7 Virtues of Great Investors
Investing is 10% math and 90% temperament.
Most investors spend all their time looking at spreadsheets and financial statements.
They forget that their greatest asset isn’t their capital, it’s their mindset.
Jason Zweig shared “The 7 Virtues of Great Investors” in the latest edition of The Intelligent Investor.
Here is how you can use them to build long-term wealth.
1. Curiosity
Great investors are learning machines.
They don’t just look at a dividend yield, they look at the business model.
They ask why a company is able to pay a dividend for 50 years straight.
The more you learn, the more you earn.
2. Skepticism
If a stock offers a 15% dividend yield, be defensive.
In investing, if it looks too good to be true, it usually is.
Skepticism protects your principal from permanent loss.
3. Independence
If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get the same results as everyone else.
It’s easy to get swept up in momentum and excitement when it looks like everyone else is making easy money.
As a dividend growth investor, you’ll be buying boring companies while others are chasing bubbles.
But in the long run, it’s a great strategy to build wealth.
4. Humility
You can’t control everything.
There’s an element of luck in every investment.
Humility means admitting you might be wrong, and that things are uncertain.
Great investors recognize this and do things like diversify and buy with a margin of safety to protect themselves.
5. Discipline
Most people invest when they’re excited and stop when they’re scared.
That’s the opposite of what works.
Think of saving and investing like another monthly bill, you pay it automatically, no matter what the market is doing.
If you wait until it feels like the perfect time to invest, you’ll be waiting forever.
6. Patience
Most people want to get rich fast. Those people usually end up poor.
The real payoff in investing comes after 10, 20, 30 years.
That’s when compounding really kicks in.
Stop looking for shortcuts and let time do the work.
7. Courage
Investing is easy when things are going well.
The real opportunity comes when everyone else is scared.
When the headlines are screaming recession, that’s often the best time to buy.
That’s it for today!
Here’s what you learned:
Curiosity – Keep learning to spot great investments
Skepticism – If returns sound too good to be true, they probably are
Independence – Don’t just follow the crowd
Humility – Luck plays a role, so always leave a buffer for being wrong
Discipline – Stick to your process every time
Patience – Time does most of the work for you
Courage – Don’t panic when the market does
One Dividend At A Time,
-TJ
Used sources
Interactive Brokers: Portfolio data and executing all transactions
Fiscal.ai: Financial data
Well written content and I especially liked the generous use of graphics.