What Can Baseball Teach You About Investing?

Oct. 28, 2011 - PRLog -- “Baseball can teach you a great deal about investing,” says Beth Blecker, CEO of Eastern Planning, Inc., a financial planning company started in 1995 that serves hundreds of clients nationwide.

Beth Blecker, RFC, CEO of Eastern Planning runs the business with her son, Eastern Planning President, Matthew Blecker, MBA, CFA®, CFP®. Matthew and Beth have established themselves as prominent New York financial planners who are experts in the financial planning industry. Both are avid baseball fans and both have developed 10 key tips about investing centered on the lessons learned on the baseball diamond.

What can baseball teach you about investing?
1.   In investing, it’s not about hitting home runs. It’s about a solid batting average. Being steady is more important than trying to hit an investment out of the park.
2.   Keep the errors to a minimum. Even the best fielders make an occasional error, and even the best investor will make a mistake on an investment. The key is to learn from your mistakes and not make the same mistake twice.
3.   Don’t balk. If you are afraid of the market, or afraid of the runner on first stealing second, you will not be effective.
4.   Along the same lines, when a team has a bad game, the team needs to shake it off. Every baseball player knows that losses are part of the game. Investing is similar. A few losses are part of the risk. The key is to look ahead to long-term goals.
5.   Sometimes it’s more important to place a pitch well than to try to blow a 100-mile an hour fastball by the batter. In the same way, investing is less about speed and more about precision. It may take you longer to reach your financial goals, but if you are precise with your investments, you will reach your goal.
6.   Think of your investment portfolio like a batting order. The manager creates a batting order for the team based on players’ strengths. In the same way, your portfolio should be diversified and structured to ensure the best possible outcome.
7.   A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or Certified Financial Advisor (CFA) is just like a manager and coach. Even the best teams need coaches and managers to help guide them. Even if you are a savvy investor, having a CFP or CFA on your side will only help you.
8.   We all know that baseball season is long. Teams play 162 regular season games from April to September and then, of course, we have the playoffs and World Series. Investing is similar. Investing is all about developing a long-term plan.
9.   One player can’t win a game. Just like one investment can’t sink or save your portfolio. Back to rule number six, diversification is key.
10.   Managers have to know when it’s time to trade a player. In the same way, CFPs and CFAs have to know when to lose an investment and cut the losses. You can’t hang onto a bad investment hoping it will turn around.

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Eastern Planning, Inc. is a financial planning company started in 1995. Eastern Planning has offices in Rockland County and Westchester County, New York.