Comments on: Don’t Invest in the Company that You Work for http://alephblog.com/2008/08/29/dont-invest-in-the-company-that-you-work-for/ Helping Institutions and Ordinary People Invest Better by Focusing on Risk Control Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:02:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Cohenhttp://alephblog.com/2008/08/29/dont-invest-in-the-company-that-you-work-for/comment-page-1/#comment-19940 Michael Cohen Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:01:22 +0000 http://alephblog.com/?p=862#comment-19940 Amen! and i second the motion to that! Amen! and i second the motion to that!

]]> By: David Merkelhttp://alephblog.com/2008/08/29/dont-invest-in-the-company-that-you-work-for/comment-page-1/#comment-18490 David Merkel Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:07:33 +0000 http://alephblog.com/?p=862#comment-18490 In March 2000, I had the opposite problem. The St. Paul had traded down to 55% of liquidation value. I had my pension money conservatively invested, and gloom was pervasive at The St. Paul. I reviewed the balance sheet, and moved 100% into SPC common. I told one person, a close friend what I had done, and she was so horrified, that she told a few other people what I had done. People in the investment department came to me and told me this I was nuts. I ended up selling 4-5 months later for a double. I never expected it to move that quickly. I was expecting to hold for 2-5 years. At that point, everyone was coming to me and telling me they they were now buying into SPC as well. I told them that it was the wrong time. In the end, most of them lost money on their positions. One of the key problems for retail investors is that they chase performance. But that seems to be an unchangeable reality of the markets. In March 2000, I had the opposite problem. The St. Paul had traded down to 55% of liquidation value. I had my pension money conservatively invested, and gloom was pervasive at The St. Paul. I reviewed the balance sheet, and moved 100% into SPC common. I told one person, a close friend what I had done, and she was so horrified, that she told a few other people what I had done.

People in the investment department came to me and told me this I was nuts. I ended up selling 4-5 months later for a double. I never expected it to move that quickly. I was expecting to hold for 2-5 years. At that point, everyone was coming to me and telling me they they were now buying into SPC as well. I told them that it was the wrong time. In the end, most of them lost money on their positions.

One of the key problems for retail investors is that they chase performance. But that seems to be an unchangeable reality of the markets.

]]> By: matthttp://alephblog.com/2008/08/29/dont-invest-in-the-company-that-you-work-for/comment-page-1/#comment-18489 matt Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:52:45 +0000 http://alephblog.com/?p=862#comment-18489 I was recently rooting down my company's stock, hoping to find an entry point below book value (it might have made it if the SEC wouldn't have pulled that "do not short" crap). I wasn't too popular around the office, where I found waaaaaay too many people with 100 percent of their retirements in company stock. I was recently rooting down my company’s stock, hoping to find an entry point below book value (it might have made it if the SEC wouldn’t have pulled that “do not short” crap). I wasn’t too popular around the office, where I found waaaaaay too many people with 100 percent of their retirements in company stock.

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