This article is part of Morningstar.co.uk's Equity Investing Week.
Here at Morningstar, our equity analysts have nearly one-thousand years of collective investment experience and we've boiled down some of our most salient observations into 20 suggestions that we think will make you a better stock investor. We firmly believe that if you heed the advice contained here, you will make better decisions when buying and selling equities.
1. Keep it simple
Keeping it simple in investing is not stupid. Seventeenth-century philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, "All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone." This aptly describes the investing process.
Those who trade too often, focus on irrelevant data points, or try to predict the unpredictable are likely to encounter some unpleasant surprises when investing. By keeping it simple--focusing on companies with economic moats, requiring a margin of safety when buying, and investing with a long-term time horizon--you can greatly enhance your odds of success.
2. Have the proper expectations
Are you getting into stocks with the expectation that quick riches soon await? Hate to be a wet blanket, but unless you are extremely lucky, you will not double your money in the next year investing in stocks. Such returns generally cannot be achieved unless you take on a great deal of risk by, for instance, buying extensively on margin or taking a flier on a chancy security. At this point, you have crossed the line from investing into speculating.
Though stocks have historically been the highest-return asset class, this still means returns in the 10%-12% range. These returns have also come with a great deal of volatility. If you don't have the proper expectations for the returns and volatility you will experience when investing in stocks, irrational behaviour--taking on exorbitant risk in get-rich-quick strategies, trading too much, swearing off stocks forever because of a short-term loss--may ensue.
3. Be prepared to hold for a long time
In the short term, stocks tend to be volatile, bouncing around every which way on the back of Mr. Market's knee-jerk reactions to news as it hits. Trying to predict the market's short-term movements is not only impossible, it's maddening. It is helpful to remember what Benjamin Graham said: In the short run, the market is like a voting machine--tallying up which firms are popular and unpopular. But in the long run, the market is like a weighing machine--assessing the substance of a company.
Yet too many investors are still focused on the popularity contests that happen every day, and then grow frustrated as the shares of their companies--which may have sound and growing businesses--do not move. Be patient, and keep your focus on a company's fundamental performance. In time, the market will recognise and properly value the cash flows that your businesses produce.
4. Tune out the noise
There are many media outlets competing for investors' attention, and most of them centre on presenting and justifying daily price movements of various markets. This means lots of prices--stock prices, oil prices, money prices, frozen orange juice concentrate prices--accompanied by lots of guesses about why prices changed. Unfortunately, the price changes rarely represent any real change in value. Rather, they merely represent volatility, which is inherent to any open market. Tuning out this noise will not only give you more time, it will help you focus on what's important to your investing success--the performance of the companies you own.
Likewise, just as you won't become a better football player by just staring at statistical sheets, your investing skills will not improve by only looking at stock prices or charts. Athletes improve by practicing and hitting the gym; investors improve by getting to know more about their companies and the world around them.
5. Behave like an owner
We'll say it again--stocks are not merely things to be traded, they represent ownership interests in companies. If you are buying businesses, it makes sense to act like a business owner. This means reading and analysing financial statements on a regular basis, weighing the competitive strengths of businesses, making predictions about future trends, as well as having conviction and not acting impulsively.
6. Buy low, sell high
If you let stock prices alone guide your buy and sell decisions, you are letting the tail wag the dog. It's frightening how many people will buy stocks just because they've recently risen, and those same people will sell when stocks have recently performed poorly.
Wakeup call: When stocks have fallen, they are low, and that is generally the time to buy! Similarly, when they have skyrocketed, they are high, and that is generally the time to sell! Don't let fear (when stocks have fallen) or greed (when stocks have risen) take over your decision making.
7. Watch where you anchor
If you have read about behavioural finance, you are probably familiar with the concept of anchoring, or mentally clinging to a specific reference point. Unfortunately, many people anchor on the price they paid for a stock, and gauge their own performance (and that of their companies) relative to this number.
Remember, stocks are priced and eventually weighed on the estimated value of future cash flows businesses will produce. Focus on this. If you focus on what you paid for a stock, you are focused on an irrelevant data point from the past. Be careful where you place your anchors.
8. Remember that economics usually trumps management competence
You can be a great rally driver, but if your car only has half the horsepower as the rest of the field, you are not going to win. Likewise, the best skipper in the world will not be able to effectively guide a yacht across the ocean if the hull has a hole and the rudder is broken.
Also keep in mind that management can (for better or for worse) change quickly, while the economics of a business are usually much more static. Given the choice between a wide-moat, cash-cow business with mediocre management and a no-moat, terrible-return businesses with bright management, take the former.
9. Be careful of snakes
Though the economics of a business is key, the stewards of a company's capital are still important. Even wide-moat businesses can be poor investments if snakes are in control. If you find a company that has management practices or compensation that makes your stomach turn, watch out.
When weighing management, it is helpful to remember the parable of the snake. Late one winter evening, a man came across a snake on the path. The snake asked, "Will you please help me, sir? I am cold, hungry and will surely die if left alone." The man replied, "But you are a snake, and you will surely bite me!" The snake replied, "Please, I am desperate, and I promise not to bite you."
So the man thought about it, and decided to take the snake home. The man warmed the snake up by the fire and prepared some food for the snake. After they enjoyed a meal together, the snake suddenly bit the man. The man asked, "Why did you bite me? I saved your life and showed you much generosity!" The snake simply replied, "You knew I was a snake when you picked me up."
10. Bear in mind that past trends often continue
One of the most often heard disclaimers in the financial world is, "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." While this is indeed true, past performance is still a pretty good indicator of how people will perform again in the future. This applies not just to investment managers, but company managers as well. Great managers often find new business opportunities in unexpected places. If a company has a strong record of entering and profitably expanding new lines of business, make sure to consider this when valuing the firm. Don't be afraid to stick with winning managers.
11. Prepare for the situation to proceed faster than you think
Most deteriorating businesses will do so faster than you anticipate. Be very wary of value traps, or companies that look cheap but are generating little or no economic value. On the other hand, strong businesses with solid competitive advantages will often exceed your expectations. Have a very wide margin of safety with a troubled business, but do not be afraid to have a much smaller margin of safety for a wonderful business with a shareholder-friendly management team.
12. Expect surprises to repeat
The first big positive surprise from a company is unlikely to be the last. Ditto the first big negative surprise. Remember the "cockroach theory." Namely, the first cockroach you see is probably not the only one around; there are likely scores more that you can't see.
13. Don't be stubborn
David St. Hubbins memorably said in the movie This is Spinal Tap, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." In investing, the line between being patient and being stubborn is even finer, unfortunately.
Patience comes from watching companies rather than stock prices, and letting your investment theses play out. If a stock you recently bought has fallen, but nothing has changed with the company, patience will likely pay off. However, if you find yourself constantly discounting bad news or downplaying the importance of deteriorating financials, you might be crossing that fine line into stubborn territory. Being stubborn in investing can be expensive.
Always ask yourself, "What is this business worth now? If I didn't already own it, would I buy it today?" Honestly and correctly answering these questions will not only help you be patient when patience is needed, but it will also greatly help you with your selling decisions.
14. Listen to your gut
Any valuation model you may create for a company is only as good as the assumptions about the future that are put into it. If the output of a model does not make sense, then it's worthwhile double-checking your projections and calculations. Use DCF valuation models (or any other valuation models) as guides, not oracles.
15. Know your friends, and your enemies
What's the short interest in a stock you are interested in? What funds own the company, and what is the record of those fund managers? Does company management have "skin in the game" via a meaningful ownership stake? Have company insiders been selling or buying? At the margin, these are valuable pieces of collateral evidence for your investment thesis on a company.
16. Recognise the signs of a top
Whether it is tulip bulbs in 17th century Holland, gold in 1849, or Beanie Babies and Internet stocks in the 1990s, any time a crowd has unanimously agreed that a certain investment is a "can't lose" opportunity, you are probably best off to avoid that investment. The tide is likely to soon turn. Also, when you see people making investments that they have no business making (think bellboys giving tips on bonds, auto mechanics day-trading stocks in their shops, or successful doctors giving up medicine to "flip" real estate), that's also a sign to search for the exits.
17. Look for quality
If you focus your attention on companies that have wide economic moats, you will find firms that are virtually certain to have higher earnings five or 10 years from now. You want to make sure that you focus your attention on companies that increase the intrinsic value of their shares over time. These afford you the luxury of being patient and holding for a long time. Otherwise, you are just playing a game of chicken with the stock market.
18. Don't buy without value
The difference between a great company and a great investment is the price you pay. There were many fantastic businesses around in 2000, but very few of them were attractively priced at the time. Finding great companies is only half the equation in picking stocks; figuring out an appropriate price to pay is just as important to your investment success.
19. Always have a margin of safety
Unless you unlock the secret to time-travel, you will never escape the inherent unpredictability of the future. This is why it is key to always have a margin of safety built in to any stock purchase you may make--you will be partially protected if your projections about the future don't exactly pan out the way you expected.
As you have seen in recent lessons, having a margin of safety is a recurring theme among several great investors. This is no accident; margin of safety really is that important.
20. Think independently
Great investors are willing to go against the grain. You should find zero comfort in relying on the advice of others and putting your money where everyone else is investing. Quite simply, it pays to go against the crowd, because the crowd is often wrong.
Also remember that successful investing is more about having the proper temperament than it is about having exceptional intelligence. If you can keep your head while everyone else is losing theirs, you will be well ahead of the game--able to buy at the bottom, and sell at the top.
The original version of this article was published March 2010.
