๐ง Core Principles: Stay the Course โ
"What determines success or failure in investing is not the head (intellect) but the heart (character). Even a smart investor will face ruin if they cannot control their emotions."
โ Benjamin Graham
When I first jumped into the market, I had neither philosophy nor principles. I only had a blind desire to earn a little faster and a little more than others. The results were disastrous. I fell into the swamp of leverage, watching my account melt away in volatility; I panicked and sold at the bottom; and I suffered from extreme FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) watching the stocks I sold soar.
After countless failures and paying an expensive tuition, I realized something. The most dangerous enemy in investing is not a market crash or the Fed's interest rate hikes, but 'my own uncontrolled emotions'.
The principles recorded on this page are laws of survival, carved in stone, to tie my wavering self to the mast. To survive in the market long-term and fully enjoy the effect of compound interest, I mechanically adhere to the following principles under any circumstances.
๐๏ธ 3 Investment Philosophies โ
1. Trust in the Power of Long-Term Compounding (Compound Interest) โ
Frequent trading and constant judgments cause fees, taxes, and emotional errors, stopping the gears of compound interest. Once you buy excellent assets (VOO, SPMO, SCHD, etc.) believing in the upward trend of capitalism, hand over the steering wheel to timeโyour best partnerโand minimize intervention.
2. Prevention of Permanent Capital Loss (No Leverage) โ
A single bankruptcy forever destroys the engine of compound interest. Based on the bitter lesson of experiencing the volatility decay of leveraged products in the past, I strictly limit the use of excessive leverage and set 'survival' as the top priority, ensuring I am not forced into liquidation even in a bear market. Those who survive eventually get everything.
3. Do Not Exit Based on Market Timing (Stay in the Market) โ
Even in the face of a market crash or macroeconomic crisis, continue mechanical dollar-cost averaging. Inflation, interest rate hikes, and geopolitical crises are not reasons for short-term selling; simply maintain the system silently. The moment you leave the market out of fear, the gears of compounding stop. Staying until the end is the victory.
๐งญ 3 Actionable Rules Excluding Emotion โ
These are strict codes of practice to abandon the arrogance of trusting my own emotions and willpower, and to completely block impulsive trading through a system.
1. Buy Rebalancing โ
Avoid sell-rebalancing, which involves selling existing assets to adjust proportions. Learn from the past experience of selling rising assets to match past ratios, only to fall into extreme FOMO as those assets continued to skyrocket. Instead, naturally complete rebalancing by setting different allocation ratios for the new cash injected every month, concentrating purchases on assets whose proportions have decreased.
2. Daily Market-Price Buying on Business Days โ
Give up the vain attempt to catch the absolute bottom. Through the KCA (KRW Cost Averaging) strategy, mechanical automatic buying is carried out at the market price at a specific time every business day. It leaves no room for human judgment, and the remaining cash is kept in an MMF and parking account to maximize interest income and capital efficiency.
3. Prohibition of Intraday Trading and Disabling Price Alerts โ
During market hours, never look at the order book or trading screen. The flashing red and blue numbers stimulate human dopamine and paralyze reason. Also, disable all push notifications for sharp stock price fluctuations, leaving no room to react to external emotional stimuli.
๐ Decision-Making Checklist โ
When the market fluctuates irrationally, or when my emotions try to break the rules of the system, these are strict questions I ask myself after putting down the mouse. If I cannot answer "YES" to all of the questions below, I do not press any trading buttons.
Verification Step | Self-Reflection Question | Confirm |
|---|---|---|
Trust in Long-Term Compounding | Is this decision chasing immediate short-term profit, or is it an act of rolling a massive long-term snowball? | [ ] |
Blocking Capital Loss | Is there any risk that the volatility inherent in this decision will bring 'permanent capital loss' to my account, destroying the compounding engine? | [ ] |
Never Leave the Market | Is the reason I'm about to press the sell button due to the impairment of the asset's intrinsic value, or simply due to market fear and news? | [ ] |
Adherence to Buy Rebalancing | Am I failing to overcome FOMO and trying to sell well-growing quality assets to chase short-term soaring stocks? | [ ] |
Excluding Timing | Am I falling into the arrogance that I can time the market's tops and bottoms, trying to stop the set mechanical automatic buying system? | [ ] |
Blocking Emotion and Price Alerts | Is this trading impulse stimulated by the flashing intraday order book or push notifications, or is it a rational judgment calmly made after the market closed? | [ ] |
Comfortable Investing (Life Balance) | Is this decision draining too much energy into investing, harming the peace of my main job and family, which are the most important? | [ ] |
The short-term volatility of the market is just passing cosmic dust encountered on the trajectory toward a massive universe. Do not be swayed by the numbers in front of you; trust the system you have built and stay the course until the end.