Back when I first started out on Wall Street more than 40 years ago, I asked a very well-known investor the secret to success in the stock market.
At the time, he wasn’t the household name he is today.
In fact, he was working out of a tiny office — just him and a secretary. No computers. No fancy tech. Just stacks of annual reports and an IBM Selectric Typewriter.
Every day, he read reports, analyzed businesses, and waited for Mr. Market to hand him a bargain. That was it. No complicated formulas. No AI.
Just hard work, patience, and discipline.
One morning, I stopped by his office and asked him, “What’s the hardest part about investing in the stock market?”
I expected him to say, “Figuring out which companies to buy” or “Determining intrinsic value.”
But instead, he looked up from his stack of reports and said something I’ll never forget:
“The hardest part is looking stupid for long periods of time … until you’re proven right. The rest is a cakewalk compared to that.”
And boy, was he right.
Want Real Wealth? Stop Following the Herd
Our brains are wired to follow the herd. We feel safer when we’re in the middle of the pack — not on the fringes.
And while that instinct helped humans survive for thousands of years, it’s the exact opposite of what you want as an investor.
Great investments are the ones very few people understand at the time.
If everyone sees the opportunity, the stock wouldn’t be cheap. The big money is made when you go against the crowd — even when it means “looking stupid.”
I’ve done it…
Back in 2022, I was pounding the table on semiconductor stocks.
Wall Street wrote them off. Analysts warned of a chip glut, claiming semiconductor makers and designers were in trouble.
Great businesses like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT) and Taiwan Semi (TSM) were trading at a fraction of their worth.
But I knew that demand for chips wasn’t disappearing — it was just taking a breather.
Sure enough, those same stocks skyrocketed after I added them to the American Prosperity Report portfolio.
- Lam is up +65% since we added it in March 2022.
- Applied Materials is up +70% since we added it in May 2022.
- Taiwan Semi soared +148% since we added it in August 2022.
These are just a few examples of how going against the crowd has made us money.
If you want average results, just do what everyone else is doing. But if you want to build real wealth, you have to:
✅ Have the courage to go against the herd.
✅ Buy when Mr. Market is handing you a bargain.
✅ Hold your conviction — even when you look “stupid” in the short term.
That’s the most challenging part of investing. But it’s also what separates the winners from everyone else.
Regards,
Charles Mizrahi
Founder, Alpha Investor
