“What do they know that I don’t?”
I recently read about the legendary hedge fund manager David Tepper, and my mind was blown.
He runs Appaloosa Management.
If you gave him $100k in 2000, based on his reported 28% net of fees average return, you’d have $37.4m today.
Not bad.
He possesses one of the best investor records ever.
I’ve been following him for years.
He reportedly made significant investments in China after President Xi announced their latest stimulus package.
The new stimulus was massive news for investors, and he was on it immediately.
It’s one thing for you and me to change our 401k, IRA, or brokerage account investments; it’s another to move billions of dollars quickly, like the team at Appaloosa just did.
When I finished the article, I thought, “Huh, good for him.”
But I also thought to myself:
- How does he move so fast with so much conviction?
- What funds/stocks did they actually buy?
- How are they managing the political risks of having significant liquid investments in China?
- What size are their positions?
Tepper, who also owns the Carolina Panthers, knows a thing or two about the financial system and how to profit from it, and he once again blew my mind with the speed, size, and success (already) of this investment.
Whenever I read about investors like him, who are better at investing than me, I ask myself, “What else don’t I know that they know?“
While I ask myself this frequently, I want to talk about why I ask myself this question today.
A glorious melting pot
The US financial system is where we all invest, spend, borrow, and lend.
It’s a glorious melting pot of opportunity, risk, fear, and greed.
Tepper, you, me, and the 13,295 other readers of Tired & Rich all use it.
After 11 years of heavily investing in understanding the system, I know one thing to be true.
There are many systems within the system, different levels of sort.
Depending on who you are, what you know and who you know, your experience with it will be different.
There’s a financial system for homeless people up to the decabillionaires and everywhere in between.
I’ve found people understand that this is true but don’t fully appreciate, or even know, the benefits of leveling up in the system.
Many people know what they know, act like they are stuck, and leave it at that.
I want to be crystal clear here: leveling up in the financial system isn’t about just making more money.
Leveling up is all about what money can do for you.
More wealth gives you more options.
More options = more freedom.
What if you could find a way, by using the system better, to have $1m more in assets in retirement?
That could change everything about your last third of life.
More trips to see the grandkids, less stress about inflation, more confidence, perhaps even better health – more good things in life.
Money doesn’t equal happiness, but it does make life easier.
And let me state the obvious: you can’t just snap your fingers and have a portfolio 10x bigger than your current one.
But what you can do, and what I want to tell you, is to level up your knowledge.
I have been trying to level up my knowledge almost every day since I started in this business on January 7th, 2013.
I’ve found that knowledge and understanding—call this stuff wisdom—are a leading indicator of future financial success.
David Tepper knows things I don’t know about investing.
He runs circles around me.
I want to know what he knows, and so should you.
“Cool, so how do I do this, Tom?”
Thanks for asking!
It’s through people.
As you can tell, I learn from the actions of other people.
“Do as they do, not as they say.”
Surround yourself with people who push you and think bigger than you do. Whether that’s people you know, folks online, or following along with people like me, you’ve got to find your people, study their actions, and level up.
The only reason I know what I know, and have written almost 100 straight weekly articles on wealth, is because I’ve chosen to make a commitment to my understanding of the system by reading about people, like David Tepper.
I will never meet David Tepper, but I study him.
I never met Charlie Munger but sought his wisdom out earnestly and consistently.
Aside from the easy-to-pick-on legends to follow, I always tell people that I don’t look at the RIA firms here in Fargo (where Fjell is based) for inspiration as we build the company.
Why?
Because there is no one here building what we want to build.
We’re talking to peers across the country who have built significantly larger firms than what exists in the Fargo market.
Go where the best knowledge is—no matter where it is.
Writing this sounds so cliché, but it’s true.
The easy way to level up is to study those ahead of you.
“Buy it”
Here’s a fact about wealth and the system: the more you have, the more help you need.
Most wealthy people know this and subsequently buy the best talent and experience.
You and I have a zero percent chance of investing with Appaloosa; they serve a small group of extremely wealthy investors who have enough assets to invest with the firm.
Jeff Bezos has 159 people managing his money.
Wealthy people don’t go it alone. Every wealthy person I know has a team behind them in some form or another, helping them grow and protect what they have.
We have 200 families that have hired Fjell to do this for them. They hire us to navigate markets, build portfolios, and craft financial plans.
Our clients get the execution of everything I talk about here on Tired & Rich and tailored advice directed specifically to them.
Think about it—you can pay for someone’s lifetime of experience to help you make smarter financial moves.
Warren Buffett auctions off a lunch every year for millions.
Why would someone pay a guy $3m for lunch?
Because it’s worth it.
There is one Warren Buffett and his experience and wisdom is irreplaceable.
But don’t think this idea of buying experience and execution is out of reach for you.
Hired guns (financial advisors, Estate Planners, CPAs, etc) don’t have to cost a fortune. Getting an estate plan done doesn’t require selling your house.
It’s an investment, but if you find a great team, they can return many more times than the cost of their service.
My CPA has helped me save far more money than the cost of her services.
Here’s the thing: I’m 34 years old and know I’ll never reach the levels of some of the wealthiest out there.
David Tepper makes more money in two days than I do in a decade.
I’m okay with that. I’m not David Tepper, and I never will be. I don’t even want to pretend I could be him.
I’m not okay with staying stuck or being passive while the system moves on.
I’m here to level up and want you to do the same.
Not just for making more money but for the freedom that comes with it and the deep satisfaction of knowing you are not a passive, uninformed bystander in the financial system.
Learn what they know, study their actions, and then take action for yourself.
You’ll find satisfaction IN the action.
Level up and keep investing.
