Ignore this investment advice at your peril

[mickeyd]

In last week's column, I discussed some chestnuts of investing wisdom--tips that were outmoded or didn't make sense in the first place. In the meantime, many of you have written in with other nuggets of investment advice that you've happily disregarded, and Morningstar's analysts have chimed in with some ideas of their own. I'll devote this week's column to debunking some more common investment myths.


http://news.morningstar.com/doc/article/0,,149560,00.html?pgid=wwhome1a

 

[Lazarus]

Translation= I am smarter than you, give me your money!

 

[mickeyd]

An old story, but it fits here...

When a tour guide mentioned to his group of visitors to Wall Street that all of those yachts out in the NY harbour belonged to stock brokers, one of the visitors wisley asked, "Where do the customers of the stock brokers keep their yachts?".

Seems like there is also a book out there with a simular title.

 

[Nords]

Seems like there is also a book out there with a simular title.

Where Are the Customers' Yachts?

Originally published in 1940. If I remember right, this is one of the first places that described the brilliance of one or two out of 4000 coin-flippers.

 

[Spanky]

She probably pulling down around $500K per year! - It's legal, but not even close to ethical!

Someone has eloquently made the following statements:

Harvard history professor Henry Adams says, "Morality is a private and costly luxury." Ironically, in today's culture of high debt and me-first living, ethics may be the only luxury some people are choosing to live without! If I believe that I have only two choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it's unethical; or (2) to have ethics and lose-I'm faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be dishonest, but nobody wants to lose.

 

[Lazarus]

Someone has eloquently made the following statements:

Harvard history professor Henry Adams says, "Morality is a private and costly luxury." Ironically, in today's culture of high debt and me-first living, ethics may be the only luxury some people are choosing to live without! If I believe that I have only two choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it's unethical; or (2) to have ethics and lose-I'm faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be dishonest, but nobody wants to lose.

Morality should not be considered optional.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Morality should not be considered optional.

Perhaps not, but it is certainly subject to varying interpretations.

JG

 

[Lazarus]

Perhaps not, but it is certainly subject to varying interpretations.

JG

True

 

[Howard]

How many people like J.P.Morgan etc would have survived if Elliot Spitzer were alive then?

Kozlowski, Ebbers etc were just born in the wrong century.

 

[Beststash]

You'll get what's coming to you in the "end"!!!!!!

 

[Cut-Throat]

Someone has eloquently made the following statements:

Harvard history professor Henry Adams says, "Morality is a private and costly luxury." Ironically, in today's culture of high debt and me-first living, ethics may be the only luxury some people are choosing to live without! If I believe that I have only two choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it's unethical; or (2) to have ethics and lose-I'm faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be dishonest, but nobody wants to lose.

You have to look yourself in the mirror every morning. - You can still win and be ethical! 8)

 

[uncledrz]

Someone has eloquently made the following statements:

Harvard history professor Henry Adams says, "Morality is a private and costly luxury." Ironically, in today's culture of high debt and me-first living, ethics may be the only luxury some people are choosing to live without! If I believe that I have only two choices: (1) to win by doing whatever it takes, even if it's unethical; or (2) to have ethics and lose-I'm faced with a real moral dilemma. Few people set out with the desire to be dishonest, but nobody wants to lose.

I simply do not agree. When I worked in a larger firm, I worked with one of the most successful lawyers in the state. Litigation only. In Court all the time. Reputation as one tough sob, one great lawyer. He was asked/told by clients all the time to bend the line. Never, never did. Said "I can win without ..." (fill in yourself: hide bad evidence, lose bad evidence, don't disclose adverse witnesses, half answers to discovery, destroying email, bury the other side in paper, run up the other side's attorney fee bill, etc) and he never would do anything like that, and insisted that a client not do so either.
Yet, he won his cases. Taught me the kind of things you can't learn in law school.
Yeah, I know lawyers have a bad rap. Probably a topic for discussion, many reasons (cases have losers who have to blame someone, system is coercive to the loser, litigation is a legal fight and fighting leaves bruses, bad apples, greed of both clients and attorneys, etc). The point is this is a nasty business, but if the rules are known and followed the choice between following the law/morality on the one hand and success on the other does not have to be made. Hard work and following the rules and you can have both.
I suspect this is the same in any profession/occupation.

Uncledrz