What is long term investing

Investors are often swayed and confused by 24/7 financial media (or shall we say ‘entertainment’). For many part time investors, it is very understandable that they will grasp with whatever told by professionals or ‘great’ investors. Some of these talks are plainly trash. Some of them, however, are actually correct, putting under the right context.

Investing is perhaps one of few fields where consumers or average Joe play with financial professionals in the same arena (well, not necessarily on the same level of playing field).  You don’t see this in medical industry where average Joe is discouraged to cure himself without a doctor’s help. You don’t see this in engineering where you are required to at least take courses or get a certificate before you can operate an machine.

But the strange thing in investing is that you are encouraged and incentivized to go all in or do whatever you want because you are told that you are as good as or better than a professional. Brokerages devise many instruments for you to play with so that they can collect commissions or rake in the different spread between what you are paid in your cash and what they can get by lending your money to others such as U.S. Treasury. Fund companies want you to invest in their funds so that they can collect their management fees.  Financial media want to attract your eyeballs or ears by putting out many ‘interesting’ shows (think CNBC), as sensational as possible.