What Wildlife Photography Teaches An Investor

One can’t be born an investor or one can’t become a wildlife photographer overnight. It needs to be practiced over period, learn during these times and sharpen the skills to build one’s own unique way of doing things

There’s so much data available publicly and even from the research conducted by the regulator, SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India) on the losses being made by traders. Still, we hear many participants attempting to sail against the odds to make money in the markets. Long term market participants who have become the gurus like that of Buffet, Munger, et al. have repeatedly proven by their actions how to create wealth in stock markets.

The stories behind the best of the wildlife photography are always about waiting for the right moment. One common thread among all their efforts is to plot the angle, remain persistent and patiently wait to capture the best of the moments. This could be after tracking the animal or bird for many days, even weeks at time over years, finding their patterns and then get lucky.

Drawing parallels to investing, one must conduct research about a business or a company, understand the overall prospects of the industry, the vision of the management, their strengths and capabilities to execute the plan. After assessing over years, their track record and being part of that journey, usually compounds the investor’s wealth.

Of course, making money in the markets could be done in multiple ways. Even in trading, one could enter and exit a stock at right moments to generate money but compounding only happens over time. In the formula of compounding, the power (exponential) lies in the time (spent). Greatest of the wealth has been created by investors and not traders in the market. So, to be an investor, requires a different set of mind and temperament.

Continuing our earlier example on photography, the tenacity of a wildlife photographer is completely different from the regular photography. One can’t be born an investor or one can’t become a wildlife photographer overnight. It needs to be practiced over period, learn during these times and sharpen the skills to build one’s own unique way of doing things.

Each successful photograph’s capture has a different story and settings. It could be in underwater picturing the whales, in polar conditions capturing a bear or in a desert following a snake. Each has different circumstances and requires different skill sets, hence a different strategy. While the lessons of photography remain same, one may need to bring their own wisdom to ensure the effort is fructified.

Similarly, each investor must find their way of understanding and exploiting the market misgivings. It requires endurance and diligence in executing a strategy, all the while being open to amends if required. No strategy is perfect, for the dynamic changes in the market and one should adopt to the changing situations. Also, if we read or hear about those long-term successful investors, there will be or were instances when their conviction was tested and their resolve to not get overwhelmed by the emotions is the commonest behavior.

As Warren Buffet said, “to invest successfully doesn’t require a stratospheric IQ. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding the framework.” Probably, this one sentence captures the essence of investing. But this is a distilled wisdom derived over decades of attempts at investing.

A framework or strategy is needed but the critical factor is about reining on one’s emotions. As Buffet long-term sidekick, Charlie Munger said, It’s ok do nothing. Rather than react, investors are better off not panicking when markets plunge or become overly optimistic when they surge. He emphasised the value of waiting for the right opportunity to purchase a high-quality company at an attractive price. This is something the wildlife photographers religiously follow.

(The author is a co-founder of “Wealocity”, a wealth management firm and could be reached at [email protected])