Having lived through several financial crises – without disclosing how many as it would be rude to bring age into the equation – Outsider has seen his fair share of market mistakes over the years.
Following the herd, attempting to time the market, and buying at peak are the ones that spring to mind.
So, Outsider could not pretend to be surprised at Airlie portfolio manager Emma Fisher’s comments on how she is concerned the rising number of first-time investors to the market will end up ‘burnt’ if there is a market collapse.
Some 435,000 investors traded for the first time in 2020, many of them in the younger demographic.
While the so-called ‘lucky country’ has been less affected than other major markets such as the US and UK when it comes to a financial crash, this means younger investors may have the impression that ‘the market can only go up’. Understandably then, they will learn a sharp lesson if there is a crash.
For your humble Outsider, he would not pretend to know everything about investing but he can claim to have picked up a tip or two from the very pages of Money Management and is hopeful this knowledge will lead to a solid retirement for him and Mrs O (eventually).
