Qualified investors are less concerned about the market going up or going down. They enter confidently, with a trad- ing system for an up-trending market. When the market re- verses, they will often change trading systems, exiting their previous trades and using short selling, and put options to profit while the market comes down. Having multiple trading systems and strategies helps them have more confidence as investors. Why You May Want to Be a Qualified Investor The average investor lives in fear of the market crashing or prices coming down. You can often hear them say, "What if I buy a stock and the price comes down?" Hence many average investors fail to take advantage of profit opportunities in an up market and a down market. A qualified investor looks for- ward to the ups and downs of a market. When prices go up, they have the skills to minimize risk and earn a profit regard- less if the price is going up or coming down. A qualified in- vestor will often "hedge" their positions which means they are protected if the price goes down suddenly or goes up sud- denly. In other words, they have a good chance of making money in either direction while protecting themselves from losses. The Problem with New Investors Today, with such a hot market, I often hear new investors say with confidence, "I don't have to worry about a market crash because this time, things are different." A seasoned in- vestor knows that all markets go up and all markets come down. Today as I write, we are in one of the biggest bull mar- kets in the history of the world. Will this market come crash- ing down? If history holds any stories, then we should be in for one of the biggest crashes the world has ever seen. Today people are investing in companies without any profits... which means a mania is on. The diagrams on the previous page are diagrams of past bubbles, manias, or booms and busts the world has gone through. Sir Issac Newton who lost most of his fortune in the South Sea Bubble is quoted as saying, "I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people." Today, in my opinion, there is madness. Everyone is thinking about get- ting rich quick in the market. I am afraid that we may soon see millions of people lose everything simply because they in- vested in the market, some borrowed money to invest, in- stead of first investing in their education and experience. At the same time, I am excited because many people will soon be selling in a panic and that is when the qualified investor really becomes wealthy. It is not the crash that is so bad but the emotional panic that occurs at the times of such financial disasters/opportunities. 256 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing The problem with most new investors is that they have not yet been through a real bear market... since this current bull market started in 1974.