Ric Edelman: Hi! I am Ric Edelman, ranked the number one Independent Financial Advisor in the nation by Barron's. In this series we're talking about why you should ignore stock market predictions. Amazingly! Some of the wildest predictions aren't even based on the stock market; instead, they focus on Pop Culture. One method tracks Pop music, this theory says that the Beatles break up in 1970 was the sign of a market bottom. Another says that hemlines predict the rise and fall of the stock market. If women around you are wearing short skirts the market will rise, but when hemlines go below the knee prices will fall. Ditto for heels, the higher the heel, the higher the market. Or, you can go to the movies; one rule says that the more horror films Hollywood release, the worst the stock market is going to be. Here is one for sports fans, the market will rise, when an original NFC teams wins the Super Bowl and if the Oklahoma's win the World Series, the market will crash. I can go on. The year of the Pig on a Chinese calendar is good for small cap stocks. Manned space launches make stocks rise, but reentry brings stocks back down. It sounds crazy, right? The crazy thing is that all of these predictions came from researchers and the media then reported on them as news. People believe what they see in the media; some actually invest based on this nonsense. Don't let it happen to you.

In our next video series, I'll show you my own research and I'll reveal the most colorful stock picking method ever.