by Tom Bradley

I came across a wonderful analogy for investing. It comes from Josh Brown, The Reformed Broker.

One of my favorite analogies about the difference between the economy and the stock market centers around a man and his dog, walking through the park. The man’s course is steady, for the most part, as he strolls from one end of the park to the other. His hand clutches a leash which is attached to a dog, whose course is anything but steady. The dog darts left and right, hither and yon – lunging at a pigeon, scurrying backward in fear of a speeding bicycle, leaping up at his master spontaneously and stopping repeatedly to pee, bark or scratch himself.

The man continues forward, altering his pace from time to time and occasionally stopping to check his watch. The dog is frantic, careening back and forth, even if he ultimately ends up heading in the same direction as the man holding the leash. Most people are watching the dog, because the man is boring.