The perils of trading too often

Some years ago, I was introduced to a marvelous book by Robert Lichello called “How to Make $1,000,000 in the Stock Market Automatically.” What intrigued me about the book was the ‘automatic’ nature of the investing process.

To be clear, the Covestor Sustained Momentum portfolio is not based on the Lichello Strategy, which involves shifting between a mutual fund and a cash account based on underlying market performance.

There is a famous study by Terry Odean from Berkeley who studied trades of amateurs. The bottom line is that over-trading reduced performance. I can relate to that observation. Who among us can claim not to feel fear when the stocks swoon or euphoria when they climb?

During the last two months there were no big changes in my portfolio. I sold shares in Colgate (CL) which dropped out of the top eleven and purchased shares in Microsoft (MSFT). Microsoft’s stock hasn’t performed well and was sold. Shares of Colgate were repurchased.

The other ten stocks in the portfolio as of August 31, 2013, include Amazon (AMZN), Walt Disney (DIS), Ford (F), Johnson Controls (JCI), Nordstrom (JWN), Morningstar (MORN), PetSmart (PETM), ResMed (RMD), Meridian Bioscience (VIVO), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX).

Again, I thank those who have chosen to mirror me in this account and would like to express my sincere appreciation to my friends at Covestor who continue to support me in my own desire to expand upon my investing hobby into something more substantial.

The investments discussed are held in client accounts as of August 31, 2013. These investments may or may not be currently held in client accounts. The reader should not assume that any investments identified were or will be profitable or that any investment recommendations or investment decisions we make in the future will be profitable.