Let’s say, that you can call it right for no other reason than you are just that smart. You can read charts, you understand the fundamentals and you have a brilliant mind capable of deductive reasoning. What would you do with this great gift of clairvoyance?
Well surely, we can pick some stocks. What could be easier than being cleverer than all those Wall Street analysts who always get it wrong anyway? We are much better than all of their hordes of minions who dissect every number, every bit of news and all the available data in real time. Who needs those systems, algos, and models that they have built over decades of experience anyhow? We know more than the CEOs, the top management, vendors, suppliers, industry experts, government agencies and we don’t need access to these people for information or their thoughts. We also don’t have the time to do deep research that could take several months, even years. After all, we have a day job. No, we just read the FT, look up a few things on the internet and off we go.
Moving on, what about predicting the next crash? Surely, we can foresee the apocalypse with all of our gifts and distinctive insights we have into the world. We understand how things really work. Clearly, the stock market is overvalued here, the world is a disaster and whoever buys in now must be a fool. We are going to stay in cash and when the crash comes, we are going to have the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, if the crash doesn’t come, then we would lose out on potential returns. Inflation will also take a bite out of our idle capital whilst it sits there, doing nothing. Don’t they say, timing is a female dog?
What about venture capital? We know companies, we know businesses and we can guide young enterprises with exciting technology. We can become rich beyond our wildest dreams, doing what we do best and utilizing our core competency. Well, even the most experienced investors in business start-ups generally admit that 8 out of 10 of their ventures fail – even though they have hordes of people like us, who have a lot of experience building companies, and they have seemingly endless amounts of capital.
So, what is one to do then, even with this incredible gift of foresight? If you think that you can run your investment portfolio in your spare time and without the knowledge, scale, or experience of what others do for a living, then you have bigger problems. For everyone else, leave it to the professionals and call Ghostbusters on 0208 166 1223. Speak to Tom, who will help you along on your path to financial salvation and all the happiness money can buy.