Charlie Munger, the former vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, will be remembered as one of history's great investors.
And his words of wisdom will continue to guide investors for years to come.
Munger, who Warren Buffett credits as the "architect" of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), famously said, "The big money is not in the buying and the selling but in the waiting."
It's one of my favourite investing quotes, and over the years, it's been interpreted in numerous ways.
For me, it offers a few key lessons that can help keep investors on the right track and achieve their goals.
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Time in the market
I'm a believer in investing for the long term.
Like Munger and Buffett, I'm looking for great companies that will deliver solid results.
But I'm not expecting overnight miracles.
Someone once said: "It's not about timing the market, but time in the market".
If we look back, we can see the Australian share market has delivered returns averaging about 10% per year.
Factoring in the power of compounding, a $10,000 investment delivering a yearly return of 10% would rise to more than $174,000 over a 30-year period.
"Patience, patience, and more patience"
But it takes discipline to stay focussed, to stick to your investing goals, and not be influenced or misled by the noise.
I've seen too many people panic and sell when the market starts to slide, only to crystalise their losses.
Investing requires composure, particularly in times of uncertainty and volatility.
Keep Calm and Carry On
The market will go up, and it will go down. This is a reality of investing.
Legendary investor Peter Lynch once pointed out that about every two years the market drops about 10%.
"We call that a correction. That's a euphemism for losing a lot of money rapidly," Lynch quipped.
The former manager of the Magellan Fund, which averaged yearly returns of about 29%, also pointed out that the market entered a bear market, or dropped around 25% or more, about once every 6 years.
For Munger, Lynch, Buffett, and other astute investors, downturns like these present an opportunity to snap up great shares at a discount.
All good things come to those who wait
You can wait for an opportunity, wait for the market to go up again, or you can wait for compounding to work its magic.
But if you're looking for the big money, you've got to wait.
