Archives of “January 8, 2019” day

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Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2018

  
Analysis, Education

Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh, and Mike Staunton of London Business School and authors of Triumph of the Optimists(Princeton University Press, 2002) are responsible for the marvelous Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook, now in its nineteenth annual edition. The yearbook was distributed to Credit Suisse clients and is not for sale to the general public, but a 40-page summary of the 251-page yearbook is available online.
The authors worked with 118 years’ worth of data. So this is no year in review; it’s 118 years in review, complete with myriad tables and graphs. Divided into five chapters, the yearbook covers long-run asset returns, risk and risk premiums, factor investing, private wealth investments, and 26 individual markets (23 countries plus world, world ex-USA, and Europe).
One of the questions the authors ask is whether equity premium is predictable. Using their long-run global database, they “adopt three approaches, each of which involves analyzing whether the equity risk premium (ERP) relative to bills in a particular year can help us to predict the annualized ERP over the subsequent five years.” They found, as one might expect, that “for strategic asset allocation, we learn relatively little (and nothing statistically significant) from recent annual performance about future equity premiums.” They conclude that “to forecast the long-run equity premium, it is hard to beat extrapolation that takes into account the longest history available when the forecast is being made.”
The authors also assess various forms of factor investing. Both over the long run and across different countries, size, value, income, momentum, and volatility have generated sizable premiums. But the authors write that “the theory of why such premiums should exist, or what types of risk they are rewarding, is admittedly weak. Furthermore, if they are generated by behavioral traits, behavior can change, especially as awareness of these factors—and their popularity—increases.”

Traps and Pitfalls

  
  Education
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Realistically, there are many ways to lose money in the financial markets and, if you play this game long enough, you’ll get to know the most of them intimately. Fortunately, a survivalist plan empowers you to avoid many of the traps and pitfalls faced by other traders. Above all else, learn the five market scenarios that place you at the most risk.

  1. Bad Markets – A good pattern won’t bail you out of a bad market, so move to the sidelines when conflict and indecision take hold of the tape. Your long-term survival depends on effective trade management. The bottom line: don’t trade when you can’t measure your risk, and stand aside when you can’t find your edge.
  2. Bad Timing – It’s easy to be right but still lose money. Financial instruments are forced to negotiate a minefield of conflicting trends, each dependent on different time frames. Your positions need to align with the majority of these cycles in order to capture the profits visualized in your trade analysis.
  3. Bad Trades – There are a lot of stinkers out there, vying for your attention, so look for perfect convergence before risking capital on a questionable play, and then get out at the first sign of danger. It’s easy to go brain dead and step into a weak-handed position that makes absolutely no sense, whether it moves in your favor or not. The bottom line: it’s never too late to get out of a stupid trade.
  4. Bad Stops – Poor stops will shake you out of good positions. Stops do their best work when placed outside the market noise, while keeping risk to a minimum. Many traders believe professionals hit their stops because they have inside knowledge, but the truth is less mysterious. Most of us stick them in the same old places.
  5. Bad Action – Modern markets try to burn everyone before they launch definable trends. These shakeouts occur because most traders play popular strategies that have been deconstructed by market professionals. In a sense, the buy and sell signals found in TA books are turned against the naïve folks using them.

HOPE, FEAR AND GREED

  
  Education
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The spectator’s chief enemies are always boring from within. It is inseparable from human nature to hope and to fear. In speculation when the market goes against you, you hope that every day will be the last day and you lose more than you should had you not listened to hope. And when the market goes your way you become fearful that the next day will take away your profit, and you get out too soon. Fear keeps you from making as much money as you ought to. The successful trader has to fight these two deep-seated instincts. He has to reverse what you might call his natural impulses. Instead of hoping he must fear; instead of fearing he must hope. He must fear that his loss may develop into a much bigger loss, and hope that his profit may become a big profit.-Jesse Livermore

Perspective

  
  Education
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When you trade, know why you are trading that position. You can listen to others, and remember that you are the ultimate decision maker.

I remember a client of mine who is very brilliant; he knew why he was getting into a trade. Then he would trust others much more than himself, and as a result, he would change his mind and would lose. Needless to say, he has learned to trust himself and develop his mental edge. I am very happy to say that these days he is doing very well.

What are the key points for keeping your own perspective?

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    • Believe in yourself.
    • Know your strategies.
    • Know your entry and exit points.
    • Be cognizant of who or what news sources you listen to.
    • Be aware of who you surround yourself with.
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