
Can Monkeys Pick Stocks Better Than Experts? - october_sky
https://www.automaticfinances.com/monkey-stock-picking/
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0xff00ffee
The misconception here is that people trade stocks in shouting matches on the
floor of the NYSE.

In reality, the vast majority of trading now happens in microseconds by
algorithms. The race to proximity in the 90's led to all traders getting the
same server space in the same room at the NYSE to avoid any time-delay
advantage. Now there are algorithms making trillions of trades a day.

People shouting on the trade floor is largely an anachronism.

To invoke a term by Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker), "Big Swinging Dicks" are
mostly just insider traders now, as the computers are doing all the work.
We've seen this writ large with the current administration: huge movements in
stocks before Tweets have been reported repeatedly. This isn't new, it's the
way it works: connections make you rich.

I've been on the investment wagon for 30+ years, and fundamentals remain the
same: diversify, buy and hold, buy index funds or low load funds, make steady
contributions. You can't really beat that unless you want to start gambling
(e.g., buying/selling stocks).

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tabtab
Can my "monkey" be Warren Buffett? A good many stock-pickers are bad at their
core job. They peddle in buzzwords and bullsh$t. But that doesn't mean all
stock pickers stink.

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blueboo
But it doesn't preclude the possibility that monkeys are, in general, better

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tabtab
Because monkeys don't quite understand office politics yet. Kissing up
properly trumps logic in Human World.

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glofish
There is a distinction between self-declared make-believe experts and actual
experts.

As long as you are putting in the work and you follow a sound method you can
beat the market.

Of course, that sound method is always more than running a stock screener or
backtest some random strategy. Do heavy-duty information discovery and track
down how a company works and you can find information that allows you to
select better than random.

