📖John Templeton

Avoid the Crowd

🌿 Intermediate★★★★★

Do something different from the crowd.

💬

It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different from the majority. To buy when others are despondently selling requires the greatest fortitude.

— Templeton's Way with Money,2012

🏠 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 Templeton highlights that many investment mistakes are psychological, not analytical. Managing behavior under stress is as important as finding ideas.
💎 Key Insight:Contrarian action is essential for superior returns.

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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
Pre‑Crash Profit Taking (1987)
Ahead of the October 1987 crash, Templeton sold selected U.S. and developed‑market equities that had doubled or more, following his valuation and discipline rules.
✨ Outcome:Losses were limited during the crash, and cash raised was redeployed into high‑quality stocks at distressed prices.
2
1973–74 Bear Market Bottom (1974)
After oil shock and recession, US stocks plunged ~45%. Sentiment was deeply negative and many predicted prolonged stagnation.
✨ Outcome:Templeton bought broadly near lows; over the next decade, US equities entered a long bull market, compounding substantial returns.

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