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Message Board Poster Ben Graham


Parsad

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Guest ValueCarl

I would like to add that Ben Graham should refrain from misquoting or misunderstanding the belief systems of certain other posters on this board, who he chooses to cite as having told him one thing or another in the past. Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, or Alice Schroeder, for that matter, few can deny that these are courageous women adding value to their society as part of their leadership roles in daring to say things others might be thinking or by igniting new thought sparks according to their perspectives, with those others being too afraid to broach upon publicly. 

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I would go so far to add that perhaps the root of the problem should be addressed...

 

Based on my experience, it is very psychologically uncomfortable to hold a large position in something that one must continually monitor - i.e. a business with a very uncertain economic future. Continuous monitoring is the result of needing to justify the investment every single day. The primary symptom of such a problem is irrational defense of the position - i.e. not seeing the other side of the debate, not defending the position with mathematical realities but rather hyperbole of potential future outcomes with no historical precedent, seeking out research that only confirms one's thinking, relying on experts who are of the same thinking, and most dangerously, relying upon the positions of other large investors to justify a position when in fact it may be a very small portion of their portfolio.

 

I have been guilty of all the above, and have found the stress relief from reducing or eliminating the position to be simply amazing. Like WEB says, no position is worth it if it leads to even 5 minutes of lost sleep.

 

Ben Graham, I would strongly encourage you to reduce the size of your LVLT position to a point where you can sleep at night. I think the offending posts that annoy every single board member would discontinue not because you want them to, but rather you won't feel the need to justify such a large position in LVLT on a daily basis. And better yet, you will have more capital to allocate to other investments!! There's more to investing than speculating on the highly uncertain future of a single telecom company. Part of the fun is the challenge and thrill of evaluating many businesses, even if you don't end up investing in 90% of them. You will learn so much just from the process!

 

 

Ben

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Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, or Alice Schroeder, for that matter, few can deny that these are courageous women adding value to their society...

 

I begin every morning verbally denying Sarah Palin adds value to society, but I agree on the tone and substance of this Ben Graham (the poster) intervention.

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Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, or Alice Schroeder, for that matter, few can deny that these are courageous women adding value to their society...

 

I begin every morning verbally denying Sarah Palin adds value to society, but I agree on the tone and substance of this Ben Graham (the poster) intervention.

 

;D

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I would go so far to add that perhaps the root of the problem should be addressed...

 

Based on my experience, it is very psychologically uncomfortable to hold a large position in something that one must continually monitor - i.e. a business with a very uncertain economic future. Continuous monitoring is the result of needing to justify the investment every single day. The primary symptom of such a problem is irrational defense of the position - i.e. not seeing the other side of the debate, not defending the position with mathematical realities but rather hyperbole of potential future outcomes with no historical precedent, seeking out research that only confirms one's thinking, relying on experts who are of the same thinking, and most dangerously, relying upon the positions of other large investors to justify a position when in fact it may be a very small portion of their portfolio.

 

I have been guilty of all the above, and have found the stress relief from reducing or eliminating the position to be simply amazing. Like WEB says, no position is worth it if it leads to even 5 minutes of lost sleep.

 

Ben Graham, I would strongly encourage you to reduce the size of your LVLT position to a point where you can sleep at night. I think the offending posts that annoy every single board member would discontinue not because you want them to, but rather you won't feel the need to justify such a large position in LVLT on a daily basis. And better yet, you will have more capital to allocate to other investments!! There's more to investing than speculating on the highly uncertain future of a single telecom company. Part of the fun is the challenge and thrill of evaluating many businesses, even if you don't end up investing in 90% of them. You will learn so much just from the process!

 

 

Ben

 

Right! The real Ben Graham would hold a position for a max of two years and then sell it and move on to other opportunities if it hadn't moved up in that time.

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Parsad, why did you make it an open discussion?

 

BeerBaron

 

Two reasons: 

 

- Sometimes objectivity by peers can help someone

- My tolerance is at a historic low, as alot of my time gets consumed in editing posts!

 

The topic is now locked and will not reach "epic potential."  Cheers!

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