I'm a graduate of a business school. I felt ashamed (to a certain extent) that I wasn't accepted into the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) course. I decided to pursue business school instead as planned after my first year in my Associate in Computer Science (ACS) course. I decided to take a master's degree to impress others or to convince them I'm not a fool. Later on, while taking my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree--I fell into a scam by a family friend and later didn't even know what Cash 2 Go in the Metrobank credit card was. After a heated argument with someone questioning my course, I was finally told the hard truth I needed to hear, "That proves the Filipino education system really sucks!" I finally had my MBA. Later, I discovered a lot of stuff that I was never taught. One of them was actually the best investment to put into even in the finance classes! Sure, finance classes are needed but shouldn't we teach business students not just how to compute the profit but to also properly invest the profit?
Right now, I even forgot why it's not the ideal time to invest in bonds. When interest is up--the values of bonds will go lower. Bonds are rather restrictive and can't be pulled out anytime. Meanwhile, when interest rates are up--the stock market may go down. It's a very inverse effect. I didn't even know when was the best time to enter bonds except if the financial adviser said so. Isn't that really embarrassing that as a business graduate student I didn't know that? I ought to know that.
We did have a financial seminar at the University of San Carlos (USC). We were taught some basics such as examining financial companies. The basic principle is, "If it's too good to be true then don't take it." However, I feel what was truly missing from the financial seminar was to teach the basics of stocks or other ways to invest in them. One reason why I avoided stocks (until 2018 with AXA Chinese Tychoon Fund which uses cost averaging) was because of the risks associated with them. What I never realized was that day trading was called a speculative orgy by Charlie Munger (read here). Using the word "orgy" might truly describe my feelings. I even tried to use a day-trading simulator (which had USD 10,000.00 virtual currency). The results were a real gamble. I made more losses than I had with my gains.
What I never spotted five years ago was Buffett on college and graduate school. I've been to both. I almost expected stuff like learning to do proper stock investment. Instead, I ended up learning about cost averaging from Buffett himself. Buffett recommends cost-averaging into an index fund for a specified period of time. What was interesting was that Buffett didn't want to go to college and do business immediately. As Buffett says that success doesn't always require a college degree. Some people can have prestigious degrees from prestigious schools. All the while, such people can be supporting really stupid economic policies (read here).
Instead, I decided to think that my MBA degree is never going to be the end of it. I tend to believe that I'm "invincible" because of my MBA degree. There are times a degree is just a degree. That's unless of course if you're seeking to become an engineer, a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist, an economist, an accountant, or any profession needing at least a basic college education. What I soon realized is that none of Buffett's children graduated college. Buffett even said college may not be for everyone. That's why I'm in favor of K+12 over K+10.
Instead, Buffett said to invest in yourself. Buffett's advice is spelled out as, "Address whatever you feel your weaknesses are, and do it now." I think one of my weaknesses can be my attention deficit disorder (ADD) which causes me to be impulsive. I made a bad financial decision based on being impulsive. I nearly made a deal with a con service because of impulsivity. I invested in the AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund before I learned about cost averaging. During the crash, I did some Googling and found value cost averaging. I opened a GCash account to pay for food deliveries and found GInvest. I ended up finding out that investing in stock funds is long-term. I ask myself, "Why didn't I learn this in school?" I even bought the late Lee Kuan Yew's famous book From Third World to First. I even wonder why isn't it even a recommended reading? I feel so dumb that I only discovered some things later in life.
Right now, I think it's time to rethink how business schools do what they do. I think we need to learn more than just marketing techniques, business analysis using different types of math (and calculus happens to be my favorite approach), accounting, and finance. Sure, I did benefit from very strict teachers that kept my impulsive behavior in check during my undergraduate days. However, I feel like it's never enough for a business school to teach just how to run a company, be an executive, or be an accountant. It's sad how I even screwed up during my MBA days with practical applications. I really feel stupid (until now) as to why I allowed such a bad deal to happen. It's no use crying over spilled milk. Instead, I should continue to invest in myself instead of relying too much on school.
That's why I decided to write this blog sometime after Odette. I really felt the need to reinvest in myself. I did learn a few stuff such as cost averaging and why I should continue my AXA fund. Meanwhile, I could use GCash's GInvest feature for other stuff. I've invested in an index fund. I've invested in two feeder funds. Right now, my aim is truly to buy more during this bear market and sell during the bull market. I really ended up saying, "Why didn't I learn that in school?" This is a challenge to finally change the way business schools think. We can start by talking about Buffett's principles for a start.