Category Archives: Margin of Safety

What are We, Really?

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One bout of torrential rainfall and our infrastructure comes to a stand-still.

What are we, really?

Is India a golden investment?

Not with the current state of governance.

Is India an investment?

Yes, but only at single-digit price to earnings ratios.

Why?

Because while investing in India, one needs to factor in very bad governance, terrorism, and fragile infrastructure. That’s why the margin of safety required is huge.

Is India a good trade?

Yes.

Why?

Because of the pull and push between the shining private sector versus the apathetic government sector. This contrast causes big moves, both up and down. Ideal for trading.

So how should one play India?

Again, up to you. Invest in it at single digit PEs. Cash out when PEs hit the early 20s. Or, just sheer trade it. Suit yourself.

And Gold Overshoots Platinum

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For me, this is a pivotal event.

It signals to me the beginning of the last stage of the bubble in Gold.

The last stages of bubbles are the most eventful.

The basic message being broadcast here is that the ornamental value of the yellow metal is no longer a consideration during its purchase. The whole-hearted focus of Gold-purchase now is its safe-haven value. There is absolutely no question about it anymore.

For the sticklers, I believe we are well on our way to reaching the pinnacle of Wave 3 with the last burst to come in the coming weeks. Wave 3s are normally followed by a correcting Wave 4, and then those who missed Wave 3 latch on to make Wave 5. I also believe that it will be a subdued Wave 4, with perhaps a 23.6% or a 38.2% Fibonacci level correction, before Wave 5 takes over.

For heaven’s sake, if you are entering Gold now, do so only to trade. There is no question of investing in Gold at this level. Where are you seeing the margin of safety to be making such an investment decision?

So, it’s passing the hot-plate from this level onwards. The last donkey standing with the hot-plate still in hand will get burnt, whenever that happens. Just forget about time-frames and focus on the tape.

As someone said, the “devil takes the hind-most”.

Is it Over for the Long-Term Investor?

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Long-term portfolios are getting bludgeoned.

I can feel the pain of the long-term investor.

Is it over for this niche segment?

I really wouldn’t say that.

It’s not over till the fat lady sings, as somebody said.

What if someone trained hard so as to not allow the fat lady from starting her performance in the first place?

Well, for this breed, it’s not over by a long way. In fact, things are just getting started.

And what are the areas of training?

First and foremost, for the millionth time, one needs to understand what margin of safety is. In this era of black swans, one can fine-tune this area with the word “large”. So, simple and straight-forward: the long-term investor needs to buy with a large margin of safety.

This is a game of PATIENCE. Patiently wait for entry. Entry is the most important act while investing. If you cannot learn to be patient, change your line. Be a trader instead.

However scarce the virtues of honesty and integrity have become, keep looking. When you finally find them in a company, ear-mark the company for a buy. For you, managements need to be intelligent and shareholder-friendly too. They need to be evolved enough to take you into account as a shareholder. Keep looking for such managements, and you’ll be amazed at the unfolding potential of diligent human capital.

Before you enter this arena, answer another question please? Have you learnt to sit? If you don’t even know what this question means, you are by no means ready for the game.

So, when is one capable of sitting through some serious knocks, like now? If the money you’ve put on the line is not required for the next 5 to 10 years, you’ve totally helped your cause. Then, your risk-profile should fit the pattern. If a knock causes you an ulcer, just forget about the game and look for another game that doesn’t cause you an ulcer. Your margin of safety will help you take the knock. Knowing that your money has bought a stake with honest and diligent people who can work their way around inflation will help your cause even more.

If you are taking a very serious hit right now, you need to decide something. Are you gonna sit it out? Can you afford to, age-wise and health-wise? Yes? Fine, go ahead. I sat it out in 2008. If I could do it, so can you. It did take a lot. Taught me a lot too. I now know so much more about myself. Was a rough ride, is all I can say. Nevertheless, it’s a good option if age and health support you. If you decide to sit it out, please train yourself, from this point onwards, to do it right. Needless to say, don’t make the same mistakes again. Let’s be very clear about this point. If you are feeling pain at this point, it’s because you have made one or more investing mistakes. Don’t blame the market, or the times. This is your pain, because of your mistakes. Take responsibity for your actions. Do it right from here onwards.

If you can’t take the hit anymore, age-wise or health-wise, then you need to reflect. It’s none of my business to tell you to sell out. That would be inappropriate. All the same, as a friend, I would like you to ask yourself if you feel you are cut out for this niche segment. There are other very successful niche-segments. I know highly successful traders who started out as miserable long-term investors. So, just this one thing, get the questioning process started. Now. Then, listen to your inner voice and decide what you want to do.

There’s this one other point. Some people feel they can focus on both these segments simutaneously. You know, trade in one portfolio and maintain another long-term portfolio. Possible. People are doing it. I’m not about to start a discussion on focus versus diversification just now, because I’m leaving it for another day. Not because I don’t possess the mettle, but because I’m a little tired just now.

Wish you safe investing! 🙂

El Helicoptro’s not able to Smell the Coffee

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Helicopter Ben Bernanke just doesn’t get it, does he?

People have lost confidence in the Fed and its “stimulus”.

That’s why, when Benny Boy announced more stimulus a day after the “debt deal”, the Dow along with broader markets tanked even further.

The Dow only encompasses 30 stocks. Let’s look at the broader US market. For example, the Russell 2000 fell 9 % yesterday.

Now if that’s not a vote of no-confidence, then what is?

If we observe Bernanke’s dealings of yesterday, he heightened his stimulus announcement from one-week ago to “even more stimulus”. This is a death-trap.

How does El Helicoptro plan to finance his stimulus? By printing notes. Such free printing of notes leads to more and more currency in circulation, which ultimately leads to devaluation of the currency in question.

The devaluation process of anything financially connected to the US has been set in motion. Ben Bernanke is still not smelling the coffee.

Where does that leave you?

Ideally, one should have asked this question back in 2008, but if one didn’t, one will be forced to ask it now.

That’s what Mrs. Market does, it forces you to keep questioning your basics till you get her groove.

For the newbie investor who’s caught in the current fall and is taking his or her share of hits, well, the silver lining is the learning effect. He or she will buy with a margin of safety as an investor in the future, or will learn to respect a stop-loss as a trader. Mrs. Market will either force him or her to learn these basics, or will throw him or her out of her game forever.

What about more experienced players, who saw 2008, or perhaps older crises? If they are still taking a hit just now, well, they too need to get back to the basics. Mrs. Market does not discriminate between who is making the mistake. She’s universal in doling out her punishment to the non-performers, but also universal in doling out her reward to the diligent learners.

So what are these basics?

Mrs. Market 1.0.1 teaches two basic lessons.

Lesson numero 1 is for investors. They need to BUY WITH A MARGIN OF SAFETY. This allows them to sit tight during such a crisis, because they aren’t taking much of a hit.

Lesson numero 2 is for traders. They need to TAKE A STOP-LOSS once it is hit. With that they are out of the market and she can’t hurt them anymore.

That’s it. 2 lessons, people. No way around them. They need to be incorporated into one’s DNA before one can move on to second base with Mrs. Market.

Face-Off

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Markets are about returns.

Just as many roads lead to Rome, so do multiple paths lead to returns.

The two basic approaches in this game are investing and trading. We are keeping things basic, and are not even going to talk about scalping, arbitrage etc. We are looking at paths taken by most players.

So who has got it better, the investor or the trader?

Markets have this characteristic of collapsing. Unless the investor has bought with a decent margin of safety, he or she can be sitting on a huge loss. This can lead to irritability, sleepless nights, ill-health and family problems. An investor needs to slay these demons before-hand. Allowed to grow, these demons can wreck havoc.

The nimble trader on the other hand treads lightly. Technicals alert him or her well before a collapse, and when the collapse comes, the trader is ideally already fully in cash. Such a trader has no professional reason for a sleepless night.

However, when the bulls roar, the investor’s entire portfolio adds to the roar, and very soon the investor is sitting on huge gains. The trader on the other hands builds up positions slowly, and might miss a large portion of the up-move during the staggered entry process. To be fair, the investor’s exposure (risk) has been large in comparison to the trader, and thus the reward in good times will be proportionately large too. Given a choice, I’d personally take the comfortable nights throughout the year.

Then there’s active and passive playing. Investing is a passive play. One doesn’t need to man one’s portfolio on a daily basis, and can focus on other things instead. Trading, on the other hand, is very much an active play, and needs to be attended to on a daily basis.

So, unless the investor likes action, this is a favourable scenario. Unfortunately, the majority of long-term investors mess up their long-term portfolios owing to the need for action.

Trading can lead to action overload. A bad day’s result can cause mood swings. The trader needs to be in control of emotional machinery and ready to withstand a pre-determined level of loss. Unfortunately, most traders fail badly in the emotional and stop-loss department. On the whole, I feel this particular round is won the by the investor. So, it’s 1 round each.

The last round in today’s discussion is about life-style. The bored investor can either use the spare time for constructive activities, which is a great scenario, or for useless ones, like surfing adult sites. The point I’m trying to make is that a bored investor is a prime candidate for sowing wild oats.

The sensible trader uses non-market hours to finish research for the next day and then to give the mind and body relaxation and rest. However, all the action makes most traders less sensible and more flambuoyant, and equally likely candidates for sowing wild-oats during non-market hours. I think this round is a tie.

So who’s got it better, the trader or the investor?

This is actually a trick question.

What’s the proper answer?

The answer is that YOU have got it better if you fit into the profile of a sensible trader or a balanced investor, and that YOU have got it bad if you fit into the profile of a reckless / flambuoyant trader or a bored and thus trigger-happy investor.

Both investing and trading are about YOU.

You need to see how good or bad YOU have it, and forget about the rest.

Learning to Sit

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One of the first things a baby learns is to sit.

And sitting is probably the last thing that an investor learns. Some investors never learn to sit. Their long-term returns are disastrous.

Wanna make a killing? All right, first learn to sit.

To be able to sit, one needs to create proper conditions. One needs to take “jumpiness”, or volatility, out of the equation. This is done by buying with a margin of safety.

Having bought with a margin of safety, market blow-ups affect your bottom-line lesser. You can sit thru them.

And that’s all you need to do, to allow a multi-bagger to unfold.

Wish you lucrative investing!

A Fall to Remember

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Ok, these are big drops in the values of commodities. Especially Silver.

Actually, I’m liking it.

No, I am not short Silver, or short Oil, or short Gold.

As far as commodities go, I don’t trade in them, I invest in them.

And as Silver falls big time, I am buying shares of Silver mining companies. Small amounts, nothing big. One needs to tread carefully. Because one doesn’t know when prices will stabilize.

Prices were way too high earlier to go ahead with these purchases. But, as Silver falls, one starts getting a margin of safety in Silver mining companies. I feel this has just started happening. Which is not to say that Silver won’t fall more.

Which is when I’ll buy more.

This is long-term investing. Here, the ideology is the complete opposite of trading.

You must be Joking, Mr. Nath!

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Ok, so there are aliens, so what?

I mean, is that so hard to believe? Which law says that Earth is the centre of activity in this universe?

Look around you. The horizon is full of scams. An honest management is most difficult to find. Honesty and integrity have become alien virtues. Scarce, don’t bump into them in normal life, and you might read an odd story about them in the papers.

So where does this leave you as an investor?

In a dishonest world, one needs to think in a warped manner to make money. You know, “two steps away from the norm” kinda thinking. So if the norm is to buy on a dip, in Kalyuga one waits to buy on a mega-dip. And these have started occuring more often than they used to. 10-Sigma or Black Swan events happen every now and then.

The thing I like about scams is that eventually, they explode. The one scam that is exposed (against the 20 that go unexposed) is enough to hit mass psychology. The common investor starts selling everything, even stuff that’s not affected by the scam. The market as a whole falls, sometimes cracking big.

Since we’re mostly down to buying scam-artist run corporations as investors, above-mentioned crack is the time to buy them, i.e. when they are hit badly. That’s when you are getting good value for your money. That’s when you are getting your margin of safety.

So, wait for the explosion. Buy in its aftermath. The interim period between explosions is to be used to pinpoint what you want to buy with a margin of safety, whenever that margin of safety abounds.

It is entirely within the realm of possibilities to live at peace with aliens. And it is equally possible for an investor to learn to live honestly but lucratively in a world full of corporate criminals.

Why Japan?

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Exactly, why Japan?

Twice in 66 years. Holocaust, and now this.

Ok, there’s the seismic blubla. And the Nostradamus stuff. Don’t know what to believe.

And where does something like this leave one’s portfolio. (Sorry, have to ask this question, even at a time like this. It’s purely professional, and perhaps what I’m writing here will help someone.)

In the doldrums.

Unless one bought with a MARGIN OF SAFETY. That’s when one can sit pretty, even during a crisis.

Or, if u are a trader, and are long Japan before such a crisis, where does that leave u?

Broke.

Unless you trade with a STOP LOSS.

These 2 basic concepts are VERY IMPORTANT. And one only realizes this during a crisis.

I still don’t know why Japan, but am sharing with u what I have learnt.

It’s all a give and take. I have access to so much of free stuff on the web and otherwise in life. So it’s absolutely ok if u get this knowledge for free from me.

However, don’t forget to balance your own equation with nature. Set something solid in motion, for free, for others to benefit from. Balance your equation.

Otherwise, eventually, nature will balance it for you. In a way you might not necessarily like, but will be stuck with.

Don’t wait for that to happen. Balance your equation. Now. 🙂

A Time for Things

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You don’t normally have dinner at breakfast time, do you?

Of course not.

Similarly, you don’t buy into a State Bank of India with a 5 year horizon when 6 years of earnings growth has already been factored into the price.

There’s a time for things.

You do buy into the same State Bank of India with a 2 week horizon when it’s shooting off the table and giving clear-cut up-moves as it makes its way into no-resistance territory.

And that’s about it. You’re in it for the short-term because that’s how the environment has defined itself. It’s a trading environment, not really meant for investors, whether conservative or unconservative. Thus, you have a stop-loss mechanism in place, in case there’s a down-swing, because up-moves can go hand in hand with down-moves. Where there’s a big money to be made, there’s chances of making a big loss too.

Oh, are you asking why you can’t enter into such stocks at this time with a long-term perspective? I see. Do you fly first class? No? Why not? Because it’s expensive, right? Similarly, such stocks are expensive just now. That’s not to say they won’t rise further. What you need to understand is that when you wake up five years from now, such a stock will have peaked and could possibly be heading for its trough. So your net returns over the long-term could even be negative.

Really wanna be a successful investor? Then you need to learn to buy cheap, with a margin of safety. You need to be patient enough to wait for lucrative entry levels.

Not getting your margins of safety anywhere in the markets just now?

Ok, just trade till you get them. Then you can stop trading, and start investing. Fine?

A Beautiful Concept called Margin of Safety

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The most beautiful, genius things in life are simple.

And therefore, they are difficult to implement.

We like complications. Sophistication. When something appears simple, our first impulse is that of rejection.

We get our families insured, our car insured, house, properties etc. etc. all insured, in fact, we are busy buying protection everywhere. During winter we wear protective clothing. Our children swim with protective gear. Our cars have seat-belts and airbags. The list of how mankind protects itself is endless.

Then why is it that when it comes to putting one’s hard-earned money on the line, all thoughts of protection go out the window, and one becomes malleable enough to jump into the next hot story at even seventy or eighty times earnings?

Why is it that here we are not clinging on to protection? Basic question – are there any protective measures prevalent in the world of investing? The answer is yes, and many. In this article, I’ll name two and address one.

There’s the protective stop-loss (to be differentiated from the trigger-stop). Let’s talk about this one some other day. Right now, let’s focus on the other major avenue for protection, called margin of safety.

Basically, what margin of safety says is “Buy Cheap”. Period. What it’s not saying is that one should buy any odd-ball, cheap stock. It’s referring to quality stocks and telling us to buy them as cheaply as we can. The result will be a buffer price-band, which in case of a major market-crash will still limit our losses and save us from the urge to abandon our investment at rock-bottom prices. So, this concept asks us to have patience and wait for opportunity, and not to be impulsive and plunge blindly.

Margin of safety is applicable while trading also. One can buy into market leaders upon dips. The dip gives one a short-term margin of safety.

The primary advocate of margin of safety is none other than Warren Buffett himself, from an investment point of view.

So, to implement this simple and beautiful concept, one requires the virtues of patience and discipline.

Wishing for you safe and lucrative investing!

Cheers!

Both Sides of the Coin

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What’s your personal style of investing, UDN?

Well, if you must know, and now that you ask, I like putting my money on the line when the underlying has hit an all-time high.

Um, isn’t that risky, a huge gamble, actually?

Well, what isn’t risky in life? Marriage is a gamble. So is business. And the farmer gambles on the weather when he sows his seeds.

You could invest in a more cautious fashion, like buying on a dip, you know.

Sonny, you asked about my personal style of investing, not the crowd’s personal style of investing. I’ve fine-tuned my personal style as per the threshold level of my personal risk-appetite, and risk-appetite is something one discovers after being in the market for a while, and after making mistakes and learning from them.

Fine. And what’s so good about investing at an all-time high?

Good, now you are asking some right questions. Ok, investing in something which has broken out and hit an all-time high, albeit risky, comes with a few advantages. First and foremost, there’s no resistance from top, i.e. there are no old sellers waiting to sell as the underlying heads higher and higher. This means that there is nobody stuck at these new levels waiting to off-load. There can be bouts of profit-booking of course, but a real resistance level doesn’t exist as yet, because the underlying has never entered these areas before.

Then, as the nay-sayers grow, and the crowd joins them to short-sell the underlying, there can be bouts of short-covering if the underlying’s climb is not stopped decisively by the bouts of short-selling. Any short-covering propels the underlying’s price even higher.

Before you go on, why is all this better than buying on a dip?

Oh, so you want to look at both sides of the coin, do you? Not bad, you learn fast. Well, buying on a dip offers a margin of safety to the investor, no doubt about that. Nevertheless, the main point is that a dip is happening. Supply is high, demand is less. The underlying’s price is falling as per the demand and supply equation. What’s to tell you that the fall will convert into a rise very soon? Nothing. Nothing at all. For all you know, the underlying might continue to fall another 20%, or 30, or 40 for that matter. It’s a fall, remember? People are off-loading. When something falls, professionals off-load huge chunks to the crowds waiting to buy on dips. If the dip persists, the crowd gets stuck at a particular entry level.

Not the case in the all-time high scenario. Here, there is demand, and supply can barely meet it. Something makes the underlying very interesting. Then, as the story spreads, demand grows, making the price surge further. Add to this short-covering – further surges. Interesting, right? You just need to make sure that your entry is done and over with soon after the all-time high is broken, and not later.

And what if you get burnt? I mean, what if the price doesn’t rise any further after the all-time high, but dips nefariously?

Well, one does get burnt quite often in the world of investing. Fear will make one freeze. I’ve devised a set of rules for this strategy, and then I just go ahead with the strategy, no second-guessing. No risk, no gain.

And what are your rules?

Firstly, I only put that money on the line which I don’t need for at least a few years. Then, I don’t put more than 10 % of my networth in any single underlying entity. Also, after entry, I don’t budge on the position for a few years. I only enter stories which have the potential to unfold over several years. And I only close the position when the reason for entry doesn’t exist anymore, irrespective of profit or loss. Over the long run, this works for me.

It can’t be that simple.

It’s not. I’ve come to these personal conclusions after making many, many blunders, and after losing a lot of money. This knowledge can’t be bought in a bookshop, nor can it be learnt in a university. It can only be learnt by doing, and by putting real money on the line.

Well, I’d much rather still buy on a dip.

Go ahead, a few people are making money while buying on dips. But they wait for the real big dips. They’ve got one big quality that qualifies them for this strategy, and separates them from the crowd. It’s called patience. Prime example is Warren Buffett.

Who’s the prime example of your strategy?

Fellow called Jesse Livermore.

Managing an Equity Portfolio

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1). Before getting into equity, pinpoint exactly your appetite for risk.

2). Buy with a margin of safety.

3). Buy with rationale.

4). Spread your buying over time.

5). Hold performance. Reward it with repeated buying, when markets are down.

6). Punish non-performance. Sell your losers when markets are up. Weed them out. Throw them away.

7). Let winners unfold. Be patient with them.

8). When a winner becomes a superstar, ride it till it shows signs of sloth and underperformance.

9). Learn to sit on cash when there’s no value or margin of safety available. VERY IMPORTANT.

10). Know your weaknesses. Be disciplined. Make mistakes, but don’t repeat them. Filter all information, using your common sense. Don’t listen to anyone. Learn to trust yourself.

11). What is your eventual goal? Identify it. I’ll share my goal with you. I would like to hold 20 multibaggers in my portfolio 20 years from now. It’s a tall order. But I’m gonna try anyways. Remember, 1 multibagger is enough to strike it big. I’ll give you 2 examples : Wipro multiplied 300,000 times between 1979 and 2006. Cisco Systems – 75,000 times in I think 12-15 years leading up to the dot-com boom and bust. Before the bust, it gave ample hints of slowing down, so one had enough time to get rid of it. Wipro still hasn’t shown signs of underperformance.

So best of luck, whatever your goals are, but please, know your goals exactly before you play.