Eugene Kogan - legendary investor, founder of bitkogan project answered Oninvest's questions about his investment principles;

What do you invest in - and why this particular one?
I invest on various exchange and over-the-counter platforms. I buy a lot and for the long term. A large portion of my portfolio right now is US quality bonds that yield 5.0-5.5-6.0% per annum. In any situation, they are the stabilizing backbone of the portfolio. I am a beat person, and I realize that part of the portfolio needs to be held in safe assets.

The other part of the portfolio is gold producers, shares of silver producers, I have ETFs for silver and palladium. In general, I find the topic of gold and its alternatives more than promising.  

I will not hide, I have ETFs on crypto. I bought them and hold them. There is a small stake invested in shares of oil companies and their service companies, which pay good dividends. There are securities of IT companies - but their volume is small

I also invest in businesses, "going in" to companies at the pre-IPO stage. There is also a class of real estate investments in different markets;

But my main investment is my media project bitkogan. An insanely interesting project with the highest potential for capitalization growth.

Do you remember your first investment? How did it go?
Late 1993. I considered myself a smart and knowledgeable investor at the time, I borrowed crazy money for myself at the time - 5000 bucks. I bought a number of securities that had previously grown and they were actively publicized in the press, they were on the rumor. And then ... I realized a simple thing - you should think with your own head, never work on borrowed funds and rely only on your own analysis and understanding of the market. The price of my training was not so high;

What would you definitely not buy again?
It's not what, but under the influence of what. I would never make an emotional purchase. An investor's greatest enemy is emotion.

Who do you trust when you make decisions?
Buying securities is a cocktail where intuition (a gut feeling that comes from working in the market for a long time), your own understanding of trends and a team of analysts play a huge role. And the experience of investors who are focused on long-term investments. But still - trust Buffett, but think with your own head!

Which investment has pleasantly surprised you?
In general, a normal professional should not be surprised by investments. It's nice, of course, when you buy securities and tomorrow they all go up. But it's more about "luck" rather than "grew". And if you made the right calculation, it's just normal.
I was recently surprised by my youngest daughter, who listened and listened to my various investment ideas, and in the end just bought Alibaba shares. And they went up 25%. That's what amazed me - she came, she saw, she won. 
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When was the last time you made a mistake - and what did you realize from it?
I've been making investments for the last 30 years and what did I realize after another mistake? Nothing. Once again, I complained that I "ran" after another rising stock, when I should have just spit and moved on and not made an emotional purchase;

Are you more about strategy or intuition? Why?
What is intuition anyway? For some people, it's an insight when they wake up. But, frankly speaking, for professionals, intuition is the result of a huge amount of analysis and work, when he has processed everything and - bang! - a picture has formed;

Buffett is a handsome man?
Without a doubt, yes. He doesn't look at techanalysis and external noise, he analyzes only the issuer itself, only the business of the company for the long term. But there are things that not everyone thinks about - the fact is that Buffett has the ability to reach out to any owner of any business, and that's very valuable. It is a wildly important thing to be able to listen and hear those who run businesses;

What does an investor fear when the screen goes out?
A good question. He's afraid of missed opportunities. For an investor who looks at the screen every minute, who suddenly has a dead battery or no internet, there is a feeling that the world is about to collapse. It's like drug withdrawal. So the best investment, in my opinion, is to turn off your phone, show yourself that you're in the right place at the right time right now, and then a week later see that the world hasn't collapsed.

What pisses me off the most in the investment environment?

In short, unprofessionalism. Today, in the era of AI and social networks, when every person who has read half a book about investments and opened a brokerage account a month ago can pretend to be a guru and give advice and recommendations to novice investors with a smart look. Such gurus cast a shadow on professionals. 

A normal person who wants to start investing is unable to find the right thoughts and analytics in cubic kilometers of this garbage. There is a feeling that the whole blogosphere is made up of those who want to steal other people's money and stuff people with useless information;

Have you ever been envious of someone else's briefcase?
And how could you not, of course. You know who I envy the most, who put together the most ingenious portfolio? Brothers Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, who at the beginning of the XX century were the largest buyers of Impressionist works. What a briefcase it was! However, the fate of the brothers did not turn out well, but that is another story;

In all seriousness, investment is such an unpredictable thing, everything changes in the market every day. Therefore, envy in the primitive sense of the word is just silly;

What have you spent the profits from your luckiest deal?   There is a child living deep inside every man, and I am no exception. I had one deal when I was lucky and made a very good profit. And then I decided to realize my most cherished (actually, very stupid) dream - I bought a toy. I bought a very cool car, which, as it turned out, can be used only three months a year.  It was my childhood dream, and I realized it.

And then it turned out - when you get a very good toy, there is someone who needs it even more. For example, my spouse. Now she gives it to me to play with sometimes;

What has to happen for you to cash everything out?"
 An old Jew comes to an old Jew with the question, "Got any money?"
 -"No, no money, the situation is difficult.

The next day again: "Do you have money? I need it very much"
 -"Oh, no, the situation is very difficult."

The third day they come again: "Well? I need money very much!"
And the Jew answers:
- "So, should I sell dollars?"

This is an anecdote from the "what should happen" category. I guess I have to completely lose confidence in the market and the financial system and then, yes, I'll go cash.
But it has to be the heavens opening or I lose faith in the future;

But I'm still an optimist. Any investor is always a bit of an optimist. If you're not, you can't work in the stock market. There, after a hard streak, there always comes a better streak. And you have to believe in that;

Do you have guilty pleasure in investing? (For example, "taking crypto overnight")
I do. If my mom suddenly asks "Are we invested in the stock market yet?", I'll probably rush to sell everything. The thing is, my mom is the world's biggest conservative, coward and pessimist. And if she is interested in the market, then the market is dead;

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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