Must read truths about investing

✳  80% of gains come in 20% of time. So an investor needs enormous patience and conviction to hold stocks for 10 or 20 years.

✳ Why not all investors get rich? They like to get rich without going through many years of discipline & patience. Process leads to outcome.

✳ An inferior strategy you can stick with is likely to produce better results than a superior strategy you cannot stick with.

✳ Prices change frequently. Value change over a period of time. There lies the opportunity.

✳ Compounding is back loaded. It works well only over a longer period of time. There is no substitute for time in compounding.

✳ 99% of the time, doing nothing is the best thing to do in the market. It is good to be a Rip Van Winkle investor. Activity hurts. Sit still.

✳ You cannot predict or control markets. What you can control is how much you save, investment process and behaviour. Focus only on that.

✳ Random outcome doesn’t invalidate the need for a process. Sound process and consistently sticking to the same increases the chance of luck.

✳ Investors are human. That’s why markets would never be fully efficient.

✳ Markets usually run ahead or fall behind. Rarely in equilibrium. Over or under valuation can last for long time. Don’t time the market.

✳ Buying and selling is easy. It is holding on through ups and downs is difficult but ultimately most rewarding.

✳ Shelby Davis started investing only at age 38 with $50,000. Died at age 85 with $900 million. 23.2% annual return for nearly 5 decades.

✳ Shelby Davis is considered the second greatest (5 decades of successful investing is very rare) stock investor after Warren Buffett.

✳ Shelby Davis story shows starting late is not a big liability, provided you live long.

✳ Tiny drops of water make the mighty ocean. Invest regularly. Invest for long term. You can create huge wealth.

✳ Not investing is more risky than investing in it. Remember, you need to beat the inflation and retain your purchasing power.

✳ We see past bear markets as missed opportunities. However thinking of future bear markets is gut wrenching. Strange investor psyche.

✳ If someone keeps reviewing value of his house every day, we may suspect his mental health. But that’s what we keep doing with our equities.

✳  investments are subject to behaviour risks. Always keep a check on your emotions while investing.
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