Defensive Investing Part 2, hubris combined with loss aversion are a recipe for losing money. — In Part 1 of this series on defensive investing, I showed two case studies; a rookie mistake versus beginner’s luck. Zach’s rookie mistake cost him a 31.0% gain over three years (Jan 2018 — Dec 2020). Dave’s beginner’s luck saved him a 7.5% decline over two years (Aug 2007 —…

Defensive investing part 1, looking at a rookie mistake and beginner’s luck — Predictions of a stock market crash later in 2021 fill the headlines of financial news. Many well-known investors are bearish. Michael Burry, famous from the Big Short, tweeted, “Greatest Speculative Bubble of All Time in All Things. By two orders of magnitude.” Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater, said, “I…

Maybe the answer is both, just not at the same time — “Expert opinions” on the future price of bitcoin tend to sit in one of two camps. The bullish camp is represented by Elon Musk, Michael Saylor, and Cathie Wood. Cathie Wood is the chief investment officer of Arc Invest and was named the best stock picker of 2020 by Bloomberg…

Fraud, not excessive speculation, might be the utmost specter haunting cryptocurrency — Although I’ve been in stocks/stock funds for 40 years, I’m approaching retirement and looking for ways to mitigate risk during the “fragile decade.” In 2019, I started using gold ETFs to counter the risk of stocks. It worked remarkably well during the dip of Feb-May 2020. Historically over the past…

Optimizing returns after inflation while minimizing volatility is the goal The five years before and after retirement is known as the “fragile decade.” Not running out of money during one’s lifetime often comes down to choices made during these ten years. I’ll turn 61 years old this year; I am…

Selecting the proper asset mix is the foundation for not running out of money in retirement — The needs of retirees withdrawing living expenses from their portfolio are different than workers accumulating assets. The five years before and after retirement is a critical phase known as the “fragile decade.” Not running out of money during one’s lifetime often comes down to choices made during these ten years…

And why your advisor will say “no.” — Here’s the summary for the article linked below: The long-term debt cycle runs between 75 and 100 years. Bonds have been in a bull market for 40 years. During those 40 years, financial advisors have done well for their clients by moderating the volatility of stocks with a significant percentage…

Seniors can and will make mistakes too — I recently published an article on “The Making of a Millionaire” describing how a bright software engineer in his mid-20s lost 75% of $180K in four months during a bull market. “Full Tilt Investing” — Losing 75% Of $180K in Four Months during a Bull Market The good, the bad, the ugly, and how to prevent Itthemakingofamillionaire.com I wish I could say this only happens to people under the age of 40. However, I’ve seen people…

The good, the bad, the ugly, and how to prevent it — A post by an anonymous user on Blind inspired this article. Blind is a social community where people who are verified by a company e-mail address connect anonymously. Usernames can be changed once a day to help ensure anonymity. Blind has a following with professionals in the software industry and…