Nothing lasts forever, including the effectiveness of some investment strategies. True, some basic ideas like "buy the stocks of high-quality companies when they're trading cheaply" seem to operate with no expiration date, but other strategies seem to work only for a while, before reverting back to market-average or worse returns. Let us examine some of the strategies that may be on the way out. (Avoid taking premature profits or running losses by setting appropriate exit points, see A Look At Exit Strategies.)
The Safe Haven
Whenever the markets turn rough and some sector happens to go up (or go down less), investors and commentators are more than happy to anoint a new "safe haven" for investors. Gold has been a safe haven at many points in history. Bonds have been safe havens, as have dividend-paying stocks, utility stocks, consumer goods stocks and so on. (For related reading, see The Advantages Of Bonds.)
For example, healthcare was supposed to be a safe haven. Yet, during the recession in the late 2000s healthcare underperformed as pharmaceutical companies suffered from patent cliffs and medical device companies bore the brunt of lower patient visits and tight hospital capital budgets.
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