The stock I bought kept going down.
I was watching my hard-earned savings decline each day.
It was not supposed to be like this.
It was the year 2000, and buying a tech stock was supposed to be an immediate path to wealth.
That’s why I only spent a few hours reading a broker’s report before making the purchase.
Cisco was rumored to be interested in acquiring this company.
As it had many others before it.
So why do more work?
There was no easy way to get more money.
I was already working two part-time jobs on campus to help pay for my MIT degrees.
The little spending money that I had would have to be stretched further – no going out on weekends until I could rebuild from this disaster.
And then Warren Buffett came to speak on campus.
Here was this really successful investor who was talking about:
Competitive advantage
Intrinsic value
Investing for the long-term
Listening to Buffett speak made me realize I hadn’t been investing – I had been speculating.
I had no investing philosophy.
No investment process.
I had spent almost no time understanding the industry the company was in.
I had no idea if it had a sustainable competitive advantage
Or what it was worth.
I realized I was going to have to spend considerable time if I wanted to learn how to invest.
Time that was already really scarce.
I started reading everything I could find on value investing.
Buffett Partnership letters. Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letters. Security Analysis.
As I learned the basics of investing, I began to understand the more advanced concepts.
I was no longer tempted by the hot tech stocks.
Now, I was looking for durable businesses.
I was fortunate to get an investing job with Fidelity Investments.
I found a great mentor there, one who followed the same intrinsic value approach that Buffett advocates.
Then I became a Senior Equity Analyst at another firm, then eventually, I became a Portfolio Manager.
Now, more than 15 years later, I am the Managing Partner of my own investing firm.
I have used the to mentor many aspiring value investors.
If you are just beginning to invest, first ask:
Are you an investor or a speculator?
Does being a self-made millionaire make one happier? I think that in general money can help you avoid misery, but it won’t really make you happy.
What does?
Meaningful relationships, experiences, satisfaction of achieving one’s goals, meditation.