Debunkery

Legendary money manager Ken Fisher outlines the mostcommon--and costly--mistakes investors make.* Small cap stocks are best for all time. Bunk!* A trade deficit is bad for markets. Bunk!* Stocks can't rise on high unemployment. Bunk!Many investors think they are safest following widely acceptedWall Street wisdom--but much of Wall Street wisdom isn't sowise. In fact, it can be costly bunk.In Debunkery: Learn It, Do It, and Profit FromIt--Seeing Through Wall Street's Money-Killing Myths, KenFisher--named one of the 30 most influential individuals ofthe last three decades by Investment Advisor magazine--detailswhy so many investors fail to get the long-term results theydesire. The short answer is many investors fail to question if whatthey believe is true--and are therefore blinded by tradition,biases, ideology, or any number of cognitive errors.Your goal as an investor shouldn't be to beerror-free--that's impossible. Rather, to be more successful,you should aim to lower your error rate. Debunkery gets youstarted by debunking 50 common myths--but that's just thebeginning. It also gives you the tools you need to continue to doyour own debunkery for the rest of your investing career.

Acknowledgments ixIntroduction: Debunkery Made Easy xiiiPART 1 Basic Bunk to Make You Broke 1Bunk 1 Bonds Are Safer Than Stocks 5Bunk 2 Well-Rested Investors Are Better Investors 9Bunk 3 Retirees Must Be Conservative 13Bunk 4 Age Equals Asset Allocation 17Bunk 5 You Should Expect Average Returns 20Bunk 6 "Capital Preservation and Growth" Is Possible! 23Bunk 7 Trust Your Gut 26Bunk 8 One Big Bear and You're Done 30Bunk 9 Make Sure It's a Bull Before Diving In 34Bunk 10 Growth Is Best for All Time. No, Value. No, Small Caps39Bunk 11 A Good Con Artist Is Hard to Spot 44PART 2 Wall Street "Wisdom" 49Bunk 12 Stop-Losses Stop Losses! 51Bunk 13 Covered Calls . . . Gotcha Covered 54Bunk 14 Dollar Cost Averaging--Lower Risk, Better Returns57Bunk 15 Variable Annuities Are All Upside, No Downside 60Bunk 16 Equity-Indexed Annuities--Better Than NormalAnnuities 65Bunk 17 Passive Investing Is Easy 68Bunk 18 Do Better With Mutual Funds by Sending Your Spouse on aShopping Spree 72Bunk 19 Beta Measures Risk 75Bunk 20 Equity Risk Premiums--Forecasting Future ReturnsWith Ease 80Bunk 21 When the VIX Is High, It's Time to Buy 84Bunk 22 Be Confident on Consumer Confidence 88Bunk 23 All Hail the Mighty Dow! 92PART 3 "Everyone Knows" 99Bunk 24 So Goes January 101Bunk 25 Sell in May 104Bunk 26 Low P/Es Mean Low Risk 107Bunk 27 A Strong Dollar Is Super 112Bunk 28 Don't Fight the Fed 116Bunk 29 Interest Pays Dividends 120Bunk 30 Buy a 5% CD for 5% Cash Flow--Easy! 123Bunk 31 Baby Boomers Retire, World Ends, Etc. 126Bunk 32 Concentrate to Build Wealth 130PART 4 History Lessons 135Bunk 33 Pray for Budget Surpluses 137Bunk 34 High Unemployment Is a Killer 143Bunk 35 With Gold, You're Golden 148Bunk 36 Stocks Love Lower Taxes 152Bunk 37 Oil and Stocks Seesaw 158Bunk 38 Swine Flu, SARS, Ebola, and Other Viral Disasters MakeMarkets Sick 163Bunk 39 Consumers Are King 167Bunk 40 Presidential Term Cycles Are Stock Market Voodoo 172Bunk 41 My Political Party Is Best for Stocks 178Bunk 42 Stock Returns Are Too High and Must Fall 182PART 5 It's a Great Big World! 187Bunk 43 Foreign Stocks Just Feel So . . . Foreign 189Bunk 44 Who Needs Foreign? 192Bunk 45 Big Debt Is National Death 195Bunk 46 America Can't Handle Its Debt 199Bunk 47 Indebted to China 202Bunk 48 Trade Deficits Make Deficient Markets 206Bunk 49 GDP Makes Stocks Grow 211Bunk 50 Terrorism Terrorizes Stocks 215Notes 219About the Authors 228Index 229