There are so many things that we as investors think we know about the behaviour of stocks and the market in general. We’ve stored them as rigid assumptions based on our experience.

But those assumptions can often be completely wrong. This year has proven that time and again and we still have more than three months to go.

Here are some selected charts that investors may want to keep handy to remind them that just when you think you know something the opposite is often true.

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by Charlie Bilello, Compound Capital Advisors

Put these charts on your wall for reference the next time you think

  • All-time highs are a reason to sell…
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  • It’s “overbought” or “at resistance” and can‘t possibly go higher…
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  • Mortgage rates can’t go any lower…
  • Junk bond yields can’t possibly go down any more…
  • You can call a bubble/top without the benefit of hindsight…
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  • You know what’s “priced in”…
  • The Fed would never dismiss all signs of rising inflation and maintain the easiest monetary policy in history…
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  • Rising National Debt is bad for stocks…
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in markets that is absolutely true. Having a few extreme charts on your wall can be a helpful reminder that there is no such thing as “can’t,” “won’t,” or “has to” in markets.

The market doesn’t have to do anything, least of all what you think it should do. The market does what it wants, when it wants to do it.

It is the real-time personification of collective human psychology, with fear and greed on full display.

That’s what makes it so hard and at the same time so interesting. There are times when skepticism is warranted and other times when you need to suspend disbelief, with no manual to help you decipher which situation applies.

Find some charts that speak to you personally, and put them on your wall as a constant reminder that the range of possible outcomes is much wider than any of us think.

We’ve already seen a lifetime supply of material in 2021 and we still have a few months to go.

Related posts:

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12 New Quotes From Billionaire Investor Howard Marks