What makes a great investor?

Nifty is down ~10% from peak while Small Cap Index and Mid Cap Index have fared worse and are down a lot more. More than the market action, the doomsayers are out in full force on media. The recent events – rating downgrades, Rupee fall, credit markets volatility etc – have spooked the markets. Imaginations are out in full force on the worst that can happen.

 

Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face

– Mike Tyson

 

What to do now?

First, don’t do anything in a rush. Don’t second guess your investment plan. Don’t do something just to seem more action-oriented. If you are itching badly to do something, buy Rs 100 of IDFC Nifty fund and call it a day. As in life, so in investing – make decisions in a calm state of mind.

Never cut a tree down in the wintertime.

Never make a negative decision in the low time.
Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods.
Wait.
Be patient.
The storm will pass.
The spring will come.

-Robert H. Schuller

 

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Ps: this note was first published in 2018. Goes to say the more things change the more they remain the same. Investor behaviour is what mattered then, and is what will matter now.