Why Patience Is a Strategy, Not a Personality Trait: Lessons From Ronald Moy's Career in Los Angeles Real Estate

The career experience of Ronald Moy shows that being patient is not something intrinsic to investors but an investment technique itself. Given that the Los Angeles real estate market is characterized by high levels of competition and constant valuation changes, Moy viewed patience as a positioning tool, which means that it implies remaining ready to act, yet resisting temptations to act on certain criteria of value assessment. Thus, there is a clear difference between patience and just waiting for an opportunity; however, in Moy’s case patience becomes a tool used to analyze the market environment and find ways to capitalize on it.

It is worth noting that a long-time horizon became the basis of the investment process in terms of asset selection. In contrast to many market participants who optimize for profits in the near future and try to predict market turns, Ronald Moy assessed his investments’ potential with regard to various market cycles, which means that he could see whether it was possible to maintain the performance of assets during downturns. As a result, Moy could control the outcome, instead of depending on market environment changes.

Furthermore, it should be noted that throughout many cycles of the real estate market, Ronald Moy managed to develop a pattern of recognizing the situations in which markets reward investors for their activities and those in which they punish them. Therefore, the experienced investor understood the necessity of being selective during times of high market competition; although his portfolio includes fewer investments, they tend to prove his skills in analyzing and assessing risks.

In the course of time, being patient became one of the main features of Moy’s professionalism, which affected the entire way of doing business and his attitude towards investments. Today, in the post-career phase, the concept of patience remains relevant for Moy; thus, it manifests itself in his mentoring activities as his main objective is teaching others a framework for thinking about investments and positioning themselves on the market.