Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of April 29, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Most successful investors have a good grasp of “bells & whistles” as an investment concept, even if they think about it under a different name. The term refers to nonessential features or enhancements that aim to add commercial appeal to a newly created product. Like real bells and whistles, these features or enhancements attract attention but add little if any value. In fact, they may detract from a product’s value. When investment firms create new financial products, they follow the lead of top marketers in fast food, consumer products, smartphones and so on. All these marketers study their customers to see what appeals to them. If they see a feature has appeal—it may be “high definition” or “gluten-free” or “hedged against the Canadian dollar”—they may add it to the mix to make the product more salable. The feature need not be a good use of the customer’s money, or a healthful choice, or otherwise in the customers’ best interest. You may want to…