Gut feelings and the market

[Orbitalinvestor]

I know that fundamentals are important when choosing stocks to invest in but I also value my gut instinct. After all, our intestinal tract, stretching from our mouth to our anus has as many neurons as a cat has in it’s brain and our gut is full of so much life that it can react, via the rest of our neurology, to external factors, offering us a message that we are in danger… or in love! If a cat can catch a mouse, goes my reasoning, then my gut can catch a bargain!

It’s not just me that thinks gut instinct is important when trading shares. Billionaire Warren Buffet operates on Gut Instinct and George Sorros is guided by ‘Animal instincts’ and will sometimes change market positions when his back hurts.

Bearing in mind the fundamentals, what do you think about trading on gut instinct and what stories do you have about trading wins and losses based on ‘a feeling’ or a ‘something told me’? Do you have any suggested reading or ways to attune your skills?

Do you think it’s all rubbish and that any perceived skill is just chance, like flipping a coin?

Further reading:
Article: Is gut feeling really the secret key to trading success?
Goodreads: Trading from Your Gut: How to Use Right Brain Instinct & Left Brain Smarts to Become a Master Trader by Curtis Faith
Goodreads: The clever guts diet by Michael Mosley

[NeilB]

@Orbitalinvestor

Bearing in mind the fundamentals, what do you think about trading on gut instinct and what stories do you have about trading wins and losses based on ‘a feeling’ or a ‘something told me’? Do you have any suggested reading or ways to attune your skills?

Both the people mentioned are students of fundamentals, they might go ‘with their gut’ but that will only be after having read and digested the analysis. That’s not to say that sometime you get a good feeling for a company but it should, in my opinion, be the start or end of a journey based in facts.

I invested in GoPro this week. I covered them in my Monday piece. Their financials looked pretty tidy so the ‘gut’ is really about if one things that a. They can innovate a new product / range or b. Get acquired.
It think the latter so I’m now a share holder.

[NeilB]

@Orbitalinvestor

Article: Is gut feeling really the secret key to trading success?

The caveat section is great! “Bare in mind this might not mean anything and he only tested a few people”