HOWARD MARKS ON THE MOST EXPENSIVE LESSON OF SELLING TOO EARLY: "Amazon was $90 in 1999. When the tech bubble burst, it went to $6. It was down 93%." "What if you were smart enough to buy it at $6? Would you have held to $12? What about $60?... You've made 10 times your money, would you sell?" "What about when it got to $600? You made 100 times your money. Most people would sell." "At the time I wrote it, Amazon was $3,300. If you sold at $600, you left 85% of the money on the table." "Buffett says he made all his money on 12 ideas. Charlie Munger said he made all his money on 4. The big mistake is getting off too soon."show more

I never understand why the interviewer or Howard Marks would not ask the most obvious and basic questions. “Why does it have to be all or nothing selling”? “Why not trim profits on the way up”? Lots of talk about DCA in. Not so much about DCA oit.

So even if you do nail the stock of the decade, are you are supposed to just let it grow to become 90% if your portfolio and not trim anything?

Arguably one of the hardest parts of trading, risk management it well understood… protect your downsides etc… but timing on the otherside … the exit, very difficult to master.

The real error isn’t selling high, it’s not distinguishing between price volatility and business trajectory.

LOL, there’s only a few Amazon’s amongst thousands of loser stocks. What’s the chance of picking an Amazon.

All of these 'lessons' are useless. I have friends that worked at amzn from the beginning and even they sold before it went bonkers. Dont beat yourself up - because this is rare. Make money and move on.

These videos go around when the market is running, and then whenever there’s a slight drawdown or some geopolitical issue, you’ll see videos of Marks saying nobody has ever made money when the S&P has a P/E ratio of 22 or higher (not the exact number, but something like this) 🤔🙃

Important lesson

Intels time. The most important tech is not going to be made in an island that China will control. Anyone who thinks that is insane. The new chip designs will not be given to TSMC. You don’t think China will steal those designs???? This is the buy of the next 50 years

somewhere there is an even smarter person who was wiped because he held or hundreds others not amazon

I sold PLTR at $40 and SOXL at $38. I’m a fool.

But this is exactly where I get lost tbh. Of course I want to let my $POET position run forever, but am I not supposed to make cheddar in a company I didn’t know 6 months ago…? It destroys my brain lol

That's great if you find the next $AMZN. Good luck. You are many many times more likely to fail if u have no edge. I don't like these bits of wisdom because it encourages people who have no clue to go buy some random stock their buddy told them about and ride it all the way to the bottom. Percentage of the people who bought $AMZN near a bottom and rode to the top are maybe .01% assuming they found it in the first place.

“How'd you get so rich?” “I always sold too early” Variously attributed to Bernard Baruch, Lord Rothschild, and others.

sold amzn at 600 called it a win still hurts lol

Yes but it does always work out that way - can have a stock - watch it go all the way up and then all the way back down again - & into receivership.

The hardest part of investing isn't finding a winner; it's staying on the train when it starts moving. Leaving 85% of your potential gains on the table just because you hit a "10x" is a painful lesson many learn too late. Real wealth is built by holding through the noise, not by grabbing quick profits.

Imagine holding intel for 10 years

Many people hold stocks for a long time, but only those who pick the right ones get rich. Buffett is just one of the few. The unlucky ones remain unknown, yet they make up the vast majority. Picking individual stocks is often just like a lottery.

Howard is the most prosaic investor I know in the business. The man has no imagination or understanding of innovative capital deployment.

Buy double, sell ½ at $12 and then it’s a free investment Rinse and repeat as you add to your portfolio

Many wise minds have said the same. While I sometimes kick myself for selling things that went on to 🚀, I console my mind by remembering the things I also sold that tanked or simply underperformed.

Selling too late? Tragic but rich.

"My favorite holding period is forever" - Warren Buffett (b. 1930)

I’m just over here buying Tesla and planning to hold for a very long time. I need me some of that Optimus money printer!

Steve Fossett bought it at $6 and held it and then his widow held most of it, too. 😂

Conviction in positions drives better risk management. Without thorough research, exposure to sudden market shifts increases. Staying updated on macro factors and underlying fundamentals can enhance your confidence.

🧸

@GavMcCracken I have been waiting for another bubble to burst. Meanwhile that $6 stock on my watchlist has gone to $600. Also if you have bought it for $6, you probably DCAed to $78 and stock is still $12. After 4 years stock is $60. You are still holding the bag, down 25%. Nobody did that.

Stocks are a gamble. It's what makes it fun, yet risky. I have a problem with selling, but once I do, I take the profit and never look back.

Great advice.

Let’s try this with $MSTR

yeah the hard part is telling patience from denial

One for you, @ragingbullcap!

I sold out of RKLB when it was $11 It was a huge mistake ASTS is still very early IMO