Investing for the Long Term

Introduction

I never imagined I would write a book. Less still one on investment. But life has surprises in store for us all, and it's best not to squander them. It may sound obvious, but you have to turn problems into opportunities. Do so naturally, as a reflex and across all aspects of life – whether personal, professional (as an investor making the most of market turmoil) or more generally in the world around you.

When I first read Peter Lynch's One Up On Wall Street¹ at the start of my career, it seemed to provide such a clear and simple explanation of how to go about investing that there wasn't much more to add. The experience of various years did little to change my opinion. Other books that I encountered along the way, especially the classics, appeared to complement and reaffirm this view. It seemed that the path was already well trodden.

However, gradually – almost imperceptibly – things began to change. Perhaps because of experience, or a touch of vanity. Either way, in recent times it has struck me that none of these books were an exact reflection of the principles or the way of working that we bring to investing (I say ‘we’ because while this book represents my ideas and experiences, I have not been alone on this journey. My approach to investment has been refined and implemented alongside a team of colleagues with whom I have had the good fortune to work over the years, first at Bestinver and now at Cobas.) For example, they seldom ever talk of the right way of ...