The Weekend Bulletin (Vol. 1 | Iss. 16)

A digest of some interesting stuff from around the world-wide-web for the discerning investor. Your weekly dose of multi-disciplinary reading.

Volume 1 |  Issue 16  |  March 07, 2020

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Section 1: Investing Wisdom

• This article builds upon last week's reads around the mental tenacity required to hold on to a multi-bagger investment. It looks at the relative performance of Berkshire Hathaway and shows how despite long periods of under-performance, it managed to outperform. The question is, what is your tolerance for under-performance? 

• This twitter thread is a succinct summary of the events that unfolded at Yes Bank:

  Finshots @finshots

  A Retelling of the #yesbankcrisis in tweets The year is 2003. RBI issues a new banking license & Yes Bank is born. Meanwhile, Ashok Kapur & Rana Kapoor take charge. The former, calm & Composed. The latter Brash & Aggressive. The Yin & the Yang. They make perfect partners

  • While on that issue, here's something that I tweeted on the subject: 

    Tejas Gutka @tgutka

    A reminder amidst the ongoing fiasco that for a better of this decade, Yes bank outperformed HDFC and Kotak banks. A).The market can stay irrational longer than.... B).Time is friend of the wonderful business and enemy of the.... #marketlessons Chart courtesy: @Tijori1

    

    Tejas Gutka @tgutka

    This quote is an apt summary of the above: "Your success depends on the risks you take. Your survival depends on the risks you avoid." – @JamesClear Applicable to both, the business and the investors...

• Would you agree that Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) are a good investment method, as they help average the cost of investment? If you agree, then this article has some eye-opening facts for you.

  • I'll end the section with a question for you to ponder upon: Ifs SIPs don't really help in bringing down the cost of investments, why do they remain so popular? Hit me up a DM on twitter with your thoughts.

Section 2: Mental Models & Behavioral Biases

• This past week, numerous central banks across the globe cut interest rates by up to 50 basis points as a response to the volatility surrounding the Corona virus. Shouldn't one wonder how interest rates are in any form an antidote to a global epidemic? Other than improving sentiments (which they failed to do going by the reaction of the stock market following the rate cut), what good would a rate cut do in this situation? You may say that it was the only tool available with the them. True, I'd say, and quickly add that that's our mental model for the week: 'The Man With The Hammer Syndrome'.

  • As for the central bank policy response, I am not the first one to call it a 'man with a hammer' problem.

Section 3: Personal Development

• They say that happiness is a state of the mind. Your external circumstances great affect your happiness. But is it really that? Or is a construct of our DNA? That's the question that this research-backed article attempts to answer.

  • If the above caught your attention, may I suggest an eye opening movie from 2018 that shows the dark side of such research: Three Identical Strangers.

Section 4: Trivia

• The following are some alarming findings from a year long research effort surrounding climate change by McKinsey & Co:

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Have a wonderful weekend!!

- Tejas Gutka.