Thread by @MnkeDaniel

I’ve thought a lot about what makes a successful investor in the last couple of days.

“I actually think there’s a gene for this stuff (Investing).”
- Seth Klarman

Here are 7 Traits that I believe successful investors have 👇🏼

Risk Avoidance

Investing is not about taking risks.
It’s about limiting risks.

Successful investors do not focus on the upside. They focus on the downside.

They ask:
What could I lose in the worst-case scenario?

Instead of,
What could I win in the best-case scenario?

A Desire for Truth

You only lose an argument if you're not smarter than before.

You shouldn’t care if your initial argument is right or wrong, what matters is that you know the truth afterwards.

High Self-confidence, Low Ego

As an investor, you need the confidence to stay behind the calls you make.

Most big investment opportunities make you face a lot of headwinds.

Self-confidence gets you through that storm.

But that self-confidence shouldn’t come from ego.
It should result from facts that support your opinion.

Facts that others might not see or want to see because their egos are in their ways.

Too big an ego will make you biased towards your own opinion, not the facts.

Skepticism

Some people are more skeptical than others. I believe healthy skepticism is essential.

It’s not about only seeing the negatives; it’s about questioning and checking the positives once more.

Skepticism might also be a factor of the next point.

Contrarian Thinking

Skeptics also tend to be contrarians.

But contrarian thinking, to me, is not going against the herd just to be different.

It’s not chasing the herd at all costs. It's questioning the market's mood and having your own opinion.

Patience

Building wealth takes time.

No one knows how stocks perform tomorrow, in a week, or a month.

A companies performance in a decade, however, is far more predictable.

A great investor has the foresight to have such a thesis and the patience to wait for it to play out.

A Founders Mindset

“The greatest investors in the world are not investors at all. They’re entrepreneurs that never sold.” - Nick Sleep

Investors focus on stock prices and movements.

Entrepreneurs focus on the mission of the company behind that stock certificate.

A value investing principle is to see the stock as owning part of the business.

And as the owner of the business, you should focus on the well-being of the company.

Not the well-being of the stock price.

Thanks for reading. If you have anything to add, please tell me in the comments.

If you want to support me, please Retweet or Like this thread.
Thanks a lot!

For more content about investing, consider following me @MnkeDaniel

What would you add to this list and do you think there is a gene for this 🤔?

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