Barron’s magazine had its annual roundtable issue last week. This is where it gathers several high-profile investors and money managers around a table to discuss new year’s prospects for the economy and the stock market. There was much consternation about the next twelve … [Read more...] about Another weekend of worry
Investing Mindset
How I approach investing
Buy right, sell never!
Happy new year! I thought I would start this new year’s first post with something provocative. My investing motto has been to ‘buy right, sell never’. Buying right is of course neither controversial nor provocative. It’s just common sense. Selling never can be questioned by … [Read more...] about Buy right, sell never!
I avoid losing money
Warren Buffett once famously said that his number one rule in investing is to never lose money. And yet, as I had pointed out in a previous blog post, his own company Berkshire Hathaway’s shares had dropped by 50% more than once. How would he reconcile those drops with his number … [Read more...] about I avoid losing money
Bear market: a curse or a blessing?
I wish all investors get at least one bear market in their investing journeys. A lot of people would consider this a curse—but it really is a blessing in disguise. I will explain why. Today, financial media is focused on when this bull market will end. As if the end of a bull … [Read more...] about Bear market: a curse or a blessing?
Gratuitous advice with no accountability
At the Markel’s shareholder meeting in Omaha in June, someone from the audience posed this question to the company management: “I met a very large international money manager last night for dinner and he warned me that now is not the time to invest in US stocks. What do you think … [Read more...] about Gratuitous advice with no accountability
Careful with defined outcome investing
I wrote about my principal-protected investments in a February blog post (Market neutral investing). Those are only a tiny fraction of my portfolio. I only use them for my liquid capital—money that I might need in short order and therefore can’t be tied up in ordinary … [Read more...] about Careful with defined outcome investing
Investor anxiety
2018 was a brutal year for individual stock investors. Following the relatively calm performance in 2016 and 2017, the US stock market in 2018 was marked with high volatility. It went down by 10% in the first quarter, and then gradually recovered. It dropped again in the fourth … [Read more...] about Investor anxiety
A gauge for my portfolio
A lot of investor underperformance comes from them trying their utmost to avoid seeing losses. Emotionally, losses hurt twice as much as gains feel good. But there is no way to avoid seeing short-term losses in long-term investing. It’s inevitable for a long-term investor to see … [Read more...] about A gauge for my portfolio
Weekend worrying about the economy
A couple of weeks ago I was at our local library checking out the Barron’s weekly. They had their annual roundtable issue out. Every year in January, Barron’s invites a few successful well-known money managers to gather around a table and discuss their thoughts for the new year. … [Read more...] about Weekend worrying about the economy
How I keep my long-term investing outlook?
During the holidays, I had some idle time and I re-read parts of Jason Zweig’s 2007 book, Your Money & Your Brain. It’s a good book with lots of interesting anecdotes. It was also one of my early reads into investor psychology. In one section appropriately named Fighting Your … [Read more...] about How I keep my long-term investing outlook?