“The Emperor Is Not As Forgiving As I Am”

Star Wars aficionados will know this line, uttered by Darth Vader to Moff Jerjerrod, who was overseeing the construction of the second Death Star, at the beginning of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

The whole dialogue started when Vader arrived at the still-building Death Star, with Jerjerrod greeting him. Vader cut him off with the latter’s greetings and went straight to the point, demanding that the Death Star be completed in quick time, even though it was still on schedule. Despite Jerjerrod’s protestations, it stopped when he was told that the Emperor was coming, and he instantly acknowledged it, with Vader ending the conversation with the above quote.

For those who had watched Star Wars for the first time, before this scene, it was known that Vader would not hesitate to punish incompetence severely, usually with death. The utterance of this line had shown that if crossed, the Emperor would be a worse case in consequences than Vader himself, thus leading to viewers to speculate on what and how the Emperor as a character was.

After so much on Star Wars, what is the investment message that I am conveying?

The Market Is Not As Forgiving

The market is the dimension where we conduct our investing and trading actions in it. It binds and surrounds our portfolios, providing them with returns, like a friend. But it is also a dangerous adversary where risks are abound, and if one is not careful it may swallow your portfolios whole. For the latter point, it will not hear your grievances and knows no sympathy; in other words, it can be unforgiving.

Which is why we should always adopt a business-like approach to investing and trading. This can be hard as we are humans and capable of having emotions, but we really need to be mindful of our feelings when engaging the market. When the market goes north, do not jump on the exuberance bandwagon; when the market goes south, do not follow the fear crowd. Instead, step back, assess objectively and then contemplate the next move.

May the Fourth be with you!