Investment Shastra
Stock Investing: be like a fruit orchard owner

To enjoy the fruits of stock investing, be like a fruit orchard owner

To be successful in investing, you need to have the right mind-set. And the mind-set that will give the highest chance of success is that of somebody owning a fruit orchard. In contrast, having the mind-set of a fisherman or vegetable farmer is unlikely to work in stock investing.
Let’s see why?

After reading the headline, you are probably wondering ‘Why is stock investing, so much like owning a Fruit Orchard? Let’s find out.

Investor can be of 3 types:

  1. Fisherman:A fisherman goes everyday to catch fish and depends on luck and chance to get it. A Day-trader works this way.
  2. Vegetable Farmer: A vegetable famer puts in a lot of efforts to get vegetables grow, for a month or two. An Investor with short-term perspective of 30/60/90 day horizon works like this.
  3. Fruit Orchard Owner: A Fruit Orchard Owner takes pains to decide which fruit to plant. Then s/he prepares the soil accordingly and takes all the trouble required to plant the tree the right way and at the right time. After planting the tree, s/he waits patiently for the tree to bear fruit. S/he relies on the health of the tree to grow and bear fruit. He knows that once the tree bears fruit, it will continue to do so for a long time, and hence, he can reap the benefits for many years to come. In one season the tree may not bear fruit, but as long as the health of the tree is good, he is confident that it will bear fruit in the next season.

Why ‘Fruit Orchard Owner’ types better than the other two? 

Fishermen depend on luck, and the Vegetable Farmer depends on tending to the investment continuously to bear some result. Both have short-term perspectives and require continuous engagement. But here’s the catch – It has been proved that the probability of earning returns in the short-term is more like tossing a coin with 50-50 chance of getting the positive result. This is more like a computer picking up a stock for you.

Whereas, like a Fruit Orchard Owner, before investing, an Investor needs to take all the efforts to find and check if the company has the ability to grow in future and be a winner. Your return on the investment will depend on the growth & strength of the company in the long-term. Just as the case a non-productive season, you need not worry about the short-term ups and downs of the company, as long as you are confident that it is fundamentally strong.

Take a look at this graph, the probability of a positive gain and return increases with the time-horizon. Around 50 %, from 1 day to 1 month, and 70% for a year. It reaches a point of certainty almost 100% for a period of 10 years—the risk over a long-term period is almost minimal. This is because, in the long-term usually, the market price correct themselves to a rational level based on the company’s capacity to grow and earn; unlike the short-term where your returns is based more on market behavior.

Also, when you have a short-term perspective, pushing in and pulling out money increases your transaction costs and your tax on capital gains. These extra costs are immediately removed, once you invest with a long-term perspective.

All this, ensures better returns with minimal risk over a long-term (10 year) horizon.

In spite of knowing this, why don’t people invest with a long-term perspective?

Do you know what’s the most nail-biting part of the a Football game—penalty shots, right? How many times a goalkeeper misses a shot hit in the center, because he dived to the right/left. A research shows that goalkeepers tend to dive to the left or the right as much as 94 out of 100 times. In reality, if they had stayed in the center, they would have saved more goals, as 60% of the goals are hit in the center! But would a goalkeeper  look good standing still?

Here is where most of us get trapped. The zest to earn fast money is almost ingrained in all of us; the desire of which leads to being in action all the time. Investors are always itching to take some action on their stock. If analysed it should be bought regardless of the price, and when bought you still might be glued its price movement. And, if the price drops and your stock is in loss, you tend to take further action on it. Why? Because people regret losses 2-2.5 times more than similar-sized gains. This desire to be in action all the time leads to buying and selling at the wrong times; leading to usually negative or meager returns. It’s a sign of a short-term perspective. Therefore, avoid checking your portfolio often and suppress the desire to be in action all the time. Keep a long-term perspective, as this will give you the best returns with minimal risk.

To conclude,

  • In investing, be like a Fruit Orchid Owner – invest in right stocks & have a long-term perspective
  • Avoid the desire to be in action

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30 comments

  • Thanks for posting the succinct StockShastra-14,and reading through it, makes us richer in our perspectives in deciding the exact stocks to be put in our Portfolio.in line with your perspective planning,of late, I am acquiring on monthly basis stocks like EduComp or Everon, on the surmise that more and more schools are introducing online-inter-active teaching methods, so that this education sector would turn out to be a wonderful stock in a period of say 7-10years.Pl Comment.
    A.Vaidhyanathan
    10-08-10

    • Very true Mr. Vaidhyanathan. With cloud technology, the IT sector is bound to give good returns. The other company you should go for is a small cap – Karuturi Global. A company with strong fundamentals and it is available at Rs. 21/-.
      EduComp is indeed a good stock. Thanks for your input.

  • well written with good exmples…… very true checking portfolio a miln times is more like harassing yourself….wanted to how much is long-temr ????

  • exactly waht we do . the difference between a good and successful investor and a bad one though with similar knowledge.
    my friend buys only large caps in dips and sells a a few to book gains when he feels they are high.and has made much more more money than i who “actively” trade i small , .mid “multibaggers”.

  • to be succesful in market one should be strong in fundamental and technical analysis.these are the two important ingredients for a investor/trader.A retail investor should rememeber that he is a market follower and not a mover.the key to investing is only risk management.vegetable grower,fruit planter,fisherman all has many advantages and disadvantages.in the cricket analogy u will have to play 20/20,50 0ver match,test match.know the nature of the market and play accordingly

  • What I like most about Money Works 4 Me and Stock Shastra is the “to the point” approach. The entire team has complete clarity of thought and are extremely good at effective communication.
    Keep up the good work – we look forward to your regular inputs.

  • Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Do keep reading and posting your valuable feedback.

  • Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Do keep reading and posting your valuable feedback.

  • You are absolutely right, investing with a long-term perspective is indeed the way to become a successful investor.
    Please do posting your valuable feedback.
    Thanks

    • in fact i lost money in many stocks which i thought were underpriced.
      later on made money in largecaps.

  • Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Do keep reading and posting your valuable feedback.

  • Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Do keep reading and let us know your feedback.

  • Thanks for the appreciation. At MoneyWorks4me.com we suggest that you should buy at Discount Price and sell at MRP (the right value of a stock). Discount Price is at a 50% discount to MRP. Hence, this would take some time. Do visit http://www.moneyworks4me.com/ where you can get the Discount Price and MRP of over a 1000 stocks.
    Thank You.

  • Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You are right about the education sector being a good sector in the long-term, but for the stocks you need to first check whether they are fundamentally strong and whether they are at an attractive price right now.
    At MoneyWorks4me.com we provide a 10 YEAR X-RAYof the company's financials which helps you decide whether a company is fundamentally strong. Also, we provide our members with a guidance for the sensible Buy and Sell Prices for over a 1000 stocks. Do visit our website http://www.moneyworks4me.com/ and let us know your feedback.
    Thank You.

  • Hi,
    You are right about a fruit planter, fisherman having other disadvantages and advantages. We have just tried to bring out the similarities with stock investing.
    Also, before investing you have to ensure that fundamentally the company is strong and has the ability to have good growth in future.
    Thank You

  • I like the all shastras which drives you on safe road, in this crazy ,populated, scam,bripbery market.

    • Hi,
      Thanks a lot. It has always been our constant endeavor to help retail investors invest and gain from the stock market. Its great to know that Stock Shastra is helping you invest safely. Keep reading and let us know your feedback

  • It’s perfect, its for sure that you are much concerned about your stocks and investment. Before moving towards investment you should check out details about the stock which you are looking for. Please try to purchase specific stock when it reaches the lowest level. suppose if you need to purchase Gala Global inc, then check from records that what was the lowest over the year and plan accordingly.

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