The financial news media cracks me up.
Back when they were making their 2007 prognostications, I read article after article citing all the reasons why large-cap stocks remain poised to make a market-crushing run. Some, such as Sysco
A reversion to the mean is coming, it's said, and large caps stand to profit the most.
Or it can get more complicated ...
Then there are the macroeconomic theories. If a recession is coming, investors will flock to quality companies and invest in large caps. Or if the dollar continues to weaken, investors will buy shares of companies that do significant business overseas -- such as Hewlett-Packard -- in order to see their earnings boosted when they repatriate profits.
Of course, there's a flip side to every one of these arguments. Take, for example, this post from WSJ.com. The author submits that a weakening dollar will actually cause large caps to underperform! If the dollar continues to lose its value, foreign investors might take money out of the United States -- money that they tend to keep in less risky large caps. Moreover, a weakening dollar could maintain the current low interest rate environment, making it easier for small companies to finance growth.
Does your head hurt? Yeah, mine, too.
What can experts really teach you?
See, experts can hem and haw about how X will affect Y unless Z is raised to the third power blah blah blah ... it doesn't matter. Just know that if you read the financial news, you'll get a lot of free advice. And remember that with free advice, you get what you pay for.
In other words, silence the noise. Don't worry about macroeconomic theories or the prognostications of media experts.
Because if you do three things, you'll beat the market over decades and make a fortune from your compounding returns.
Your to-do list
- Buy great companies.
- Hold them for long periods of time.
- Continue to add new money to the market in good and bad times.
In essence, that's the most important investing lesson of all.
A Fool's final word
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- Little-known companies that dominate relevant business niches.
- The best companies in out-of-favor industries.
- Management teams with great reputations, strong core values, and significant ownership stakes.
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This article was first published Dec. 22, 2006. It has been updated.
Tim Hanson does not own shares of any company mentioned. Sysco is a Motley Fool Income Investor recommendation. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy wants you to let it know ... should it stay or should it go?
