It has been more than 6 years since moving out of a formal corporate gig. I am not a “full time equity investor” since I’ve been managing money for others
The biggest difference has been the flexibility to choose what priorities to focus on, rather than someone else setting the objectives for me. When you have no one pulling the strings in the background, you can genuinely think long term and make decisions accordingly.
If anything, my experience has cemented my earlier belief that full time investing isn’t for everyone. It is often a lonely journey with no great excitement or activity on a daily/weekly basis. It takes a different kind of personality to run with this for years and not lose your mojo, even if you are financially better off than being in a full time job. By nature, you should have a strong sense of individuality and purpose to pull this off
On a lighter note –
You don’t need to wake up/sleep at odd hours when you have book your flights tickets yourself
You can get yourself a drink anytime of the day
You aren’t obligated to tone down your views to appease some one else
Your calendar isn’t full of meaningless tasks
Every meeting/discussion you do ends up being productive, no brownie points for “being there”
If you are considering going the full time investing way, plan your transition out so that you don’t face a situation where you might need to reverse your decision within 2-3 years. That will be one hell of a problem, I can assure you. Rather delay the decision/process until you are sure that you can stay the course.
