Mar 10 2008
Phil Town
Phil is an investment expert who was speaking about how individuals can invest to make great returns. I really enjoyed his presentation because he reiterated a lot of ideas I am familiar with and have preached to family and friends who generally choose not to believe me.
The basic ideas:
- Money managers make over 800 billion in commissions each year, so they have a vested interest in managing your money and maintaining control of the markets
- The most popular mutual funds results mirror the S&P 500 but charge fees
- You should focus on about 5 stocks
- Technology and freedom of information has given the individual investor power they never had before
- 85% of the market is controlled by fund managers, but because of their size they need to move very slowly when entering or exiting a position, so the individual investor can spot trends and profit because they can move so quickly
- He was a follower of the Buffet school of investing
- Rate of return is not = to risk. Its like if you drive your car it is not risky, but your 11 year old driving would be. More knowledge and skill = greater rates of return.
I ended up buying a package that included training and use of some investor tools. Ironically I have no money free to play with in the markets right now, but you know me I’m obsessed with learning and seminars and every bit of knowledge I can get my hands on. As I free up some money and start testing it out I will keep everyone updated about the results.