Success in investing has to do with two major focal points, ones that investors often forget in the excitement of sharp price action and headlines in the stock market. First, the sole purpose of the market is to offer the opportunity for everyday investors to pick and choose businesses that are worth their hard-earned capital; the second (more simple) factor is how much they paid for said business.
Every once in a while, so-called value investors like Warren Buffett will look foolish for buying stocks that seem to be down by a significant amount during the quarter or year, going the opposite way as everyone else boasts their gains in names within the same industry or others. However, this is where the returns of a value investor are born by being willing to go against the crowd (and the chart) as long as the underlying business pick is good enough to justify it.
