What worked for investors in 2010 won’t necessarily work in 2011. And in light of StreetAuthority’s recent look at “8 Valuable Lessons We Learned About Investing” in 2010, I decided to take a look at how I would apply some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years to 2011. Here are five things you should look out for this year… 1. Look out for portfolio creep One of the challenges of a rising market is to know when to take profits. Instead, many of us hold on to our winners and bring… Read More
What worked for investors in 2010 won’t necessarily work in 2011. And in light of StreetAuthority’s recent look at “8 Valuable Lessons We Learned About Investing” in 2010, I decided to take a look at how I would apply some of the lessons I’ve learned over the years to 2011. Here are five things you should look out for this year… 1. Look out for portfolio creep One of the challenges of a rising market is to know when to take profits. Instead, many of us hold on to our winners and bring in fresh ammo to buy yet more stocks. Before you know it, you’re holding 15 or 20 stocks. (I once counseled an investor that asked me to look at his statement — and I told him right away that the 40 stocks he owned were far too many.) With the ever-rising market of the last two years, some investors likely have been buying a lot more than they have been selling. Yet you really need to own just six to 10 stocks that have a truly diversified portfolio. So if you’re above that figure, you should spend… Read More