Ten honest questions to ask yourself before you are investing in any financial product.... especially in this bull market...
1. Am I buying this product because everyone else is buying it? Fundamentally, remember, you don't create alpha by buying what everyone else is buying at a price similar or higher than them.
2. Am I buying a debt product that will give me significantly higher returns than the risk free rate? With consistency or guarantees? Immediate red flag. Free lunches don't exist in finance. Returns greater than the risk free rate, don't come risk free.
3. Do I know in what circumstances this product will make money, and why it will do so? Has that happened in the past? I can't emphasize enough the importance of looking at rolling returns carefully to have realistic return expectations.
4. Do I know in what circumstances this product will lose money, and why it will do so? When has it lost money in the past, especially extreme money? Do these times mirror times like this?
