What Makes a Good Investor?

  There are many types of investors. Some trade daily, while others invest for the long term. Some investors like to diversify their portfolios, while others like to take risks and put all their eggs in one basket. However, all investors share one goal: to make a profit. Many people search the internet to learn from other experts. Although learning from an expert may be necessary, investors should choose a strategy that fits them: a strategy that enhances their strengths and compensates for their weaknesses. I struggle to read charts or figure out the current intrinsic value of a stock. I don't know when the price will rise or when it will fall. However, I know which companies will be crucial in the future. Therefore, my strategy would be to buy the right stocks and hold them.

 What kind of stocks are you supposed to buy? Semiconductors? Energy? Software? As mentioned earlier, the main goal of investing is making money. In order to determine whether a stock will make a profit, you need an understanding of the company and the market around it. Without that understanding, investing in stocks will be no different from gambling. There is no need to feel disheartened about missing out on 10-fold growth of a company unless you had knowledge of the company or the market. How many people realized that NVIDIA would be crucial for AI before its tenfold growth? In fact, many stocks grow rapidly in value without being noticed. In 2025, over 300 stocks doubled, and many investors wouldn't even have heard of most of them. A good investor should always learn new things, but not dwell on the profits they have missed out on. The past is gone and cannot be changed. Focus on the future, as it can be changed.

 In order to make profits from trading, you need to buy stocks when they're low in value and sell them when they're high in value. You need to distinguish between a 'bubble' and 'real growth'. Unfortunately, it is something that I'm not good at. Every time in the market, some stocks are overvalued, while some are undervalued. Although markets tend to return to equilibrium, this may take a while. A stock could remain overvalued for years. The intrinsic value of a stock could grow over that time, making it more expensive than the current overvalued price. Waiting to buy a stock at a cheaper price could result in buying it at a higher price. My strategy is to predict whether a company would be crucial in the future, estimate a range for its potential market cap in 10 years, and if the potential market cap significantly outweighs the current market cap, I choose to buy.

 Investing all your money at once carries risks. To reduce the risk of losing money from buying a stock at the wrong time, I use a strategy called 'Dollar Cost Averaging', also known as DCA. DCA means investing in a stock on a frequent basis. Whether the stock gets more expensive or cheaper does not matter. For investors who cannot determine a stock's intrinsic value, DCA could be the answer. DCA reduces both the potential gains and losses from market timing. As mentioned at the beginning, the most important principle of investing is to make profits. In order to make profits, we have to avoid losses first. In order to avoid losses from mistiming, I use DCA.

 I am an investor. I spend hours analyzing stocks. I have no degree in economics or finance. I don't know how to read charts. I don't know how to determine the intrinsic value of a stock. I focus on looking for companies that may be crucial in the future, and use a DCA strategy to invest in them. I haven't beaten the market. Maybe I would have made more profit by buying the S&P 500 regularly. However, I am in the green, and will continue to invest the way I do. If your investing strategy is different from mine and you're still making profits, that's the strategy you have to hold onto. Your investing strategy should be the strategy that makes you profit. Trading stocks doesn't test your knowledge. It tests your actions, and will reward you solely based on your actions. Choose a strategy that enhances your strengths, and minimizes your weaknesses. That's how we will survive the market.