SUCHETA DALAL
The Indian Express: Monday, December 05, 2005 People frequently write to me with a list of shares asking if they should hold them or sell. Some ask if I will manage their portfolios. Most of them are unimpressed when I write back saying journalists are not qualified investment advisors and not supposed to dispense portfolio suggestions or tips. Such investors usually turn to Internet message boards or business television channels to find their ‘‘investment gurus’’ or leaders. Take a look at any message board, and you will see some bulls, the rare bear and a whole flock of sheep that seem happy to follow complete strangers who are often logged-in under pseudonyms. Others hang on to technical analysts, astrological predictions, number sequences or computerised systems that tell them when to buy or sell a stock without the hard work of research and analysis. There is no shortage of investment wisdom on the Internet, available at the click of a button. But the best investment brains in the world that made millions of dollars on the stock market are not dispensing hot tips or making stock calls. Instead, they are telling people that there are no short-cuts to making money. First, you have to do the hard work of researching stocks and know where to find correct information before buying it; then comes the hard part of knowing how to keep your greed in check and book profits without wanting to catch the very top. suchetadalal@yahoo.com
The Indian Express: Monday, December 05, 2005 People frequently write to me with a list of shares asking if they should hold them or sell. Some ask if I will manage their portfolios. Most of them are unimpressed when I write back saying journalists are not qualified investment advisors and not supposed to dispense portfolio suggestions or tips. Such investors usually turn to Internet message boards or business television channels to find their ‘‘investment gurus’’ or leaders. Take a look at any message board, and you will see some bulls, the rare bear and a whole flock of sheep that seem happy to follow complete strangers who are often logged-in under pseudonyms. Others hang on to technical analysts, astrological predictions, number sequences or computerised systems that tell them when to buy or sell a stock without the hard work of research and analysis. There is no shortage of investment wisdom on the Internet, available at the click of a button. But the best investment brains in the world that made millions of dollars on the stock market are not dispensing hot tips or making stock calls. Instead, they are telling people that there are no short-cuts to making money. First, you have to do the hard work of researching stocks and know where to find correct information before buying it; then comes the hard part of knowing how to keep your greed in check and book profits without wanting to catch the very top. suchetadalal@yahoo.com
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