My Worst Investment Ever November 2023
Ep753: Therapong Vachirapong – You Need to Take Risk to Earn a Return
BIO: Therapong Vachirapong is a Managing Director and a Head of Equity Research at Phatra Securities PLC.
STORY: Therapong was a risk-averse investor who hardly took any risks. Therefore, he missed out on many investment returns and didn’t increase his returns. The only time he’d take a risk was buying stocks when the prices were very low and in most cases, these stocks never grew in value.
LEARNING: Avoid the maximum drawdown. You cannot increase your return without taking calculated risks. Have an investment style to avoid investing in everything.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep752: Carolyn McClanahan – You’ll Never Be Smart Enough to Beat the Market
BIO: Dr. Carolyn McClanahan is a physician turned financial planner. In addition to working in her financial planning practice, she speaks regularly on the interplay between health and financial issues, particularly regarding aging, chronic illness, end-of-life, long-term care, health care reform, and health care costs.
STORY: Carolyn lost a good chunk of her portfolio while doing active management.
LEARNING: There’s nobody out there who can be consistently smart to beat the market. Know your money goals. Be careful of overconfidence bias.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
ISMS 36: Larry Swedroe – Two Heads Are Not Better Than One When Investing
In this episode of Investment Strategy Made Simple (ISMS), Andrew gets into part two of his discussion with Larry Swedroe: Ignorance is Bliss. Today, they discuss two chapters of Larry’s book Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. In this thirteenth series, they discuss mistake number 24: Do You Believe More Heads Are Better Than One? And mistake 25: Do You Believe Active Managers Will Protect You from Bear Markets?
LEARNING: Invest conservatively instead of following the crowd. The best way to minimize the risks of a bear market is to hyper-diversify.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep751: Luke Gromen – Start Small, Then Grow as You Learn
BIO: Luke Gromen has 25 years of experience in equity research, equity research sales, and as a macro/thematic analyst.
STORY: Luke put a large position in a private equity investment because it had a great founder who had previously created and sold some tech companies. Additionally, one of Luke’s dearest friends went to work there. However, he didn’t realize that the company was overvalued, so when the founder couldn’t raise funding, the company collapsed, and Luke lost all his money.
LEARNING: Position sizing is crucial. Don’t get too excited and emotionally invested in an investment. Be careful when investing in illiquid assets because you can easily get trapped.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep750: Jason Brown – You Never Go Broke Taking a Profit
BIO: Jason Brown is the founder of Power Trades University and the Brown Report. He has over a decade of stock & options trading experience, is a podcast host, and is a YouTuber. Jason believes anyone can profit from the stock market, even if they’ve lost money before.
STORY: At 24, Jason had about $250,000 in a trading account. Jason wanted to buy a condo and pay cash for it. Condos were like $500,000. He figured that he could use the $250,000 to trade and make enough to pay cash for the condo. So he risked a quarter million trying to make half a million and lost it all.
LEARNING: You never go broke taking a profit. There’s no one trade that’ll make you rich, but there is one trade that will blow up your entire account. Don’t set unrealistic or obsessive goals.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
ISMS 35: Larry Swedroe – Great Companies Are Not Always High-Return Investments
In this episode of Investment Strategy Made Simple (ISMS), Andrew gets into part two of his discussion with Larry Swedroe: Ignorance is Bliss. Today, they discuss two chapters of Larry’s book Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. In this twelfth series, they discuss mistake number 22: Do You Confuse Great Companies with High-Return Investments? And mistake number 23: Do You Understand How the Price Paid Affects Returns?
LEARNING: Great companies are not always high-return investments. Understand how the price paid affects returns. Rebalance your portfolio regularly.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep749: Chris Vermeulen – Find What You’re Passionate About
BIO: Chris Vermeulen shares a different way of investing that doesn’t use diversification or the buy-and-hold method. In his new book, “Asset Revesting – How To Exclusively Hold Assets Rising In Value, Profit During Bear Markets, And Continue Building Wealth In Retirement,” he explains why this approach is the way forward.
STORY: Chris and his father imported infrared saunas from China only to discover they were not certified in Canada after arrival. Chris had invested over $250,000 that went down the drain.
LEARNING: Find what you’re passionate about. Invest in what you’re familiar with. Start small, test things out, and then go big.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep748: Kenny Rose – Don’t Invest in Anything You’re Not Fully Educated In
BIO: Kenny Rose is the Chicago-based founder and CEO of FranShares, a platform that democratizes franchise investing.
STORY: Kenny invested in an aviation stock and hit the jackpot. Feeling lucky, he invested in a company dealing with processors and microchips, an industry he knew nothing about. He bought the stock at $4. About a year later, the stock went down to $2.50. Kenny panicked and sold his stocks. The stock is trading at over $100 today.
LEARNING: Before you invest, think about how much you’re willing to lose, what your time horizon is, and what your maximum loss might be. Educate yourself about what you want to invest in. Outsource what you don’t know to professionals who know those spaces better.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
ISMS 34: Larry Swedroe – Consider All Hidden Costs Before You Invest
In this episode of Investment Strategy Made Simple (ISMS), Andrew gets into part two of his discussion with Larry Swedroe: Ignorance is Bliss. Today, they discuss two chapters of Larry’s book Investment Mistakes Even Smart Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. In this eleventh series, they discuss mistake number 20: Do You Only Consider the Operating Expense Ratio When Selecting a Mutual Fund? And mistake number 21: Do You Fail to Consider the Costs of an Investment Strategy?
LEARNING: Don’t focus solely on the operating expense ratio when buying a mutual fund; consider hidden costs, too. Always consider the costs of an investment strategy, such as bid-offer spreads, market impact costs, taxes, etc.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep747: Chong Ser Jing – Pay Attention to What Drives Business Results
BIO: Chong Ser Jing is the Portfolio Manager and Co-Founder of Compounder Fund, an investment fund that invests in stocks around the world.
STORY: In October 2010, Ser Jing bought six stocks. Two of these were companies in the oil industry. By the time he was selling these stocks, he had a loss of 77% and 31% from the two companies, respectively.
LEARNING: Some sectors may not be worth investing in because they tend to historically generate poor returns on invested capital. Pay careful attention to the drivers of a company’s business results. Understand the difference between internal and external drivers.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep746: James M. Dahle – Don’t Buy More Insurance Than You Need
BIO: James M. Dahle, MD, is a practicing emergency physician who took an interest in personal finance and investing in residency after getting ripped off by every financial professional he came into contact with. He founded The White Coat Investor in 2011 to help fellow docs get a fair shake on Wall Street.
STORY: James got sold a whole life insurance policy in medical school. He invested in it, thinking it would be a good option, only to realize seven years later that it was not. When he pulled out of the policy, he lost 33% of the premiums he had paid.
LEARNING: You must understand anything you buy. Don’t buy more insurance than you need. Focus on one catastrophe-related insurance product that’s reasonable.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep745: Harley Bassman – Sizing Is More Important Than Entry Level
BIO: Harley Bassman is an industry thought leader and commentator on macroeconomic issues spanning decades.
STORY: In 2019, Harley bought some calls and sold some puts on Citibank stock for a cost strategy. He believed the stocks would increase because all its peers were trading above their book value. When COVID came, the stocks went south, causing Harley to make his biggest loss ever.
LEARNING: When something trades well below what you think its value is, consider why that’s the case. Size the investment.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Ep744: Mike Philbrick – Just Because You’re Winning Doesn’t Mean You’re Smart
BIO: Mike Philbrick is the CEO of ReSolve Asset Management. He has over 30 years of experience in investment management, serving in senior investment industry positions with several major financial services firms, and is responsible for investment decisions, coaching, and strategic leadership.
STORY: Mike learned of a mining stock at the urinal. He invested, and the stock performed well because the mining industry was on fire. And so encouraged by early success and massive ignorance, Mike wiped all of those gains in no time.
LEARNING: Don’t over-leverage. Understand what kind of investor you are. Ensure you have some protection before you go all-in in an investment.
Access the episode’s show notes and resources
Subscribe to My Worst Investment Ever: iTunes, Google, Spotify, YouTube, Others.
DISCLAIMER: This content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Readers should not consider statements made by the author(s) as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The author(s) cannot be held liable for any actions taken as a result of reading this article.