Training for a Marathon

Any competitive sport requires participants to consistently train and practice. For marathons the key is endurance because there are no TV timeouts, 2 minute warnings or out of bound whistles to stop play. Investing has been compared to a marathon, however there is one major difference, the race never ends. Because of this continuity investors can hang on to poor performers because nobody stops the race. You could have purchased GM in 1990 and lost the race due to their filing Chapter 11. My goal is not to discourage you but to emphasize practice and training. Investors must study the past, the present and human nature. These seem to have more bearing than valuations. One young reader encouraged me to explain aspects of the market using more media, therefore starting today I will have videos courtesy of Marketplace(one of my favorite radio shows)that explain market activities from CDOs to Dark pools. Also, remember in the marathon you are trying to beat time, if you focus on your peers speeding by you, you may run out of steam trying to catch up or even find yourself in the hospital. Focus on your pace and continue to train for a never ending race.

Crisis explainer: Uncorking CDOs from Marketplace on Vimeo.