I Think I'm in Love (with a stock) - Real Time Insight
October 02 2012 - 8:13AM
Zacks
There are a countless number of popular investment sayings and
quotations, and I am sure we can all think of a few that we have
used to guide our investing strategies over the years. For example,
‘the trend is your friend’ or ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ are
well-known maxims that have undoubtedly been proven true time and
time again to numerous investors.
While there are many famous investing adages—and feel free to
share some of yours in the comments below-- one of my all-time
favorites has to be ‘Don’t ever fall in love with a stock because
it will never love you back’.
When I first heard that one, I vowed to incorporate the idea
into my investing style. After all, it made perfect sense that you
have to keep your investments in perspective and realize that your
picks aren’t ‘friends’ or ‘partners’ but simply shares of ownership
in a faceless company (for more on this topic read Are You An
Emotional Investor?).
Yet while I have always recognized how true the statement is, I
often ask myself, how often do I really follow the saying’s
advice?
Looking at my own personal portfolio, I can definitely say that
I am guilty of falling in love with at least a few of the
stocks/funds that I own, and for a variety of reasons too.
I mean, looking down at the Fossil watch on my hand I know I
could never bring myself to sell Fossil (FOSL)
shares, nor after visiting Malaysia could I ever be persuaded to
sell the iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund
(EWM).
Fortunately, both of the picks I highlighted have been decent
performers, and had solid fundamentals both when I first bought
them and at last check, but I frequently wonder if I could ever
sell either one of them and break the emotional attachment I have
to these choices.
I kind of doubt it.
Instead, I am sure that I will be an apologist for these picks
for years to come no matter what happens. People don’t buy watches
anymore? They will come back in style soon. Civil unrest in
Malaysia? Time to buy more for the long haul!
With that being said, I certainly don’t view my entire portfolio
this way, and I regularly discard or replace many of the others.
However, others are special and I cannot
see myself parting with them any time soon regardless of how they
perform…
What about you?
Are you blinded by love in a particular investment you have
made? Can a certain stock or fund do no wrong in your eyes?
Or have you been an extremely disciplined—albeit heartless--
investor who has always been able to separate emotion from
investing?
Let us know in the comments below!
(If you couldn’t tell from the article I am long both EWM and
FOSL)
ISHARS-MALAYSIA (EWM): ETF Research Reports
FOSSIL INC (FOSL): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
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