On Market Timing & Whiskey

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about market timing. All right, here is how I feel about market timing: If when you say market timing you mean the loser’s game, the fool’s errand, the speculator’s effort that separates savers from their capital, turns investors into gamblers, lines the greedy pockets of brokers, strategists, and newsletter writers, challenges the irrefutable logic of efficient markets, yea, literally plunders the wealth from widows and retirees; if you mean the evil action that disrupts the well counseled man and woman from the pinnacle of appropriate strategic asset allocation, balanced objectives, long-term orientation into the bottomless pit of fear, and greed, and meaningless noise, high expenses, and tax inefficiency, and short-termism, then certainly I am against it.