Eve of Destruction?

Here’s an interesting take on how to handle the current turmoil in the markets – and why it’s “Still not different this time”.

Steve

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And you tell me over and over and over again my friend

Ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.

–Protest song written by P.F. Sloan in 1965, recorded by Barry McGuire.

Eve of Destruction (Watch it performed if you really want to hear it again.)

The four most dangerous words in investing are “This time it’s different.”

– Sir John Templeton

From the Wikipedia entry on Benjamin Graham’s 1949 seminal work on value investing, The Intelligent Investor:

Graham’s favorite allegory is that of Mr. Market, an obliging fellow who turns up every day at the share holder’s door offering to buy or sell his shares at a different price. Often, the price quoted by Mr. Market seems plausible, but sometimes it is ridiculous. The investor is free to either agree with his quoted price and trade with him, or ignore him completely. Mr. Market doesn’t mind this, and will be back the following day to quote another price.

The point of this anecdote is that the investor should not regard the whims of Mr. Market as a determining factor in the value of the shares the investor owns. He should profit from market folly rather than participate in it. The investor is advised to concentrate on the real life performance of his companies and receiving dividends, rather than be too concerned with Mr. Market’s often irrational behavior.[1]

Read the complete article here:   Eve of Destruction – Part One | Insight — A Hewins Financial Blog.