Andrew Ross Sorkin’s recently published 1929 has risen to number three on The New York Times best-seller list – a clear sign that the now 3-year-old stock market rally has captured America’s attention.
The book chronicles 1929’s infamous crash and has prompted lots of discussion. I have often been asked if the persistent uptrend is too good to be true? Now, thanks to Sorkin, I am fielding questions about certain parallels between the spectacular bull market during the Roaring 20s and the present-day advance. As the saying goes, time will tell. Success in the money game requires a keen knowledge of the past. History tells us that the future path of stock prices is more likely to be determined by the primal instincts of investors than basic economic fundamentals.
Jesse Livermore’s comment above clearly cites the significant impact that the human psyche has on financial markets. Livermore gained notoriety, not only for his big scores, but also his crushing losses. It has been reported that he made millions shorting stocks during the Great Crash, then lost it all. He lived a flamboyant lifestyle – wives, mistresses, mansions, and was a master at planting stories in the press that juiced his trading positions. Unfortunately, Livermore’ s life ended tragically when he committed suicide in a cloakroom at New York’s Sherry Netherland Hotel. The highs and lows of a lifetime of speculation finally took their toll. His tragic demise sends a message to members of Generation Z dreaming about speculating for a living.
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CIO Vantage Point | November 2025
Yes, AI is the rage, but there is a ton of bubble talk. This indicates healthy skepticism. The investment atmosphere can get crazier, much crazier. Expect to see a barrage of fundamentally unsound IPOs before the peak. Surveys of investor sentiment continue to register traces of pessimism - quite positive from a contrary perspective. As said before, the extreme speculative zeal exists in areas outside of the stock market. This was not the case in 1929, when the mania was all about stocks.
