I was down $200k in a day in May 2021.

But I slept like baby.

NO, I lied! It was painful to watch.

But I survived. My portfolio emerged stronger.

Here's 7 key lessons learnt that made me a wiser investor.

(*I hope this helps you endure the market correction happening NOW)
1. Think like an owner

No owner wakes up every morning asking questions like:

"how much am I worth today?"

"how much more or less is my business valued today vs yesterday?"

Instead, they focus on their business.

As an investor, you're a part owner too.

Behave like one.
2. Dislodge stock price from the business

The stock is NOT the business.

Real business change is slow.

It takes time. Doesn't happen overnight.

But stock prices can rise and fall sharply within minutes.

Don't fall for the illusion.
3. Think long term

In the short run, prices are driven by emotions like fear and greed.

But in the long run, they're driven by business fundamentals:

• revenue growth
• cash flow
• earnings

When you lengthen your time horizon, short term noise can't scare you.
4. Think in %, not absolutes

Do not see your losses in terms of figures.

Otherwise, you'll freak out.

Because $200k can buy you a house, or a nice car, or fund your kid's education.

Instead, see things in %.

Then a gain or loss becomes relative.

It helps you stay logical.
5. Deeply understand what you own

You can borrow someone else's stock ideas.

But you cannot borrow their conviction.

If you don't truly understand the businesses you own, you'll panic sell.

So take time to learn about the:

• Business model
• Financials
• Management team
6. Size your positions well

Do not go all in on day one.

For my positions, I built them over months and quarters.

As the management executes, I increase my stake.

This prevents me from holding large positions I don't understand...

So my risk of panic selling is almost zero.
7. Have hobbies outside of investing

If you look at stock prices 247, it'll be hard to detach from the markets.

Staring closely at a tree won't make it grow faster.

It will only make you fearful when the leaves rustle.

Pick up other hobbies to keep your mind occupied.
Recap of the 7 key mindsets:

1. Think like an owner
2. Dislodge price from the business
3. Think long term
4. Think in %
5. Understand what you own
6. Size your positions well
7. Have hobbies outside of investing

I hope this helps you endure the volatile market now.
2021 has been tough for many investors.

Myself included.

The key is to stay grounded.

Follow me at @heymaxkoh where I share my investing journey...

And tweet about how I attained financial freedom before age 30.

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More from @heymaxkoh

7 Oct
21 simple lessons on investing and money that changed my life.

I hope they do the same for you:
1. Only the best will do.

Have unreasonable standards for every company in your portfolio.

They must earn their keep.
2. If you lack the time or interest to research companies, you’re better off buying the index.

You'll sleep better at night.
Read 24 tweets
5 Oct
How I saved my first $100k.

In 2015, I had less than $8k in savings when I started my first job.

3 years later, I saved my first $100k.

Here's how I did it:
1. Don’t expect it to be linear

At the start, my savings were low.

Because my salary wasn't high, it was impossible to save much.

Over time, it grew exponentially as my income grew.

Here’s the figures:

Year 1: $16k
Year 2: $37k
Year 3: $60k

Expect it to be slow at first.
2. Have an expense goal

I do this at the start of each year.

Set a limit on how much $$ you plan to spend in the year at most.

Then I divide that by 12.

This tells me how much $$ I'm allowed to spend each month.

It helps to cap my expenses.
Read 17 tweets
4 Oct
I'm lucky to attain financial freedom before 30.

I credit Fintwit for my learnings.

Here's 10 key concepts every investor must know:

1. $$ needed to retire
2. Researching a business
3. Reading annual reports
4. Reading earnings calls
5. Criteria of a multi bagger

(Read on...)
6. Holding a multi bagger
7. Economic moats
8. When to buy a stock
9. Earnings vs cashflow
10. Traits of quality companies

Here's my 10 favourite threads on these concepts:
1. How much $$ do you need to retire

Before you start, you must know the end game.

To meet your retirement goals...

How much $$ do you need in your portfolio?

10-K Diver does a good job explaining what's a safe withdrawl rate.

Hint: It's NOT 4%.
Read 14 tweets
1 Oct
How do you fire a long time employee?

And without looking like an a**hole?

For leaders and managers...

Here's my personal guide to firing a team member:
Before we begin, some background...

• I will share what I did, from experience

• I've only needed to execute 3 fires in my career, fortunately

• I'm a General Manager of an 8 figure digital marketing company in Singapore

Take what works for you. Dump the rest.

Let's go:
1/ Be mentally prepared to look like an ass

You have your own reasons to fire her.

It's likely logical to you.

But she could see things a different way.

As a leader, there are times you'll be deeply misunderstood.

It's part of the terrain.

Welcome to management.
Read 18 tweets
30 Sep
Investing is about connecting the dots.

Many investors fail terribly at this.

So here's a thread on developing Pattern Recognition:
When starting on my investing journey at first...

I only read about the companies that

i) I already owned, or

ii) planned to own
I tuned out all the rest that did not fall into either of the two buckets.

Bad move.
Read 25 tweets
29 Sep
Why you do NOT need to quit your 9-5 job to get wealthy?

Read on...
Because you can marry someone rich. Kidding.

The real reason has to do with:

1. the type of job you pick

2. find other ways to own equity beyond starting a business.

Let's dig deeper...
FIRST: Get a job whose outputs do not match inputs.

Here's why:
Read 24 tweets

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