Hyperion managing director Tim Samway said investment managers who persist in holding a short-term view of the market are unlikely to be acting in the best interests of ordinary investors.
“Investors who want a long-term, secure retirement should be focusing on strategies that incorporate a robust investment process that will secure long-term sustainable returns and preservation of capital,” said Mr Samway.
“The point is, with very few exceptions – such as professional traders or speculative investors – equities investing is a long-term game. Treating it as anything else is one sure way to erode gains.”
Mr Samway said it is important for investors and their advisers to make decisions about their holdings on quality, long-term performance data rather than based on fluctuations.
“The simple fact is that stocks cannot be expected to just rise and rise. The nature of the market is that they will rise and fall. The purpose of sound investing is to ensure that, over the long term, the rises outweigh the gains,” he said.
Mr Samway also said that despite reasons for the “current mood” of short-term investing, investors should not be diverted from a long-term view.
“Whether it is the shorter news cycle, the increased sensitivity to market news since the GFC, a heightened sense of awareness about superannuation outcomes, the noise that surrounds this kind of unhelpful and often ill-informed market ‘analysis’ remains just that – noise,” he said.
