Editor's note: You don't need to be a master trader to get rich.
You need to create great ideas.
In today's edition of our weekend Masters Series – previously published in the April 30 issue of her DailyWealth Trader advisory – Amber Lee Mason covers the important guidelines six billionaires followed to build their fortunes.
If you take their ideas to heart, they'll be more useful than 100 winning stock recommendations.
Six Investment Lessons from Six Billionaires
By Amber Lee Mason, editor, DailyWealth Trader
If you're thinking long term, it's not all about "stock picks"...
I attended the Stansberry Research Spring Editors Conference in Nassau, Bahamas. Every year, we come together to present our greatest ideas and hear from a few of our best contacts and industry insiders.
We threw around a lot of specific opportunities for making money... But those weren't necessarily the most valuable ideas we discussed.
After highlighting a handful of his top stocks, for example, one money manager (who asked to remain anonymous) started talking about the billionaires he has worked with in his career... and what he learned from them.
If you can take these ideas to heart, his list will be more useful than a hundred winning stock recommendations. Here it is...
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From Julian Robertson, who founded the legendary Tiger Management: Make sure you've got a great elevator pitch for your investment idea.
Julian's office was on the 48th floor. You had to be able to describe your idea before you got there. If you couldn't describe your idea that quickly, it was probably too complex and unlikely to work out well.
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From John Griffin, who was Julian Robertson's right-hand man: Have the courage of your convictions.
When you find a great idea, make sure you put a meaningful amount of money into it.
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From Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of private-equity giant Blackstone: Demand excellence of yourself. Don't cut corners.
When Schwarzman greeted new analysts, he said, "Folks, I've looked at all your resumes. You got A-minuses in college. But an A-minus performance does not work here."
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From Peter Peterson, co-founder and former chairman of Blackstone: Make great returns by avoiding mistakes.
It's not necessarily the 3,000% winners that will give you great long-term results. It's avoiding the total losers.
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From legendary trader George Soros: Understand the big picture.
George was a macro genius. When discussing private-equity investments his firm was making, he recognized that company-specific fundamentals were important, but his real value-add was making sure investors understood the structural and secular forces that could move entire industries and economies.
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From Steve Cohen, founder of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors: Ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Steve would have dozens of ideas pitched to him daily, usually by analysts who were experts in that field or security. Steve was uniquely adept at cutting through the noise. He could identify and solve for the most important thing, allowing him to make an informed, decisive action.
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The money manager wrapped up his talk with this advice: "Take your best practices... and all the things you've learned from the folks you respect... and create your own ideas."
If you have lessons like these at hand and practice putting them to work, you'll end up creating a lot of great ideas.
Good investing,
Amber Lee Mason
Editor's note: In DailyWealth Trader, Amber features great ideas that range from simple options strategies to speculations in "boom and bust" sectors to how to time value-focused, contrarian ideas for maximum gains. And it's working… since its launch in May 2012, DailyWealth Trader has closed 166 out of 172 options trades for a gain, earning subscribers a 15.3% average annualized return. Click here to learn more about Amber's strategies and try DailyWealth Trader risk-free.