Buy-and-Hold Goon to Rob: “You Seem to Think That People Have to Convince You That You Are Wrong. In Fact, It Is Just the Opposite.”

Set forth below is the text of a comment that I recently posted to the discussion thread for another blog entry at this site:

You seem to think that people have to convince you that you are wrong. In fact, it is just the opposite. Despite your claims to the contrary, you have failed to provide sufficient proof of your points. You keep referring to what you believe the research says. What you are really referring to is your opinion of what you want it to say. To support research, you must present outcomes data that is also reproducible.

I say that there are two schools of academic thought as to how stock investing works. Both Robert Shiller and Eugene Fama were awarded Nobel prizes for their research. But both cannot be right. Fama says that stock prices are set through a rational process. Shiller says that stock prices are set through an emotional process. Buy-and-Hold is rooted in a belief in Fama’s research. Valuation-Informed Indexing is rooted in a belief in Shiller’s research.

I don’t say that people have to convince me that I am wrong and I don’t say that I have to convince any others that they are wrong. What I say is that both Valuation-Informed Indexers and Buy-and-Holders should post honestly and avoid the use of acts of intimidation against those who subscribe to the other school of thought. That’s what the laws of the United States require and that’s what the published rules of every site to which I have ever posted require.

You and I do not agree re how stock investing works, Anonymous. You are a Buy-and-Holder and I am a Valuation-Informed Indexer. It doesn’t have to be a problem that we disagree. It can be a plus. I can learn from you and you can learn from me. But death threats are a problem. And demands for unjustified board bannings are a problem. And thousands of acts of defamation are a problem. And threats to get academic researchers fired from their jobs are a problem. That sort of thing needs to come to a full and complete stop by the close of business today.

Does that help?

Rob