In his book, The Art of Execution, money manager Lee Freeman-Shor divides investors into rabbits, assassins, hunters, raiders and, the most successful group, connoisseurs. The key to their success came down to how they responded when investments rose and when they fell. Winning big on just a few successes and minimising losses means a manager can still do seriously well, even when less than half of his or her bets come off. Assassins deal promptly and unemotionally with their failures. Hunters tend to watch, analyse and then attempt to average down to salvage their investments. Rabbits watch their investment continue to fall, neither cutting nor adding. Raiders snatch at any profit they made; 10-30% was enough. The connoisseurs let their winners run. Here is what Freeman-Shor has to say about the attributes of connoisseurs: "One of the key requirements of staying invested in a big winner is to have (or cultivate) a high boredom threshold. Meeting some of my connoisseurs could be ver...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.