Thomas Edison and the Stock Market
Thomas Edison gave his definition of insanity:
“Endless repeating of the same process, hoping
for a different result.”
We are now seeing the stock market head down
again as it did in 2000. Brokers, mutual fund
managers and financial planners hopefully will
not be repeating their same errors that cost
investors seven (7) trillion (with a T) dollars.
Unfortunately they will be working with the same
deficient knowledge as before.
The financial brethren have been taught to
invest by the Wall Street tribe that has proven
to allow huge losses for the small investor.
Small is considered less than a 7-figure
account. Any customer with less than $100,000
does not show on the radar screen.
The old saw that brokers tell their clients
that they will watch their account is pure horse
hockey. The average broker has 300 accounts and
only those in the seven figure range get their
attention. Wall Street tells brokers to buy and
hold. This obvious prevarication has been told
so many times that is has become conventional
wisdom. Just about every broker and financial
planner believes it.
If you are to make money in the stock market
you must learn a new way to invest. Tom said you
can't keep doing the same thing. And I'm sure
you don't want to go thru those terrible
declines that happened five years ago.
Did you have a stock or mutual fund that
dropped from its high 40, 50, 60% or more? I
hope not. The top 50 mutual funds crashed 42%.
Each $10,000 in your portfolio became worth
$5,800. You could have saved most of the $4,200
if your broker had recommended a trailing stop
loss order.
When you bought your stock or fund did you have
an exit strategy? Most folks don't. Edison was
always trying different approaches and when they
did not work he quit them and tried something
new. That is what you must do when investing in
the stock market. If your equity goes down it is
not working for you so you sell it to find one
that does work for you.
There are times when nothing is going up and
that is when you will have sold everything and
stand aside with your funds in a money market
account. It may not make much, but at least you
won't let the market steal your equity.
You don't need to be as brilliant as Tom Edison
to find a good stock during a bull market, but
during a bear market it takes a super genius.
During a bear market even the best stocks go
down and many do not recover,
Bernard Baruch, one of the greatest traders of
all times, said the secret to his success was
that he got out too soon. That may seem very
simple, but he had the greatest gift of all
traders. He had an exit strategy.
Don't join the other inmates in the Wall Street
sanatorium by continuing to hold your equities
as the market goes down. Learn to do something
different to protect your investments.


About the Author
Al Thomas' best selling book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with
his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter and receive his market letter for 3 months at
www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. Copyright 2005