Does ignoring history put investors at risk?

Investors who know their history have a competitive edge over those who don’t, given that a lot of what occurs in financial markets has already happened before. On a recent podcast, financial historian Sir Niall Ferguson emphasised the need for investors to take the long view when trying to anticipate what comes next. He argued that people were caught out by the Federal Reserve’s decisions during the 2008 financial crisis because they focused on a narrow slice of market history, and were unaware of the Chair’s historical influences. Sir Niall Ferguson also argued that there is no clear signal...