Top Stock Traders in the World and Key Lessons From Their Success

Baca Juga

Stock trading and investing has been one of the most popular methods for individuals and institutions to generate and safeguard their wealth from inflation.

The early days of the stock market was considerably different and less accessible to the general public, while the modern digital age of the financial markets allows anyone with a brokerage account to own a piece of some of the most successful megacorporations in the world.

However, some stock traders truly stand out from the crowd when it comes to their returns and the ability to find value where others cannot.

Some of the most famous stock traders are also some of the wealthiest people on the planet today and observing their decision-making process and investment acumen can help beginners identify potential big plays on the market for themselves.

Warren Buffett - Berkshire Hathaway

Perhaps the most influential stock investor of our time, Warren Buffett has built a name for himself over the decades and is frequently called the ‘Oracle of Omaha’, thanks to his acumen and the ability to find value investments over the years.

Buffett’s investment holding, Berkshire Hathaway, which he ran alongside his long-time friend and associate, Charlie Munger, for over 50 years, initially began acquiring private companies, such as GEICO, Duracell, Lubrizol and others. However, the firm is known for its huge stakes in some of the biggest publicly listed companies in the United States, such as: Apple, Microsoft, Bank of America, American Express, KraftHeinz and many more.

The net worth of the 94-year old investor is estimated at $138 billion, which places him in the top 5 of the wealthiest persons in the world.

Jack Bogle - The Vanguard Group

John C. “Jack” Bogle is the founder of the Vanguard Group, which is currently one of the largest investment management firms in the world, with AUM of over $9.3 trillion as of this writing, which makes it one of the largest privately held companies in the world.

Jack Bogle is synonymous with championing low-cost mutual funds, which have revolutionized the passive investing market and made high-value assets available to pension funds and investment firms from all over the world.

Much of Bogle’s success has been driven by his ability to innovate and offer new investment products to the market, which has ensured client loyalty for the Vanguard Group in the long run.

Carl Icahn - Icahn Enterprises

Carl Icahn is one of the most famous and successful activist investors of our time and is known for his aggressive push to replace ineffective management at struggling large corporations in a bid to turn their fortunes around.

Some of Carl Icahn’s notable stock trades include the following:

●     Trans World Airlines - The first notorious activist trade made by Icahn saw the investor replace the management team at the fourth-largest airline in the United States, which he bought in the 1980s and sold in 1992 to American Airlines at a substantial profit which made him notorious as one of the most daring investors of the period and an uncompromising figure

●     RJR Nabisco - Icahn got involved in the LBO of RJR Nabisco in 1988, which turned out to be one of the most active bidding wars of the 80s that saw Icahn eventually lose out to KKR

●     Apple - Icahn became a vocal advocate of Apple’s share buyback program in 2013, as he expected the program to unlock considerable value to investors, which turned out to be true

A key contributor to the success of Carl Icahn has been his persistent nature and negotiation tactics that also saw him go head-to-head with corporations with considerably more capital at their disposal.

Bill Ackman - Pershing Square Capital Management

Another activist investor, Bill Ackman manages Pershing Square, which he uses to take large positions in undervalued companies and pushes for changes that he deems likely to drive the company in a positive direction.

Ackman frequently invests in companies that are facing considerable operational or strategic challenges, but with potential for significant turnaround. Through fundamental analysis, Pershing Square assesses a company’s financials, competitive advantage and growth prospects before making a move. The buying strategy is characterized by aggressive action, including proxy fights, board nominations, public statements, etc.