A Quotable Market Wizard

As a professional money manager for decades, I spent most of my time researching our positions directly. I read hundreds of pages of research about stocks, the market, and the economy every week.

My knowledge grew over the years as I studied these different industries and companies. My skills as a money manager also improved over that time.

What didn’t grow much was my WISDOM. I was too busy actively managing money to work on getting wiser.

Since I came over to the newsletter business half a decade ago, this all began to change. Now, I can turn my focus from individual companies to my larger process as a trader.

As part of that learning process, I discovered several writers that were new to me.

Mark Minervini is one of the most influential on me – and my process.

Mark is a professional trader highlighted in Jack Schwager’s great book Stock Market Wizards. If you have never read that book, order it today!

Mark has a tremendous track record as a trader, but his quotes are even more impressive.

He is the most quotable trader that I have ever encountered.

If you are unaware of his work, I encourage you to follow him on X/Twitter and benefit from his wisdom.

In the meantime, here are some of our favorite quotes from Mark. Enjoy!

“It’s better to lose correctly than to win incorrectly.”

We wrote about this concept in last Friday's HX Daily. The key to winning successfully is figuring out how to manage and learn from your losses.

Sometimes you will win because of luck, but that doesn't improve your process. If anything, it can set back your learning curve.

Focus on your losing to increase your winning.

“The difference between interest and commitment is the will not to give up. When you truly commit to something, you have no alternative but success.”

One of the great things about Mark is not just his trading wisdom but his life wisdom.

We think many of the lessons needed for successful trading can also make you better in almost any aspect of your life.

“Virtually every super performance phase in big, winning stocks occurred while the stock price was in a definite price uptrend. In almost every case, the trend was identifiable early in the super performance advance.”

This is one of the most important aspects of investing, and it is difficult for inexperienced investors to accept.

We often point out that every stock that ever went up tenfold first had to double and triple.

Buying stocks that are up – and in an uptrend – is how you make money in stocks.

“If you don’t have a plan, you will surely experience paralyzing emotions and second-guess yourself at key decision-making moments.”

Those who have followed us over the years know our favorite saying about trading – "Plan the Trade, Trade the Plan."

Having a well-thought-out plan is the key to being able to do with the markets as they develop. Remember that the markets are constantly evolving; the key is how you react to those developments.

“Calculating risks shrewdly is the main ingredient for consistent superior performance. Pros play percentage ball, and that’s why, in the long run, they are more consistent than amateurs. Therefore, it could be said that the difference between an amateur and a pro lies in consistency. Relying on the probabilities based on a positive mathematical expectation to win (your “edge”) will lead to success.”

Probability is everything in trading. There are no guarantees in the markets.

The key is finding high-probability bets and stacking them on top of each other in your portfolio.

If your process is good, those probabilities will eventually play out, and you will make money in the markets.