<<I'll wager that it is true virtually %100 of the time that the major mistake we have all made in our investments is that we sold, especially in the last 8 years.>>
CDMQ: With very few sales exceptions, I fit into your "all" as stated above. Seems like with any amount of common sense, plus some study and practice, picking the outstanding companies is the easier part. The softer side, the patience, the courage, the discipline; these are what separate the yacht-shoppers (or whatever your pleasure is) from the made-a-little-in-the-market-types.
Without exception, the relatively few people I know personally who have accumulated outstanding wealth in the markets are the ones who could spot a fantastic opportunity in the early stages, bought only exceptional companies, and gave virtually no thought about when to sell. One example is a very close friend of mine who turned $50,000 into well over $1,000,000 (on paper today, anyway) buying two companies that fit the above criteria, glanced at the price every couple weeks or so out of curiosity, and still holds the stocks. His target holding period, WB's famous "Forever". He gets his market amusement not from the continuous ups and downs of his holdings but from the panic and hysteria he observes in the "investors" he runs into on the street each day. Qcom seems like it fits his criteria very nicely (but he isn't a techie).
Apologies for my long winded response but the topic seems very timely to many today. I appreciate your insight. ...Tim |
