The Man Who Buys Crashes7.78 or something. She lost maybe 10 or 15 cents on the panic
spread because it was crashing so hard. She [laughter] did much
better than I did. If I am ever in the same situation again, there are
two things I would change: One, I was overconcentrated. I should
have not had that big of a position. Two, I knew that there was a
problem with management. So I’m never taking a large position in
a company where I have questions about management. The third
thing—I should have sold at least half of it no matter what was
happening. I should have sold it right then and there. I made a
mistake on how I handled the trade.
Q: The days that it was dropping, did you go to bed and say to
yourself, “You know, if it goes below five I’m just blowing out of
the position, I don’t care what price I get. I’m just not going to take
anymore of this pain.” Did it ever come to that point?
A: Yes, it was just a classical terrible, emotional trading experi-
ence. I’ll fill it in with a little human interest story: Sometimes I’d
make$40,000 or$50,000 in one week on the stock. So one day I
said to a buddy, “I’ve always wanted a new Corvette.” About a week
before this happened, I went out and ordered a new Corvette.
Q: So not only the pressure of the trade but you had the burden
of the Corvette on your shoulders?
A: That’s right. Yeah [laughter].
Q: You spent money that you didn’t quite yet have, Fortunately,
of course, the story still ends up very positive for you. After that
experience did you modify your exit strategies? Are you a lot more
cautious these days in terms of getting out?
A: Yes, and became better at not taking concentrated positions.