Don't be a victim

"When markets are at extreme highs or lows, the essential requirement for achieving a superior view of their future performance lies in understanding what's responsible for the current conditions. Everyone can study economics, finance, and accounting and learn how the markets are supposed to work. But superior investment results come from exploiting the differences between how things are supposed to work and how they do work in the real world. To do that, the essential inputs aren't economic data or financial statement analysis. The key lies in understanding prevailing investor psychology." As the Indian equity markets flutter around their all-time highs, these words from a recent memo published by famed investment manager Howard Marks on the website of his firm Oak Tree Capital should be carefully read and unde