Efficient market hypothesis

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.

Cyl 01

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)

Cyl 02

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.

NMDC

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.

Cyl 03

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.

Cyl 04

Credit cycle –

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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B Cyl 01

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.

indian-it-overall-92-15

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

Cyl 07

Cyl 08

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

In the last article, we have seen that what is 2nd level thinking and how we can able to take benefits from 2nd level thinking. In this article, I am going to discuss my learning from the 2nd chapter of the book “The Most Important Thing”. This chapter talks about efficient market theory and how we can use it for our own benefits to earn an above average return.

So first, we need to know what is an efficient market hypothesis?

UET01

Source: The Most Important Thing by Howards Mark

According to the efficient market theory, it is not possible to earn a consistently above average return due to the availability of information with each and every market participants at the same time. And also, there are many investors who tracking real-time information and make a decision based on this information. Due to this hard work by an investor, the price of securities reaches at fair value easily.

INFY_Daily_07-03-2017

We can see in the above chart that as the quarterly result get announced, many of the investors have made an effort to analyze available information and stock price reaches to the fair value.

So, that We cannot ignore that theory is not relevant to the practice.

UET03

Source: The Most Important Thing by Howards Mark

As per the above criteria, Bank Fixed Deposit is one of the suitable examples of the efficient asset class among all other asset classes. Bank FD can pass through all above criteria and due to its efficient nature, we cannot able to get an above average return from Bank FD, even cannot able to earn higher than the inflation.

We must have to agree with the parameters that investors work hard for analyzing each and every available information for reaching towards some conclusions. And additionally, everyone having the same access towards all information. So, that we cannot able to make an above average return consistently over a longer period of time.

So, those companies which are tracked by more and more analysts, FIIs, and retail investors then chances of getting an above average return will reduce. Thus, we have to focus on the companies which is different and where we can able to get the edge for creating an above average return.

If we take an example of the huge wealth creator company with every 5 years’ interval, then

UET04

So, this stock has given a huge return when not much known to the investors (i.e. inefficient) and as the stock becomes known to all (i.e. efficient), speed & rate of return start falling.

As we agreed with the parameter that every investor works hard, but what about the emotional interference for making a decision? Is it really easy to control our emotions while making any decisions?

Also, the psychology of all investors influences the decisions taken by them, which creates misprice opportunity for us. All investors react differently to the same information due to their emotional influences.

If any news regarding company comes then everyone can get it at a similar time (I am considering everyone accessing information at the same time) but the interpretation of that news is different with different participants.

tamo

Everyone gets the news of the fire at the plant of the company at the same time. But some people analyzed that this will incur an additional loss to the company & starts feeling far from this news and started selling out their positions. And some will use second level thinking to buy that same stock at an available discount due to temporary reasons.

So, that’s how to use information & capturing mispricing opportunities is dependent on skills and emotional ability of individual investors and that helps them to make an above average return.

Also, we should not ignore theory because theory helps us to limit our focus on mispriced opportunities rather focusing on all the available opportunities. We have to open for analyzing all the unknown opportunities with using of 2nd level thinking. Then and only then we can able to catch up opportunities to getting above average returns.

Many a time, we get an opportunity which is avoided by others or others are not willing to grab those opportunities. We have to identify mispriced opportunities and have to take benefits from such inefficiency.

Every most efficient opportunity is mispriced opportunities at once upon a time. So, that we have to limit our focus on identifying misprice opportunity. As I quoted in the above example of fire at the plant of the company. As that company is widely tracking by many investors, FIIs, DIIs etc., but capturing opportunity when it becomes a mispriced opportunity that is the importance of skill (Obviously with important of LUCK).

Also, we should try to capture the opportunity which is not well known and not tracked by many of the investors. By this, we can able to limit our focus and can able to generate an above average return.