The Boston Celtics reached yesterday’s NBA trade deadline without making a trade. “Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge keeps a John Wooden book on his desk,” explains the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, “and he likes to think back to one of the legendary UCLA coach’s famous quotes when the NBA trade deadline arrives.” Himmelsbach writes:
Don’t confuse activity with achievement,’’ Ainge said. “It might be that the best thing you ever did was stand pat. Red [Auerbach] told me in my first year doing the job, ‘The best trades I ever made were the ones I didn’t make. I held restraint.’ I’ve actually often thought of that, because sometimes you start feeling the heat because everybody around you is doing things. It’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ But it doesn’t always mean that it’s making everybody better. It just means that you’re making changes.’’
Take the wisdom from Wooden and Auerbach and apply it to your investment portfolio. If you choose not to make a trade, it doesn’t mean you’re not working or still achieving greatness. It simply means you didn’t make a trade.
Sometimes standing still is the hardest part about investing.
As the late great Jack Bogle said, “Don’t just do something, stand there!”
