Historically, excessive greed sets the stage for losses, and excessive fear sets the stage for outsized gains. And the fear is here.
Primary 2011 lesson: A conservative company does not equal a safe investment, particularly in uncertain times.
The genetic algorithms we have should find the best optimizations themselves, without having to perform exhaustive studies.
Investing may be compared with seafaring. When operating in the financial markets, we are effectively engaging in a voyage carrying a valuable cargo to a faraway destination.
Long treasury bonds in particular are lauded for their security. Although there is no risk to the coupon, higher inflation is a significant risk to long term purchasing power and higher interest rates are a short tern risk to capital.
Like a liquid, money will always flow to fill a void. In 2012, there will be a lack of attractive voids where money can flow.
The top performing ETF on the entire list was the 20-Year+ Treasury ETF (TLT) with a gain of 28.82% in 2011.