Mandated Markets The recent research from the New York Fed indicating the close correlation between the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and the movement of equity markets just prior to its announcements has added fuel to the flickering flames of suspicion that the Fed’s actions are designed to support stockmarkets and the super-rich who rely on them, rather than the wider economy.  It's just as possible, though, that market participants can now force anyone they want to kowtow...

The whole series of posts: Things Investors Should Hate 1/5: Models Things Investors Should Hate 2/5: Gurus Things Investors Should Hate 3/5: Innovation Things Investors Should Hate 4/5: Observation Things Investors Should Hate 5/5: Themselves Be careful out there!

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the safe  vantage point of a poolside bar somewhere in the Mediterranean. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on the things behavioral investors should be most wary of. We can blame many things for the state of our retirement savings plans – economists, bankers, politicians, the Chinese, globalization, sunspots, socialists, capitalists, journalists, investment analysts, financial advisors or even just bad luck. ...

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the safe  vantage point of a poolside bar somewhere in the Mediterranean. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on the things behavioral investors should be most wary of. No human being can resist trying to draw general conclusions from personal observation.  It’s not purely a matter of wilful ignorance, but is an in-built evolutionary trait necessary for our ancestors' survival. After all, on the primeval savannah...

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the safe  vantage point of a poolside bar somewhere in the Mediterranean. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on the things behavioral investors should be most wary of. I love innovation.  My entire career has been spent in technical innovation.  Even now I’m trying to replace the need for cash and credit cards by putting them on a cellphone.  But as an investor, innovation sucks. Unfortunately...

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the safe  vantage point of a poolside bar somewhere in the Mediterranean. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on the things behavioral investors should be most wary of. I''m not entirely sure what constitutes the entry qualification to be an investment guru. Intense self-belief and a complete lack of introspection, perhaps? The best analysts tend to be self-effacing, are often cautious in the face of uncertainty and...

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the safe  vantage point of a poolside bar somewhere in the Mediterranean. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on the things behavioral investors should be most wary of. I don’t hate all models. I’m quite keen on the tall, leggy ones.  It’s the mathematical ones that come trailing clouds of false precision that are the subject of my ire.  Yet the world is a complicated place, too complex for our complex...

The whole Mindless Money series: 1/5: Focus on Failure 2/5: Don't Oversimplify 3/5: Hold the Big Picture 4/5: Stay Resilient, Be Prepared 5/5: Avoid Overspecification Permalink for the Mindless Money series and landing page for future Mindful Investing resources is on the Mindful Investing page.

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the lofty vantage point of a Alpine bar. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on how to avoid the worst faults of the behaviorally compromised investor based around the article Mindless With Money.   The paradox of investing is that the best investors have a system, but that this system, mindlessly applied, exposes them to the very risks that they’re trying to avoid.  Markets go through phases, and...

Tim Richards is away, analysing the Eurozone crisis from the lofty vantage point of a Alpine bar. In the meantime this is a series of mini-posts on how to avoid the worst faults of the behaviorally compromised investor based around the article Mindless With Money.   Every so often in an investor’s lifetime the markets will throw us a completely unexpected curve ball.  Markets will fall off a cliff or soar off into the stratosphere.  Whether we like it or not, if...