Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of October 16, 2018

Article Excerpt

If you can use a single word or thought to sum up the reason why you made an investment decision, you run an above-average risk of a weak return, if not an outright loss. That’s because few investment decisions are that simple. This rule applies at all levels of investor wealth and experience. For example, hedge-fund operator George Soros became a multi-billionaire due to his investing skill. But he made a snap investment decision after Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and soon regretted it. Mr. Soros has been a vocal fan of Hillary Clinton, and a big contributor to her 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign. He was also an outspoken critic of Donald Trump. Soon after he heard about the election outcome, he began making a variety of bearish stock-market bets—investments that would pay off for him if the stock market went down. He was certain that investors around the world would soon begin dumping their U.S. stocks…