Investment tip: Don't just track numbers, write down 'why you invest' to make informed decisions later
investment author, Peter Lynch. My first reading of Lynch was soon after I finished college in 1990. Compared to 2023, it was a very dull time, and acquiring a copy of Lynch’s book, One Up on Wall Street, was very exciting for me.
In those pre-Internet days, the flow of information was much slower and harder, and this great book had just come out in the previous year. It was not well known at the time, especially in India. In fact, even now, it has been read by few investors even though many have heard of it.
Lynch’s book was like primary education for me as an investor.
Even today, more than three decades later, I come across something new and useful every time I read the book. Recently, while reading an article he wrote in 1997, in Worth magazine, I noticed this tip: ‘With every stock you own, keep track of its story in a log book. Note any new developments and pay close attention to earnings.
Is this a growth play, a cyclical play, or a value play? Stocks do well for a reason and do poorly for a reason. Make sure you know the reasons.’ For those who are not familiar with Lynch, the curious thing is that even though he became famous for his incredible track record as a fund manager, all his writing is about stock investing. From 1977 to 1990, Lynch, while managing the Fidelity Magellan fund in the US, generated an annualised return of 29.4%, making it the best performing fund in the world.
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