An Investor's Biggest Blind Spot
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One of the things I love most about dividend investing is that the process is so simple: buy stocks, hold onto them, collect the dividend income, and reinvest it until you’re ready to retire. That’s pretty much all it takes.
And like Warren Buffett, a dividend investor’s favorite holding period is forever. When you buy a new stock, the best-case scenario is never having to sell it, allowing you to sit back and rake in that dividend income for as long as you live.
Now, while the idea of holding a stock forever is fun to think about, reality usually has other plans for your portfolio.
Throughout what I’m sure will be a mostly successful, multi-decade investing career, you’re bound to make some bad calls along the way. No one gets every investment right—not even Warren Buffett—and you’ll realize that not every stock is worth holding onto forever, and some are worth getting rid of ASAP.
With that said, removing the dead weight from your portfolio is always easier said than done. Selling out of what turned out to be a bad investment means admitting you were wrong—and that’s the last thing anyone wants to do.
Being wrong feels like an attack on your intellect, maybe even your entire identity. But here’s the thing: investing isn’t so black and white, and treating it that way can be dangerous.
When you think of your beliefs in absolutes—either as 100% right or 100% wrong—you set yourself up to fall into cognitive traps. Any information that contradicts what you initially thought feels like a personal attack, leaving you with two choices: admit you were wrong (which feels terrible) or dismiss the new information to keep believing you’re right.
Naturally, most people choose the latter.
In investing, this happens all the time. Imagine you’ve spent a month researching a stock, and are convinced it’s a great investment, so you pull the trigger.
Then, some new data or news comes out that causes the stock’s share price to completely plummet. Maybe the company missed its earnings expectations, or maybe the CFO got a DUI…something like that.
Now you’re at a crossroads: either rethink your position or convince yourself the bad news doesn’t matter. And since it’s easier and feels a lot better to think you were right all along, you’ll be tempted to dismiss the bad news and stick to your original opinion.
Sometimes, that ends up being the right call. But not 100% of the time.
On the flip side, if the stock’s share price suddenly shoots up, you’ll feel validated and won’t even think to question the new information because it aligns with your original belief.
But here’s where it gets dangerous: this kind of thinking creates blind spots. When you only accept information that confirms your beliefs, you’re no longer investing based on objective reality—you’re investing based on emotion.
So, how do you avoid this trap?
You do it by treating your beliefs as fluid, not set in stone. Instead of always thinking you’re either 100% right or 100% wrong, think of new information as an opportunity to fine-tune your point of view.
Maybe you weren’t completely wrong (once again, investing is rarely that black and white), but the situation has changed, and that’s okay. Admitting that doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re learning and adapting.
In the end, successful investing isn’t about protecting your ego or maintaining a perfect score. It’s about growing your wealth and your wisdom, and you do that by staying open-minded and being willing to adjust your perspective—even when it’s uncomfortable.
In other words, investing is not a pass/fail test. It’s a lifelong learning curve.
With that said, I want to hear from you: When was the last time you misjudged an investment, and what did you learn from it? Write to me here and let me know.
Also, if you want to learn about a big mistake I recently made with an investment, check out the video here.
Dividend Investing Democratized
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Also, you can follow me on getquin (@ryne) to see all of my posts, check out my portfolio in real-time, and see all of my purchases + dividend payments as they come in.
IN MY PORTFOLIO 📈
Track your portfolio for free with getquin. You can also follow mine there (@ryne) to see all of my purchases, dividends, and other updates in real-time.
ICYMI 🎥
Reacting To Subscriber Dividend Portfolios | $434K Invested at 33 Years Old
In this video, we'll look at three different dividend portfolios and I’ll give my honest thoughts on what I like (and don't like) about each one.
CAREFULLY CURATED 🔍
📺 Learn To Invest - I’m a big fan of Ari Gutman's Masters of the Market series, and this episode featuring Jimmy from the Learn To Invest YouTube channel really stood out. As one of the pioneers in the finance YouTube space, it was awesome to hear Jimmy live and uncut.
🎧 Munger, Buffett, and Lu - Li Lu is one of the world’s most successful investors and is one of the only people trusted to manage Charlie Munger’s wealth. His strategy for successful investing is detailed in this episode of the Founders podcast, and stems from a straightforward two-step approach: 1. Study Buffett and Munger. 2. Just do that.
📚 A Message From The Past - In his latest blog post, Morgan Housel shares his thoughts on time and uncertainty. The key takeaway: “The past wasn’t as good as you remember, the present isn’t as bad as you think, and the future will be better than you anticipate.”
SINCE YOU ASKED 💬
"I really enjoy your videos and want to have a dividend portfolio as well. Is it ok to just buy the stocks in your portfolio? What I gathered from watching you is that everything you buy, you hold long-term and will never sell."
- David | YouTube
Truth be told, I don't think you should buy a stock just because I own it. It's perfectly fine to get ideas from my portfolio, but it's essential to research every company yourself to decide if it's actually a good fit for you.
As for my portfolio, while I plan to own all of my holdings for the long term, I also recognize that circumstances can change. In a perfect world, I would buy and never sell my holdings, but that's not always the reality of the situation.
Have a question? Ask me here to see it featured in an upcoming newsletter.
HOT TAKES 🔥
In last week's newsletter, I asked readers which stocks they think are in a bubble right now. Here are some of the responses:
Pat S said: After looking at my portfolio, I think all of them are in a bubble. Everything I have is up, except a new position in CVX.
Pat M said: Cava (CAVA) and Tesla (TSLA). Cava has a forward P/E of 262 and a PEG of 8.87. The restaurant industry has a forward P/E of 25 and a PEG of 2.5. Tesla has 70x forward earnings and a PEG of 4.14. Also, it is inherently uncertain due to its exposure to China. One regulatory move from Beijing to prioritize BYD or another domestic EV manufacturer and Tesla is SOL.
Danny said: Bubble in my opinion—Tesla (TSLA) and General Electric (GE). Tesla is just such a hyped-up company but they are so far behind in meeting demand that I think it’s a house of cards. GE on the other hand is full of liabilities. Harry Markopolos, the CFE who got Madoff, did a huge GE short back in 2019 I think. He did an investigation and wrote a report, the stock tanked 11%, and the CEO stopped the hemorrhaging by buying 20 million in stock.
John said: NVDA
Matt said: I think right now COST and LLY are the two stocks in a bubble that could pop at any point.
