Like most investors, I stepped into the stock market rather cautiously, doing my best to follow Warren Buffett's primary rule: "Don't lose money."
Three decades later, I now realize I didn't fully appreciate the nuances of this tip. Namely, I conflated temporary setbacks with locking in losses. Oh, I knew the difference between realized and unrealized. It's just that, mentally, I convinced myself that some pullbacks never stop. Big mistake. Most do. This mindset kept me out of some stocks that would have ended up being very big winners.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
I can't go back in time and do things over. I can, however, help others learn from my mistakes and tell them the very first stock I would have bought and held back then if I had known then what I know now. That's Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG).
OK, Google wasn't around when I first started investing. It wouldn't exist until 1998, and it didn't go public until 2004. If I were just starting out or starting over again today, however, it would be the foundational position in my portfolio.
#flashing
Three decades later, I now realize I didn't fully appreciate the nuances of this tip. Namely, I conflated temporary setbacks with locking in losses. Oh, I knew the difference between realized and unrealized. It's just that, mentally, I convinced myself that some pullbacks never stop. Big mistake. Most do. This mindset kept me out of some stocks that would have ended up being very big winners.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
I can't go back in time and do things over. I can, however, help others learn from my mistakes and tell them the very first stock I would have bought and held back then if I had known then what I know now. That's Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG).
OK, Google wasn't around when I first started investing. It wouldn't exist until 1998, and it didn't go public until 2004. If I were just starting out or starting over again today, however, it would be the foundational position in my portfolio.
#flashing
2 months ago
