Different people will have different method when comes to buying a stock. Some may look at the chart and when they feel like the timing is correct, they will buy the stock with no hesitation. Others may wait for the share price to drop more before buying it so they will not be buying at a higher price, hence bigger margin of safety. However, the writer would like to discuss this topic mainly on fundamental, but differentiate it with first-level thinker and second-level thinker.
So, how should we differentiate these two types of thinker? When comes to fundamental analysis, most people tend to look at the PE ratio, one-year price range, ROE, all these basic stuff that can be searched anyway on the internet. When investors decided to invest a company merely basing on this information without any deep thoughts, is what we called a first-level thinker. These investors are just looking at data itself, and if a stock is undervalued, they will invest. However, this does not mean that first-level thinkers are wrong, absolutely not.
Let’s take a look on will second-level thinker do before they start investing into a business. Notice the writer use business rather than stock here? Exactly, they will only be looking at the business but not any share price, target price or cut loss point. Obviously, they will also be looking at information like ROE, profit margin and dividends, but all these may just be their first step of filtering the stocks. They will further investigate into the business and management. When reading annual report, they will emphasize on what the management team said and mentioned, and did they complete the milestones they have set years before. Furthermore, is their business sustainable in the future? Will the business deteriorate over time, and slowly become unprofitable? These are one of the few things that second-level thinkers will be thinking of.
Furthermore, they will not be satisfied with the information that can only be searched online. If possible, they will contact their friends or acquaintances that are being involved in this particular business segment and let them talk about the business. Since they are the professional in that particular field, seeking help or advices from them is the best way to acquire direct information. Besides, they will attend the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) if possible, and query the management team directly on their business or their future plans. This may seem tedious as there are so many to be done before investing in ONE company, but that should be how investing works, as you are investing in a company but not the market or share price itself.
In short, although first-level thinkers are able to money in the market, but it is advisable to know more about the company or the segment that you are currently investing into. Becoming a second-level thinker could be a lengthy process as there is a lot to be completed before investing, but it definitely worth the time since you will not only get to know the company, but also the entire sector.
不同的人会用不同的方法来买股。一些会看图而当他们觉得时机对了，他们便会毫不犹豫地买入。其他人会希望股价下跌后再买，这是为了避免买在最高点，也给自己更多的安全边际。但是，笔者要在这里讨论的话题比较偏向基本面，但会分成等级一的思考者和等级二的思考者。
那我们应该要怎样分类这两种人呢？当我们说到基本面时，大多数人都会去找公司的本益比，近一年的股价浮动，股东回酬率等，而这些都是可以在网上找到的。当投资者决定只靠这些数值便投资该公司时，我们就称他们为等级一的思考者。这些投资者在只看这些数值后，当决定了现在这支股是被低估时，便会买入。但是，这并不代表等级一的思考者是错的，绝对不是。
那我们现在来看看等级二的思考者会在投资一门生意前做什么。留意到笔者在这里用的是“生意”而不是“股”吗？而事实上他们只会专注在生意上，而不是股价，目标价，或者止损点。当然，他们也会关注股东回酬率，净利润率，和股息等的资料，但这或许只是他们筛选公司的第一步而已。他们会更深一步的探讨生意模式以及管理层。当他们在读年报时，他们会放更多心思在管理层所说过或者提过的东西，而他们有没有在最近完成在几年前设下的目标呢。此外，他们的生意模式能不能在未来持续运行呢？这门生意会不会在在未来慢慢的退化，或者由盈转亏呢？这些只是其中几样等级二的思考者会纳入考量的东西之一。
除此之外，他们不会因为网上找到的资料而感到满意。如果有机会，他们会联络有做关于这些行业的朋友或者同事，让他们来解释这门生意。既然他们是在这方面的专才，从他们的身上来寻求帮助或者意见是获得资料最直接的方法之一。不但如此，等级二的思考者也会想办法参加公司的股东大会，而直接问管理层关于公司的生意和他们未来的计划。这看起来非常闷，因为在投资一家公司前有太多的东西需要完成了。但这就是投资，你投资的是一家公司的生意，而非市场甚至是股价。
总结，尽管等级一的思考者能够在市场里赚到钱，但笔者建议投资者最好了解更多关于你正在的公司和行业。成为等级二的思考者的条路是非常长的，因为很多东西需要做，但它绝对值得你所付出的时间，因为做这些不止会让你更了解公司，也会让你了解整个行业。
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