Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of November 1, 2011?

Article Excerpt

I’ve often mentioned that I got my first investment job in 1964, at age 16, as a part-time assistant to an investment writer. My employer was generous with his time, and we often talked about the faults in my earliest investment ideas. One of the first of these talks centered on the upcoming 1964/1965 World’s Fair in New York City. I had heard about a new stock issue from a company that planned to set up some restaurants at the fair. I figured it had to be a huge success. After all, the fair was attracting great attention in the media and at my high school. That was sure to attract huge crowds who had to eat. My employer thought about that for a moment, then said, “Yes, but you’re not the only person who knows that.” I didn’t know it at the time, but this was my first glimpse of the two basic ways to make investment decisions: bottom-up and…