I asked myself when the extra 10k or so landed in my account this month. "Take a vacation first" was my answer. In no time at all, half of it was gone.
At the stop & go on the way to my vacation, I had the epiphany about what to do with the rest. I observed the cars, the behavior of the drivers and my own.
There were those who stayed in one lane for a long time and then changed lanes after everyone had overtaken on the left or right. They made the slowest progress, as things ran more smoothly in their old lane shortly after the lane change. Just like on the stock exchange. Back and forth empties your pockets. Or: You don't trust the performance of a share, but when everyone is invested, the FOMO kicks in, but by then it's already too late.
Then there were those who remained steadfastly on one track. I was one of them. You make constant progress. Sometimes it goes a little faster, sometimes a little slower, but you can make good progress with little effort. The world's ETF investors among drivers, so to speak.
But there were also the aggressive lane changers. Whenever there were the first signs that the momentum was shifting to the other lane, they exploited even the smallest gap to change lanes. That didn't always work. But most of the time it did. On average, these drivers made the fastest progress. But at what cost? Of course they annoyed all the other drivers. But it was also super stressful for the drivers themselves. Always looking "Where is it faster now?", "Where is the next gap?", "Oh, I can squeeze in there, the other one is already braking.". That would be nothing for me. That's why I no longer invest in individual stocks. But it would be great if you could take advantage of the right momentum and benefit from an excess return. But without all the effort.
Wait a minute. Exploit momentum? Momentum strategy? Isn't there something about @Epi ? Without any effort on my part? That's exactly where the other half of my bonus payment should go. So that I can get through the traffic jam as quickly as possible. Without stress.
