Philip Fisher part 2. Fisher method and finding ideas

 Fisher's method

The idea behind Fisher's method is to find the best business, run by the best management, and invest in it without worrying too much about the numbers. His goal was to find a few excellent investment targets and stick with them for decades. Fisher's method can be divided into three parts: finding ideas, researching companies with the help of customers, subcontractors, and former employees, among others, and meeting management. This requires time, understanding of the business, and skill.

It took Fisher months to find an investment target. In today's rapidly changing world, it can seem like an eternity. It's not, because investments are intended to be held for decades. The process of a few months is a small price to pay for decades of returns. The investor must think for himself whether the time required by Fisher's method is necessary for the returns he is seeking. The answer is individual.

Making a single investment was a labor and pain for him. This took months. Fisher rarely went so far as to visit the companies and talk to the management. According to him, only about one in 250 ideas led to an investment. About one in 100 ideas led to a conversation with management, and on average, about one in five ideas led to researching the company. He rarely needed to spend months researching an investment because most companies were eliminated early on using the method. This method is similar to modern automated stock research using key figures, but Fisher focused mostly on the quality aspect rather than crunching numbers. Some of the quality factors are reflected in the company's numbers, so Fisher also paid attention to what.

Finding Ideas

Fisher used his business contacts and other investors to find investment targets. Using his business contacts, he got a fifth of his ideas and four fifths from other investors. This came as a surprise when he looked at where he got his ideas. He had thought that business contacts would bring most of his ideas. He didn't listen to just anyone many times, but most of his ideas came from a few investors and the rest from business contacts.

He gave each young investor the opportunity to meet with him once to talk about their investment. He rarely met with the same person more than once. He was open to a second meeting and a willingness to exchange ideas if, after the first meeting, he believed the investor was exceptionally capable. These people gave him many ideas over the decades. He had a fifteen-point checklist that he went through with each idea. He only got more than one idea from the same person twice. The other was his son Ken Fisher, whose ideas he used three times. Both of the other person’s ideas made him lose money.

You can use other investors to find ideas, but you have to be selective in how you use them. Not all investors who seem to be successful are skilled or intelligent. They may have longer-term luck than others. Fisher used other people’s ideas only when he was sure of the other investor’s ability and the goodness of his ideas. Only by carefully examining the ability of others can you use their ideas. Without certainty of competence, there is no point in thinking about using anyone's ideas. If you can't form it, then there is no point in listening to them. In the age of social media, there are thousands of people offering their opinions as facts. You just need to find a few people you are sure are competent and use only their ideas and your own. I recommend that you do your own research on companies.

Competence is not guaranteed by a reputation as an investment guru or a few years of success in bull markets. Long-term, or decades of continuous high returns say more. In the age of social media, it is also not guaranteed by large groups of followers, which say more about the faith of herd souls than about real competence. It is also not guaranteed by the use of difficult terms. The ability to simplify difficult things as far as is reasonable, but no further, tells much more. This is an exceptional ability that is found in all the top investors I have studied. Fisher is no exception.