I Flunked CNBC's Investment Quiz
I was surfing the web and ran across CNBC's Investment Quiz. My interest was piqued, so I thought I'd test my "skills." It turned out to be a 12 question quiz that asked such questions as:
- Which was the best performing stock of the decade?
- When was the last month the DOW Industrial Average traded above 13,000?
- Which country was not one of the top five performing emerging markets in 2010?
Each of the 12 questions had four multiple guess answers, so random guessing would have given me three correct answers (12 questions x 25% chance each). I actually gave this quiz my best shot, yet scored a 3 out of 12, meaning I did as good as random guessing.
Why I'm Touting My Failure
Make no mistake, I'm a competitive guy and I like to do well on tests. But this test had absolutely nothing to do with investing. Investing isn't about finding the best performing stock of the decade or the hottest performing country for next year. It certainly isn't about following an index with 30 stocks that doesn't even include their full return.
This CNBC quiz is actually a test of speculation rather than investing. I was thrilled when my son made a poor showing when he was forced to play The Stock Market Game in fourth grade, and I'm thrilled that I failed this test of speculation. I guess like father, like son!
Take the CNBC quiz. Don't be concerned if you do poorly, it may be a sign that you are actually a good investor.
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