It’s hard to beat the stock market - unless you make it your calling and it’s not Dr. Stern's calling. This is why he invests without trying to beat the market. He is happy with the average stock market return. It’s much higher than the returns on bonds, the price increase on gold or the interest in a bank account.
Last but not least, with his stock purchase, he becomes part owner of a company he likes and that makes him feel good.
That’s why Dr. Stern invests in companies he likes, in the geographic markets he is interested in, that sell good products and share his values.
For him, buying a stock is like buying a house: he decides where he wants to live after thinking about the surroundings, the community and the house itself. He sees if it all fits before he buys it.
When he buys a house, future price increases are not his primary motivation. That is too difficult to predict. He buys a house because it renders a service for him. It should be the same with stocks. He buys stocks because they put his money to work. If they happen to outperform other stocks, that’s his good luck.
Looking at stock investment in the same way as buying a house makes it much easier to decide which stocks to buy.