By

Allan Roth /

MoneyWatch/ April 3, 2012, 7:00 AM

10 lessons from the great stock crash and recovery

Wall Street Sign CBS/iStockphoto

U.S. stocks lost more than 55% of their value when they bottomed out on March 9, 2009.  On Monday, they set yet another all-time high. A balanced portfolio weathered the storm quite nicely.

So why is it that most investors are still way behind? The answer is simple: Expenses and emotions.

Unfortunately, most investors aren't all that great at learning from their mistakes, so they tend to repeat them.

Here are 10 lessons we can take from the great plunge and recovery to use the next time markets try to pick our pockets.


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    Allan S. Roth is the founder of Wealth Logic, an hourly based financial planning and investment advisory firm that advises clients with portfolios ranging from $10,000 to over $50 million. The author of How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street, Roth teaches investments and behavioral finance at the University of Denver and is a frequent speaker. He is required by law to note that his columns are not meant as specific investment advice, since any advice of that sort would need to take into account such things as each reader's willingness and need to take risk. His columns will specifically avoid the foolishness of predicting the next hot stock or what the stock market will do next month.

3 Comments Add a Comment
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meandeanKK says:
could you put more crap on your pages and then expect us idiots to reload 10 pages for this article?

oh, the gist... buy low sell high... yada yada...
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wildstar220 says:
Allan,
More fine work on your part - in particular, "Do the opposite of the gurus"; and, "Ignore the media". I'm somewhat surprised by the lack of comments though. However, I suppose that's what the gurus, the financial media, and the mammoth marketing infrastructure behind it all is always counting on - the general lack of attention span and the consumers' feelings of not knowing who to listen to. It allows them to conveniently ignore what's really happening.
Regards,
Dave
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TimeToEvolve replies:
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We have met the enemy and it is Wall Street. They have taken over the media to spew their free market scam and other propaganda. They have taken over the military so they can use our money and lives for their free trade scam. They have corrupted the courts all the way up to the Supreme Court and have the means to purchase the legislative branch elections.