Although all of the eight companies in the initial BloggingStocks pool are great companies, they are not often great investments -- unless you own them in an index fund and are investing in the overall market. Otherwise, you are placing a BET (which is exactly what you are doing, don't deny it) or more precisely a wager, that you know more than everyone else. Since there is not much likelihood of that, you must choose your wagers carefully. Your proposition (wager) is not only that your stock pick has a greater probability of going up in value versus down, but, that it will increase more than the average of the overall market AND that it will do so after accounting for fees and taxes. THIS IS HARD TO DO!

This is why Great Companies are only SOMETIMES Great Investments. It matters what you pay for them and when you pay it. Since I am not licensed to advise anyone about investments I can best exemplify this by sharing my own actions and those of other more noteworthy investors.

Continue reading Great companies: SOMETIMES great investments.

Great companies: SOMETIMES great investments. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 May 2006 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.