1) My investment philosophy and framework.

As a student of wealth building, I've read many of the greatest money-managers in history.

From Warren Buffett to Peter Lynch, I've broken down their strategies and incorporated the best ideas into my investing approach...

2) First, look for first movers in important emerging markets.

The best investments ever happen during a time of massive change.

Think of Amazon, riding the wave of the internet.

Or Standard Oil, capitalizing on the combustion engine.

What do these companies have in common?

3) They were early leaders in huge new markets.

For both of these companies, had you invested early you would have made a fortune.

$10,000 invested in Amazon's IPO would be worth $16.5 million today.

That's why my 1st question is: what trends are benefiting the company?

4) Next, look for a visionary founder.

Visionary founders are the secret sauce to a great investment. They drive culture and paint the future for employees.

Look to glassdoor reviews of the CEO. What do employees think? Are there interviews online where I can learn about them?

5) As for the business itself, it should have immense competitive advantages.

According to Warren Buffett: "What we're trying to do is find a business with a wide and long-lasting moat around it"

The larger the moat, the harder it is for competitors to disrupt it.

6) Think about Facebook. Each additional user makes the platform more valuable.

The more people connect to the network, the more attractive it is for others to join too.

This network effect represents a huge competitive advantage and "moat".

7) Only after making sure potential investments are first movers in emerging markets, with visionary founders and a large moat, do I look to the financials.

Pricing power is the most important consideration to me.

What do I mean by pricing power?

8) The company has a road map to be able to grow revenue per customer for years.

In order to do that, the company must have a product where customers spend a small % of their budget on it.

More importantly, the quality of the product must exceed the cost to the customer.

9) A perfect example of pricing power in action is Starbucks.

Starbucks was able grow revenue per customer for decades because the difference between $1 and $4 for coffee is insignificant.

Customers accepted the price increase because the value of the coffee was worth it.

10) By growing revenue per customer, companies don't need to gain any new customers to grow profits.

But, if they grow new customers AND revenue/customer, you get a lollapalooza effect with two positive tailwinds combining.

Growth rates skyrocket, and fortunes can be made.

11) Before going any further in my investing process, at this point I do significant research.

I want to understand the business well enough to describe how it makes money to my 5-year-old nephew.

If I can't express it simply and concisely, I don't invest. It's too complicated.

12) Next, I make sure not to be scared off by pricey valuations.

Most companies that fit my profile are already viewed as big winners. They often have sky-high valuations.

However, these companies are expensive for a reason. The market sees its potential, and prices it in.

13) Look to the greatest businesses of the past 25 years.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Netflix and Google all traded at rich valuations compared to peers at every stage of growth.

It didn't matter. Investors saw massive returns for each, even though they were "expensive".

14) Once I've identified my next investment, I enter a position with small initial stakes.

I never invest more than 5% of my money into any one investment.

I know I'll be wrong occasionally, and I like to limit my losses!

15) This is the most critical part of my whole investment strategy.

I buy every stock intending to hold for at least 5 years.

The reason I do this is summed up by iconic investor Ben Graham (Warren Buffett's mentor):

16) "In the short run, the market is like a voting machine...

But in the long run, the market is like a weighing machine."

Predicting business performance is a lot simpler than predicting short term news. That's why trading isn't for me.

17) Long-term investing means time is my friend. The longer I hold the gold standard companies, the more they compound.

Plus, I limit transaction costs and taxes paid when investing for the long term!

18) Another counter-intuitive view I hold is to add up before I double down.

If I buy a stock that loses 30% in value, most investors look to buy more to lower their cost per share.

I preach the opposite.

Add to your winners, and sell your losers.

19) Why buy a stock as it gets more expensive?

Simple. Winners tend to win, and losers tend to lose in the long-term.

Think of it as if you're watering your flowers and trimming your weeds and you'll grow richer.

20) Another way to think about this is to let your home runs turn into grand slams.

The longer you hold a big-time winner in an emerging market, the more likely they are to become enormous.

One massive winner can offset all your losers.

21) This is why long-term investing is so powerful.

If you invested $10,000 in Enron and Netflix in 2001, one investment would be worth $0 and the other over $3 million.

Your downside is $10,000 and the upside is unlimited.

22) While 75% of my portfolio is in dynamic, high-growth companies, I take a different approach with the other 25%.

I prefer to be conservative and hedge against a big-downturn for my larger investments.

This means investing in cash and REITS for further cashflow.

23) Currently, I earn about $600 per year in REIT distributions that I use to add to my stocks.

These cash flows let me invest more in my favorite businesses.

24) I hold about 5% cash for 2 main reasons:

So I can quickly take advantage of downturns and so I can sleep well at night.

Having cash on hand let me buy in March at the market low, and make 100% returns in companies like $MELI and $DOCU.

25) With my approach, I hope to be right 60% of the time.

If I can do that, the winners dramatically outweigh the losers and I beat the market.

So far I've beaten the S&P for 3 consecutive years using this method, and I hope to keep it up!