The importance of saying "no"

Moving to a new country is no easy task, but doing it while managing a portfolio, completing the exams for the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and dealing with the challenges of parenthood is truly Herculean. That, however, is exactly what Joe Magyer, Chief Investment Officer of Lakehouse Capital, was doing in his first years in Australia. How did he manage all this? As it turns out, saying “no” can be a critical skill. And not just in time management either - Joe says “no” to a lot of new investment ideas too.

"I've had analysts start before and I've told them, 'Look, there's a really good shot that I'm gonna say no to every idea you pitch for the first year. Don't take it personally, you're probably doing really good work. It's just that I'm really choosy.'"

In this week’s episode of The Rules of Investing podcast, Joe tells us about the similarities and differences between Aussie small caps and global growth stocks, which global tech stocks will continue to grow and whose stars will fade, and why Visa’s new payment-splitting function doesn’t pose a significant threat to Afterpay.

Time stamps:

• 1:30 - A “full throttle” couple of years
• 5:21 – Strategies to manage time and stress levels
• 7:22 – Joe’s pet investing topics
• 11:20 – An unusual way to come across an investment idea
• 13:55 – Large caps, small teams
• 19:13 – What defines an uninvestable company?
• 22:22 – Why global large caps?
• 25:50 - Similarities and differences between investing in Aussie smalls and global large caps
• 28:05 – How do WAAAX stocks compare to their global peers?
• 31:44 – Payment-splitting systems – how do they affect Afterpay?
• 33:40 – Key attributes of a successful growth stock
• 39:20 – In 10 years, what current global tech giants will still be dominant? Which will have fallen out?
• 42:31 – Joe answers our favourite questions

Joe’s reading recommendation:

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis

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