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.
3. Embrace volatility as a gift

Public markets offer you amazing deals you will never get in the private markets!

It's all about being patient.

The underlying value of a business is much more stable than the stock.

So you can buy great businesses that are mispriced!
4. Avoid noise and news

More information can give you a false sense of confidence.

It can create an illusion of "knowledge", and make you think many things are important.

The key is to know what are the 3-5 main variables in the company, and focus on those.

Ignore the rest.
5. Extend your time horizon to see what's truly important

When you look years out, instead of next quarter:

• You place less emphasis on hiccups and fluctuations.

• You don't focus on what 99% of other analysts look at (guidance, beats).

This helps you think more clearly.
6. Dig below the numbers

Not everything that is in numbers gives you the full story.

The real returns are made from great business quality.

Many factors like psychology and customer love are what determines the longevity of the business.

Look beyond the financial statements!
7. Mentally prepare for speed bumps and ugly numbers

Learn to discern between:

Short term speed bumps VS. fundamental problems in the business.

Franchise value can still be firmly intact, even if the company is going through a rough patch.
8. Pick the easy fights

He looks for layup type of investments, basically those that are easy.

Simple to understand.

In this business, there are no bonus points for doing backflips and somersaults in the air.

K.I.S.S!!!
RECAP:

1. Adopt a mindset for longevity
2. Stay within your circle of competence
3. Embrace volatility as a gift
4. Avoid noise and news
5. Extend your time horizon
6. Dig below the numbers
7. Mentally prepare for speed bumps
8. Pick the easy fights
If you like this, follow me here at @heymaxkoh

I share how I crossed 7 figures before age 30, and achieved my own version of financial freedom.

Stuff I tweet about:

• My investing strategy
• Books that inspire me
• How I built high income skills i.e. public speaking

• • •

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More from @heymaxkoh

5 Dec
2 weeks ago, I started reading "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb.

WOW, It's been mindblowing!

Thanks to @dvassallo 's recommendation.

Inside, there's a part he talks about how to deal with volatility.

Here’s 6 big lessons that are useful in the current market crash: Image
Lesson #1:
Negative emotions of seeing your stocks drop > Positive emotion from seeing your stocks rise.
"A negative pang is not offset by a positive one...

Some psychologists estimate the negative effect for an average loss to be up to 2.5 the magnitude of a positive one)...
Read 18 tweets
2 Dec
I scored A- for Finance in college.

Even then, nothing could prepare me for the storm in the markets.

Thank god for FinTwit.

Even after hitting 7 figures before 30, I still feel like a student here.

These are 9 great threads on investing concepts every investor MUST know:
1. What makes a high quality company?

Here are 20 interesting traits to look for by @patrick_oshag

Read 12 tweets
1 Dec
Okay, I have done the unthinkable.

broke my own rules.

I decided to allocate a tiny % of my portfolio into a company I know nothing about!!!

Datadog.

Why? because I like dogs and they are cute. Who doesn't like dogs???

Kidding.

Let me share more about this canine $DDOG
This is a personal experiment.

After my recent trimming down and exit from Peloton, I've a fair bit of undeployed $$$.

I added a bit to some of my core positions.

But there's still quite some leftover.

So I'll use this chance to widen my circle of competence. Have some fun.
$DDOG Numbers so far

Revenue last 5 qtrs:
155m, 178, 199, 234, 270

YoY increase: 57%, 52, 67, 75! (pretty solid acceleration)

QoQ: 15%, 12, 18, 15
Read 6 tweets
30 Nov
My learning hack: How I take notes from podcasts:

Several people have DMed me asking how I learn from podcasts, after my recent tweet on top investing podcasts.

Here's my 3 part process you can copy:
1. I listen to the podcast first without taking any notes

I usually listen when I'm having a meal... on the way to work... at the gym with my airpods

So this first pass is like a filter for me. I listen just to see if it WOWs me and teaches me anything useful.

If it does...
2. I then google for the transcript online. Or use Otter to transcribe it.

Sometimes, the podcast host gives away the whole transcript. yay!

if there isn't, then I use Otter to transcribe it.

I only do this for podcasts that impress me after I listen.
Read 6 tweets
29 Nov
I got bitten by the investing bug years back.

Ever since, I've listened to >200 podcast episodes over the last 3 years.

Thank god for airpods!

Anyway, I found that 99% of them are so-so.

But here are my top 12 investing podcast episodes that have made a lasting impact:
1. Paul Black from WCM, interviewed by @tseides

IMO, the people at WCM including Paul Black, @mbtrigg , Mike Tian, Kurt are highly underrated!

Key concepts:

- Importance of tailwinds
- Moat trajectory > moat size
- Culture must be aligned with moat

open.spotify.com/episode/4FXtu2…
2. @DavidGFool on finding rule breaker stocks

David Gardner is an amazing investor who can simplify ideas well.

Key concepts:

- The 6 traits of rule breakers
- Why it's ok to buy "expensive" stocks
- What it truly means to call yourself an investor

open.spotify.com/episode/4bwyON…
Read 14 tweets
28 Nov
This 1 concept from @NFX has been life changing for me:

If you’re feeling “stuck” in life, evaluate your NETWORK!

It's made me more aware of people I surround myself with.

Here’s 4 things to understand about how “Network Effects” work, and how to use them to score in life:
Overview of the 4 things we'll cover:

1. How networks form in your own life

2. 3 types of network levels and how they reinforce each other

3. Crossroad moments when your networks are created

4. How you can use network effects to your advantage

Let's get going...
1. Firstly, it’s crucial to understand how networks form:

i) Frequency - the more frequently you interact with someone, the stronger the bond


ii) Density - the number of people in a certain space or neighbourhood
.

The greater the density, the stronger the network.
Read 15 tweets

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