In English now: "What is the decisive difference between investors who grow profits and investors who expand losses, as featured in Toyo Keizai ONLINE column"

Good morning, this is Matsushita.

Which of the two investors would you like to be?

1. An investor who grows profits

2. An investor who expands losses

There is no need to even ask—the answer is the first investor, right?

However, the market is filled with the second type of investor.

To win in investing, you must change from the second investor to the first.

I will tell you the decisive difference between the first investor and the second investor.

That is,

to understand the trend and to use the trend.

The first investor understands the trend,

and places their position (capital) in the same direction as the trend,

so profits grow.

The second investor does not understand the trend,

and, in response to the emotion of “I don’t want to realize losses,”

places their position (capital) in the opposite direction to the trend,

so losses widen.

The decisive difference between these investors is

the understanding and use of the trend.

As your first task, it has become clear that you need to learn about trends.

Next, what I want to tell you is

that trends are not universal to everyone,

that is, they are not the same for all people.

A day trader, for example, uses trends lasting a few hours,

while a long-term investor uses trends lasting several years,

and so on.

For investors, the necessary trend is

a trend that fits their own investment style and strategy,

a trend that suits their investment approach.

Many investors misunderstand this as well,

and they believe there is a single trend common to all investors.

There isn’t such a thing.

Your second task is to

decide your own investment style and strategy,

and wait for a trend that matches it.

By doing so, you who have been widening losses can

also grow your profits.

Because I, too, understood trends this way,

I stopped the widening of losses and started expanding profits.

My students also

stopped widening losses and began to grow profits.

What is needed is an understanding of trends.

Now, deepen your understanding of trends.

There is plenty of material for this right before your eyes.

It is everywhere in front of you.