There is a prevailing trend of short-termism in the market that has polluted the definition of what it means to be an “investor.” Investment time horizons for many are now defined in terms of days, weeks, and months rather than years. Furthermore, there now seems to be an emphasis on owning stocks rather than holding an ownership position in publicly-traded companies.

I attribute the shift in the investment time horizon and mentality to the delusional period of the Internet bubble, the commoditization and ease of stock trading, and the saturation of real-time news and commentary that comes with the in-your-face business TV programs, the mostly free domain of the Internet, and the rise of social media.

Real-time information is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a very good thing, assuming of course the real-time information is good information. However, we are now culture-bound with information overload that can – and does – make it exceedingly challenging for individual investors to maintain the conviction of their investment beliefs.

Separately, we are seeing retail investors disengage from the equity market, having been burned by two bear markets over the last ten years and punctuated by a genuine crash in equity prices between September 2008 and March 2009.

This is understandable as the return of capital has taken precedence over the return on capital. Still, it is bothersome to us because many of those investors probably missed most, if not all, of the 100% rebound off the March 2009 low and are now resigned to accept negative real returns in cash accounts that are a recipe for long-term underperformance.