No one would suggest completely ignoring news about your investments. Enron investors, for example, would have been well served to sell once early reports of accounting irregularities surfaced. But the key is to keep news in context and act only if further reflection or study indicates that the core thesis for an investment has changed.

Whitney Tilson

Categorized in : Reflection News Accounting Investment

If you are able to look beyond near term trouble, you have an advantage over many professional investors

Whitney Tilson

able trouble looks

What's both fascinating and challenging about investing is that the changing nature of business and finance means you can never have it all figured out.

Whitney Tilson

investing challenges mean

To succeed as a contrarian you must recognize what the crowd believes, have concrete justification for why the majority is wrong, and have the patience and conviction to stick with what is, by definition, an unpopular bet.

Whitney Tilson

crowds majority believe

Independent thinking is not just helpful in becoming a successful investor, it’s required.

Whitney Tilson

independent successful thinking

We were the canaries in the coal mine.

Whitney Tilson

company-news

Now more than ever I want to hear ideas on the short side and the younger managers are more willing to talk.

Whitney Tilson

company-news

There are some pretty heated emotions about Donald Trump.

Whitney Tilson

politics

In the past week, I've received information that leads me to believe that senior management of Lumber Liquidators wasn't aware that the company was selling Chinese-made laminate that had high levels of formaldehyde.

Whitney Tilson

money

Chief Executive Robert Lynch was likely under immense pressure from the board, saw the writing on the wall, and decided to jump before being pushed.

Whitney Tilson

business

The mark of a wise person isn't never making mistakes - everyone makes plenty of them. Rather, it's the ability to quickly admit - and fix - them!

Whitney Tilson

mistakes person never wise

I think that most people who complain about our government have no idea what they're talking about because they've never been to a country with a bad government.

Whitney Tilson

think government country people

I love and celebrate good teachers, and it's critical that we do more to identify them and keep them happy and motivated.

Whitney Tilson

good celebrate happy love

In life, an abundance of confidence gives us higher motivation, persistence, and optimism and can allow us to accomplish things we otherwise might not have undertaken.

Whitney Tilson

persistence confidence optimism life

If I bring to light a company that's poisoning customers, defrauding investors, or something like that... there just aren't enough regulators in the world to keep up with all of the fraud and malfeasance that goes on out there, particularly in the little nooks and crannies of the market.

Whitney Tilson

fraud light enough world

The deal machinations many companies put themselves through, while certainly a bonanza for investment bankers, can confound the typical investor.

Whitney Tilson

deal through investment bankers

Parents are, of course, most important in shaping their children's lives, but teachers are critically important as well. Who among us doesn't look back on a few great teachers who inspired us, opened up new worlds, and helped make us who we are?

Whitney Tilson

parents great look children

My experience is that very few people have what it takes to be a successful investor, as I discussed in The Arrogance of Stock Picking.

Whitney Tilson

very experience arrogance people

The best way I know to get rich long-term is to invest prudently and conservatively and not try and get rich quick but try and get rich slowly, basically.

Whitney Tilson

best know rich way

There's a real company in Facebook and then a lot of pretenders riding their coat tails.

Whitney Tilson

facebook riding company real

While I take no pleasure in others' misfortunes, we've historically made most of our profits from other investors behaving in a panicked and irrational fashion and selling us certain stocks at prices far below their intrinsic value. More volatility equals cheaper stocks, which equals higher returns.

Whitney Tilson

value more pleasure fashion