Investor grades

Investors, of all classes, can be graded into superstar, good, and journeyman. Superstars consistently, in terms of decades, put up big numbers so that they can afford running their own money. That means less pressure and more controllability. Good ones outperform and have long-term records of above the par by a few points. Journeymen had occasional luck to beat the index. The rests are bums.

Good investors and journeymen are good people. They put in long hours. They are smart, articulating, hard working, and have their own pattern. More important, they are highly paid, thanks to their clients. This anomaly is because investment business is a growth business, which means the a few points performance is after their fees deduction. That makes differences to the firms.

Superstars are quite different as they don't have firms or shells to dwell. They are managing their own fate. It is always a puzzle what makes similar education, similar work habit, similar background people to become superstar or something else. Luck is the most resounding and easiest reason. But how can luck siding superstars by decade counts?

The more likely thesis is the instinct, a magic market instinct, and focus, that give edges over others. To understand this, that means superstars have good learning ability at all times so that their instinct can be honed consistently. Remember this is a life time game and you have to love it, otherwise it is a boring one. Keynes loved this game because it was strictly out of the intelligent challenge.

Instinct and focus imply a lot: discipline, self-control, stay calm, learning ability, so on and so forth.