Heh, yup — read the filings is always the foundation for an individual investor. Though, one always needs to be mindful that the pros are doing the same and “buy on the rumor, sell on the news”. I.e., a friend of mine got angry with about a year and half ago — he had asked what my best individual stock pick was and I had answered NVDA (which has rewarded me handsomely). Despite bonkers 10-Qs, he managed to *lose* money and got salty with me.
I’m very much in the Peter Lynch/Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger mold: Buy-and-hold guy. Ignore the churn. Buy things you know, buy things showing good revenue and EBITDA growth. Never invest a dollar you want in the next 5 years. Never buy something for 5 minutes you don’t think you’ll hold for 5 years.
You know, the standard stuff that has been true since the dawn of the free market and such.
The more things change, the more the tired, boring CW remains true.
I hate to sound like Lou Mannheim in Wall Street - but he’s always right in the end.
To a big extent, it drives me nuts: The financial industry has evolved to the point that you can now just buy simple index ETFs and only bleed off ridiculously tiny .04-.08 fund fees. My lord, used to be - you had to buy a managed/mutual fund and they’d take 1% off the top.
But - sigh. Everybody wants to gamble. Everybody wants 6-12 month returns at ridiculous levels.
In addition to being lucrative, I enjoy investing. But as I said initially: There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with a strategy that just does a few broad ETFs, set it, forget it, and don’t worry. Never panic. Don’t expect to “make a killing”. Think years, not days/weeks/months. And guess what.... in a decade? You’ll be amazed.
“Everybody wants to gamble.”
i love the old joke an airline pilot told me: “How do airline pilots invest? ... They keep investing until it’s all gone.”
[substitute “dentist”, “doctor”, “day trader”, etc. for “airline pilot”]