I sat an investment exam and failed miserably

Can you believe I sat an investment exam and failed miserably?

The bastard kicked me under the desk.

On live TV.

Then at the ad break he leaned across the desk and seethed, “You can’t say that!”

The guy was a total fruit loop.

Sky Business News would always put me, the technical guy, up against a fundamental guy to get some debate going; keep audience attention. And let’s face it – us technical blokes do throw around some perky jargon. None of that boring balance sheet, PE Ratio, stuffy armchair in a smoky men’s club gibberish.

But getting physical?

I remember the date exactly.

March 3rd 2009. The day after Citibank fell 20%. Which was the day after it had fallen 39%. The global banking system was on the verge of collapse and investors were bolting for the doors.

Scary times in the markets.

And in the TV studio.

We had been discussing the plight of Macquarie Bank that had fallen from dizzy heights.

Now I’m not one to agitate but nor am I one to sugar coat.

But I may have remarked that if Citibank, one of the world’s largest banks, could fall from $60 to $2 then perhaps Macquarie could do the same. After all, it had fallen from $80 to below $16.

The trend is your friend and all that.

And, from memory, I may have also suggested that ‘those who pick bottoms get dirty fingers’.

I’m quite sure that’s when he flipped his lid. The Buffett parrots don’t like that one.

The parrots got their own back today when I took a quiz, “What’s Your Buffett Score? Designed to measure and see how your knowledge and investing style matches the great WB”.

My result was so bad they didn’t even give me a score.

They then stated, “Although it is a fail, we can be very generous and call you a Buffett Hopeful. …if you are currently investing you should be very careful”.

Noted.

We all swim in our own pool of logic. It’s not my way or the highway. It’s whatever is comfortable for you to execute and whatever gives you the desired result.

Value investing. Fundamentals. Technicals. Systems. SMSF. ETFs. ASX. Global. Fruit loops.

The goal is to increase your investments and to provide for your retirement. Choose a method that is comfortable and ‘do-able’ for you.