Buy and Hold PhilosophyGood evening everyone,
I apologize that this isn't a technical post, but if it is helpful to just one person, than that is fantastic.
Much has been made about the vibrations and swings of the share prices, with many having strategies for buying dips and selling peaks. I personally haven't been able to figure that out in a way that works for me 95% of the time, so I do not do it. I am terrified of risk, and by that I mean
I do not like to lose money, EVER. I am not going to go into some long drawn out story about why I believe Pyrogenesis is currently undervalued compared to it's future business value. To me it has been derisked to the point where I believe there is a less than 1% chance of losing money on my investment(and even on current share prices). I also believe it has an upside in the $25-$3000 per share range in the next 1-5 years.
If you disagree, so be it, perhaps this post is not for you. Pyrogenesis is a winner for me, and I am buying.
Now that we know it is a winner in my group of winners that I am currently willing to buy, I buy when it is cheap/on sale/"dipping", or when it suits me, as long as it is at least 50% below my lowest calculated intrinsic future value. Otherwise, I hold.
I do not like losing money. I don't like paying brokerage fees. I don't like paying taxes. I want all of my money to stay "sheltered" in investment.
Not too long ago I read a book by
Mohnish Pabrai, called "
The Dhando Investor". It was a very basic and mostly philosphical book that focused on a lot of Warren Buffett's and Charlie Munger's investing strategies, and how they would be considered practicers of "
Dhando" as Mohnish eloquently describes it in his book.
One chapter of that book was the absolute best I have ever read regarding Selling your stock. When to sell, why to sell, etc.... Now while I believe Mohnish sells much earlier than I would in his position, I absolutely adored his rules.
Selling Rules: - Once you have picked a stock to buy, you should buy it while it is "cheap" compared to it's long term measured intrinsic value.(TRY not to get this wrong)
- HOLD until the business has reached, or has come close to, your intrinsic value projection.
- NEVER SELL AT A LOSS IN THE FIRST 3 YEARS
- You may only sell at a loss within three years if the fundamental business and/or business environment for your company has changed in a way that your original intrinsic valuation of the company has been reduced enough to no longer make it a viable holding, OR, after 3 years if the business did not realize the predicted gains you made.
According to Mr. Pabrai, if you have done a good job selecting your company to invest in, it may have dips over the next 3 years, but almost every time, you will profit after the three year mark, and if you haven't by then, it is fully acceptable to believe that your investment was valued incorrectly by yourself, or the share price movements will not reflect your valuations regardless.
Now, this is all assuming you have made a good choice originally with what you have purchased....
.In Pyrogenesis I believe we have exactly that. So, I find that following these rules makes it very easy to keep your hands off the trigger, and just hold through thick, and thin, knowing that your investment has a positive future.
Good luck and Cheers!