If I have to name someone who taught me most about:

Risks, volatility and market cycles

It has to be Howard Marks from Oaktree Capital.

Buffett once said: "When I see memos from Howard Marks in my mail, they're the first thing I open and read."

Here are my key insights:
1. Risk Management

Investment isn't about avoiding risk altogether.

Risk-free investments will usually bring risk-free returns (mediocre).

Rather, we should think about managing risk instead using tools such as:

Diversification, rebalancing, long time horizon, etc.
2. We are our own worst enemies

Investors make most of their mistakes not because of informational or analytical factors, but because of psychological ones.

The internet has made tons of information readily to all investors.

What counts is how we react to those information.
3. The difference between luck and skill

Don't follow an investor just because of great results for that year or two.

Investing like like a game of poker, not chess.

Success could be temporary due to luck.

Look into his/her investment process to determine if it makes sense.
4. On forecasting

One recurring theme from great investors is that they ignore forecasts of all sorts.

It may be tempting to scratch the itch of thinking you can get a glimpse into the future by following gurus.

But remember, a broken clock is right twice a day.
5. Human nature

The swing between greed and fear is ingrained in the market.

It often swings to excesses and then overcorrects.
6. Switching between a cautious and aggressive mode

It's impossible to know when the tide will turn.

Many investors are paralyzed by indecision when a market does turn.

Market drawdowns often change the narrative of a business.

Even when fundamentally nothing has changed.
7. A bull market is a bad teacher

It makes you feel invincible, throws you off your position sizing and become aggressive with your forecasts.

Whenever there's a drawdown, make use of the opportunity to reflect and refine your investment philosophy.
8. Rewire your brain to like low prices

People should like something less when its price rises, but in investing they often like it more.

If you are going to be a net saver for some time, you should welcome market declines!
9. Second-level thinking

First-level thinkers look for simple formulas and easy answers.

Second-level thinkers know that success in investing is the antithesis of simple

It is deep, complex, and convoluted.
10. Anti-fragility

Develop a respect for tail-end risks.

Put yourself in a position where you are not forced out of the market even when shit hits the fence.

Do not:

-Borrow to invest
-Sell naked puts and calls
-Invest your emergency fund
This is the end of my key takeaways from Howard Marks' memos!

I hope you enjoyed it.

If you like this, follow me here @steadycompound

I write about investment concepts, business breakdowns and growth philosophies.
Investoholics are going to enjoy my newsletter where I share my thoughts and the most insightful information I discovered in the past week.

steadycompounding.com
For the uninitiated, Howard Marks has a favorite catchphrase:

"The most important is...."

And then he'll go on to list and explain all those things.

Over the years, this phrase eventually morphed into the title of his book.

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More from @SteadyCompound

Jan 14,
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Updating my learnings in this thread as it goes along.
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'Tony' Deden got into the investment business by accident.

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Over time, one family became two, three, and more.

Knowing that his clients no longer had an income, capital preservation was key.

My key insights:
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The capital entrusted to him was a lifetime's worth of savings.

It's tough enough to protect the capital from externalities such as inflation, taxation or unforeseen events.

A fund manager can't compound the error by internal factors such as imprudence.
2. A good investment must have three components

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These three components make investments endure the test of time.
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Jan 1,
Buffett's letters taught me more about investing than any business school ever could.

Even after investing for 14 years, I uncover new insights every time I reread his letters.

Recently, I reread his letters from 1977 to 2020 for a third time.

Here are my key insights: Image
1. Moat is NEVER stagnant

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Widening the moat must always take precedence over short-term targets. Image
2. Commodity businesses

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Regardless of improvement, your competitors will quickly copy your advantage away.

Where returns on capital is dismal, reinvestment will only destroy value. Image
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Marathon Asset produced several iconic investors such as Nick Sleep and Jeremy Hosking.

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Here are my main takeaways:
1/ Periods of high profitability leads to reckless investments.

When profits are high:

-Boost CAPEX with little regard for ROIC
-Competitors will follow suit to avoid losing market share
-CEO's incentives aren't aligned with shareholders

It's a race to the bottom.
2/ The capital cycle will swing down when investments are taken too far.

Forecasts that were reasonable will now look overly optimistic.

Profits collapse, management teams are changed, CAPEX is cut, and consolidation begins.

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