Be indifferent if you lose your short term clients, remember they are your own worst enemy
Seth KlarmanHereโs how to know if you have the makeup to be an investor. How would you handle the following situation? Letโs say you own a Procter & Gamble in your portfolio and the stock price goes down by half. Do you like it better? If it falls in half, do you reinvest dividends? Do you take cash out of savings to buy more? If you have the confidence to do that, then youโre an investor. If you donโt, youโre not an investor, youโre a speculator, and you shouldnโt be in the stock market in the first place.
Seth KlarmanWhile it might seem that anyone can be a value investor, the essential characteristics of this type of investor-patience, discipline, and risk aversion-may well be genetically determined.
Seth KlarmanBeware leverage in all its forms. Borrowers - individual, corporate, or government - should always match fund their liabilities against the duration of their assets. Borrowers must always remember that capital markets can be extremely fickle, and that it is never safe to assume a maturing loan can be rolled over. Even if you are unleveraged, the leverage employed by others can drive dramatic price and valuation swings; sudden unavailability of leverage in the economy may trigger an economic downturn.
Seth Klarman