But, while bad accounts may lead investors to make mistakes, even the best often prompt managers to take decisions that are against their firms' interests.
These arguments do not mean that Mr Bush's proposal for individual accounts is a bad one.
Over short periods, an allocation to cash is not a bad thing, especially if it accounts for a small portion of your portfolio.
"Banks also want to sweep bad news into one year's accounts to make future years look better, " he added.
Marta Andreassen, now a UKIP MEP, said the report was so bad that if it was an audit for the accounts of a private company, the board of directors would be fired, and the company would be wound up.
After the stock gapped lower on a bad earnings release, he sold the stock in the accounts he manages and lived to trade another day.
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Unfortunately, I have seen man DIY investors make very bad errors in judgment that have had disastrous effects on their retirement accounts.
If all those folks also had pensions and large taxable accounts, plus Social Security, it might not be such bad news.
"I think that the bad news is already out on this matter and that how the company accounts for it is immaterial, " says Reid.
By all accounts, Browett did an excellent job in turning around Dixons under bad economic conditions.
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Those accounts usually follow the stock market, in good times and in bad.
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David Black says that the people who chose to switch were generally either inspired by a bad experience with their current bank or they were people moving to internet-only accounts.
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