Sheri’s Best Of “101” Investing Insights

As we mentioned in a recent post, Taking a Twitter Tonic,  it’s important to be selective about the financial news you choose to peruse. That said, there are islands of sensible advice out there as well. We try to share as many of them as we can in our own blog and social media posts. We also are honored when we are invited to participate in useful forums like Fund Reference’s recently published “101 Investing Insights From the Experts.”

We’ll let you find our own quotes in this handy compilation, but today we wanted to feature some of our favorite words of wisdom from our fellow contributors. It was heartening to see so much largely solid advice in such a rapid read. Here is a helpful insight from each category:

• Financial Advice for Beginners  “You are either a net saver, or a net borrower. Net savers win. If you want to be a winner, you must pay yourself first. Even fifty bucks a month is a great start.”
  —Andy Hagans, Fund Reference
• Catching up on Retirement Planning “Don’t try to catch up by chasing returns. The more aggressive, elaborate, or expensive a strategy you are peddled to get ahead, the more likely you are to fall further behind.”
  —Grigori Kapoustin, AlphaBetaWorks
• Often Overlooked by Investors “You can recite all the Jack Bogle and Warren Buffett quotes you want, but they won’t take the sting out of a big drop in markets. It stinks to see your portfolio shrink, and most investors ultimately ‘cry uncle.’ Buying and holding is much easier said than done.”
  —Michael Johnston, ETF Reference
• When the Market Turns South First of all ignore the dramatic headlines. Words like plunge and crash are not comforting, but are frequently used. Secondly, check your allocation. … Lastly, if you’ve done the prior two recommendation[s] successfully, go fishing, go for a hike, do something other [than] look at the dramatic headlines that seem to hit us from all angles this day and age.”
  —John Kvale, J.K. Financial
• On Robo-Advisors “When it hits the fan, would they beg you in person not to sell like I did with some clients in late 2008?”
   —George Papadopoulos, The Fee Only Planner
• Investor Beware Of … “People who call themselves ‘advisors’ who are really nothing more than product pushers masquerading as someone who is providing ‘advice.’ Funny how the ‘advice’ always is to purchase something from which the ‘advisor’ profits. Shameful.”
  —Tom Batterman, Financial Fiduciaries
• Parting Thoughts “Holding cash for long-term goals can significantly damage your future buying power.”
  —Cameron Penney, Penney Financial
• Recommended Reading “This was never easy,” by Morgan Housel
  —Joe Pitzl, Pitzl Financial

Sage Serendipity: The five day TED conferences are intense, with participants running to see as many of the 100 speakers they can on challenging subjects. QUARTZ  takes a look at the videos that TED uses to “reset or recharge” the brain in-between presenters. The OK Go music video for their pop song Upside Down & Inside Out, shot onboard a S7 Airlines zero-gravity airplane, is a blast. There is also a gorgeous video edited from NASA footage as well as the Pharrell Williams song “Freedom“  which won the Grammy Award for best music video.