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September 5, 2021 52 mins

Mental Models discussed in this podcast:

  • Concentration vs Diversification
  • Hurdle Rate
  • Circle of Competence
  • Conviction
  • Opportunity Cost
  • Satisficing

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Show Outline

The full show notes for this episode are available at https://www.diyinvesting.org/Episode120

How many stocks should you own?

  • As many as you can that meet your hurdle rate?
  • Only the best opportunities available?
  • Optimal vs Satisficing

Constraints on Holdings:

  • Time
  • Circle of Competence
  • Conviction

Additional Thoughts

  • Collector of Businesses
  • Hypothetical:
    • What is the highest level of concentration an individual investor should be willing to place into a single stock (when buying?) Specifically, asking about non-special situations, more long-term holdings. Presumably, at some point, cat-risk is too high even when you have an edge.
    • Imagine you own a 5-10 stock portfolio. Over the weekend, it is announced that all 10 companies are merging and will be subsidiaries under a single capital allocator that you like. Do you make any portfolio changes? You still own the same companies, but now 1 stock, not 10.
  • What are you buying when buying a stock?
  • Concentration: " The number of stocks you own is dependent on how you view yourself as an investor." 
    • Is it possible to produce alpha?
      • If yes, concentrate
      • If no, diversify
    • Are you a good investor?
      • If yes, concentrate
      • If no, diversify
    • Conviction
      • If yes, concentrate
      • If no, diversify

Summary:

How many stocks should you own? This is a critical question without a single answer. Your portfolio concentration is constrained by time, circle of competence, and conviction. 

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