It’s the incredible story of twelve young soccer players and their coach who get trapped in a flooded Thai cave during monsoon season, 4km from the cave’s entrance
The boys had to hold their nerve for days, in darkness and without any food, clinging to the faint hope that someone would find them… in time
Meanwhile, those brave rescue divers had to swim down narrow flooded channels with cumbersome oxygen tanks, in poor visibility, and against strong currents.
The ability of both groups to remain calm under pressure was incredible – they’d all make great investors!
A famous American billionaire investor, Richard Rainwater, was reportedly worth nearly $5bn when he died in 2015
He apparently turned $50m into $5bn for the Bass family by looking for industries that were out of favour and then applying the rules he learned from Warren Buffett, Charles Allen, and Benjamin Graham
“I realized I did not know what I was doing. I needed to have some methodology.”
But how exactly?
“Someone asked me, what are the secrets to my success? And I said there are three: timing, timing, and timing”
So what suggestions did Richard have for timing?
“Most people invest and then sit around worrying what the next blowup will be,
I do the opposite. I wait for the blowup, then invest.”
Ok, so where are the current “blowups”?
Well, how about the UK or Europe?
Yes, but there’s a war, recession, natural gas prices…
But that’s old news, every “blowup” has reasons
New news is:
1) Natural gas prices are down heavily over the past month,
2) Pressure is mounting on the UK Government to U-turn their “mini-budget mayhem”, and
3) Maybe this Russian conscription uprising is the beginning of the end for Putin – let’s hope!
The Financial Times reported recently that investors had pulled money from European ETFs for 6 straight months to August, second only to July 2016 Brexit referendum fears
Well, I just hope those “investors” didn’t plough those proceeds into US companies at these prices, because I worry they’re just in time for the “blowups” coming this earnings season…
Besides, not all of Europe is “blowing up”
This strong dollar is great news for European exporters and those with USD assets
And rising interest rates are most welcome for retail banks
So, what did Richard do when he spotted a “blowup”?
“When I see a unique and remarkable opportunity, I commit quickly and I invest heavily because if I don’t, someone else will”
Ok, so now that we know where the blowups are,
and what a billionaire did when he spotted blowups,
Are you ready to “commit quickly and invest heavily?”
Because all that’s required then, is the ability to keep calm
And if those young footballers could do it while fearing for their lives in a dark cave, surely you can cope with a little short-term price volatility?
Remember what Richard said,
“if you don’t (buy), someone else will”