Stanley Druckenmiller Hard Lessons Can Be Necessary

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Mr. Charlie Ellis has explained to the book Winning the Loser’s Game – professional players force others to make an error which helps the professional player to win whereas amateur players play a faulty shot. This is similar to the investing field. And the main difference between an amateur and a professional investor. We have to keep on defending ourselves and wait for others to make errors. We need to stay on the pitch and wait for the loose ball for hitting it outside of the boundary.

Return of the investment instruments and our return having a gap which is known as a behavioral gap, which tells that investors’ behavior affects their own returns.

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Amateur investors do not focus on risk management. Generally, they focus on the risk after they meet to the risk. It is similar to wearing a helmet after facing a road accident as a precaution. Whereas professional investors do things in a different manner, they buy things which others do not want to buy and they sell things which everyone wants to buy. Mr. Howard Marks are given this technique as a second level thinking.

Howard Marks – Second Level Thinking

During the year 2015, Stanley Druckenmiller was getting an introduction as –

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During the year 1981, a 28 years old Mr. Druckenmiller has started with Duquesne Capital Management. During the year 1987, Mr. Druckenmiller had buildup long position as he felt that 2200 level supported zone for the Dow Jones but on Monday, Dow goes down to 1738 level which known for “Black Monday”. On Monday, after lunchtime, Stocks got to bounce back and Mr. Druckenmiller has covered all his position. Mr.Drukenmiller has left his job to join George Soros. In the year 1989, Mr.Drukenmiller has shorted Japan Index Nikkei which is still down from the top of the year 1989.

In the year 1992, Mr.Drukenmiller has shorted the pound currency and he turns out to be a winner. Mr.Drukermiller has a track record of generating a return of 31.50%, 29.60%, 53.40%, 68.80% and 63.20% in the year 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 respectively.

But during the year 1994, Fund lost in a bet against the yen and 1998, Quantum fund had lost $2 billion in Russia. The worst is about to come. Mr.Drukenmiller has invested in the IT stocks and he was uncomfortable with his positions so that he booked and took gained. But he had hired new young employees in the year 1999 and they kept on making money by investing in the IT stocks.

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He had double his position at the top to the tech stocks and when IT bubble got burst, Quantum fund had lost 21% or $7.60 billion since their peak value.

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Mr.Drukenmiller cannot able to see others making money and he can’t. So that he also makes an emotional error. Mr.Drukenmiller was known that what he is doing but he cannot able to stop his emotion and he has occurred an error. Sometimes it is important to see others making money. And we need to stay with not making money.

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Read for more detail: Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments by Michael Batnick

John Meriwether Genius’s Limits

We always have a dilemma to our mind that we need to be intelligent to become a wise investor. But does it a reality? Do we really require to be an immense intelligence for the decision making to investing field? We have an example of a few highly intelligent person who has intelligence but lack of the real skill which needed to become a wise investor. I am going to explain it to the current article. Isaac Newton also cannot be saved from emotional biases such as greed and fear, though he has a brilliant mind.

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We should understand that a higher IQ, intelligence does not protect us from the emotional biases. We need to be a master of emotional biases for earning money through investment. If we do not have mastery on our own emotion then we incur losses into the investment.

Few emotional biases BIBLIOPHILE: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BY HOWARD MARKS “COMBATING NEGATIVE INFLUENCES”

We have seen that the winner of the Nobel prize in economic of Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) also failed terrifically. They count as a genius mind during an era. During a tough time, their leverage position reaches the 100:1 which has killed the entire business.

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No model is perfect which can capture behavioral aspects of human. But we keep focusing on the same that our constructed model is going to capture all the madness and which make us mad. LTCM failure teaches us that we should not be overconfident to our model, we should focus on the risk management and we cannot capture the behavioral aspects of human. So that we should have control on own behavioral aspects that can help us for a longer period of time. Our intelligence should not be getting converted to the overconfidence, and if getting converted then it will definitely going to harmful for our investment career. Rather if we have a control on to our emotion then it will be going to help to our investment career though we have a little intelligence.

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Read for more detail: Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments by Michael Batnick

BIBLIOPHILE: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BY HOWARD MARKS “BEING ATTENTIVE TO CYCLES”

In this article, I am going to discuss on cycles and reasons for the occurrence of the cycle. For becoming a successful investor, we need to understand cyclicity of the market, earnings, business, etc., then only we can able to protect ourselves from the destruction of our wealth as well as we can able to grow our wealth.

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We as a human also born, grow up and die. These cycles keep on continue. And like that company also came into existence, grow up and once it will close or might get some revolution.

(Click here for human life cycle – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdprpVCIhu0)

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As like our life, Economy, businesses, products, earnings of businesses, etc. also rise and fall. It also moves in a cycle. Many a time people forget that everything moves in a cycle and that situation provides us an opportunity for protecting and creating a wealth. We should always keep in mind that nothing in the world keeps on rising in a straightway. It will rise to an extreme level and falls to an extreme level.

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The margin of the company increases when the price of the iron ore increases and margin fall with the fall in the price of the iron ore. We must have to understand the cycle for protecting our wealth.

The main reason for the cyclical behavior of the economy is human involvement. Human nature is not mechanical but humans are emotional and inconsistent. Many a time Humans take the decision based on their feelings, emotions which itself cyclical in nature.

When we feel good, we remain optimistic about the situations and reverse when we feel bad then remain pessimistic about the situations. Our psychological involvement pushes cycle to the extreme points and after that extreme point, cycle corrects itself to the reverse direction and then again come to the mean value.

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If we see carefully, then we can able to understand that more worst loan given at a good time rather at the bad time. Because people forget the cyclical nature of the economy, industries, businesses, etc. also the credit available at cheaper rate. And additionally, people break discipline. They start to borrow extensively which will be resulted into the burst of the credit cycle.

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Credit cycle –

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When we are happy then we might get happier for some period and then our mood turns to the sad and vice-versa. Our mood also keeps on fluctuating and that turns out to be our happiness or sadness. Sometimes we become extremely happy or sad, but that situation does not remain similar for forever. It will change, it will get normalized.

So, if the cycle is in a good phase, then it might be remaining more good for the period and then correct for the bad phase and vice-versa. It will not remain good or bad for forever. It will come to the mean value at some point in time.

The cycle only stops occurring while people take all decisions by being unemotional and rational. But it is not always happening and such human decisions which will be resulted in the cyclical behavior of the market /economy. And this is only the major reason for keeps on occurring cycles.

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High profit into the business attracts the competition. This competition will turn high-profit margin into the low-profit margin. And business will fall into the problem. Many players get close and get out of the business. Consolidation of among the players will happen and few players survived in the business. Those survived players will again be getting a good amount of business and the again cycle starts moving. No business keeps on growing for forever with the same pace of growth.

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The growth of Indian IT is falling compared to initial days. Also, players among the industry and startup are rising rapidly.

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We always need to keep in mind that everything moves in a cycle and when we forget it, we will be at the risk of losing our capital.

Read for more detail: The Most Important Thing Illuminated by Howard Marks