.
Mickey Kim
Articles
KIM: Big stocks’ strength masked weakness of overall market
The major stock market indexes showed flattish performance in 2015, but only because the largest-capitalization stocks did well.
KIM: Woes at investment firm highlight need for liquidity
The SEC has been concerned about exactly this scenario caused by the mismatch between a fund offering its shareholders daily access to their money while a significant proportion of its assets are illiquid (i.e. cannot be sold quickly without affecting price).
KIM: Facebook founder rocks world of philanthropy
Modern billionaires approach charitable giving in unconventional ways.
KIM: Trump’s bankruptcies hold important investor lessons
In a typical Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, all parties suffer (except the lawyers). Creditors take a significant “haircut” on the amount owed and the owners’ investment is effectively wiped out.
KIM: Forget the door busters; give the gift of education
Skip buying “Star Wars” gear and instead establish or make a gift to a young person’s 529 College Savings Plan account.
KIM: Funds set to distribute year-end lumps of coal
Fund investors endured harrowing plunges in 2015. Absent a year-end rally, returns will be disappointingly modest.
KIM: Recent market volatility is really rather ordinary
The road to reaching long-term outperformance is bumpy, but that doesn’t make these short-term periods of weakness any easier to take.
KIM: New College Scorecard aids investment decision
The college represents the most important investment a student will make, so you want to maximize your expected return by carefully weighing all the factors.
KIM: Bear-market funds can maul investors’ long-term returns
For the vast majority of investors, bear-market funds just don’t make sense.
KIM: Long-term investors let volatility be their friend
We’re biologically wired to avoid losses at any cost, and the bad memories of 2008 are still fresh. So it is perfectly understandable that investors are having a visceral reaction and feeling a great deal of anxiety. By the same token, we believe investors must overcome these biases in order to succeed.
KIM: Lenders also to blame for Greek debt tragedy
Greece shoulders most of the blame for its third trip to the brink of default in five years, but it takes two to tango and Greece had a most willing accomplice: the lenders themselves.
KIM: Stock buybacks can be a harmful ‘sugar high’
The combination of higher EPS and company buying usually provides a short-term boost to the stock. This makes Wall Street happy, keeps the activists at bay, and helps management enhance the value of its stock options and meet bonus targets.
KIM: External shocks to stocks are usually short-lived
The U.S. stock market has historically rebounded well and quickly from bad world news.
KIM: Golf’s vexing challenges also apply to investing
Golf is not only a metaphor for life, but for investing also.
KIM: For funds needed soon, zero is often ideal return
People frequently ask me how they should invest their money. While everybody’s situation is different, I always advise them to not invest any funds likely to be needed in the next three to five years.
KIM: ‘Shoot first’ trading mentality dangerous to financial health
High-frequency” trading firms spend billions in a high-stakes arms race to gain a millisecond’s edge on executions. But while speed may be valuable to traders, it can be extremely detrimental to investors.
KIM: Career wisdom found everywhere, even in trash
Life lessons can be learned in every job, no matter how humble.
KIM: Simple financial solutions not always easy to follow
The two things you can do that will have a big financial impact are both elegant and radical in their simplicity: Spend less and save more.
KIM: Fed policy uncertainty fueling market volatility
Volatility returned with a vengeance in the first quarter of 2015, as investors grappled with increasing uncertainty associated with Federal Reserve policy, signs the U.S. economy has hit a soft patch, and lowered expectations for corporate earnings.