Like fishermen recounting the great catches of years gone by, investors wildly overstated how well they had done . . . After all, the whole point of investing is not to earn more money than average, but to earn enough money to reach your own goals. The best way to measure your investing success is not by whether you're beating the market but by whether your investments are growing steadily and rapidly enough to get you where you want to go. In the end, what matters isn't crossing the finish line before anybody else but just making sure that you do cross it.
Jason Zweig in Did you beat the market? from Money (January 2000)There's no question that we are in a new era - the market has already answered that question. But having said that, let me confess my own bias. I'm convinced that historical patterns inevitably reassert themselves if you look beyond the specific questions to more general ones. Polio vaccine and television may be inventions of the 20th century, but serious illness and dopey comedy are part of the human condition. Many specifics about investing have changed since the 1982 recession. But long-term market trends haven't altered much. And the secret to making large stock market profits safely over the next year or two depends on your being able to distinguish between transient market behavior and permanent shifts.
Michael Sivy in Forecast 2000 from Money (January 2000)Under the old paradigm, the more a company earned, the higher its stock rose; under the new paradigm, the more a company loses, the higher its stock rises. Under the old paradigm, a stock that doubled overnight might give pause to would-be buyers; under the new paradigm a stock that doubles overnight becomes four times as attractive.
Alan Abelson in Nothing but Blue Sky ($$) from Barron's (12/27/99)
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