Inderes discussion forum - What does it mean to you as an investor?

General
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This thread is for all of us.

I think it would be great to hear how finding the Inderes discussion forum has affected you as an investor and what it means to you?

In my investing career, finding the forum was a turning point!

Has the forum changed your perception of investing? Have you made new investor friends here?

Do you write posts yourself or are you more in the role of a reader? Do you write more public or private messages?

Do you get new ideas or more understanding from the forum—perhaps comfort in moments of disappointment? Or is the forum an obsession for you that you can’t stay away from, even if many things and writers irritate you?

Maybe every writer’s forum experience could be respected as such? Could we even trust that everyone who still posts here feels they are on the positive side overall?

It would be great to hear about these experiences!

And by the way, I’m not starting this thread at the request of Inderes, but purely out of my own interest. :smiling_face:

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Inderesin kahvihuone (Osa 11)
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Writing has been a natural way of self-expression for me, and the forum is a suitable place to structure my thoughts into a written form.

I regularly update the two threads I’ve opened, which, as foreign small-cap stocks, do not attract wide attention. That’s only a positive thing; I certainly don’t miss the atmosphere of the old Smart Eye thread. In these couple of threads, I can play analyst and expose my own thoughts to (imaginary) public criticism. The mere thought of writing for others encourages critical thinking and helps distinguish what is essential from what is noise. Looking back, one can see with burning ears what nonsense they have written before!

It’s hard to say if it’s specifically the forum that has changed my thinking about investing. As the portfolio size and age increase, thoughts about money and wealth inevitably change. The more wealth you have, the less you think about it. Building wealth seems to be like a bird in the palm of your hand – the harder you squeeze, the more certain it is that you’ll be left with a white splatter and a couple of feathers on your skin…

There are a few “trusted regulars” on the forum whose writing I follow more closely than usual. They might provide links and well-reasoned thoughts that offer new things to reflect on and chew over. In an era where the problem is not the amount of information but the lack of time, it’s great to have competent curators picking out the pearls.

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3

Great opening, it’s actually strange that a thread like this hasn’t been made before :+1:

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This Forum is definitely a great thing! Personally, I read the forum almost daily, and sometimes I’ve written posts myself as well. Over time, you also learn how to filter out information that is relevant to you from the posts. I am a so-called “late-bloomer” investor, and I only made my first direct equity investments when the retirement pipe started looming at the end of my career.

In the beginning, while reading the forum, I easily got carried away by some pump-and-dump posts, and my biggest losses were due to my too black-and-white reading when I joined certain hype trains, risking capital in so-called “hot” companies. I don’t blame anyone for this, only my own simplicity. Having been on the forum for a few years now—and with my AOT (Equity Account) portfolio rising to the five-figure level and my OST (Stock Savings Account) fully invested—I believe I now read the forum posts very selectively and self-critically. After the initial reading errors, disappointments, and investment losses, I have felt the benefit of the forum in investing turn unequivocally to the positive side! :ok_hand:

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5

Community, that’s what this is. A lot of good information is shared, people open up about their own journeys as investors, and there’s plenty of discussion in general on just about any topic; because of that, it’s great to be part of this crowd. This is also the first forum ever that I have actively used. I read the forum for a couple of years without creating an account, until 2.5 years ago I created an account and joined this awesome group.

Not really; from the beginning, I’ve trusted my own way of doing things in investing based on the lessons I internalized during the very first steps of my journey. However, I like to follow and soak up more information, even if it doesn’t necessarily affect my own investment path. The forum has taught me a lot of new things about investing.

A bit of both, though I probably end up reading more. By writing, I share my own investment journey, write about investing on a general level, and chat a lot in the “Coffee Room” (Kahvihuone). I don’t take any stance on the forum regarding company performance, politics, or crises; my opinions or views wouldn’t bring any added value to those topics. I’ve also hidden many threads related to politics or crises so they don’t unnecessarily pop up in my feed.

I’ve come across many ideas and insights, meaning I’ve learned and become more educated thanks to the forum. I haven’t been disappointed regarding investing yet, so I don’t need comfort; I proceed in investing with a “thousand-yard stare” (tonnin seteli) face through both ups and downs, so if there’s no celebrating, there are no disappointments either.

This is indeed an addictive place, I have to admit. Since creating my account, I’ve visited here daily.

Great that you opened this thread! :slight_smile:

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The forum is a double-edged sword.

I was at my most active here around 2021 and 2022, which was also when I made my biggest investment mistakes.

Having taken some distance from the daily discussions on the forum, I strangely no longer feel the need to try to be so incredibly active in the market. It seems that my own activity tends to cause more harm than good.

On the other hand, there are brilliant discussions here about investing and life outside of investing. I consider this to be the highest quality forum I have ever followed.

There is truly high-quality discussion on certain companies, and many of my most successful investment decisions have been inspired by the forum’s discussions. I believe the forum has a positive net impact on the development of my wealth.

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I am a brand-new investor and only recently signed up for the forum. I have always thought that the world of investing is too complicated, full of difficult intricacies, and that one needs to be a deep-level expert to participate. On the occasions when I intended to start investing—and there have been moments of temporary interest—all the abbreviations scattered throughout the texts discouraged me, and I threw in the towel. I mean, the moment the first paragraph of a related article contains abbreviations like OST, AOT, ETF, ETN, ETC, IPO, ROI, ROE, EPS, P/E, P/B, EV, EV/EBIT, EV/EBITDA, the world of investing always felt far too mystical.

A couple of months ago, I decided that I don’t need to understand everything. It’s enough to understand the basics and start playing with small enough stakes. So, I’m trying to learn as I go and keep the “tuition fees” (losses) as low as possible. I came across this forum while trying to find a free platform where I could look at other investors’ thoughts and opinions on various matters. Since then, I’ve been kicking myself for being so foolish as to start this hobby only in mid-adulthood; after all, the journey to FIRE status would need to happen quite quickly for a late bloomer. Of course, in reality, I’m glad I figured out to start this “hobby” even now. :slight_smile:

It is typical for me, even in my professional life, to remain in the role of a listener until I know enough about the subjects to be part of the conversation and speak up. I have operated the same way on this forum. This is my first post, and likely my last, until I feel that my contribution can bring momentum or new perspectives to the discussion.

Keep the good conversation going; I’ll be reading and liking posts, and who knows, maybe someday I’ll even reply.

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Addictive forum. I follow it too much. Several times a day. I also write quite a bit, sometimes off-topic or too bluntly. I’ve discovered many investment targets through here, including Metacon, Immunovia, and of course, Faron. I even made it into a meme with my Faron comment, which I am incredibly proud of. My wife didn’t understand what was so great about it. You start “following” certain posters, like @Karibu. Nice, thorough breakdowns on various topics.

This has been very useful. Occasionally, some know-it-alls and intentional misunderstanders are annoying, but I don’t have the energy to get into those arguments; they are endless.

Surprisingly, there are always new perspectives to be found on things, companies, and life. This forum is a great product!

Best regards, Mestari

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9

There is sometimes some actually useful information here, but for the most part, it’s nothing very necessary. It’s certainly a strange world for beginners. On the other hand, I don’t really know where else to find it: places like Nordnet’s discussion forum or Kauppalehti are full of trash. Missing the good old Arvopaperi Areena!

What I don’t like at all is that critical posts regarding companies are flagged and deleted far too efficiently here. We also need negative rumors and bad-mouthing; that’s half of the market talk.

It is also bad culture that some “heroes” have started writing their answers using AI to sound smarter, even though those three bullet points would be easier to read.

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To me, the Inderes forum represents the good old internet forum days from a few decades ago, albeit with a more expert touch. I don’t think I’ll come across another forum like this in my lifetime. It’s incredibly nice to relate to the writing of many fellow members, laugh along at times—and learn from real experts at the same time. I discover plenty of new companies just by reading others’ posts—or Inderes’ excellent material.

The internet is otherwise full of show-offs presenting nothing but +1000% portfolios from a two-week period while never mentioning losses. Apparently, that’s considered cool. On the other hand, there’s a certain honesty observable on the Inderes forum; people dare to talk about the darker side of investing and openly share when things occasionally go south. That’s how it should be in my book.

  • It’s actually awesome to occasionally read the hype or collective dissection when a company thread is digesting some newly released, really good or bad news. Personally, I don’t really get to chew the fat over these things at work or with my spouse. It often leaves me with a good feeling while reading, even if I don’t have a position in the company in question at that moment.

Of course, you’ll always find certain “characters” everywhere, and most of the excesses are probably filtered out before they’re even seen (the mods do great, invisible work), but nonetheless. The exceptions only prove the rule. Someone else’s success isn’t away from me, and no one mocks another’s misfortune. That is quite pleasant.

Personally, I don’t recognize the claim that you can’t be bearish on the forum, provided you frame your point somewhat constructively. Pointless comments like “This company is a total scam” without justifications can and should be removed, as has been the case.

You get pretty far just by not being a jerk. It’s funny how that works!

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11

Today marks five years since I signed up for the forum. For me, finding this forum has been a turning point in my career as an investor. It certainly doesn’t show in my returns yet, but it definitely shows in the increase of my knowledge and understanding. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to my investing hobby if I hadn’t found this forum.

Not a day goes by without it—I wonder if that’s a sign of commitment or addiction. :sweat_smile: But in my defense, there hasn’t been a day where I haven’t read something interesting or something that made me smile on the forum.

By the way, it was a memorable moment when I first realized I disagreed with a certain writer about a company’s earnings release. I thought to myself, “What on earth! That’s not how it was.” And then, after a while, other messages started appearing where the matter was understood the same way I had understood it. It was a great feeling to realize that I had actually learned something.

I like writing a lot. I also like that you can write on the forum under a pseudonym. And even though I’ve been hanging around here and posting messages for five years, only one person knows about it. Otherwise, only a few close people know about my investing. This is a strange detail in my hobby, because in everything else, I’m quite a plain-spoken and open person.

The wonderful and admirable thing about writing under a pseudonym is that, as an inexperienced investor, I have been treated with respect on the forum from the very beginning and have received thorough answers to my questions.

I also send private messages to people on the forum from time to time, and it’s always the same thing—I get friendly and appreciative messages back. Thank you to those who have replied!

I regularly follow, among other things, market trends, price changes, buys and sells, flagging (liputus) discussions, technical analysis, gold and silver, and the “rookie interviews” (alokkaan haastattelut).

I also follow the threads of all the companies I own, even though I never write in them. I feel that I don’t have anything to say that would move things forward. This is a regrettable lack of expertise, but fortunately, there are also threads on the forum where you can write opinions or observations about more general investing matters, and of course, the Coffee Room (kahvihuone) for almost anything. :smiling_face:

I want to give a special thanks to all of you who are active writers on the forum and donate your expertise for all of us to use. :yellow_heart:

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Nice opening for a discussion! A few short comments:

Personally, I’m an on/off forum user; during busier times, I might stay away for weeks, even several months. Then again, during active periods, I visit the forum almost every day.

I write quite a lot of public posts, a sort of stream of consciousness. I also read a lot, so I am an active forum user.

You get good feedback for your thoughts here and a suitably critical perspective so that I don’t get completely stuck in my quality/Harvia investing bubble. :smiley: Additionally, it provides perspectives on many things I wouldn’t otherwise explore, and through that, my expertise increases.

This is a high-quality forum, and I hope it stays that way. I see this as a truly useful “tool” for investing.

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I have received good advice, for example, on tax matters. The discussion is of a very high standard compared to, say, car/motorcycle hobby sites.

I find support for my own investment decisions, whatever they may be. There is so much information available that you can always find writings that confirm your own thoughts.

Somehow I find it fascinating to think about investing in the old world, in the era of landline phones. The activity wouldn’t be so impulsive and dominant.

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