4-minute Money Ideas

Should You Follow Investment Trends or Bet against the Masses? By Douglas Goldstein CFP® - helping olim handle their U.S. investments from Israel Today, many “investment trend” websites are enticing online traders to join. Investors who follow the trend – also known as “momentum trading” – invest in stocks based on rising market prices rather than company fundamentals. The strategy of following the investment trend performs best in a bull market. However, selling before the trend reverses is a skill that eludes most investors. When many investors buy the same stock, the market price can rise above the underlying value of the company. Eventually, as investors’ emotions stabilize, rationality may return, and prices fall into line with the fundamental value of the company (based on measures of revenues, earnings, etc.). Short-term momentum players who try to time market fluctuations seldom outperform buy-and-hold investors in the long term. The trend can be a false friend Herding behavior, whereby investors irra