Contrarian Investing

Sometimes I just love the contrarian side of things. Often, contrarian behavior is the result of envy or bitterness, but I like to think that it is also often the result of raging independence and deep analysis. In the investing world, contrarian themes often yield great returns. For example, when he was starting out, many high and mighty retailers would not give Sam Walton the time of day because of his lack of experience or big dollars. If someone would have taken a little contrary attitude with his pitches and business development ideas, they wouldn't be sorry today. There's danger in investing with the herd because the herd can turn into a stampede that artificially creates "bubbles" in values. For example, the tech bust of the late 90's. Groupthink can lead to a major investing rip off for the unwary. Here's an interesting account of contrarian investing.