I’m often asked which book is best in order to learn to invest and I always refer to our philosophy document. It always depends on your philosophy but here on Finance hut we follow Benjamin Graham.
The importance of a philosophy is that sometimes lessons aren’t linear (ie you don’t learn 1 then 2 then 3 in the same space of time). Sometimes you learn one thing and nothing changes for months, or if you’re a long term investor like us for years. And that is why some of our posts are so irregular, we can’t post weekly or monthly for time’s sake as that’s not how learning works either. Sometimes we get 5 insights a day and other times 1 a month. So a philosophy helps you filter what is relevant and what is noise, it helps you keep your bearing in a world that bombards us with information.
Which brings me to a series of WhatsApp posts I came across from a close friend, Boipelo Mabusela (aka Pebros Pilliatos). I end the screen shots with a trade he made that I could only describe with one word, conviction. Whether he turns out right or wrong, it was interesting to witness that “aha” moment in someone else. Here goes… (pardon the quality)
I’ll add a link to a post of his in order to see the the words more clearly.
Having watched him make money trading in and out of shares it was interesting to see him make this observation: that it’s not always wise to trade in and out of your long term stock picks. I share it to illustrate first hand that something that we read continuously sometimes only clicks once you have your feet in the water.
He goes on to share three telling posts he made that I wish for each of us to experience one day. Here goes…
He berates the market for selling a share because of apparent disappointment that an interim dividend wasn’t declared, this despite the fact that the interim results look good.
As if the investing Gods were watching, within a moment of him buying, the share goes back to its original price netting him a cool 20% gain. He signs off by saying “don’t always follow the market!
It is always rewarding to see someone have a moment of conviction and then have it rewarded. Conviction is that essence of knowledge that makes it your own. It goes beyond confidence. It is that absolute certainty you get that allows you to trust yourself as a matter of fact because you have put in the work yourself and have your own opinion. No one can stop you.
To close off, he made reference to our philosophy and I thought it would be great to share, it’s always great for us seeing something come full circle…
Here he likens his experience to being in a shopping mall and going from shop to shop (research) to compare prices. He signs of by saying “don’t buy if it’s not on sale”.
As value investors we understand that the price you buy is often the only true variable you have control over. So do your research and make sure that you are getting value for the price you are paying.
As may be evident, this post was typed completely on my phone as I wanted to capture the moment. Fitting for the story I wanted to tell. Feel free to provide any feedback on this post including comment on the quality, I’m happy to learn.
Remember that learning, and returns, will not always be linear. Read the books and then jump in.
