Investment Advice for Young People
“Get your feet wet with some spare cash, otherwise you’ll always be a bystander” — Duan Yongping’s advice to beginners
💡 Core Insights
- 段永平 says “anyone can invest, as long as you understand what you’re buying and where the value lies”
- Investing doesn’t require academic degrees, but requires understanding the underlying principles and having faith in them
- As a new graduate, being conservative is most important — “don’t let one mistake prevent you from ever recovering”
- Investing is a fun game, but don’t devote too much energy to it — “if treated as just part of life, it brings joy to many people”
- Working at Apple for 30 years yields better results than jumping to most startup companies
❓ Selected Q&A
Q: I’m about to graduate from university, strongly identify with your approach, and after reading Buffett’s Letters to Shareholders I can understand it — but I just don’t know how to start value investing. Could you provide guidance, Mr. Duan?
A: Heh heh, get your feet wet with some spare cash, otherwise you’ll always be a bystander. Investing is a fun game, but don’t spend too much energy on it. If you accidentally make money, never assume you can make a living from it. If you treat investing as merely part of life (perhaps a small part), it brings joy to many people; otherwise it might cause much pain. (2010-04-06)
Q: As a fresh graduate, is it okay to immediately enter the field of investing?
A: As a fresh graduate, immediately entering investing isn’t necessarily wrong, though naturally your understanding of enterprises will be weaker. But as long as you love what you do and know your weaknesses, gradual learning will bring understanding eventually. For new graduates, you may know a lot from books, but it takes suffering many setbacks before knowledge gets internalized. So if you enter the investing industry immediately, being conservative is most important — don’t let one mistake make it impossible to ever recover. (2010-02-04)
Q: Young people without much money perhaps shouldn’t enter stock investing too early — finding good deals in the “real world” seems easier than in the stock market. Many businesses’ “P/E ratios” are extremely low — milk tea stalls, barbecue stands, fruit shops. Do you think average young people should invest in stocks or start their own hands-on businesses?
A: It feels like you’ve finally had a breakthrough! At least one of your two main blockages has been opened — the other mainly depends on your own cultivation, ha ha. Investing is essentially about 未来现金流折现 (DCF / discounted net cash flow), so of course capital should go wherever offers the best prospects. What counts as “best” relates only to your own 能力圈 — Tiger Woods earning $100 million a year playing golf isn’t something everyone can emulate. (2013-04-03)
Q: How to understand “working at Apple for 30 years yields better results than joining most startup companies”?
A: Working at Apple for 30 years yields better results than jumping to most startup companies. (2018-09-30, Stanford)
Q: In investing, is mindset more important or professional knowledge? My educational background isn’t high, but you’ve said anyone can engage in investing.
A: What I think doesn’t matter. 芒格 (Munger) believes rationality is most important. We believe 平常心 (equanimity) is most important. Seems these two are actually the same thing. Investing doesn’t require academic degrees, but requires understanding underlying principles and having faith in them. After finding good companies, hold them properly — don’t be influenced by short-term stock price fluctuations. (2010-05-30 / 2019-09-16)
Q: My current job doesn’t require much brainpower and I’m idle. I’m willing to spend the next few months or even years on this. How should I learn and improve?
A: Heh heh, take out some money you’re prepared to lose and give it a try — you’ll learn by doing. You can’t learn swimming by reading books — get in the water. Just don’t drown. (2010-02-09)
Q: For ordinary retail investors (known in China as individual investors/sanhu), any suggestions regarding value investing?
A: From my personal view, anyone can invest — as long as you understand what you’re buying and where the value lies. Speculation may require much higher skill — that’s an area I don’t really understand nor plan to learn. Better spend free time with family or play a few rounds of golf. (2010-02-04)
Q: For young people, shouldn’t actively expanding their circle of competence be more important?
A: Don’t lightly attempt to “expand” your 能力圈. Fully understanding a business usually requires many years — don’t jump into unfamiliar fields or places just because you’ve seen one or two concepts, otherwise you’ll stumble sooner or later. (Investment Logic Chapter)
📊 Extended Reflections
段永平’s advice to young people can be summarized into three points:
1. Focus on Your Main Job First; Investing Is Secondary
“Working at Apple for 30 years yields better results than joining most startup companies” — don’t abandon your main career just because you see investment opportunities. First build up your 能力圈.
2. Start Conservatively — Don’t Let One Mistake Cripple You
“Don’t let one mistake prevent you from ever recovering” — invest with spare money, don’t borrow, don’t short, don’t do what you don’t understand (Stop Doing List).
3. Investing Is a Long-Term Endeavor — Don’t Devote Too Much Energy
“If treated as merely part of life, it brings joy to many people” — 长期主义 (long-termism) investing doesn’t require monitoring daily. Find good companies and hold them.
🔗 Related Notes
Related Concepts 能力圈 · 平常心 · Stop Doing List · 长期主义 · 买股票就是买公司 Related People 段永平 · 巴菲特 · 芒格 Related Topics 如何判断一家好公司 · 如何给公司估值
给年轻人的投资建议
“拿点闲钱下水吧，不然永远是看客”——段永平给刚入门者的忠告
💡 核心观点
- 段永平说”什么人都可以做投资，只要你明白自己买的是什么，价值在哪里”
- 投资不需要学历，但需要明白内在的道理并坚信之
- 作为刚出道的学生，最重要的要保守——“别因为一个错误就再也爬不起来了”
- 投资是个很好玩的游戏，但不要太花精力——“如果仅仅把投资作为生活的一部分，他会给很多人带来乐趣”
- 在苹果干30年，比跳去大多数创业公司结果都要好
❓ 精选问答
问：我是一名即将毕业大学生，很认同你的做事思路，看了巴老的《致股东的信》也能理解，但就是不知怎开始价值投资，请段总指导。
答：呵呵，拿点闲钱下水吧，不然永远是看客。投资是个很好玩的游戏，但不要太花精力。如果不小心赚到钱了，千万不要以为自己就可以靠此为生了。如果仅仅把投资作为生活的一部分（可能是一小部分），他会给很多人带来乐趣的，不然可能会有很多痛苦。（2010-04-06）
问：作为刚毕业的学生，马上投入投资领域可以吗？
答：作为刚毕业的学生，马上投入投资领域也没啥不可，但对企业的理解自然会弱些。但只要你热爱你干的事情，又知道自己的弱点，慢慢学习总是会明白的。作为刚出道的学生，书上的东西可能知道的很多，但融到骨子里还需要吃很多亏后才行。所以，如果你马上投入投资行业，最重要的是要保守啊，别因为一个错误就再也爬不起来了。（2010-02-04）
问：年轻、钱又不多的我们，也许不应该太早进入股票投资这个领域，在”现实世界”中找good deal好像比股市里更容易，好多生意的”市盈率”都极低，比如奶茶档、烤串儿摊、水果栏，您觉得资质普通的年轻人更应该投资股票还是自己落手落脚做点儿生意呢？
答：感觉你好像终于开窍了？至少任督二窍通了一窍了，另外一窍主要靠自己修行哈。投资投的就是未来现金流折现（净现金流折现），当然是哪里好资金就该去哪里。所谓哪里好只和自己的能力圈有关，老虎伍兹打球一年赚一个亿美金不是人人可以学的。（2013-04-03）
问：在苹果干30年，比跳去大多数创业公司结果都要好，这句话怎么理解？
答：在苹果干30年，比跳去大多数创业公司结果都要好。（2018-09-30，斯坦福）
问：投资中，是心态重要，还是专业知识重要？我学历可不高，但你说过任何人都可从事投资。
答：我怎么认为不重要。芒格认为理性最重要。我们认为平常心最重要。好像这俩是一个东西。投资不需要学历的，但需要明白内在的道理并坚信之，找到好公司后要好好拿着，不要为短期的股价波动所影响。（2010-05-30 / 2019-09-16）
问：我现在工作很闲不需要动脑，愿意将未来几个月以至几年时间花在这个上面，我该怎样学习进步呢？
答：呵呵，拿点准备亏掉的钱出来下手就知道了。看书学游泳是学不会的，下水吧。不过别淹着了。（2010-02-09）
问：普通投资人，国内俗称散户，关于散户做价值投资有什么建议？
答：以我个人的观点，其实什么人都可以做投资，只要你明白自己买的是什么，价值在哪里。投机需要的技巧可能要高很多，这是我不太懂的领域，也不打算学了，有空还是多陪陪家人或打几场高尔夫吧。（2010-02-04）
问：对于年轻人来说，积极的扩大能力圈是不是更重要？
答：不要轻易去”扩大”自己的能力圈。搞懂一个生意往往是需要很多年的，不要因为看到一两个概念就轻易跳进自己不熟悉的领域或地方，不然早晚会栽的。（投资逻辑篇）
📊 延伸思考
段永平给年轻人的建议，可以归纳为三点：
1. 先做好本职工作，投资是副业 “在苹果干30年，比跳去大多数创业公司结果都要好”——不要因为看到投资机会就放弃本职工作，先把自己的能力圈建立起来。
2. 保守起步，不要因一次错误爬不起来 “别因为一个错误就再也爬不起来了”——用闲钱投资，不借钱，不做空，不做不懂的东西（Stop Doing List）。
3. 投资是长期的事，不要太花精力 “如果仅仅把投资作为生活的一部分，他会给很多人带来乐趣的”——长期主义的投资不需要每天盯盘，找到好公司，拿住就好。
🔗 相关笔记
相关概念 能力圈 · 平常心 · Stop Doing List · 长期主义 · 买股票就是买公司 相关人物 段永平 · 巴菲特 · 芒格 相关主题 如何判断一家好公司 · 如何给公司估值