Boring is Beautiful in Investing

“French philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
The investor play on words here would be: “All portfolio problems stem from investor’s inability to stick with a boring old asset allocation.”
Successful investing should be boring. It should be long-term in nature. It requires patience and discipline and the ability to ignore the madness of the crowds.
But you can’t brag about boring to your friends and co-workers.
…..Everyone has a different appetite for risk. And even the boring stuff can get blown up from time to time. The stock market is obviously not immune to large losses.
But one of my biggest takeaways after nearly 20 years of working in the markets is survival is an underrated quality for success.
I’ve seen many portfolio managers, funds, fad investments and strategies blow up over the years.
There is something to be said for diligently following a strategy that is durable enough to survive many different kinds of market environments.
I don’t think it’s possible for 99% of the investing population to be exclusively invested in exciting stuff all the time.
Exciting stuff doesn’t always work. Nothing does.
You need the boring stuff as a ballast in your portfolio because the boring stuff always comes back in style.
When the boring stuff doesn’t work it usually means underperformance.
When the exciting stuff doesn’t work, you can lose all of your money.”