Good Investing is Often Boring

(27th May 2021)

Good investing can sometimes be boring. Ian Cassel puts it eloquently:

“Often times your biggest risk is boredom as you wait for fundamentals to backfill into expectations. You look for reasons to sell because the stock isn't moving. You buy something else. The thing you sold immediately goes up. Then you realize you are just like everybody else.” -

I want to stipulate before I begin today, that my writing will always be scribed under the assumption of a long-term investing outlook unless otherwise stated. I gather that the themes discussed today, are not as applicable to a trader. Here is something for you. If you find yourself beginning to trade more frequently, becoming more impatient with respect to returns and time horizons, but profess to be a long-term investor, then you are potentially at risk of a bad case of speculation-itis, or simply boredom.

Here are two appropriate quotes from Ben Graham:

“An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of pr…