📖David Swensen
Sell Discipline Rules
Follow pre-defined sell criteria without emotion.
Have clear, pre-defined sell criteria. Sell when: your thesis is broken, valuation is fully realized, or a significantly better opportunity appears.
🏠 Everyday Analogy
📖 Core Interpretation
David Swensen advocates a repeatable process: define criteria, execute consistently, and review decisions against evidence. Process quality drives outcome consistency.
💎 Key Insight：Disciplined selling prevents emotional decision-making.
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❓ Why It Matters
Without process, there is no reliable feedback loop. Structured execution and review improve decision quality over time.
🎯 How to Practice
Run a decision loop of research, thesis, execution, and post-mortem; document assumptions and update playbooks with evidence, not hindsight bias.
⚠️ Common Pitfalls
Having opinions without execution criteria
Reviewing outcomes but not decisions
Abandoning rules during volatility spikes
📚 Case Studies
1
Tech Bubble Resistance (2000)
Amid the dot-com boom, Swensen refused to chase soaring tech stocks, keeping Yale’s portfolio diversified and underweight in high-flying internet names.
✨ Outcome：Avoided the worst of the 2000–2002 crash, preserving capital while many tech-heavy portfolios suffered steep losses.
2
Sticking with Illiquid Assets (2008)
During the global financial crisis, private equity and real assets became illiquid and unpopular, but Swensen maintained Yale’s heavy allocation instead of selling at distressed prices.
✨ Outcome：These assets recovered strongly in subsequent years, contributing significantly to Yale’s long-term outperformance.
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