Investor Resources
Risk-Taking: It’s Personal
- August 26, 2010
Whether we like it or not, biases affect how we make decisions. The personal experiences we have with races, cultures and even brands can have a large effect on what we like and what we don’t.
These biases also impact investment decisions. A study from the University of California and Stanford showed that, when it comes to risk-taking, personal experience carries far more weight than knowledge of market events.
For instance, someone who lost money when the tech bubble burst a decade ago may completely avoid the tech sector - once bitten, twice shy.
The risk-taking study found that people who grew up during the 1970s market doldrums were less likely to buy stocks than those who remembered the 1950s and 1960s boom years. For many, this meant they missed out on the great bull market of the 1980s and 1990s.
We’re seeing a similar scenario play out today as investors hurt in the 2008-09 stock market collapse continue to pour money into Treasury bonds to avoid risk even though Treasury yields are near historic lows.
This chart from Stifel Nicolaus shows the 10-year rolling return of the S&P Stock Market Composite going back nearly two centuries – current performance (inside the circled area) is at low levels only seen during the Great Depression.
The data keeps many investors on the sidelines, while others see an opportunity to snap up equities at bargain prices.
Building and maintaining a portfolio isn’t easy. To help educate investors on the benefits of commodity-linked investments, we’ve scheduled a webcast on September 9 with asset allocation guru Roger Gibson. Roger wrote the definitive guidebook on long-term investing, Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk*, and will be sharing his 25 years of educational experience with investors.
Click here to register and to find out more information about the event.
*By clicking the link above, you will be directed to Amazon.com. U.S. Global Investors does not endorse all information supplied by this website and is not responsible for its content. The S&P Stock Market Composite is a combination of major market indices used to gauge overall equity performance dating back to the earliest days of the market. Diversification does not protect an investor from market risks and does not assure a profit.
Net Asset Value
as of 02/06/2012
- Global Resources Fund
PSPFX $10.23 -0.03 - Gold and Precious Metals Fund
USERX $13.96 -0.09 - World Precious Minerals Fund
UNWPX $14.82 -0.12 - China Region Fund
USCOX $7.69 -0.07 - Eastern European Fund
EUROX $9.12 -0.01 - Global Emerging Markets Fund
GEMFX $7.57 -0.03 - Global MegaTrends Fund
MEGAX $8.18 -0.04 - All American Equity Fund
GBTFX $24.12 No Change - Holmes Growth Fund
ACBGX $18.88 +0.02 - Tax Free Fund
USUTX $12.81 No Change - Near-Term Tax Free Fund
NEARX $2.28 No Change - U.S. Government Securities Savings Fund
UGSXX $1.00 No Change - U.S. Treasury Securities Cash Fund
USTXX $1.00 No Change



