John, at the risk of sounding too presumptuous, I'll give you the same sort of advice I've given my children. My humble opinion is to NEVER, EVER blindly follow anyone else's advice. There is NO ONE who will look after your money better than YOU.
In 40+ years of investing, I've always been my own financial advisor. You CAN learn to pick your own investments. Do not EVER let anyone else tell you you can't. I'm not the brightest light in the closet, but by investing in sound, profitable companies that I plan to hold no less than 10 years, I've done well enough that I was able to retire before 55 years of age. I've made plenty of mistakes along the way, but the minority of excellent companies I bought and held for decades carried me much further than I had a right to expect.
If you don't feel comfortable choosing individual stocks, then just invest in low-expense-ratio index ETFs. They should keep you from losing your shirt while earning close to the market average. In fact, you can do quite well with such ETFs over the course of your life without ever having to research an individual stock. Just buy one (or more) and then forget about it for at least 10 years.
Above all, try to be objective and invest for the long term. Do NOT get caught up in "trading." Long-term investing requires immense patience, especially when the market is crashing and everybody around you is pulling their hair out. What worked for me was buying stakes in a variety of companies and then simply staying the course through thick and thin. Some of my investments went belly-up. Others shot up and then fizzled. Some have been steady gainers. Some of my companies, like HD and MSFT, languished for years at a time. MSFT declined about 60% over 9 years or so. HD was down about the same amount for the same period (2000 to 2009). Yet I held onto them (and others). Today, their dividends have paid many, many multiples of what I initially paid for the stocks. They're like geese that lay golden eggs, and I doubt I'll ever sell them.
Read, study, examine, listen, and think for yourself.
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Rob Adams
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-13-2022 19:09
From: John Robie
Subject: Stock selection advice vs self education
I doubt I will gain enough knowledge, quickly enough, to effectively select winning stocks on my own. It seems that I could reach higher by standing on the shoulders of others who are wiser and more experienced than me at selecting winning stocks. There are plenty of self proclaimed experts out there asking me to subscribe to their stock selection services. Some are cheap but some are very expensive.
I would be interested in knowing which ones have earned your trust and loyalty based on the valuable advise they provide to you. Who has helped you "reach higher"?
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John Robie
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