For the past while I have ben walking at nights. And before I head out I download a number of my favorite podcasts. It’s funny because they entertain and inform but they also drive me nuts!
I think the worst thing is to always hear “I told you…” – everyone seems to have called the bottom last March and everyone also seems to have called the current downtrend. But if you listen to the podcasts day after day you will note that each of these analysts will have many different and potentially conflicting opinions on the same show. And they will also paint an entire sector with one brush (my frustration tonight is one analyst saying they said to get out of Tech in February and were right – with many companies including Google faltering.
As you know if you have followed my posts, my Google picks since February have been quite lucrative. As long as you understand the macro and micro environment you can manage things properly. I got this right but recently got back in to both AMZN and GOOGL – may be a bad decision down the road but I still think there is room to run before an impending crash as we get into the next earnings season.
So, why do I continue to listen to others if it frustrates me or if I think they aren’t always correct? Because more information and perspective will teach you more. It will challenge your hypotheses and make you think. You’ll also learn how others are thinking about things. And where you need to reflect is on the goals and timeframes for these analysts and how they fit with your own.
You should be doing the same. Watch Yahoo Finance at lunch and download some podcasts. And walk at nights – it is good for you and you can learn at the same time!!