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1/n The term Coffee Can is being used to market funds these days. Professional fund management is more about selling & less about returns today
Some learnings from my father who has held stocks since the 80s & 90s and is the person who got me interested in this investing project https://twitter.com/deepakvenkatesh/status/1257614765930672128
Some learnings from my father who has held stocks since the 80s & 90s and is the person who got me interested in this investing project https://twitter.com/deepakvenkatesh/status/1257614765930672128
2/n Being a govt doctor working on the field most of the time he rarely put in effort to do any detailed analysis. He tried his hand at a business & failed miserably. Went back to job.
His learning - give money to people who can run businesses efficiently.
His learning - give money to people who can run businesses efficiently.
3/n You can never create a business in 1-2 years. It takes decades. So why do you think you will make returns in a few months? He bought stocks with the expectation that for 5+ year nothing would happen.
This is what the world's richest man says & does.
This is what the world's richest man says & does.
4/n Once stock certificates were obtained they would go into the briefcase only to see light once a year. Never keep counting the M2M value of your portfolio. If you want to speculate buy lottery ticket. He did so for me a couple of times!
5/n His biggest learning: avoid Debt. This was the reason his business failed. This reflected in his stock choices. He didnt know Peter Lynch in the 90s but he said the same thing as Lynch - Very difficult for a debt free company to go bankrupt
6/n When crisis comes, he has seen Harshad, Ketan, dot com, GFC, covid, try to give more money to those businesses which will survive. Always invest your salary & then expense the leftover.
7/n Out of 10 stocks 5 will give poor returns, 3 average and 2 super returns. Don't expect every stock to make money. In entrepreneurship most fail.
8/n Always watch news, read papers etc. they keep you busy & informed. But the trick is that this 'information' is for mostly entertainment. He doesn't know what an Analyst is.
9/n Humans by default are good at heart. Each one's action could be good or bad. And we should learn from the good & bad both. Similarly all businesses try to succeed but some make poor decisions not by choice but by circumstances.
10/n Never sell. He didn't know the term coffee can but his briefcase served as one. He has sold stocks only once I think when that was to send my brother to NYU Law School.
11/n Last but most important: Always know that this is not a game of competition or to become filthy rich. It is to have a comfortable life & help others have a comfortable life too.
12/n He gave up his job around dot com period & didn't work thereafter. He today works 15-20 hours a week, mostly free eye checkups (he is an eye surgeon) & also runs a small NGO giving housing & healthcare @ 100-200 per month.
13/n His advice to me: Keep buying in times of adversity. Buy index funds only. He was surprised to know such a thing exists. Always assume you are average & you need to read more. Money is not the end. Enjoy your hobbies & family time. Also no advice is 100% correct always.
14/n p.s. I don't believe in coffee can. Also I only partly invest in Index funds at the moment.
