On How to be Valuable in the Investment Business
I love my readers. ?Here is another question from a reader:
I would appreciate your advice on how to learn more about investing and how to make myself useful to people in the business as a step towards getting in.
There are two questions here:
- How to learn more about investing?
- How to make yourself more valuable to prospective employers (so that you might be hired)?
So let’s answer them:
How to learn more about investing?
There are three main answers here:
- Study the classics
- Study areas where there are current problems
- Read widely
When I talk about the classics, I am talking about the writings of Ben Graham, Buffett, Munger, Phil Fisher, and notable investors who have spilled their theories to the world. ?Also men like Seth Klarman, Howard Marks, Ray Dalio, George Soros, Bill Gross, Jeffrey Gundlach and other clever investors who understand the markets well.
Second, if there are current problems in the market, do your research, and try to understand them well. ?This may take more effort, because current problems are not well-understood, or they would have been solved already.
The correct answer is not immediately obvious. ?Prior to the crisis, it is a minority view. ?After the crisis, everyone knew it would happen 😉 .
Try to view the markets in a comprehensive way. ?Think of the buyer and the seller, and their motives. ? ?Look for minority opinions, and analyze them — maybe that have it right. ?Most of the time, you will throw their opinions away, but in rare cases you might find something valuable.
Finally, read widely. ?Try to understand the changing economy. and where value is being added where current valuations don’t reflect it. ?Understand the economic world, and dedicate time to it. ?I dedicated an hour par day while I was an actuary to understanding all manner of investments for ten years before I had my first job in investing at age 38.
And read economic history. ?It is very valuable to understand how things worked in the past, because it offers clues to those of us in the present who don’t think “It’s Different This Time.”
How to make yourself more valuable to prospective employers (so that you might be hired)?
First, prepare yourself. ?If you are not good at speaking extemporaneously, practice the things that you will say in an interview. ?Think about the most likely questions, and likely variations, and have your answers ready. ?Rehearse these answer in front of a mirror, and do it many times, until you have it down cold. (solid).
Second, do your research on the firm, and understand its problems. ?You don’t have to have the whole answer, but if in the interview, you understand the challenges, and have some idea of how they might be addressed, you will impress those interviewing you. ?You have done the homework; you are more than capable of analyzing other tough issues.
Third, be willing to question the received wisdom, and suggest solutions that are abnormal. ?So long as you don’t sound like an idiot, this will do one of two things:
- You will come up with a clever idea that no one else has thought of, or,
- You will show yourself to be willing to think more broadly than most do. ?Remember, it only takes one significant insight to establish a career. ?Of course, more is better, but one significant insight will do a lot.
Fourth, be good with the basics. ?Understand the basics of investing well. ?Just as a kid should know his 100 addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts cold, so should investors know the basics of investing without much effort.
Fifth, give it your all. ?Show dedication beyond what is required. ?I’m not asking you to kill yourself, I did this while raising a family of eight children. ?But whatever the situation is, give it your best, even if you have to take some of the work home.
If you do these things, you will be very valuable to the firm that you serve. ?Even more, you will be valuable to many firms that might like to hire you.
So make yourself ?valuable, and prosper.