The sledgehammer of stupidity (or, Why do I still hold cash?)
Holding cash doesn't look so good when everything from transportation stocks to techs are reaching new 52-week highs.
The stock market has been hammering those investors who still hold cash.
Photo illustration/Newscom
There may come a time for nuance and awareness among market players - but this ain't it.
Instead, the Sledgehammer of Stupidity is whacking away at the cautious players who've dared remain in cash-heavy positions. And this is all by design, of course.
The saying Don't Fight the Fed was invented for markets like this. I have companies in the portfolios I manage that are prospering and companies that are not. Some I own for growth and some for value. Virtually all are working higher, the only distinction is in the pace at which they do so.
And I know that I am underperforming, for I have the nerve to be keeping some cash! Scoundrel that I am! This in the face of new 52 week highs for the Trannies and the Techs and the Russell and Jarlsberg Cheese futures and, well, you get the idea.
My bullish-but-cautious stance may be vindicated with either a major correction or a minor dip - but from what level? My doubts for a better entry point grow with each glance at the Curling N' Bulls*%# Channel (CNBC) - what with its fancy new graphics redesign.
And so as I make the major mistake of actually reading the latest economic reports and headlines, I remain a Brooks Brothers-attired croquet ball, awaiting the smack of the Sledgehammer of Stupidity. This, while the ill-informed around me rush off to make their fortunes in the riskiest instruments they can get their hands on.
I hear it swinging toward me even now!
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