Analysts' opinions

gadgetmind

I've always avoided buying when an equity is bogged down with buy ratings, and similarly feel mildly encouraged when I see ranks of the wise shrieking "sell!"

Meta analysis (analysis of analysts) shows that this is a reasonable attitude to adopt.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/12/13/wallstpicks.aspx

pip895

Great article thanks - I always assumed share tips weren't worth the paper they are written on. The contrarian option is interesting - unfortunately in the OEIC universe where I mainly operate, that would appear to put me into UK Gilt's - only area there seems to be a sell consensus. Don't fancy that much. :rotfl:

Glen_Clark

A good read thanks. Here is another of my favorites - Jeremy Batstone recommending 10 stocks at the height of the dot com lunacy - just before they all crashed: http://www.theguardian.com/money/2000/jan/08/investinginshares.jobsandmoney1

Wilkins

It's always nice to be reminded of the self-serving nature of some financial professionals. Contrarianism is fine as long as it based on independent judgment and low correlation with tipsters rather then a reflex negative correlation. Just gainsaying the herd can sometimes be profitable but stocks can also perform poorly for pretty obvious reasons.


It seems clear to me that much of the investment industry is geared to short term trading for the sake of the steady income that flows from transaction costs. For the private investor, a good strategy is not so much doing the opposite of professional recommendations, but just ignoring them and doing very little.

Thrugelmir

pip895 wrote: »

Great article thanks - I always assumed share tips weren't worth the paper they are written on.

A fully researched independent article is very useful. As it's the timing of the purchase that really matters. Following a price every day normally provides a window of opportunity to buy at a good price.