StuartBlog's BLOG

The last few days has seen me working on my own accounts. You know the stuff... Income, expenditures and taxes. Not a fun time, if I do say so myself.

However, it did remind me of just how difficult it can be to become a successful investor.

I am not an accountant and never will be. The idea of spending my entire life working by looking back at things that have happened would kill my spirit quickly. An optimist like myself would find it very difficult.

But, actually, dealing with accounts can be a very confusing and complicated task. I found myself muddled on a couple of occassions - and they are my accounts! For those of us without a formal training in number crunching, trying to understand the accounts of a company can be very problematic.

It can be easy for accountants to 'hide' what is really going on at a company. Just look at the mess Enron and Parmalat were in - their shareholders had no clue.

This is why I think it is vital for us all to try and improve our investment skills as much as we can. The 'lay person' starts with such a disadvantage in terms of research and analysis compared to a professional that constant improvement is a must.

Of course this is not easy. Although it can be argued that any worthwhile achievement is not easy. If it were, would there be any benefit in accomplishing the task?

Enough of my psuedo-philosophy...

If you are a regular investor, do you spend time trying to improve your skills? Do you schedule time and resources to make it happen, or is it very ad hoc?
However you do it, keep at it! The game of investment is played out over years, so there is always time for improvement. 

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