Hi Tom,
Patience in investing is something I had to learn and I still fail to exercise it sometimes to my detriment. Don't know if I could stay in a position for two years without making a Sell. Congratulations on your patience.
My favorite pure investing book was written back in 1923...it is titled "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator". It is a thinly disguised autobiography of Jesse Livermore...probably the largest momentum investor of his time. Though momentum investing and the money management methods of AIM are polar opposites there are some things in the book that I have found useful.
He said the most profitable thing it took him many years to learn is patience. He said he made his most profitable trades by "sitting on his hands". He said he was too impatient many times to pull the trigger. Said he went broke several times because he was "too early" in the trades. Said that though he ultimately was correct in his overall assessment of the economy and market, his timing was bad. He said he had to learn to sit on the sidelines until the trend, up or down, was clearly established before getting into stocks (said he did not care if the trend was up or down....just that there was a very clear and established trend).
This sort of reminds me of Ocroft's method of waiting to buy until the trend has turned up and then making the purchases which have accumulated.
Best regards,
Ray
AI
