SIMPLE IS BETTER – ISSUE -7 – OUR LIFE AND INVESTMENT

I have talked about compounding and benefits of compounding in all of the previous issues of Simple is the better series. Now, from this issue, I am going to discuss similarities between our life & making an investment and how we can learn many things in investing from our life. We also can learn many things in our life of the equity investment.

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We can able to create wealth while we have a thorough understanding of the business and the phase in which it is operating. We need to work hard on an understanding of the business for protecting damage to our wealth and also as an investor, we are becoming a partner of the business not an owner of a piece of paper.

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For Detail Issue, Click here —> SIMPLE IS BETTER – ISSUE -7 – OUR LIFE AND INVESTMENT

BIBLIOPHILE: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BY HOWARD MARKS “UNDERSTANDING RISK”

For making any investment decisions, we have to be dealt with the future, which is uncertain in nature. So, that when there is an uncertainty, then there is an involvement of risk and we cannot escape from the risk. We must have to focus on asserting risk while making any investment decisions.

When we focus on the return of the particular instrument, then we have concentrated our focus on half of the movie and rest half will get completed with asserting risk in that particular investment.

Risk 01

Traditionally, we all have learned, that in making a higher return, we need to take an incremental risk.

But we think logically about the same that if we get a higher return for the taking of incremental risk than there should not be a risk. We get rewarded by the returns for taking a higher risk.

Risk 02

Traditional risk/return graph has communicated the positive relationship between risk and return but ignored uncertainty involved for making such returns. Additionally, traditional risk/return graph has shown a risk as similar to volatility, but not focused on the danger which is involved in the investment.

Many a times volatility cannot be an as riskier as compared to other dangerous events for our investment.

Risk 03

So, that risk is not a volatility in the price of stocks, but the real risk is the permanent loss of our capital. And we must have to be worried about the permanent loss of capital rather than volatility. We must have to focus on the understanding of the risk which could have the probability of erosion of our capital.

Many a times risk is not only limited to, permanent loss of capital or to volatility, some kind of risk are objective and personal in nature; such as-

1) Falling short of one’s goal

Many investors have a different need, goals and not meeting those by investment results can be the risk for the particular person.

If someone just requires meeting the routine expenses, then getting a fixed return from fixed return instrument might not be at risk for the person, but if someone who wanted to build capital for investment then such a lower return can be a risk for that particular person.

2) Underperformance

Such kind of risk is related to the investment manager. If the investment manager cannot able to generate higher returns compare to index than the investment manager might lose his clients.

Risk 04

3) Career risk

This is an extreme form of underperformance risk. Continuous underperformance can have resulted in the risk to the career.

4) Unconventionality

This risk is connected with a being different while making an investment idea. If unconventional idea got wrong, then there might be a risk to the career.

We buy metals, sugar stocks, etc. (at the worst time of the cycle). Instead of buying pharma, IT, Banking which is a darling of the industry. And if our stock picks up doesn’t work, then we have to face trouble and extreme risk of loss of career.

5) Illiquidity

This risk arises when investors need a money for some urgency and unable to break his investment.

Let me take an example of the cricket match for understanding a risk.

The main risk in the cricket match is to losing the match, series, etc. as similar to losing our capital in investment. If all the players play a poor game, then definitely team will lose the match and similar to an investment; if all our investment resulted in poor returns or more risk oriented than we might lose our capital or lose real value of capital.

As we have seen in Indian cricket history that Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, Mr. Rahul Dravid has played very well and created the record, they don’t always come to the ground for making a century or creating a huge score but always played well for protecting their wickets. Their focus on protecting their wicket helps them to play well for the longer period of time. And on against to them, many other players came to Indian cricket history and gone also; cannot able to stay for a longer period of time. They just have focused on making a score and sometimes due to the luck they can able to make good score but not always.

If players do not able to play well on a continues basis, then they will have lost the opportunity of staying with the cricket team (Career Risk). Also, we have seen that Mr. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has taken a many unconventional decision for the team during the match. Many of his decisions got success and many not. When he filled with his unconventional decisions, he has to face the anger of the people. This is as similar to our unconventional investment decisions and has to face anger from our clients if we filed into the unconventional decisions.

It is not necessary that we only can be incurred a loss by buying weak fundamental stocks. If we bought the comparatively lower fundamental company at a very lower price than that investment turns out to be a successful investment.

Sugar IT

We can see that if we have bought the comparatively lower fundamentally good stock at a cheap price than this stock has generated a higher return compared to the good fundamental stocks in last 5 years.

Also, not good macro environmental promises of safety. Because too positive news brings up prices at too high and any small adverse development can be enough for damages to our wealth.

People generally tend to associate with the things that are doing well. And that investment might be able to fulfill expectations for a while and thereafter small negative event can damage much higher. Such scenario having an involvement of higher risk.

So, that value investors believe in achieving higher returns from lower risk. We have to be ready with underperformance risk while we are buying bargains and market is in a heated bull phase. We need to accept it rather than incurring losses.

Risk 05

Investment is dealing with the future and the future is highly uncertain. And it’s impossible to know anything about the future.

Risk means more things can happen compared to what happened in the past. Understanding of risk requires a second level thinking and it’s not an easy task. The risk of losing money is observed by one that’s similar is not observed by another one.

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

SIMPLE IS BETTER – ISSUE -6 – HEALTH IS WEALTH

In the last five issues, I have discussed regarding compounding and its power and how we can able to take benefits of compounding for a longer period of time. But for taking a benefit of compounding, we need a time – a long time; with a good health. Otherwise, we cannot able to enjoy our wealth or might not be there to enjoy our wealth. So, that, in issue 6, I am going to discuss on our real wealth which is our health and how it is as similar as we make an equity investment. Also, additionally to improve our health and wealth which can help us in a longer period of time.

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By getting the benefits of compounding our money, we can be able to become a wealthy person, but if we do not have a good health then that compounded wealth is of no use. So, that we also need to compound our strong health for enjoying our compounded wealth in a longer period of time.

For Detail Issue, Click here —> SIMPLE IS BETTER – ISSUE -6 – HEALTH IS WEALTH

Equity Investment is as similar as a Human Life

This article born at the train yesterday when I was coming back to Surat from Mumbai after attending wonderful seminar of Dr. Vijay Malik Sir. A good utilization of spare time which I got at train.

Yes, there are some of the similarities between our life and stock market or equity investment. Our life is as similar as we make an equity investment.

I basically try to encourage equity investment and sharing my learning in simple manner as much as possible.

As I always consider our life and equity investment in a similar manner. But I got inspiration to write this post from article (15 unknown flops of successful people) which I read few days back.

From that article I inspire to connect dots and try to explain that our life is as similar as an equity investment.

 

So how there is a connection between Human Life and Equity Investment????

Let me take examples of few successful persons.

1) Steve Jobs

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One of the person whose life has impact on my life. We know him today as a very successful person but have we check that how was his earlier life when he was struggling.

In today’s world, we known him as a highly successful person but in his previous life, he also got many shock. And he fights against those shocks and run for his dreams.

We never try to focus on the pain which any successful person faced.

S.Jobs Life

Let me take one another example of our most favorite person in the investment field.

2) Warren Buffett

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We currently seeing him as a very successful person. But what about the pain he faced in his earlier life.

WB

You all might thinking that at investment blog why I talking about philosophical talks. So let me give you an examples of few successful stories from our investment world.

1) Infosys

We everywhere found that Infosys is one of the biggest wealth creator. But my dear friends have we check pain which company faced at different phase of its life cycle.

IPO of company got withdrew from market due to not reached at minimum subscription. Anyone had an idea at that point of time about the company which rejected by everyone and that becomes biggest wealth creator.

INFY

If we look at above chart of Infosys, then we can come to know that many a times price of the stock goes down with many of reasons such as IT bubble burst, 2008 crisis, Narayan Murthy resign, etc.

2) Wipro or Eicher Motors

Wipro

EM

See the wealth creators, all stocks having some down moves in stock prices. That can be with any of the reasons such as global crisis, recession, internal problems. But the good company with good jockey can come out of from all such problems and able to create wealth.

So try to connect dots with my above example of Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett with this stocks stories.

Do you able to make sense?

Let me explain my view point. The people who got failed at some point of time in their life but becomes huge successful by fighting against their failure.

As same as many good companies facing trouble at some point of time and try to fight against those problem and try to come out of those problems.

If we have make an investment in such a good companies our life also become successful.

Just leave these big names; highly successful people and put ourselves in place of them.

We also faced many problems in our life. From our childhood to our current life. Every day we are facing many events. Some events make us much happier and some make us unhappy.

So with happier events graph of our life goes up and with unhappy events graph of our life goes down.

So as similar as daily movements in the stock price. When we are not focusing on our own daily behavioral fluctuations then why we are much seriously focus on daily price fluctuations of the company???

As with the unhappy moods, we don’t stop living our life then why with some down price moves, we ready to take an exit from our stock investment???

As we are comparing our life’s progress at some intervals as similar to that we should compare performance of the company at some intervals rather focusing on daily price moves.

If I try to put our minutes to minutes’ behavior in graphical format, then it also looks as similar as price moves of the stocks.

Our life

Then why we are not ready with similar kind of behavior with stock investment.

We are not feeling risk by making many decisions related to our life but feel risk when it’s comes at an equity investment. What a funny behavior!!!!

According to me, actually our behavior having much more fluctuations compare to fluctuations in stock price.

The main problem is that we are not focusing on fluctuations in our life.

We take monetary fluctuations at a more serious manner then fluctuations in our own life.

So my purpose of writing this post is that equity investment is also as similar as our life which we are living. Thus, handle it as similar as we are handling our life. Also provide time to your investment as time we are living our life.

If we are ready with providing other chance to our life, then should also be ready with same kind of behavior with our equity investment.

But in actual manner, we are not doing it. We focus on very smaller fluctuations and make our decision based on those smaller fluctuations.

If we think on a longer horizon, then might found our such behavior as a very foolish.

So now at last conclusion time I just want to mention that as we provide motivation to our life when adverse events happened with us as similar with the equity investment, we should try to add additional fund when good company facing adverse time in form of motivation.

This additional motivation creates real difference and that decides rather we become successful or meet failure. Rather we become another Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Richard Branson or die as an unknown personality. As our investment becomes successful or we just become spectacular to watch wealth creation by other people.

So treat our equity investment as similar as our life and keep motivate our investment with additional funds when we get an opportunity to build good wealth.

Bonus

Friends keep motivate our good investment not our bad investment otherwise at the end we keep facing problems.

KFA

Stay away with such a bad horse with bad jockey or else we have to suffer a lot.

Loser

And at last we regret on our own decisions.

Disclaimer: The stocks discuss in above article is only for an example purpose. This is not a recommendation to Buy-Sell-Hold. And I am not a SEBI registered analyst.