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Signal, noise and timing

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Read WSJ article about timing the market. In horse racing and investing both - timing seems to be a rare trick.




Humans seem to be of a couple of minds. These collide as they consider the issue of timing. That emerges as writer Jason Zweig reviews upcoming book Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks. The book says markets move in multiyear cycles - that is an issue of special conjecture now as the market looks primed for yet another year of fantastic upness, but with, as always, many pesky  piranha of doom prowling. 

Turing points can be recognizable, but they are rare and far apart. Investors who think they see turning point as they look at short term signals are usually looking at noise. Mr. Marks holds that we cant predict the future but we can identify where we are in a cycle.* That calls for study of long cycles. And all you can hope for is to reduce risk at the right time and take on risk at the right time - that instead of "Mastering the cycle" [Marks prefers the book's subtitle "Getting the odds on your side" - a goal which seems to be the only thing that top-notch handicappers have in common.



Marks' bon-mots: Recent performance doesn't tell us anything we can rely on about the short-term future but it does tell us something about the longer term probabilities or tendencies." While mood-driven human nature mitigates against this.

The position he advises right now is one moderately tilted toward defense.

Came across another discussion. In none other than The Signal and Noise, which I endeavor to finish, even tho portions seem to be on the dismal science. Again.. there are two minds of people one is slow track one is fast track  one is analysis one is noise they both exist since the market is composed of humans in the end. 

Silver says a basic statistical Power Law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law ) works to some degree to i.d. bubbles. noting a lot of people saw the 2008 bubble ahead of time.

*Re "identify where we are in a cycle" - And, came across yet another discussion (Boy things are all coming together!) . In none other than Stock Market Logic, a book inherited from my dear dad. This is just the basics, mam - in fact, the original purpose of The Dow Index was to identify the present trend of the market, not forecast its future!

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