Learning from 2017 and this bull market rally (part 2)

hi,

in continuation of my intent to share learning experiences, this is part 2 of the article posted just a few days back.

this learning comes from an international giant. A market leader that has a subsidiary listed in india. The Indian subsidiary was languishing for many years. I identified the co very early and felt there was a huge disconnect of the past and the potential. My mind was skewed between a poor past performance and a forward looking “vision” that suggested an aggressive USA management that could not possibly just keep “sitting”. I went to check on availability of the goods made by this co in the market and while they were selling, I did not find “aggression” in selling. There was advertising but it seemed the products were “shadowed” by another co in the same sector. I thought to myself be that as it may, there were only 2 sizable players in a market that held huge potential.

discussions with close investor friends suggested it was a sleeping stock and not worth more. Sometimes we are plagued in thinking about things that seem too obvious but are not so for multiple reasons. One such thought was technology and smart devices are disrupting the sector to which this co belongs. Hence it will have a bleak future. Almost analogous to the current hype on electric cars as if for the next several years the automobile industry with all its vision and expansion doesn’t know it but we do. (Toyota and maruti just tied up for e vehicles batteries and thus we have it)

I refered to “are not so for multiple reasons” above. We all suffer from several syndromes. One is recency effect of seeing a part of the picture but not looking enough. Two we assume too fast. Pl recall some years back how rumors of “ganeshji” (I love him) and other gods drinking milk spread all over india and everyone made a bee line to the temples with sachets of milk. Third is we think we know more than managements and their research skills. Sometimes market rewards or portfolio gains make us think we are larger or smarter than we actually are. The forth point is we forget history has a “things return to basics”. Johnnie walker does an ad on this. Being a fashion brand consultant, I see it all the time. In clothes, in hairstyles accessories etc etc

so here we have it. Impacted by all the factors above and ignoring a larger picture. Missed the stock and was literally sitting on the sidelines deliberating too much. This brings me to another learning. Given a conviction from within (vs a hearsay) do some indulgence and buy. There is a huge latent power that guides you then to discover answers you seek. By being a non participant you have no teeth in the game and hence remain more skeptical than a discoverer.

 

i missed another 7 bagger. That too until now. The clouds are smiling above me and I am grounded only with wisdom. Well being an optimist, making the most of what I have.

 

cheers and thank you to all those who replied, tweeted or posted their comments. Learning is always sharing.

 

Soon more….