The Indomitable Investor: Why a Few Succeed in the Stock Market When Everyone Else Fails

Repetition and Velocity

To insure the investor laureate’s reports are widely circulated, banks and brokerage firms could be required to mail the investor laureate’s comments to all of their clients in a specially-designed envelope that indicates the material inside is more than just another prospectus or proxy or random regulatory disclosure document written by a lawyer.

The laureate could host a televised press conference each quarter to discuss the market. Repetition is important. Coupled with appearances in broadcast, print, and online media, this would help insure people hear the message. The more they hear the message the more they are likely to pay attention. A website detailing the sound principles of investing also would help. Naturally, Wall Street would decry this added regulatory burden. Critics might even complain that Wall Street is already one of the world’s most heavily regulated businesses, and it’s not fair to add another regulatory burden. The response to those complaints is simple: A lot of good the regulation does. Let Wall Street sponsor one less golf tournament, put one less bank’s name on one less stadium, and instead fund a serious investor education campaign that becomes a model for other nations that face similar financial struggles.

The boom and bust cycle of the economy and market will never be eliminated, but success can be measured one investor at a time, and perhaps, over time, fewer people will fall into the chasm that separates Main Street and Wall ...