Introduction

Dear Fellow Investor/Trader,

 Let me tell you a bit about myself.

I’m a big-picture-guy who likes to ponder over the big questions in life. At the same time, I like to tinker with things and figure out how they work – the bigger the thing, the stronger the attraction. Tinkering means that I often have to zoom into the minute details of how specific aspects of the thing function – and that often takes me down deep, narrow rabbit-holes. I suffer from claustrophobia, so the moment I’ve learned what I need to, I hurry back out of the hole and climb back onto my mountain from where I can see the big picture. This is a handicap, as it means that I struggle to specialize in any particular narrow field. The moment I think I have it figured out, I lose interest and start looking for something more challenging.

This led me to markets – the ultimate challenge that can never be figured out because the puzzle keeps changing – so I guess now I’m stuck, forever… It sounds worse than it really is – I like being stuck here…

The first big thing I wanted to figure out was in my teenage years. It was in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I was an avid computer gamer and wanted to program my own adventure game. But in those days, there were no game engines, so I set out to learn coding and to build my own engine. I got as far as the graphics generator and built the opening scene of the game – only to realize the immensity of the project. I reached a juncture where I had figured out how to build the game, yet I recognized a lack of commitment and dedication to see it through to completion. Consequently, after about 2 years of coding, I decided to quit.

My next big challenge came after my studies and a gap-year of working in the UK. I decided that I wanted to figure out how to build a business and then sell it. To make a very long story short, this 5-year project turned into a 17-year one because this thing, I couldn’t drop as easily as a computer game.

Firstly, it was very stimulating because, in building and running a business, you never run out of challenges. In fact, entrepreneurship is synonymous with problem-solving. Secondly, my entire net worth was locked up in this business, and I simply had to see it through. After a baptism of fire, two recessions, and a few near bankruptcies, I finally made a success of the business and sold it 17 years later.

This brings us to my current big challenge – the most stimulating and enjoyable one thus far – “Solving the market” – or at least, that is what I set out to do, but soon discovered that a puzzle that keeps changing can never be solved. The only thing that can be solved here is “how to make some money in the market”. This is the first thing one needs to learn in this game: you don’t have to make predictions or be “right” in order to make money investing and trading. You only need a process that allows you, over time, to make more money than what you lose. You can even lose more often than you win, as long as the size of your winners makes up more than enough for those many small losses. The formula is very simple:

P&L = number of winners x average size of winners – number of losers x average size of losers.

All you need to do is to ensure that the result is positive. Simple? Well, it sounds simple, but doing this successfully over time is not – especially if you (like me) are not very good at executing mindless repetitive tasks day in and day out. Yes, this is why most investors/traders fail – not because they’re not smart enough, but because they don’t want to work hard enough. It is that simple!

So, I’m not saying that I don’t want to work hard, in fact, I can work very hard, but not if I’m not enjoying the work. Executing a set of trading rules or digging through company results day in and day out is not my idea of fun. But if it is, you can be very successful.

I agree with Jack Schwager that the most important thing about investing and trading is to find a methodology that suits your personality and style. (Paraphrasing).

I set out to learn everything possible about various strategies, to test them, and then to develop my own approach by blending the parts that resonated with me. The hardest part, in my view, is to clearly define your methodology and then build a rigorous process around it, and to follow it diligently. The kind of diligence I’m talking about here isn’t the same as the tedious execution tasks I mentioned earlier. It doesn’t have to be mind-numbing; after all, you’re crafting it to be something you enjoy. Sure, there will always be elements you’re not as keen on, which you might automate or outsource as you scale your investment. The point is that developing an investment approach is an open-ended evolutionary endeavor. Designing this process to fit your personal preferences and style is key to succeed in growing your wealth.

This website serves as a conduit for sharing the insights and lessons from my own journey in shaping my investment methodologies. It is an invitation to engage, learn from my experiences, and navigate around the pitfalls I’ve encountered. Equally, I look forward to the valuable perspectives you might share with me.