Many if not all of the blog sites in the stock market niche are more than happy to offer you with their opinions and stock picks for your portfolio. This is something The Investor’s Journal does not and will not ever offer. Some might see this as a disadvantage for the website, but to me it’s just not worth the hassle. The goal of this website is to teach you how to invest, not to tell you what you should invest in. I want you to learn how to invest so that you can free yourself from relying on others to help you grow your portfolio. Why is that? Because no one cares about your money like you do!
Aside from that, there are some other significant issues I have with providing stock picks:
Legal issues
I’m not a laywer and I’ve never studied law, but I know that providing stock picks is just asking for legal issues that I don’t have time to deal with. This site is just a hobby for me, it’s not my main source of income, so it’s just not worth the hassle for me.
I change my mind often
Even though I consider myself as a successful investor, I am willing to admit that I can be wrong often. When the market reaches pivotal points where it could rally or plummet, I often change my mind on my feelings towards our short term future in the stock market. It would be incredibly time consuming and confusing to my readers if for example one day they read an article where I explain why I feel like the stock market is poised for a correction, and then the next day I write another article dismissing the former while giving more well thought reasons for my beliefs.
Psychological Reasons
One thing that’s rough for stock market analysts is that you are expected to never be wrong. People look up to you and expect that with your higher knowledge you are somehow infallible. This just isn’t the case. In some cases, analysts who make bold predictions that never come into fruition begin to go into denial. In these cases analysts attempt more than ever to convince people that their original prediction is simply ahead of the market, when in reality it just isn’t going to happen. These analysts go through depression, embarrassment, and all kinds of emotions because of the disappointment and disapproval the readers show for that analyst. As I said before, this site is just a hobby of mine, investing is my main source of income, and the last thing I need is stress from my stock picks leading to me becoming an irrational or emotional investor.
Adam,
I am a statistician by profession but I work in advertising and market research.
I am very keen to understand the mathematics of the security markets. Can you recommned one or two. It wont matter if its too technical.
Regards,
KK