by Jason Bodner
July 1, 2025
“The big money is made by the sittin’ and the waitin’ — not the thinking.” – Jesse Livermore
How does one become a successful investor?
One way is to teach investors how to do it, but how do you decide which system to use? There is an endless amount of information about pursuing profits. Countless words have been written, books sold, and videos recorded. Endless news stories, interviews, chat rooms, and newsletter services are out there.
A better answer might be more memorable – in showing you what not to do, in my own real-life example.
Like most things in life, I learned the art of investing the hard way. This column offers a real-life case study of how right Jesse Livermore was in our opening quote: “Big money is made sitting and waiting.”
Chasing your tail is an exhausting (and often fruitless) method of investing. In the end, you only hear about a few success stories of quick traders, not the vast graveyard littered with losing day-traders.
Proven long-term investors, such as Warren Buffett and Louis Navellier, say that identifying great stocks is only part of the battle. Holding them long enough for massive gains is where real discipline comes in.
This is a story of how my mistake ended up costing me a small fortune, so maybe you can let my failure become your pre-paid tuition of a potentially profitable master course. I am offering you a way to avoid one cardinal sin of investing: Don’t make rash short-term decisions with huge long-term consequences.
How I Met Louis Navellier – at Age 17
Life usually contains a series of ironies. You may know that I have worked with Louis Navellier for nearly 10-years now. I have written Sector Spotlight for Navellier Market Mail for 9+ years, a long time!
What you may not know, however, is that I have known Louis Navellier for 33-years, since I was a teen. I first met him in 1992, between a trip to Lake Tahoe and a white-water rafting trip, when we spent five-days navigating the Green River. We camped at night on the riverbanks with fire-cooked meals and bright moonlight bouncing off the canyon walls. It was an awesome experience for a 17-year-old – or anyone!
The beginning of our trip was far less exciting, though. First, we flew from Florida to Reno. I remember not thinking much of Reno, but then the drive to Lake Tahoe was beautiful and the lake was gorgeous.
After that trip to Tahoe, my dad had scheduled a meeting with an investment manager he saw on CNBC – yes, it was Louis Navellier. Dad liked his approach. He seemed logical and smart while remaining cool about the market – as cool as a cucumber. Dad wanted to invest with him but wanted to meet him first.
So that’s what we did – and he took me along. We went to his office building in downtown Reno. Louis shook my hand and then showed us around. As a teen, I was more into music and girls than finances and computers – or people in professional office attire – so I don’t remember much about that encounter.
Then we went on our trip to Grand Junction and the real fun began – for me. In the end, dad did invest and he also started a small account for me, probably $1,000, at the same firm, Navellier & Associates.
Fast forward to November 1998. I had graduated from college and had moved to Boulder Colorado to play keyboards in a band. I was a starving artist. After nearly three years of toiling in obscurity, I was as broke as could be and weighed 145-pounds, so I moved to New York City to try my hand at music there.
Struggling was too generous a word to accurately describe my first years in The Big Apple, 1998-2001.
I needed money… badly.
Then, suddenly, I remembered my dad’s tiny account for me at Navellier! I had no idea how much he started with in that account. I just knew now, at the age of 24, there was a secret stash I forgot about.
Since I had kept a few statements, I rifled through my papers. After a frustrating while, I found them.
The first statement I saw said that I had $2,900 waiting for me! I hit the JACKPOT! I was rich!
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
Now, all I had to do was get my money. I had no clue what to do, so I called Navellier to see how to get my cash. I quickly found out that my $2,900 was worth way less. I didn’t know why, but apparently in the fall of 1998, the stock market tanked. As a musician back then, I didn’t pay much attention to Wall Street.
Apparently, the stock market had fallen 20% for several reasons. There was the Asian financial crisis. Russia also defaulted on its debt, which caused the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). The uncertainty that arose from these events led to panic selling and a sharp drop in market values.
I knew none of this – then. I didn’t care about news or much else outside my little bubble. I still needed the cash, so I waited for my newest statement, which showed a loss of 23% from the prior statement.
I thought to myself: “I better sell now before it drops any further. I need the money…now!”
Unwittingly, I was selling into some of the weakest markets in a while. Cue rookie mistake #1.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
Graphs are for illustrative and discussion purposes only. Please read important disclosures at the end of this commentary.
I sent the full redemption request order for my investment in the Navellier Aggressive Small Cap Equity Portfolio. I received a check in the mail for $2,462.15, showing that I had recouped some from the lows.
Great! That was about a month’s rent in New York City. But I ripped the check-out of the envelope and deposited it the same day. The money helped for a month or so. But my struggle quickly resumed.
But then, my music dream came true. Well – sort of.
I finally had some musical success! I spent nine months writing music for a ballet for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, called “Double Exposure.” It was a huge success. I even got to conduct some of my own music in front of 3,000-people (standing room only) at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
Then I got paid for this dream come true. For nine months of hard work, I got … $1,500, before taxes.
So, I had climbed the mountain of musical glory and was out of gas, with a long road back.
I was broke – and I wanted to marry my sweetheart – so I quit my starving artist role and got a clerking job on a derivatives desk at Cantor Fitzgerald in 2001. The rest, as they say, was history, as I barely escaped the tragedy of 9/11 by taking up their offer to train in the London office starting in August 2001.
So, what was my big mistake? First, I missed out on all the gains from the market bottom around October 1998. My second, and bigger, mistake was not setting aside a certain amount each quarter to buy more! What would my account statement look like if I had not sold in 1998 and instead invested small amounts, compounded over time?
My soon to be published white paper will address how to avoid mistakes by making just three better decisions.
The lesson from my story is super simple:
- Identify a successful Investment Manager.
- Begin with a starting investment amount, however small, and then;
- Continue to make additional investments along the way, consistently.
Don’t make the same mistake I did. Thirty-years from now, it could cost you millions in lost profits! Doing well isn’t always about having the best skills; it’s also about avoiding costly mistakes. Use my biggest mistake as a warning. A harmless $2,500 cash-out cost me a fortune.
Don’t be a young Jason. Look for my white paper to be published soon and learn from my mistake.
All content above represents the opinion of Jason Bodner of Navellier & Associates, Inc.
Also In This Issue
A Look Ahead by Louis Navellier
Here’s How Jerome Powell Could “Turbocharge” Stocks (and the Economy) in His “Lame Duck” Year
Income Mail by Bryan Perry
Recent Record Highs Reveal Narrow Market Leadership
Growth Mail by Gary Alexander
Technology Has Always Been High-Risk and High-Reward
Global Mail by Ivan Martchev
A Fresh All-Time High for the Record Books
Sector Spotlight by Jason Bodner
Don’t Make My Early Mistake – Selling too Soon
View Full Archive
Read Past Issues Here
Jason Bodner
MARKETMAIL EDITOR FOR SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Jason Bodner writes Sector Spotlight in the weekly Marketmail publication and has authored several white papers for the company. He is also Co-Founder of Macro Analytics for Professionals which produces proprietary equity accumulation and distribution research for its clients. Previously, Mr. Bodner served as Director of European Equity Derivatives for Cantor Fitzgerald Europe in London, then moved to the role of Head of Equity Derivatives North America for the same company in New York. He also served as S.V.P. Equity Derivatives for Jefferies, LLC. He received a B.S. in business administration in 1996, with honors, from Skidmore College as a member of the Periclean Honors Society. All content of “Sector Spotlight” represents the opinion of Jason Bodner
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Jason Bodner is a co-founder and co-owner of Mapsignals. Mr. Bodner is an independent contractor who is occasionally hired by Navellier & Associates to write an article and or provide opinions for possible use in articles that appear in Navellier & Associates weekly Market Mail. Mr. Bodner is not employed or affiliated with Louis Navellier, Navellier & Associates, Inc., or any other Navellier owned entity. The opinions and statements made here are those of Mr. Bodner and not necessarily those of any other persons or entities. This is not an endorsement, or solicitation or testimonial or investment advice regarding the BMI Index or any statements or recommendations or analysis in the article or the BMI Index or Mapsignals or its products or strategies.
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