In a nutshell, the Internet, by displaying prices of everything under the sun simultaneously, is proving an unprecedented boon to shoppers and an unprecedented bane to the profit margins of the vendors who supply them . . . Put another way, the Internet is shaping up as the great and enduring instrument of profitless prosperity for the diverse commercial hordes feverishly gathering to exploit it. It has introduced a new dimension to competition that promises or threatens, depending on your preference, to tilt the transactional equation heavily in favor of the buyer.
Alan Abelson in Internet Implosion $$ from Barron's (8/9/99)Any individual who is not professionally occupied in the financial services industry (and even most of those who are) and who in any way attempts to actively manage an investment portfolio is probably suffering from overconfidence. That is, anyone who has confidence enough in his or her abilities and knowledge to invest in a particular stock or bond (or actively managed mutual fund or real estate investment trust or limited partnership) is most likely fooling himself. In fact, most people-probably you-have no business at all trying to pick investments, except as sport.
Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich in Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes
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