Max Koh Profile picture
19 Oct, 11 tweets, 4 min read
The #1 secret to improve your investing returns?

Research your companies well.

Here's 5 simple tools I use to research companies in depth:

(with screenshots of how I personally use each one)
Tool 1: Pocket

I use this to highlight earnings transcripts and articles on my phone.

Allows me to research companies even when I'm on the go.

I then extract these highlights afterwards and summarize them.

Here's an example of an interview with Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman.
Tool 2: Otter

I use Otter to transcribe CEO interviews and videos.

Why not just listen to them?

Because I read faster than I listen. So it saves me time.

Here's my trick: I transcribe these videos beforehand.

Then I read the transcripts when I'm on the public commute to work
Tool 3: Google docs

I type all my company analysis in a classic google doc.

I like it because I can create Headings. Which I can quickly jump to in a second.

This is useful as my document gets longer.

Because I don't need to waste time scrolling to find what I need.
Tool 4: Google Drive

I classify all my google docs according to their names in a drive.

I have one folder for all my write-ups.

This helps me access them anytime.

Example of my writeups folder :
4b. I also have another folder for my financial models.

I update these quarterly numbers after each earnings call.

Helps me stay up to date with their latest metrics and valuations.

By now you probably can tell...

I love organization and structure :)
5. @RoamResearch

I am going to get laughed at.

Because I am using less than 1% of Roam's full functions.

I use it mainly so I can see the notes side by side when I write.

So I have my highlights (extracted from pocket) on one side.

And my actual writing on the other.
5b. Why do I do this?

So I can see everything in one screen.

Yes, I know I can do this with a bigger monitor or 2 screens.

But I'm a minimalist.

I hate clutter and hardware. I love working on my laptop.

So I'd much rather get Roam as I can use this function anywhere.
* A request from me:

Please note I will NOT entertain questions about the individual stocks shown above.

Firstly, I don't buy everything I research.

Most importantly...

I have a rule where I don't talk about my positions in public.

To protect myself from commitment bias.
That's my tech stack.

You don't have to buy expensive software that costs thousands.

I've been using these 5 simple tools for some time now.

They've made me a better researcher.

And also improved my portfolio returns.

1. Pocket
2. Otter
3. Google docs
4. Drive
5. Roam
If you found this useful, follow me here at @heymaxkoh

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

By investing in great businesses.

Also check out these top 20 lessons from Fintwit that helped me multiply my 6 figure portfolio:

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More from @heymaxkoh

21 Oct
Discover how 2 billion dollar fund managers make investing decisions.

Meet David Poppe (right) and John Harris (not in photo).

Their firm, Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb, manages the flagship Sequoia Fund.

They shared 5 of their key investing principles.

Here's the breakdown: Image
1. It's all about people

They believe there's a difference between good and excellent managers.

Their goal is to find the latter.

Because great management teams make better capital allocation decisions.

So in the long run, it makes the investment more predictable.
1b. How do they assess their managers?

They like to ask this question they learnt from Buffett:

"If you had to leave $1 million with somebody for 5 years, would you trust them to be a fiduciary of your investment?"

If the answer is yes, it helps them sleep better at night.
Read 10 tweets
21 Oct
How to read an Annual Report in 1 hour.

A step by step guide for busy people:
Context:

This is NOT the best way to read an annual report.

It's just how I do it with limited time, while holding my 9-5 job.

I will use "10K / Annual report" interchangeably.

I'll also share some other great guides to reading a 10K at the bottom of this thread:
1. Be clear on your intention

First, why are you reading the 10K?.

"Understanding the business" is a terrible answer. It's too broad.

You will end up reading passively.

Because you don't know what to look for.
Read 19 tweets
20 Oct
Amazon, Costco, Southwest.

These 3 great companies have 1 thing in common:

A low price strategy.

Here's 5 frameworks to help you invest in "low pricing business models":

Distilled from one of the world's top pricing strategists
1. Low price from Day 1

For this to work, low pricing must be built into their business model.

These companies value things like:

- Frugality
- Process efficiency
- Strong procurement from suppliers

It's part of their DNA since the start.
1b. Low pricing also starts from the leadership and culture.

From the type of car the CEO drives...

To the furniture in the office

(think of Jeff Bezos making tables out of wooden doors in the early days of AMZN)...

It sends a message to the employees:

We keep costs low!
Read 12 tweets
20 Oct
More than a year back, I came across this lesson from Buffett in one of his annual meetings.

It forever changed the way I sized my positions.

My portfolio returns improved thereafter:
“When we look at the future of businesses we look at riskiness as being sort of a go/ no-go valve.

If we think that we simply don't know what's going to
happen in the future, that doesn't mean it's risky for everyone.

It means it's risky for us.
In that case, we just give up.

We don't try to predict those things.

We don't say, "Well, we don't know what's going to happen. Therefore, we'll discount some cash flows that we don't even know at 9% instead of 7%.
Read 5 tweets
19 Oct
Earnings season is coming.

99% of investors behave like sheep in this period.

They're rattled by short term noise and follow the herd's opinions.

Don't be like them.

Here's 5 quick mental models to protect yourself from sheep mentality:
1. Think like a business owner

An owner’s mentality forces you to think hard about the important variables.

It helps you see further down the road.

And you stop worrying about quarterly increments.
1b. Instead, you put more thought into stuff that matters.

Such as:

- barriers to entry
- competitive landscape/threat
- the ongoing capital needs
- the durability of the business
Read 12 tweets
18 Oct
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 $32 Billion.

Here's his "Growth by Acquisition" playbook:
To put things in context:

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

Would have turned into $120 in 2021.

Over the last 15 years, its stock has compounded at over 35% a year.

What's the secret?
5 lessons from Mark's "Growth by Acquisition" Playbook:

1. Focus on niche players
2. Focus on sticky softwares
3. Buy companies that are founder led
4. Decentralization
5. Keep teams small

Lets go:
Read 25 tweets

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