Barry Ritholtz

Try Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS
CLICK HERE NOW

Apprenticed Investor: Protect Your Backside

10/28/05 - 10:34 AM EDT

Barry Ritholtz

If you're going to manage your own investments, it is crucial to ensure that no one disaster results in utterly catastrophic losses. The goal is to protect yourself -- not only from outright frauds such as Enron, WorldCom, and Global Crossing -- but from the legitimate firms whose shares got shellacked.

Think about the plummet we saw in Amazon AMZN, Yahoo YHOO, EMC EMC and Sun Microsystems SUNW after the tech bubble burst; the full list is way too long to detail here.

In my opinion, managing risk and limiting losses are the most consequential -- and underappreciated -- aspect of investing. Loss limitation has a much greater impact on portfolio performance than either stock selection or market timing. How you manage the risk in your holdings will have a more profound bearing on financial success than your stock selection.

It's a shame the subject is not "sexy" enough to warrant greater attention in the financial media.

Capital Lost

Enron currently stands as the U.S.'s largest corporate bankruptcy in terms of lost value -- about $66 billion. But don't think it takes a combination of fraud, deregulation and complicity from the bean counters for disasters of this magnitude to strike equity holders.

Previous «
1 2 3 4

Barry Ritholtz is chief market strategist for Maxim Group, where his research and market analysis are used by the firm's portfolio managers and clients in the U.S., Europe and Japan. He also publishes The Big Picture, his macro perspectives on the economy and geopolitics, entertainment and technology industries, and is a member of the board of directors of Burst.com, a streaming media software company. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Ritholtz appreciates your feedback; click here to send him an email.


Barry Ritholtz


10/27/05
Still Seeing Upside in Japan

The same strategy that got me bullish on Japan in 2003 remains intact.


09/14/05
Game Over in the Blog Search Space

Google's new search for blogs is far superior to those of its competitors.


09/09/05
Ignore the Pundits -- Katrina Will Hurt

The economy and stocks will feel the effects eventually, and the bull will die with a whimper.


05/19/08
Cramer on Top Searched Stocks: Yahoo!

Yahoo! is among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com. Here's what Cramer had to say about the stock recently.


05/17/08
Jim Cramer's Best Blogs

Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.


04/26/08
Coming Week: Make or Break

Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.


05/19/08
Top Rocket Stocks: Ensco

Ensco International and Echelon have the potential to move higher in coming days.


04/28/08
Monday's Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

See who made what calls.


05/19/08
Telecom Giants See a Savior in Video

The addition of video is helping telecom companies compete against cable and satellite companies.


05/19/08
Contract Expiration Tempers Oil's Rise

The June West Texas Intermediate contract reflects selling pressure ahead of Tuesday's expiration. But stocks in the sector are generally trading higher.


05/19/08
Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades: Amazon

See who made what calls.


Your Recent Quotes: Quote Up0 | Quote Down0
Dow S&P 500 NASDAQ
Oil*
Gold
10 Yr
0.00%
%
%
%
Data delayed 20 min
Sign up for our FREE newsletters now.

Keep on top of the market and the critical information you need to make more profitable investing decisions.

  • Cramer's Daily Booyah!
  • Before the Bell

Privacy Policy

See All Free Newsletters

Premium Stock Ideas