Comments on: It’s a Stock Picker’s Market

By: Investing 101

Investing 101 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:19:24 +0000

It would be nice if those people doling out such lines as “it’s a stock picker’s market” were required to actually sit there and explain to the general public (as opposed to people who “get” finance) what they mean.

Otherwise, they’ll keep looking like geniuses, saying stuff that doesn’t actually mean much, and keep getting paid for it!

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:01:21 +0000

I believe this is true too right now. Volatility is going through the freaking ROOF!

Time to pick wisely.

By: Dylan

Dylan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:46:05 +0000

I’ve recently started reading your blog, and you have a lot of great stuff here.

“Stock picker’s market,” is redundant as stock pickers are what make a market into a market, so in that sense, I agree that is is always a, “stock picker’s market.”

I think the message many financial commentators trying to communicate with that phrase is that current conditions favor the stock pickers to beat the market (vs. indexing). However, if the stock pickers are the market, that group cannot beat themselves, an ever present condition. For one stock picker to better the market by $1, another stock picker must lose to it by $1, and they both still have expenses too. Because of those expenses, stock pickers collectively must actually underperform vs. the market, no matter what market environment we’re in. So in that sense, it can never be a, “stock pickers’ market.”