The lessons of history

If there is one thing mutual fund investors have to live in fear of, it is complacency. A beginner or a battle-scarred veteran, you can be stricken at any time by an acute case of the smugs. A long bull market. A series of winning mutual fund investments. Soon there is no way to avoid the obvious conclusion that you are pretty good at this game. You forget you ever heard the expression: "The higher the monkey climbs the tree, the more he exposes his rear.'' Happily, there is an antidote. It consists of nothing more than remembering past come-uppances that befell investors who thought they...