Many people assume successful investing comes from picking winners. The way you win is by producing alpha and outsmarting the market. There is an infinitesimal percentage of the population that can do this consistently over the long haul. For the rest of us, success looks more like survival. Those investors who can survive their own mistakes, avoid blowing themselves up and generally stick to a reasonable investment process have a higher probability of success in the markets. Survival is even more important during down markets. In down markets, investors start pressing, doing more, trying to time the market and ... (full story)