Why investing is simple but not easy

It would be no exaggeration to suggest that Morgan Housel is one of the most respected and well read financial writers in the United States and now in the United Kingdom. His ability to communicate timeless concepts and principles for investors, which apply to both American and British readers, is exceptional.

We continually search to bring educational, interesting and relevant material to your attention and his recently launched book The Psychology of Money – Timeless lessons on wealth greed and happiness is a must read, whether you are a new or experienced investor. We regularly use his articles alongside our own content.

Morgan spoke with Jason Zweig (Wall Street Journal) about his book and some of the content, specifically “why investing is simple, but not easy”.

Highlights of this discussion are as follows:

01:12  Two amazing stories about relationships with money and lessons for Investors. “Investing is not necessarily about what you know, it’s about how you behave.”
07:20  Why don’t Investors learn from their mistakes?
12:30  Why have stockmarkets moved (up and down) in the last few months?
13:30  The history of stockmarket declines
15:00  The three sides of risk (relating skiing to investing)
18:00  What drives fear and greed? “Luck and risk are really the exact same thing.”
24:35  The problems of predicting how you might behave or react in the future
27:40  How do people in other fields (medicine/military) deal with risk and uncertainty?
29:25  Why do I check the value of my investments too frequently!?

I’m going to stick my neck out and strongly recommend you watch the interview and also buy his book. No, we don’t benefit from this recommendation!

Please don’t dismiss this as American content which doesn’t apply to UK based investors, its timeless and transatlantic.

If you have a question about your investments or financial planning, please get in touch.