As stressful as it is for me to prepare and present a Deep Dive for a company, I find the Deep Dives to be the most valuable to me as an investor. 

Like many people, I like to stay in my comfort zone, especially when it comes to risk and uncertainty, which are quite common in investing. Watching my brilliant colleagues present companies that I hadn’t heard of in industries that I rarely pay attention to helps push me out of my comfort zone. Or at least opens my eyes to opportunities I hadn’t considered.

I also love seeing how we’re all similar but different. We are all long-term investors so look for companies that should withstand a 5+ year investment horizon. But we all think through the investment process differently, including how we define risk. I’ve learned through this process that there is really no right way to choose or evaluate a company, as long as you can support your thesis. I find this very reassuring, especially when I am looking at a company and doubting myself. I also love how the discussion at the end of the presentation helps each other see or consider things they may have missed, it seems like a great learning experience for all involved. 

Speaking of learning, I love the ability to learn from my colleagues and the Deep Dive calls contribute to that. Although I started researching investments for myself in 2006 (I started late, which is why I am such a strong advocate for our student subscribers and encourage everyone to start investing early!), I never considered sharing my thoughts about companies with others until Simon presented me with this great opportunity. It’s still a learning process for me to figure out how to communicate with you all, but I learn by listening to my colleagues present their recommendations and learn through their questions and comments when I present mine.

I realize that the Deep Dive presentations can run long sometimes and with 7 recommendations, it can be time consuming to sit through them all. I do recommend making the investment though for the chance to push outside of your comfort zone and perhaps learn something new.

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