No mandate pressure – You don’t have to beat the S&P every quarter or justify every move. You can just wait for fat pitches. Smaller pond – You can buy small or illiquid names big funds can’t touch. Lynch’s bread and butter. Patience – Time horizon is the ultimate edge. Pros can’t look “wrong” for long, you can. One bad year can get their funding pulled and moved to other funds that had a good year. Independent thinking – No career risk for ignoring consensus. Clients get scared when you do things everyone else isn't. Temperament – As Buffett says, investing isn’t about IQ, it’s about temperament. You can stay calm when others panic, institutions usually can’t.

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