Sorry but how the hell would you know whether is he the 0.01% or not, considering you probably know less than that amount about the original poster?! Pure nonsense…
this is very encouraging and very hard to come by on AF. Thanks!!!
And yes, it is insulting to say go flip burgers or become a plumber to someone who wants to be in finance in AF. It was probably said in a passively agressive manner to either hurt the other person or degrade them. I know I would never say such things to my close friends or family members unless I was mocking them. Anyways it is hard getting to FO! But good luck everyone!
1 - Google more agressively. Even in AF you can find threads on how to be a great investor.
2 - Read the links from Numi - if I recall correctly they’re basically a more general version of what you’re asking. It’s hard to be specific on your question because each industry is different.
3 - Watch Damodaran’s class on Valuation, or read his main book (Inv Valuation) - do all exercises, attempt the valuations, etc - now you know the nuts and bolts of a valuation, from arguably one of the top mentors in the world. He even has tutorials on how to read a 10-K and what not (so you can find some of the most important things for your ticker).
4 - Buy Breaking Into Wall Street or a closer substitute. Now you know how to do a properly organized valuation with Excel. You probably won’t embarass yourself in interviews at this point.
5 - Learn or re-learn strategy (buy Porter’s books, take a class on Coursera or whatever). Now you have a basic starting framework to analyze industry trends and competitive positions.
At this point you may want to pick an investing style. Damodaran’s “Investment Philosophies” book or class is a good overview. Or you may prefer to start choosing stocks and comparing what you do to others. The Value Investors Club website is a pretty good resource to see other people’s stock pitches.
I think it is very unlikely someone will want to mentor you out of the blue. If you really need the personal experience, you may try to hire Numi to evaluate your stock pitches.
not quite. plumber makes loads more then flipping burgers so its not a similiar comparison
Yeah. This is why I don’t get why these folks are saying I’m being degrading. They clearly have no respect or understanding of professional tradesmen. Perhaps I’ll use electrician next time as an example. The vast majority of people want an FO job for the money. The vast majority who try fail, especially with below average credentials. If you want good money, be a plumber. If you love investing and want to do it all day long forever, then try out for the FO. Also remember that passions can quickly be lost when they become a job.
or make a comfortable 6 figures being a plumber and invest own money on the side .win-win
Exactly. There are ways to enjoy investing without being a FO baller.
I want to own a gas station and invest my own money like FO baller.
Do gas stations really make money anymore? I was approached on partnering up on one, fairly low entry cost. The cash flow numbers didn’t excite me though.
I guess it all dependes.
Sure they do, but depends on location too. You need a lot of volume because of the low margins. Lottery, cigarettes, and gas are the largest contributers to revenue. Not necessarily in that order though.
Viceroy - I get that discouraging comments can get tired, but I actually appreciate the real talk especially since I’m my own worst critic and have come to similar conclusions when taking a no BS assessment of where I’m at. I also don’t think it’s too late or impossible, just improbable, and that the actions I take going forward can increase or decrease the odds. It’s like the CFA exam, yes 30% pass rate, etc, but if you study hard you increase the probability for success for yourself, so the 30% pass rate becomes irrelevant.
Crazyman - thanks for the detailed post listing a starting point to educate myself on the investment process. I’ll start using these resources to build a foundation.
All - posts similar to crazyman’s is what I’m really looking for. People in the game to direct me to a way for me to educate myself on becoming a better investor.
I think people got the impression that I was saying, hey I have no experience and want to get a job. But what I really was saying is I want to start to learn how to become a better investor, and if at some point in the future that works itself into a job then so be it, otherwise I’ll find another path somehow someway, whether that be owning my own burger joing and flipping patties, snaking toilets, protecting and serving, or welding in North Dakota, or buying gas stations.
BTW I know a guy who came to NY as an immigrant in the 90s, worked for a few gas stations and wanted to own one, but was basically priced out of the NY market. He moved to Texas an started working for a gas station in the outskirts of major cities, eventually buying a piece of 1 gas station (I believe in the early 2000’s). Now he owns +10.
These are the stories that are littered across my purview, either with family members, friends, or acquaintances. Small businesses like these will always be a part of my life, but I want to complement this cash flow with that of a capital market investment portfolio.
I’ve been spending the last 9 months thinking about this and doing DD on franchise concepts, flying around the country to franchise headquarters and meeting with corporate teams. I like the idea of buying existing franchise locations (many franchises can be picked up at 2-3x cash flow) that have proven themselves with sales growth. I’m growing wary of the idea to open new locations, especially in a high cost area like New York (property taxes really kill the profitability of almost any franchise concept in NY). But again, I want to complement that cash flow opportunity with a strong investment portfolio.
Yes I had this vision upon graduating with a degree in Finance, getting a job at an i-bank, and commencing upon the CFA exam that I would be picking stocks at a HF ala Warren Buffett and have my own shop by now, but things change.
Wow, a lot of conversation off of the original topic.
Realistically, you can achieve what you want, but the path is longer than you think. I’ll keep it short. All paths assume you finish your CFA charter.
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(Small/Big Company) FP&A->Valuation Advising (Reporting)->Sell-side ER->Buy-side ER
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(Big Company) FP&A->Sell-side ER (Analyst who covers your company most likely)->Buy-side ER
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MSFinance->Buyside ER
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MBA->Buyside ER
Of course you could jump straight to the buyside with a network connection or a family friend, but those are not easy to come by. Alot of variations in the paths I mentioned as well, for example you could get into a better MBA program after 2-4 years in FP&A/Valuation advising, which could get you into buyside ER.
I recommend starting a blog now, I’ve seen guys even in the 25-50 MBA rank get into decent buyside shops because they could point to a development in their stock-picking thinking over time.
waterbucket - thanks for your thoughts. What does a role in FP&A entail?
On the CFA charter - I will likely finish that up, already knocked down L1 & 2.
Blogging is an interesting idea, won’t cost me much and will help me keep track of any progress (or lack thereof) I make along the way
For all you stock picking vetarans out there - in your initial stock picks, were you any good or did they lack imagination? Were they pretty rudimentary in in-depth thought and analysis? Also, how the heck does a buy side analyst get through so many 10-Ks and Qs. I’ve been trying to read through a few these past few days and I can barely get through 20 pages before I lose my mind for a while… Is that normal or is a sign of a good analyst someone who has the dexterity to read hundreds of pages of SEC filngs before lunch??
lolzors. its like working out. You dont want to do it in the beggining, but once you finish you feel awfully proud.
I hope you’re right Neryblop. Though I’m still waiting for that runner’s high to kick in when I’m knee deep in a proxy filing. I’ ve been committing a lot of time these days to trying to reverse engineer some stock pitches I’ve found on websites like VIC, blogs, etc.
At 27 with no research experience, the process really makes me want to quit. But I can’t shake the idea that I have, which is that a savvy stock picker / investor has essentially tapped into the sweetest hustle I can think of. So for now, I’m going to keep plugging.
You put together models that develop budgets and forecasts for a company. You then review actual results against the budgets and figure out what the hell happened. Depending on how progressive the company is, you can really drive things in the business. Otherwise you’ll be viewed as some idiot that doesn’t do anything worthwhile.
I’ve done a few years in FP&A and it was ok. Could I have moved to FO from there? Probably not. Maybe covering that specific industry if an opportunity came up…but I would have been a long shot.