I'm living in Nova Scotia, but I'm originally from Connecticut. We bought property in Canada and invested here back in 2002/2003 after researching the direction the US economy and dollar were taking.
There are very real reasons to stay aware of these global trends...these greater forces at work right now are going to be life altering for many people...and I think of that every day I read the Canadian papers.
There are major shifts taking place in the world today, and there are going to be winners and losers...how do we align ourselves with an upward trend, and how do we avoid being one of the losers? Imho, the first step is to identify the trends, and to honestly evaluate where we are as well.
Education is the most important thing an investor must focus on, imho. You can never know too much about how the markets work, even markets you aren't currently trading. I might go further and say that education is essential to being a successful resident on planet earth.
The sad fact is that the majority of investors will not succeed, no matter how decent and kind they are. Mr. Market is not nice nor is he fair, and there are many unscrupulous individuals who actively and knowingly attempt to profit from the ignorance of the innocent, taking advantage of their trusting natures. We mustn't be naive about this, and we must learn to identify suspicious claims and flawed data as quickly as possible.
We must learn to identify that little voice in our gut that tells us something isn't quite right. Too many people doubt their intuition, and actively override that voice, especially when many around them are caught up in the frenzy of the moment. Take a long look at the recent housing mania to see many examples of how millions of people allowed themselves to get talked into something which I'm sure many suspected wasn't quite right. Go back and read articles and comments from the time, and see if you identify which voices felt honest, and turned out to be right.
I reject the claims that things are worse now. Personally I believe it has been this way for years, probably centuries. Yet somehow there is always a new crop of investors who will rise to be fleeced, and that's the predators count on. We have to find ways to avoid being one of the prey.
Knowing the odds are against us, our goal is to make ourselves as aware as possible of the world we live in, the greater forces moving the markets. You can never know enough, in my opinion, and you must never trust one news outlet to be your only source for news. They are ALL biased, and all have an agenda...one which rarely coincides with your goals and desires.
These days I'm trying to determine how far the US Dollar will fall, and how quickly it will go there. Yes, I'm trading currencies, but I'm also watching the potential impact on the stock market, the implications for the economy in general. This will tell me how much I want to risk in equities.
Right now, I've greatly reduced my position in many stocks, and am sitting in cash in foreign denominations. That's just me.
You may draw a different conclusion from the articles you find, and you might very well do better than I do. But in my opinion the most important thing is to make sure you think for yourself. Don't buy something because someone on TV or someone on the message boards told you to buy it...do it because you really have researched it and believe it's the best direction for your money
Hope you're enjoying your weekend!
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If you take anything I say as advice, you're crazier than I am.
AI
