Eugenie Bouchard can beat almost any player if she’s confident, but she has no plan B if the going gets tough. Novak Djokovic completely controls the pace of a match. We are looking for the Félix Auger-Aliassime of the Stock Exchange!
Here are some highlights from the most recent Quebec book on investing published this month. The author is a portfolio manager and tennis player. He started practicing this sport when he was 7 years old. Today at the turn of the fifties, he still participates in national and international tournaments among the “veterans”. He wanted to write a book that combines his two great passions: the stock market and tennis.
In Stock exchange advantage, Philippe Le Blanc presents his vision for investing successfully in the stock market. As he writes himself, you have to know how to count to succeed. However, a host of other elements also come into play, including psychological factors, which is particularly relevant in tennis too, a sport where the “mind” plays a “crucial” role.
To spice up the reading, the chief investment officer and partner in the firm Cote 100, from Saint-Bruno, multiplies the references to great tennis players, like Roger Federer, and investors of the caliber of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
A “hyper-competitive” environment
The text is also embellished with quotes from great thinkers gleaned here and there from the readings of Philippe Le Blanc, who says he reads 50 to 80 books each year dealing with various subjects: history, finance, psychology, the world sports, etc., in addition to novels. Because to learn, he says, the best recipe is to read continuously.
The work is distinguished by its many analogies to the world of sport, especially tennis, because without having played for professionals, Philippe Le Blanc reached a high level. Before obtaining a scholarship to go and play tennis in an American university, he notably faced, among juniors, players like Goran Ivanišević, Jim Courier, Fabrice Santoro, Richard Krajicek and others.
Philippe Le Blanc loves the fact that the Stock Exchange is a “hyper-competitive” environment. He says competitive tennis has instilled in him a taste for winning and that the stock market allows him to compete every day.
“On the stock market, the days follow each other, but are rarely alike. What the Stock Exchange is like tennis: each match is unique, ”he underlines in the book.
If the author admits that there is more than one recipe for success on the stock market, the important thing is not so much the way of investing as the consistency and rigor of the method.
An investor must develop his own identity, his personality, according to the author. “He must forge his investment philosophy, his way of investing, in accordance with his personality. “Philippe Le Blanc then speaks in particular of the different personalities of Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Björn Borg and John McEnroe.
The analogy with tennis is “very valid”, according to Philippe le Blanc. “A player will quickly adopt a style of play that corresponds to his personality, whether that style is that of a receiver, a striker or otherwise. In fact, he points out, there is no obvious recipe for success in tennis. “Take a look at the players of the top 10 and you will notice that all of them have their own style. Although they may make some adjustments depending on the conditions or their opponent, most will retain the style that has made them successful throughout their careers. It is the same for the stock market investor. »
Through “criticisms” of the style of play of great tennis players, Philippe Le Blanc also comments and dissects in the book a number of titles such as those of Couche-Tard, Richelieu, Metro, CGI, MTY, etc.
The tasty anecdotes follow one another and go in several directions over the pages. The author even recounts his participation in the show in 2009 Infomanhosted by Jean-René Dufort at Radio-Canada.
Stock exchange advantage
Philip LeBlanc
SIDE 100