1/ The biggest investing lesson I’ve learned from 2020:

Efficient time management is crucial during a crisis.

2/ Every pro knows that good time management is what separates the great from the good. How you spend your time directly determines your returns. I’ve always been mindful of this, but 2020 exposed the weak points of my time management system.

3/ Here is how I can better manage my time during market dislocations:

4/ First, don’t spend all day glued in front of Bloomberg watching tape. As a fundamental investor, this is not the best use of my time. Certain amount of tape watching is unavoidable when S&P is dropping double-digit percentage a day, but it’s crucial to keep this to a minimum.

5/ Secondly, I spent too much of my time evaluating companies I have never looked at before. This is generally not a good use of my time as markets move incredibly fast these days. By the time I am done initiating, the opportunities are often gone.

6/ This is why it is important to be familiar with as many companies and industries as possible during normal conditions, so you have a deeper pond to fish when markets dislocate.

7/ Thirdly, I spent almost all my time in March looking at companies that were hurt by the pandemic rather than the ones that were benefiting from the crisis. In hindsight, I should have spent more time looking at the “stay-at-home” trade.

8/ This is a result of my bias towards value and distressed investments. I would be better served to have a more balanced approach during the next crisis.

9/ I also spent too much time looking at deep value airline and hotel companies during March. I’ve learned over multiple crises that mid-cap growth names offer the highest upside during market selloffs. Should have spent more of my time looking at midcap growth co's.

10/ Lastly, I tried to raise add'l liquidity to take advantage of mkt opps. including borrowing money from family and getting HELOCs on my properties. By the time I got the money, most of the opportunities were gone.

11/ Additional liquidity should be raised before the crisis, not during the crisis.