📖John Neff

Multidisciplinary Thinking

🌳 Advanced★★★★★

Use insights from multiple disciplines for better decisions.

💬

Draw insights from multiple disciplines — psychology, history, mathematics, and science — to build a lattice of mental models for better investment decisions.

— John Neff on Investing,1999

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Emotions in markets are like steering on a wet road: the harder you jerk the wheel, the more likely you lose control. Rules keep decisions stable.

📖 Core Interpretation

John Neff highlights that many investment mistakes are psychological, not analytical. Managing behavior under stress is as important as finding ideas.
💎 Key Insight:Cross-disciplinary thinking reveals patterns invisible to specialists.

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❓ Why It Matters

In volatile markets, fear and greed push investors to buy high and sell low. A behavioral framework reduces avoidable, self-inflicted errors.

🎯 How to Practice

Pre-write decision rules, slow down trades during stress, and separate market emotion from business facts before adjusting positions.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Following crowd emotion at extremes
Mistaking confidence for certainty
Forcing trades to quickly recover losses

📚 Case Studies

1
Ford Motor Recession Bargain (1973)
During the 1973–74 bear market, Neff bought Ford at a low P/E when auto demand slumped and sentiment was extremely negative.
✨ Outcome:As the economy recovered, Ford’s earnings rebounded and the stock price rose several-fold over the following years.
2
Chevron Energy Cycle Investment (1982)
In the early 1980s energy downturn, Neff accumulated Chevron at a discounted valuation while oil prices and profits were depressed.
✨ Outcome:When energy prices stabilized and improved, Chevron’s earnings strengthened and the stock delivered strong total returns for his fund.

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