> Stock prices are supposed to include estimates of all futures earnings of a company, discounted for distance in the future, right? This is the theory in a fi

> Stock prices are supposed to include estimates of all futures earnings of a company, discounted for distance in the future, right? This is the theory in a finance textbook. I worked as a hedge fund manager for several years, and there are plenty of people who do not try to project the earnings of companies in order to value them. It's not that easy to do with any certainty. What you get is more ordinary concerns driving investment: - Customers have allocated some money with my firm. I need to buy something. (Or the reverse!) - I don't know what to buy, I'll just buy the index - This has gone up for a while, better get on the bandwagon And a whole lot more.