2024-01-26: Markets

I often make the comparison that investing is like running a marathon, not sprinting for a few seconds or minutes. Time is of the essence, and not necessarily in the usual sense that faster is better. In fact, it’s the inverse: the more time we can work with the better off we will be. The analogy is appropriate because in the end time is the only variable we have a marginal ability to control. Not returns. 
    So when we have a beginning of the year like the one we just had, the important thing to keep in mind is that its significance is zero in the grand scheme of what we want to do with our invested capital. It is always dangerous to pay attention to interim results with the idea of trying to understand what they mean or if we have to change something in our established strategy. The temptation, impulse really, is very strong, so strong that it often makes sense that we assign to someone the task of looking after our discipline in a detached and emotionless manner. If opulence – with or without our own skating rink – is our target, let’s be patient and give ourselves enough time: while we still may not get there, we at least give ourself the best chances.
    
[Cover Source: The Wall Street Journal]