Max Koh Profile picture
Sep 28, 2021 29 tweets 15 min read Read on X
In early 2020, I discovered Fintwit.

I had a 6 figure portfolio.

Since then, I've grown it several fold.

And attained my own version of financial freedom before age 30.

I owe a lot to the investors here.

Here's a list of my favourite tweets I've bookmarked and revisit often: Image
Preface before I begin:

I come from Singapore and a family with strong asian tradition.

Since young I was taught NOT to talk about myself.

It was boastful to share my achievements in public.

I spent 1 whole year on twitter with a private account, using it only to read tweets.
I only gained courage after:

• watching @david_perell interviews that inspired me to learn in public.

• hearing @AliAbdaal recommend "Share Your Work" in his youtube videos

So here's the top tweets that have influenced my investing philosophy:
1/ @Gautam__Baid

I learnt the importance of achieving financial independence.

So I can see the world for what it really is.

And not be influenced by incentives.

This motivated me to be disciplined about saving $$ and adding to my stocks.
2/ @iancassel

Ian taught me to deeply understand any business I own.

More importantly, he warned me about the pain I will face if I sell a good company too early.
3/ @BrianFeroldi

Brian taught me about averaging up.

Not being anchored to my original cost basis.

And selling my losers instead of my winners if I need cash.
4/ @4PillarFreedom

I learnt about the importance of constantly increasing my asset count.

In my case, I kept adding to my stocks.

He also taught me it's okay to be in a 9-5 and trade time for money.

But it's what I do with the money that matters.
5/ @saxena_puru

Puru taught me to pay up for quality.

To not be a cheapskate.

And not get scared because a business is "overvalued".
6/ @4PillarFreedom

Taught me to find joy and meaning in my work.

To not worry about quitting my 9-5 just because everyone says so.

I'm rich if I'm enjoying what I do everyday.
7/ @Gautam__Baid

I've read Gautum's book Joys of Compounding. Twice.

My biggest takeaway is to have equanimity.

And also to buy durable companies that can weather the worst of storms.
8/ @LongHillRoadCap

Taught me to focus on market leaders.

Winners keep winning.

Business momentum is a very real thing.
9/ @investing_city

Ryan has a great podcast.

I listened to almost every episode during the lockdown in 2020.

This thread of his taught me how to analyze SaaS metrics.

The terms can be confusing. But he fanned away the smoke.
10/ @chamath

I learnt how to dissociate the stock price from the business.

Today I'm proud to say...

I only check my stock prices once a week.

I'm also much happier.
11/ @rabois

This was purely accidental.

I started binge listening to Keith to learn his management insights.

I wanted to lead my team better as a General Manager in my 9-5 job.

But, I learnt how to invest too.

That's how I discovered $PTON early.
12/ @rabois

Another one from Keith:

He taught me how to find businesses with accumulating advantages.

And also look for companies with a "secret" that makes them different.
13/ @investing_city

From Ryan again, I learnt a better way to dive into a company's earnings call.

I used to fall asleep reading the transcripts.

Now I'm able to read it and take notes with ease.
14/ @FromValue

Kris taught me why I should wait before buying a newly IPO-ed company.

Many investors always talk about staying away from IPOs.

But Kris was the one who explained it clearly for me.
15/ @iddings_sean

I was inspired after reading 100 Baggers by Chris Mayers.

But seeing Sean explain the emotional rollercoaster from holding XPEL made it real.

To get a 100 bagger, I must be able to hold a 100 bagger.
16/ @Hedge_Hiker

This is one of the coolest stories.

I learnt that one person's life can change from buying the right company.

And also holding it well.

Taught me to think like an owner and lengthen my time horizon.
17/ @InvestmentTalkk

I used to only research on the companies I own, or plan to own.

Conor taught me to expand my pool of mental models.

To research businesses I have no intention of owning.

To become a better analyst.
18/ @ClarkSquareCap

I learnt how to narrow down an investment into 2-3 key variables.

Also taught me that more information does not always mean higher returns.

Simplify. Know what's most important.

Tune out the rest.
19/ @theycallmetex

This guy is underrated.

I relate so much to his journey.

Being frugal, keeping expenses low, staying humble.

Wealth is all about freedom and control over my own time.
20/ @borrowed_ideas

He is one of the best researchers on Fintwit.

But this thread inspired me the most.

He made me realize there is no need to rush.

I should enjoy the journey.

And investing returns are not the only metric to measure my success.
21/ @mrjivraj

Another underrated investor and thread.

The whole thread about 100 baggers is eye opening.

Most importantly, I felt happy knowing I was on the right path.

Taking what I earn, with a sweat of my brow, and investing in great companies.
22/ @TomGardnerFool

I listened to the Motley Fool podcasts almost everyday in the lockdown.

It taught me one thing:

Find excellence, buy excellence, hold excellence.

And never sell.

Because selling a winner too early is hard to make up for.
23/ @honam

Ho Nam is an investor I wish I found earlier.

He taught me how to think like an owner and buy for keeps.

His podcast with Acquired is eye opening, on how he invested in Roblox.

He also tweets on leadership & management, which is a big bonus.
24/ @JoshuaTai0427

Another underrated investor.

This thread on Zhang Lei is solid.

Importance of long term thinking, creating value for society, and being a friend of time.

He did a great job translating the mandarin text!
There you have it.

I hope this has been helpful.

If you'd like to find this thread easily later, you can hop back to the top and retweet this.

I hope this can inspire more investors like me to benefit from Fintwit
I've only been investing for a few years.

These returns say nothing about my long term ability and results.

But I'm grateful to Fintwit.

Follow me here at @heymaxkoh.

I share about how I attained financial freedom while still working at a 9-5 job, through investing 🙏

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More from @heyamaxkoh

Jan 20, 2023
This is value investor, Allan Mecham.

He dropped out of college at age 22 to start his fund, Arlington Value.

From 2008-2016, they did a CAGR of 30% over 8.5 years!

And in his fund letters, he shared his best frameworks for investing in companies.

Here's a breakdown of each:
1. Adopt a mindset for longevity

He focuses on variables that affect a business' durability.

Stuff like valuation doesn't matter if the business quality is misjudged.

Since a company's value is determined by its future cash flows...

Hence evaluating its future is key
2. Stay within your circle of competence

Allan is aware that his CoC is tiny!

Thus, he rarely buys companies that he:

• Hasn't researched
• Hasn't followed for at least a few years.

Because the best way to study a business is to observe its execution overtime.
Read 12 tweets
Jan 17, 2023
One of the great investors of our time: Li Lu

During his talks at CBS and Peking Uni, he’s shared many of his thoughts on:

- Researching a stock
- Thinking like an owner
- Behaviours of a good investor

Here’s a breakdown of 15 of his investing mental models:
1. Think Like a Business Owner

Your fortunes go up and down with the nature of the business.

You don’t think of yourself as a paper shuffler.

But instead, as a real owner.

And because you only own a small piece, you need a margin of safety before buying in.
2. You Are a Researcher More Than an Investor

Most of your time is spent reading.

You operate more like a field detective and journalist.

This helps you understand a business well so you can own it with conviction.
Read 21 tweets
Jan 11, 2023
How to read an Annual Report in 1 hour.

A step by step guide for busy people:

(also for investing newbies)
1. For me, reading a 10k is purely to understand one thing:

A company's business model.

That's it.

This includes:

- what products they sell
- how they make $$
- basic unit economics

Fine tune your antenna to look for that.
2. Limit your time.

I find that 45-60 mins is a typical duration before I start feeling sleepy.

With this in mind, it creates urgency for me to move fast before steam runs out.

I become more selective of what I read in the 10K.

Which helps me remember the best ideas I need.
Read 13 tweets
Jan 6, 2023
17 life-changing lessons from "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb that gave me a mindf**k.

I hope it does the same for you too:
1. Hard work and work ethic is BS

Those who merely work hard generally lose their focus and intellectual energy.

Work ethics draw people to focus on noise rather than the signal.
2. Lucky fools do not think they are lucky fools.

Be careful who you listen to or take advice from.
Read 20 tweets
Nov 2, 2022
Secrets on how to find 10-100 baggers

My top 8 tweets:
1. Turning $3.6k into $1M

Someone else shared this, but their account went private.

I don't take any credit for this.

But it's a good lesson.

This guy from Reddit bought 300 shares of $AMZN at $12.50 in 2001. It has now become a 280 bagger.

Read his thought process here:
2. Real life 100 baggers by @mrjivraj

I love this.

What makes it awesome is seeing retail investors like you and me buy shares of $AAPL and $MSFT in the early days.

Is there luck? Yes.

But a good reminder that the real $$ is made in the holding.

Read 13 tweets
Oct 17, 2022
90% of business acquisitions fail.

But there are exceptions:

Mark Leonard, Founder of Constellation Software $CSU, is one of them.

He's acquired over 500 companies in the last 2 decades...

Turning $25 Million into $39 Billion.

Here's his "Growth by Acquisition" playbook: Image
Okay I'm a jerk.

This is the real photo of Mark Leonard.

Now let's get to the serious stuff...

5 lessons from Mark's "Growth by Acquisition" Playbook:

1. Focus on niche players
2. Focus on sticky softwares
3. Buy founder led companies
4. Decentralization
5. Keep teams small Image
To put things in context:

Every $1 you invested in Constellation Software in 2006...

Would have turned into $100 in 2022.

Over the last 16 years, its stock has compounded at over 30% a year.

What's the secret? Image
Read 25 tweets

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