Warren Buffett, once, advised a bunch of youngsters, to get a punch card with only 20 spots in it. That’s the number of stocks they’re allowed to buy in their lifetime, he told them. Imagine how careful they would be if they could only buy 20 companies in their entire life of 80 or 100 years. Compare that to what many retail investors do nowadays. They treat their investments like a Playstation game. They think that they need to always act. If they don’t act, they lose the game, they assume. The fact of the matter is investing isn’t a game. It isn’t easy. If it was, most people would win. In reality, though, the majority of investors actually lose. Some estimate that 90% of investors lose. The problem is, most investors believe they are among the 10% that win!
Are individuals buying that many stocks? I only have a handful, and most of my money is in funds. Here, I just made a poll. Let’s see what it looks like
- 0 to 5
- 6 to 10
- 11 to 15
- 15 to 20
- 21 to 30
- 31 to 40
- 41 to 50
- more than 50
0 voters
I buy a lot of stocks and make my own mutual fund or ETF
That way I don’t have to pay ETF or mutual fund fees