By Contributor,Jon Markman
Copyright forbes
The Two Paths to Investing: Conviction vs. Comfort
Every investor is offered two paths: the comfortable, well-lit path of following the crowd and listening to the latest fear-mongering, or the quiet, proven path of conviction and compounding. The first path is an illusion (a trap that leads to mediocrity). The second is the only road to real, generational wealth.
The biggest stumbling block for most investors isn’t the market; it’s emotion. People instinctively seek comfort, which means they often fall victim to tall tales of doom from analysts or economists who consistently lag the market. The data doesn’t lie: over every time frame, these advisors underperform the S&P 500. They sell bottoms and urge switching from winners to tired value stocks, leading investors away from long-term success.
Professional fund managers are no exception. In 2025, only about 30% are matching or beating the S&P. The stark reality is this: most are paid well for mediocrity and actively encourage costly portfolio churn. They construct narratives to justify cautious moves, rarely providing the conviction that real wealth-building requires.
The Secret Weapon: Harnessing the Snowball Effect
We don’t talk about timing the market; we talk about harnessing the most powerful, yet patient, force in finance: Compounding. It’s not a straight line; it’s a snowball rolling down a hill (slowly at first, gathering mass, and then, inexorably, becoming an unstoppable force that creates fortune out of patience). Not many advisors talk about this because their business model depends on activity, not patience. Our business is built on the opposite: allowing this magic to work.
When investors buy and hold great stocks, they allow compounding to work its magic, earning profits on profits. Real wealth stems from holding, not trading, exceptional businesses over decades.
We have told this story before, but it bears repeating. We put Markman Capital members into Nvidia (NVDA) a decade before ChatGPT. We did this because our research showed Nvidia was building a business at the vanguard of a huge secular trend. Adjusted for stock splits, many members own shares from 50 cents. Today, Nvidia trades at $192.50.
This has been a life-changing investment, but there have been challenges.
Think back to 2022. Imagine you held shares of Nvidia, a company we knew was poised to dominate for the foreseeable future, and the stock price had just been cut in half. The talking heads were screaming “sell.” Fear was palpable. That moment, that overwhelming feeling of doubt, that was the test. Markman Capital members didn’t just hold; they acted with conviction and bought even more. The business fundamentals had not changed. The secular tailwind was far from complete.
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The talkers missed the return because they failed the emotional test. They chased safety, missing the growth that only discipline and long-term vision could deliver.
The Test of Discipline
What stops most investors? Fear. Fear of loss, regret, and missing out. The industry profits by stoking these emotions, pushing protection products and constant analysis. Ignore the noise. Mastery in investing is not found in prediction; it is found in the discipline to act with conviction while others are paralyzed by volatility.
Here are four other stocks for steadfast accumulation: businesses with a long track record of operational excellence and sustained profit growth: Netflix (NFLX), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Costco Wholesale (COST), and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). Buy them with a decade-long mindset. Add to positions during deep declines. Leave the short-term trading to nervous hands.
Compounding doesn’t need perfect timing. It needs great businesses and the ability to leave them alone, letting profits snowball across decades. Markman Capital’s history, not just Nvidia, but dozens of holdings, proves this principle works quietly but inexorably.
Conviction, not comfort, is the true engine of wealth. Stick with the simple, proven method. Buy and hold.
As always, today’s advice is simple, yet profound. Choose greatness. Stay disciplined. Resist drama and noise. Let compounding do the heavy lifting. In a world awash in anxious forecasts, let this be your anchor.
Choose conviction, not comfort.
Share this with someone selling bottoms and calling it “prudence.”
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