People forget that although we can pinpoint the price, we can only guess at future earnings. The past isn't much help: It simply tells whether a market was pricey or cheap. Barry Ritholtz cheapearningsforget Change image and share on social
The ability to select stocks, manage them over time and know when to sell them is incredibly difficult, even for professional fund managers. Barry Ritholtz abilitydifficultfund Change image and share on social
Commissions add up, taxes are a big drag, margin ain't cheap. A good accountant costs money as well. The math on this one is obvious, yet investors often fail to recognize it: Keep your costs low and your turnover lower, and you will win in the end. Barry Ritholtz accountantaddbig share on social
People who work in specialized fields seem to have their own language. Practitioners develop a shorthand to communicate among themselves. The jargon can almost sound like a foreign language. Barry Ritholtz communicatedevelopfield Change image and share on social
I credit Google for having the foresight to identify threats to its main business of selling advertising against search results. The potential loss of market share in the mobile space led them to the Android acquisition. Barry Ritholtz acquisitionadvertiseandroid share on social
Whenever you hear a discussion about the short-term swings in any given stock's price, your immediate thought should be whether it matters to why you are investing. Barry Ritholtz discussionhearinvest Change image and share on social
Often, investors will discover a manager after he's had a terrific run, usually when he lands on a magazine cover somewhere. Invariably, funds swell up with new investor money just before they revert to their long-term averages. Barry Ritholtz averagecoverdiscover share on social
When you buy anything with lots of leverage, it does not require a whole lot to go wrong to lose it all. Barry Ritholtz buyleveragelose Change image and share on social
Most of the time, economic data is fairly benign. I don't wish to imply it is meaningless, but it is not a driver of stock markets. Indeed, the correlation between economic noise and how equity markets perform has been wildly overemphasized. Barry Ritholtz benigncorrelationdatum share on social
Here is a dirty little secret: Stock-picking is wildly overrated. Sure, it makes for great cocktail party chatter, and what is more fun than delving into a company's new products? But the truth is that individual stocks are riskier than broad indices. Barry Ritholtz broadchattercocktail share on social