This page is quite old hence its rather spartan appearance.
Why not check out our Latest Stories page for our newest articles or search our site for anything.
MARKET COMMENT
By
Carburton Street, London -- How often do you buy shares? If you're anything like me, then perhaps it's just a little too often. Like getting married, it's definitely a case of "invest in haste, repent in leisure" when buying shares for the long term. Legendary stock picker Warren Buffett once remarked: "An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it. With every investment decision his card is punched, and he has one fewer available for the rest of his life." Such a philosophy has worked well for Buffett. His success was largely based on about a dozen investments, notably GEICO, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO.) and Washington Post (NYSE: WPO). If we take Buffett's advice, then with an investing lifetime of, say, 30 years, you'd probably average one share purchase every year or so. Of course, your stock picks aren't necessarily going to be spread evenly across your investment career. For the Foolish value-conscious investor, bear markets are likely to see more share purchasing activity than raging bull markets. On the other hand, those setting out on a passive high yield strategy could use up their decision card right from the start. It stands to reason that golden investment opportunities are generally a rare occurrence on the largely efficient stock market. Given that most fund managers (even with all their research and contacts) fail to beat the stock market through excessive trading, it should pay private investors to take a more long-term and restrained view on share dealing. If nothing else, it saves on dealing costs and tax. Of course, only making relatively few investments decision means taking big bold bets. As and when the opportunities arise, you'll have to make them count. A concentrated portfolio may be deemed "risky" by some pundits, but it may well decrease the portfolio's risk if it enhances the thought that goes into the stock picks. Remember, you don't get paid by activity on the stock market; you get paid by your reasoning and your results. Your turn
On average, how many times a year do you buy shares? * 0 - 3 Cast your vote here.
* 4 - 6
* 7- 10
* 11 - 15
* 16 or over