“It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting.” — Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Many of us, myself included, look at stocks that have made big moves and think to ourselves, “If I would have only knew about that company and bought it back then.” But would you really have developed the conviction to hold during the run up? The problem is that to achieve a multi-bagger in the portfolio, you have to hold a multi-bagger. And if you want it to change your life, you need to hold a lot of it.
Don’t bother finding the next multi-bagger if you aren’t going to develop the conviction to hold it
Over the last decade, I’ve been lucky enough to be invested in a few stocks that have gone up 5-10-20-30x over a multi-year time horizon. From my experience, the only way to hold onto a big position after it makes a big move is to know the underlying company better than anyone else. Greed and fear will test your resolve, so you need to learn to keep these emotions in check. You need to believe in your due diligence and form an unwavering conviction.
So how do you develop the conviction to hold?
A lot of due diligence is on the front-end of a buying decision, but it certainly doesn’t stop there. The maintenance due diligence following the buy decision is even more important. For me, I talk to management regularly and keep close watch of all the ancillary forces and trends that are driving the company’s business. My “edge” is knowing my positions better than anyone else. This doesn’t mean I’m going to be right, but the more I know the better.
I think many misperceive high conviction for close-mindedness, ignorance, and arrogance. The conviction I’m talking about is quite the opposite. You need to constantly assess your positions and openly listen to counter arguments. Only then will you have the conviction to hold multi-baggers because you will understand all sides to the story. You also need to develop a thick skin. If you are not ready to be criticized for your convictions than you aren’t ready to make real money.
I believe most investors focus too much on selling strategies and not enough time on knowing what they own. Selling strategies such as, “Sell half after a stock doubles” or “When a position reaches 10% of the portfolio, sell it down to 8%” are meant for lazy investors. These selling metrics-formulas-strategies sound great in academia or when selling an investment strategy to a bunch of lemmings who can’t think for themselves.The truth is if you know what you own at all times, you’ll know when to sell.
In many cases the stocks I’ve owned were better buys after they doubled then when I initially bought them. In many cases when a position became 30% of my portfolio there was a reason for it. The underlying business was doing really well, or institutions were just starting to nibble on shares, so why would I sell it. Just because a stock doubles, triples, etc, doesn’t mean it should be sold. Stocks should be sold when your maintenance due diligence shows something has changed. If you know the story better than anyone, you’ll likely get clues well before the rest of the market.When a company performs, and the story hasn’t changed,stop trying to change it. Enjoy the ride.
