Posts tagged ‘TMI’
Eggs or Oatmeal: Binging on Over-Analysis
I about chuckled my way out of my chair when ESPN reminded me of the absurd over-analysis that takes place in the sports world (I can’t wait for the 8 hour pre-game show before the upcoming Super Bowl) through a 30-second, football commercial. Typically when sports analysts get together, the most irrelevant issues are scrutinized under a microscope. After endless wasted amounts of time, the viewer is generally left with lots of worthless information about an immaterial topic. In this particular video, San Diego NFL quarterback Phillip Rivers innocently asks Sunday Countdown football analysts Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson, and Cris Carter whether they would like some eggs or oatmeal for breakfast?
Mayhem ensues while the analysts breakdown everything from the pros of frittatas and brats to the cons of cholesterol and sauerkraut. After listening to all the jaw flapping, Phillip Rivers is left dejected, banging his head against the kitchen refrigerator. It is funny, I feel much the same way as Phillip Rivers does when I’m presented with same overkill analysis found plastered over the financial media and blogosphere.
Analysis of Over-Analysis
Just as I mock the excess analysis occurring in the financial world, I will move ahead and assess this same over-thinking (that’s what we bloggers do). If this much analysis takes place when examining simple options such as eggs vs. oatmeal, or AFC vs. NFC, just imagine the endless debate that arises when discussing the merits of investing in a simple, diversified domestic equity mutual fund. Sounds simple on paper, but if I want to be intellectually honest, I first need to compare this one fund versus the thousands of other equity fund offerings, not to mention the thousands of other ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), bond funds, lifecycle funds, annuities, index funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, and other basket-related investment vehicles.
Mutual funds are only part of the investment game. We haven’t even scratched the surface of individual securities, futures, options, currencies, CDs, real estate, mortgage backed securities, or other derivatives.
The investment menu is virtually endless (see TMI – Too Much Information), and new options are created every day – many of which are indecipherable to large swaths of investors (including professionals).
Sidoxia’s Questions of Engagement
Not all analysis is psychobabble, but separating the wheat from the manure can be difficult. Before engaging in the never-ending over-analysis taking place in the financial world, answer these three questions:
1.) “Do I Care?” If the latest advance-decline statistics on the NYSE don’t tickle your fancy, or the latest “breaking news” headline on monthly pending home sales doesn’t float your boat, then maybe it’s time to do something more important like…absolutely anything else.
2.) “Do I Understand?” If conversation drifts towards complex currency swaptions comparing the Thai Baht against the Brazilian Real, then perhaps it’s time to leave the room.
3.) “Is This New News?” Not sure if you heard, but there’s this new shiny metal called gold, and it’s the cure-all for inflation, deflation, and any-flation (hyperbole for those not able to translate my written word sarcasm). The point being, ask yourself if the information you receive is valuable and actionable. Typically the best investment ideas are not discussed 24/7 over every media venue, but rather in the boring footnotes of an unread annual report.
Investing in the Stock Market
For individual securities it’s best to stick to your circle of competence with companies and industries you understand – masters like Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett appreciate this philosophy. Once you find an investment opportunity you understand, you need a way of appraising the value and gauging a company’s growth trajectory. As Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have described, “value and growth are two sides of the same coin.” Cigar-butt investing solely using value-based metrics is not enough. Even value jock Warren Buffet appreciates the merit of a good business with sustainable expansion prospects. As a matter of fact, some of Buffett’s best performing stocks are considered the greatest growth stocks of all-time. If you cannot assign a price (or range), then you are merely playing the speculation game. Speculation often comes in the form of stock tips (i.e.,stock broker or Jim Cramer) and day trading (see Momentum Investing and Technical Analysis).
We live in a world of endless information, and the analysis can often become overkill. So when overwhelmed with data, do yourself a favor by asking yourself the three questions of engagement – that way you will not miss the forest for the trees. As for stocks, stick with industries and companies you understand and develop a disciplined investment process by appraising both the growth and valuation components of the investment. If making these decisions are too difficult, perhaps you should stay in the kitchen and have Phillip Rivers whip you up some scrambled eggs or serve you a bowl of oatmeal.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds, but at the time of publishing SCM had no direct position in DIS, BRKA/B, or any other security referenced in this article. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
TMI: The Age of Information Overload
In raising the issue of TMI (“Too Much Information”), I’m not referring to your parents talking about their sex life, but rather the explosion of data that is flooding our society.
How much data is creeping into our daily lives? The issue impacts all professions, but is especially acute in the investment world. A recent study, co-authored by Roger Bohn and James Short (Directors at the Global Information Industry Center at UC San Diego’s School of International Relations and Pacific Studies), tackles this elusive measurement problem of TMI.
Everyday Life1
One need not become a rocket scientist to figure out we are being inundated with information. The average household already receives 120 TV channels, with no signs of slowing. I love sports just as much as the average person, but do I really need six flavors of ESPN? Or seven different HBO channels? Our TVs (a.k.a., “god box”) even carries the “GOD TV” channel. Does this mean I don’t have to go to church anymore?
Data is permeating other areas as well. Microchips are infiltrating our microwaves, refrigerators and automobiles. The average car now contains more than 50 processors, including a butt-warming car seat chip. Suffice it to say, information is becoming pervasive.
Gorging on Information – Zettabytes at a Time
I think most reasonable people would agree the typical person is consuming more information, but exactly how much? Through Bohn and Short’s rigorous study, they determined Americans consumed 3.6 zettabytes in 2008. A zettabyte is equivalent to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes (21 zeroes), equating to about 10,845 trillion words. This statistic translates into the consumption of approximately 34 gigabytes (about 1/5 the storage in a standard laptop) per day by each American.
Put another way, Kathleen Parker at the Washington Post, calculated the total amount of data produced in 2006 was 3 million times more data than the information contained in all the books ever written.
Investor Dilemma: Paralysis from Analysis
There’s no question in my mind that data can become overwhelming in the investment world. Focusing on the endless concerns spewed over the media can lead to investment paralysis. Each in every day I hear why the world is going to end, or why an investment du jour will rocket to the moon. Not only are the messages schizophrenic, but the quantity is unending. As I mention in my book, while I managed a $20 billion fund, I could receive 500 e-mails, 100 voicemails, and hundreds of pages of hard copy reports and faxes on a daily basis. Completely reviewing the data received in a day’s work could theoretically take weeks, if not months.
Today, the voluminous flow is not retreating, but instead we are seeing new avenues of information distribution, including, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, instant messaging, YouTube, LinkedIn, and numerous other social networking outlets. With the 24/7 daily news cycles, and instantaneous transferability of information, the internet has become a convenience but also a source of heightened anxiety levels. Rather than giving up and throwing in the towel, I willfully accept the challenge to navigate through the masses of data. Automated spam filters, topic alerts, and aggregated news readers are a few basic examples of managing data through technology.
The Surplus Solution
The simple solution to TMI is ignoring and filtering the data. This objective is easier said than done, especially for the inexperienced. Deciphering and tracking the endless creation of new acronyms, alone, can become a full-time job for the less familiar.
The best advice, which I continually take to heart, comes from legendary investor Peter Lynch who states:
‘‘If you spend more than 14 minutes a year worrying about the market, you’ve wasted 12 minutes.’’ He hammers home the point that timing the market based on noisy data is a losing cause. “Anyone can do well in a good market, assume the market is going nowhere and invest accordingly,” adds Lynch.
The other option is to simply outsource the responsibility. Time-strapped professionals follow this strategy when it comes to tax and legal advice, but for some reason many ill-equipped individuals feel they can adequately handle the arguably most important aspect of their financial existence…their investments. While finding an experienced and trusted professional can take some time, it is not an insurmountable task (see my article on selecting an advisor).
Follow a Plan
As the accelerating amounts of data rise in volume, individuals can choose from the following options: 1) Embrace the power of technology to efficiently manage, organize, and filter our consumption of data; or 2) Become slaves to its overwhelming control. I choose the former. Gaining perspective in light of the daily vortex of data we plug ourselves into can be challenging. Taking a step away from the emotional pressures of the daily grind, and exhaling will help you see the forest from the trees. After taking a breather from the chaos, returning to your long-term, disciplined, systematic plan – designed by you or your advisor – will assist you in taming the TMI monster.
Read Full Article from Roger Bohn and James Short
1. Data from Roger Bohn and James Short’s 2009 How Much Information? Report.
Wade W. Slome, CFA, CFP®
Plan. Invest. Prosper.
DISCLOSURE: Sidoxia Capital Management (SCM) and some of its clients own certain exchange traded funds and shares of GOOG, but at time of publishing had no direct positions in DIS, WPO, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. No information accessed through the Investing Caffeine (IC) website constitutes investment, financial, legal, tax or other advice nor is to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Please read disclosure language on IC “Contact” page.
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