Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.B)

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"Picking stocks is only slightly better than better than playing lottery"

"Investors who think they can be successful stock pickers are about to get some sobering news from new academic research.

The good news: Yes, buying one stock gives you better odds than buying a lottery ticket.

The bad news: Those "better" odds are still much too awful to stake your future on.

For starters, think about Treasurys TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.76% those boring, low-paying government securities that are at least reliable. Right now, you can buy a one-month T-Bill and expect a yield of about three-quarters of 1%. And you'll get your principal back.

Right now, if you buy some individual stocks at random, you mightget some or all of your money back. And you might make a profit. But at least statistically, your odds will be vastly better with those lowly T-Bills.

I recently learned of a new academic study entitled "Do stocks outperform Treasury Bills?" by Hendrik Bessembinder, a finance professor at Arizona State University.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-picking-stocks-is-only-slightly-better-than-playing-the-lottery-2017-06-28