1 The Story
The investment biker
Jim Rogers (born 1942) co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1973; the fund's extraordinary returns let him 'retire' from money management at 37.1
He became famous as a contrarian commodities investor and adventurer, travelling the world by motorcycle and car for his books Investment Biker and Adventure Capitalist, and is known for buying assets that are cheap and out of favour.1
2 The Big Idea
Buy what's cheap and hated — then be patient
Do your own homework, buy value others have abandoned, and wait for the obvious trade.
Rogers is a deep contrarian: he looks for assets the crowd has given up on — often commodities at the bottom of a long cycle — does exhaustive homework, buys, and waits. His whole philosophy is captured in his line about waiting until the money is just lying in the corner.1
3 The Method
The Rogers approach
Do your own homework
Rigorous, first-hand research — never rely on tips or consensus.
Buy cheap & out of favour
Hunt for value the crowd has abandoned, often deep in a down-cycle.
Wait for the obvious trade
Don't force it — act only when the opportunity is overwhelming.
Think globally & in cycles
Commodities and economies move in long cycles; position for the big picture.
4 Try It Today
Test the idea for yourself
A no-risk exercise
Find an asset or sector that's deeply out of favour — one the headlines hate. Without buying anything, write down why it's cheap and what would have to change for the crowd to come back. That patient, contrarian homework is exactly how Rogers hunts.
5 In Their Words
Jim Rogers, quoted
"I just wait until there is money lying in the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up."— Jim Rogers, in Market Wizards (Jack Schwager)1
6 Watch & Read
Go deeper
- TRADERGeorge Soros — his Quantum Fund co-founder.
- CONCEPTFundamental Analysis Basics
- READ"Jim Rogers" — Wikipedia.1
§ Sources
- "Jim Rogers," Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Rogers