Your Style

"In my experience the greatest artists and competitors are masters of navigating their own psychologies, playing on their strengths, controlling the tone of battle so that it fits with their personalities.” Josh Waitzkin

“There is more than one method by which an investor, if sufficiently skilled, can over the years make some money - occasionally even really worthwhile money - through investment.” Phil Fisher

“You have to invest the way that’s comfortable for you.” Walter Schloss

“You need a method that suits your personality.” Colm O’Shea

“Each person has to play the game given his own marginal utility considerations and in a way that takes into account his own psychology.” Charlie Munger

"If you want a successful investment career, you'd better bind yourself to a style you can life with." Ralph Wanger

“The secret to our success is congruence between our investment style and my personal investment style and philosophy, the fundamental elements of which have remained constant over almost 18 years.” Dan Loeb

“You have to know what you are, and not try to be what you’re not. If you are a day trader, day trade. If you are an investor, then be an investor. It’s like a comedian who gets onstage and starts singing.” Steve Cohen

"Everyone has to understand what type of an investor they are." Jake Rosser

“You have to adapt your strategy to your own nature and your own talents. I don’t think there’s a one-size fits all investment strategy that I can give you.” Charlie Munger

“If you are going to be a great investor, you have to fit the style to who you are. At one point I recognized that Warren Buffett, though he had every advantage in learning from Ben Graham, did not copy Ben Graham, but rather set out on his own path, and ran money his way, by his own rules.” Michael Burry

“Don’t do exactly what I do. If you do, you will go crazy. You have to dig for yourself, just as I do.” Roy Neuberger

"Warren is right for Warren, but not for me." Walter Schloss

“It’s important in this business to do it your own way. Be yourself. Have an identity. Have a plan and be you. Win, lose, or draw, do it on your own terms. For better or worse, there is only one David Einhorn, Mike Krensavage, Jeff Ubben, Warren Buffett, Jim Chanos, Roland Keiper, Stan Druckenmiller. Be your own person because otherwise it just all gets diluted and you can't beat the market or do exceptional things over time.” Marc Cohodes

"You must have a plan of operation which is sympatico with your personality. If you’re an aggressive guy you just can’t play is safe, if you’re a chicken you just can’t play it risky.” Howard Marks

“Study the past record of the stock market, study your own capabilities, and find out whether you can identify an approach to investment you feel would be satisfactory in your own case. And if you have done that, pursue that without any reference to what other people do or think or say.” Benjamin Graham

“Part of the game of investing is to come into your own. You must find some way that perfectly fits your personality.” Li Lu

"Since I don't know you, I can't tell you what your trading style should be. But if you are willing to put in effort, you can learn what that style should be. If I try to teach you what I do, you will fail because you are not me." Colm O'Shea

"If you are pursuing a style that doesn't fit your temperament, you won't be happy. Show me an unhappy investor and I'll show you an unsuccessful investor." Ralph Wanger

"I don't think traders can follow rules for very long unless they reflect their own trading style. Eventually, a breaking point is reached and the trader has to quit or change, or find a new set of rules he can follow. This seems to be part of the process of evolution and growth of a trader." Ed Seykota

“If you fit your nature with your investment style and it makes economic sense, you’ll probably do pretty well.” Shad Rowe

“There are different types and different stripes of value investors. When he [Buffett] wrote the essay ‘The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville’, he mentioned there are different people who do it in different ways. There’s not, I think, one correct way to do it but there’s probably one way that’s correct for each of us to do it.” C.T Fitzpatrick

"I would never assume a champion bodybuilder’s diet & exercise routine would be appropriate for me. But for some reason the same thing doesn’t translate to finance, & college sophomores watch CNBC to gain insight into a billionaire hedge fund manager’s latest moves." Morgan Housel

"Your trading methodology has to fit your personality. You have to understand your strengths and weaknesses." Martin Schwartz

“There are lots of ways to make money, but it is really important to find one that fits well with the way that you are built emotionally. You have to discover it as early as you can.” Yen Liow

“My father had this saying, he said, ‘Investing is like painting, there are all different styles’. It’s one thing to imitate someone’s style when you are learning, just like a painter would go to a museum and copy great works, but at some point, they find what resonates with them.” Chris Davis

“One of the fascinating aspects in which investing is as much art as science is that every successful investor will develop a slightly different way of approaching the problem. The process of defining what kind of securities to buy can almost be thought of as the process of developing a personal style of investing. Some investors have a knack for discovering the next great growth stock. Others are better at evaluating distressed assets. Still others may prefer ‘great businesses at good prices’ or ‘cigar butts’ as the way to success. There is no single way to value investing heaven. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received when I started my career was very simple but profound: ‘Learn what types of ideas work best in your hands.’” Zeke Ashton

“Just as Michelangelo would likely be a horrible abstract expressionist, Warren Buffett would likely make a horrible macro trader. Their unique personalities, emotional temperament, natural curiosities, and way they were trained just wouldn’t be a good fit. So to create something special – whether it’s painting the Sistine Chapel or running a world-class investment portfolio for several decades – it is usually requires a special combination of the artist’s unique viewpoint, their personality / life experiences, and the technical training necessary to go execute that vision. Those I’ve found to be most successful, view their portfolios as an extension of themselves and their innate personalities / curiosities. You can’t run a global portfolio if you aren’t passionate about learning how countries & societies develop, nor can you run a concentrated portfolio if you get unnerved easily by volatility. There are many artistic styles – but each style is unique to only that particular artist (and those why try to copy it, without possessing that special cocktail of traits, will never be as good as the pioneer).” Fred Liu

Further Reading:
‘Your Investment Style’ - Mastersinvest.com