If one needed any more evidence that the stock market is controlled by “spirit animals”, I give you Thursday and Friday as exhibits A and A’.  

Thursday- the market was given the all clear from the Fed that interest rates will not be raised in 2019, making risk assets far more enticing, and rallied hard. Then Friday, digesting the news that the Fed not raising interest rates might mean growth is low (and therefore valuations are high) the stock market gives everything up, and then some. Same news.  Different reaction day to day.  

You can’t beat the market because you can’t be attune to the spirit animals that drive sentiment.  You can’t predict when a company will miss expectations (Nike), cancel a drug test (Biogen) or need a software patch to prevent planes from crash (BA).  

The best you can do is buy “the market” through an ETF (VOO and SPY are amongst the most common) and come back to check on them in 10 years to discover your money has likely doubled.

#hottakeoftheday