POLL: How do you rank yourself as an investor?

[Lsbcal]

Go ahead but be honest.

 

[Car-Guy]

Buying equities = Terrible

Buying fixed income = Genius

 

[street]

I voted Below Average. Because the only thing I knew was to save/invest in market/real-estate and hold pat. It has taken me a long way and my method has done well, but as an active buyer/seller/trader and fine-tuning investor I was not.

My confidence was in buying than hold/compounding/stead growth which is a lazy easy way and well below average for being a good investor. I consider a good investor the be active and making the most out of every opportunity the markets offer.

 

[lucky penny]

Above average compared with most, below average compared with many here for whom investing seems like a full-time occupation. Improving because because of all I'm learning here.

 

[LateToFIRE]

I put myself above average, but it really depends on the type of investment:

Securities: Average, mostly funds managed by advisor
Angel Investing: Terrible, if you see me investing in a start-up, run the other way
Small Business: Average, no home runs, but no major losses either, good tax write-offs
Private Equity: Not bad, the one time I took that oppty did alright
Real Estate: Ahhhh.... now we're talkin my language, well above average, enough to more than make up for lackluster performance in the other categories

 

[Lsbcal]

I voted Below Average. Because the only thing I knew was to save/invest in market/real-estate and hold pat. It has taken me a long way and my method has done well, but as an active buyer/seller/trader and fine-tuning investor I was not.

My confidence was in buying than hold/compounding/stead growth which is a lazy easy way and well below average for being a good investor. I consider a good investor the be active and making the most out of every opportunity the markets offer.

Maybe you are being too modest? Sounds like you know yourself and your limits which ranks very important as an investor.

 

[Keim]

I voted average. I'm a Boglehead. By definition that means I'm always average. Oddly enough, in investing circles that means I'm above average.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Don't invest in stocks, just CDs etc. So I put "Other".

 

[marko]

I stumbled into this forum around 2005 when I first RE'd. Until then, we had left all our finances to accountants and investment planners. I didn't know a dividend from an expense ratio at the time and was too busy--and making too much money-- to care.

Thanks almost entirely to this forum and the collective wisdom here, I now consider myself better than average vs the general public--but voted average vs those in this forum.

Of course, one needs to be interested enough in investing to take the time to learn, but back in the early days, I decided that my new 'job' was to figure it all out and find a way to keep body and soul together for the next 30 years.

I have to say that I've done pretty well, but wouldn't have done so without the help and patience of this group.

(Still not sure when was the best time to take SS though)

Side note: a buddy makes close to a million a year; the other day he asked me what a mutual fund was. sigh.....

 

[disneysteve]

I think most people are broke and clueless so I rated myself above average. But I think that’s a pretty low bar.

 

[rwdflynavy]

I think it depends.

Compared to the average person, I think I am above average, having FIREd at 49.

Compared to this forum, I'm average at best.

 

[Sojourner]

I think most people are broke and clueless so I rated myself above average. But I think that’s a pretty low bar.

Yeah, it really depends on who I'm comparing myself to. I am way above average in comparison to the general public, but I am pretty average (I think) in comparison to the folks around here.

 

[frayne]

Pretty much a lifelong S&P/Total Market indexer, so average in that respect. Having the discipline to stay the course and not go bananas when the market goes nuts, I think maybe just a little above average in that regard.

 

[Ronstar]

Terrible and I need help. My self managed IRA returns for the past 7 years are about 4.5%. MIL's through an FA are about twice that. So I transferred my $ to the FA.

 

[pacergal]

I would guess Average, but improving, thanks to all of the wisdom here on the forum.

The majority of life prior to retirement was just on auto pilot, plugging along.
I learned alot from my Dad about the importance of saving and investing, along with stocks, bonds, SS, and how our pensions would fit in, among other financial life topics, including stocks go up and down and not to panic! Invest for the long term.
I do have faith in, and use, a trusted FA also.
But the nuances of AA, rebalancing, etc I have learned just prior and after retirement from bolgleheads forum and here from all of you. So, Thank You!

 

[Lewis Clark]

(Still not sure when was the best time to take SS though)

After spending a bit more time here it will be come perfectly clear. : )

 

[Lewis Clark]

I voted below average. Have always been a much better saver than investor.

 

[FlaGator]

Above average

Only rate myself that today because I finally learned from the hard lessons of my first 20 years of investing.

 

[Dash man]

Above average, comparing myself to the general population. I think the vast majority of us here are above average.

When comparing to the folks on this forum, I’d say average and trying to improve.

 

[Midpack]

Above average in the mainstream, probably average here.

Even though I am average here I don't know anyone personally who is a better investor, most of my friends are pretty clueless. They either use a FA and presumably pay through the nose, or they're almost fully SIRE - meaning they live within their means dictated by what their pensions and Soc Sec provide. Even during my MegaCorp days when I knew quite a few execs/C-suiters very well, they relied on expensive FA's (often referred by each other) - and they were all shocked when I retired at 57 yo.

 

[Lsbcal]

I secretly think I am above average. Am a little like the armchair spy master. But being honest I am probably about average when compared to index funds. Hope springs eternal so I voted average but will be improving in the future.

Have had many errors in judgement over the decades but like some others here am saved by having a saving/investing (plus having fun) habit. Occasionally I have a real success. Have I told you about my early 90's forays into international markets? ...

Anyway we are living comfortably and probably will for our lifetimes.

 

[SunGuy]

Way above average, lol considering I have yet to meet anyone who can trade better than I can.

Started buying stocks in 2006, but for the last 8 years, I was heavily invested in forex trading, and living off my profits from that.

Don't want to disclose how much, as nobody would believe me anyway lol.

But now that I have a regulated finance job, with a lot of rules about when/how I can trade, I can't trade forex the way I used to do.

So I switched back to stocks. I primarily trade stocks in my Roth, and use my 401k and HSA for ETFs to get the lowest fees and best overall ROI over time to help them compound better.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/resear...ut-billions-from-americans-retirement-savings

This is a slightly old article I had bookmarked going over it, be sure to see the calculator to get an eyeful of how much you lose from 1.05% fees versus 0.05% fees (it is hundreds of $K's over 30-40+ years)

Why ultra low cost ETFs are really good, over higher priced mutual funds.


For my Roth account, and the real meat of the post, and what you all want to know about lol. I model my investment strategy off of a modern day variation of Walter Schloss.

If I am buying a swing stock, that I don't intend to hold long term, I want to sell it with at least a 25% ROI.

Long term positions are entered in partial block trades of at least $250, depending on share price.

When I sell swing trades for profit, like one I am looking to sell this week, up 28% after less than two months, it will gain me over $200 profit from around $800 investment, so I will split those up into two new buys of stocks for $500 each.

One will be a long term stock, and one will be a swing trade.

 

[Alex The Great]

Voted for "Just terrible and have no clue going forward" because my investing experience is short (a few years back). So far the total return was negative and I really don't know how it will be in future. But I assume it won't be worse than terrible

 

[statsman]

What's an investor??

 

[bada bing]

I voted average. I'm a Boglehead. By definition that means I'm always average. Oddly enough, in investing circles that means I'm above average.

I'm a strict Boglehead as well. The only individual discretion in my investing is my AA. I wasn't always that way, I was an active investor prior to 2002, but not a very good one. I got drubbed pretty hard in 2000-2002 and had an epiphany.

I think most people are broke and clueless so I rated myself above average. But I think that’s a pretty low bar.

Sort of like average net worth or average saved for retirement stats. I'd guess you'd have to be above 85%-90% in those stats to be interested in this forum. The income distribution is wonky when you can be at the 95% level and still not particularly wealthy.