Gain Control of Your Investments

Source: Capital Pixel

Carl Richards has written Five Steps for Gaining Control of Your Investments and Avoiding Mistakes in this month's AAII Journal. This is a really good read for the DIY investor--especially for those of you out there who are struggling.  The article includes some nifty simple diagrams to emphasize the main points.

One of the parts that I liked was where he asked what kind of questions are we asking.  Are they, in fact, things we have some control over?  Many investors spend an inordinate amount of time asking whether Europe will implode, the economy's growth rate will pick up, where is the market headed, and whether they should buy or sell a particular stock.  Instead, Richards points out, there are areas where investors have some control over that they should focus on, like how much they can save, how is the portfolio allocated, and can "I pick up some extra work this month?".

This reminds me of the old joke about the husband and wife where he worried about the big questions like whether China should be admitted to the United Nations and she concentrated on the small issues like where they would live.

Another point that Richards makes is that investors often times listen to people with different time frames.  There are long term investors, short term swing traders, and day traders saying really smart things.  But if you are a investing for your retirement 15 years down the road, it is really meaningless to you.

For those of you who don't know, AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) is dedicated to helping the DIY investor.  They very likely have a chapter near you and offer monthly meetings featuring speakers on various investment topics and approaches.  Their website also offers educational materials as well as an interesting discussion section.