Investing and Olympians: lessons to win your own race

Look to world champions for inspiration

Sport and investing have a lot in common: grasp opportunities, avoid mistakes and defend your gains and winning all starts with a plan.

The Olympics provides a fun lens to look at this commonality, as many athletes have followed a carefully crafted plan to the starting block. This plan is often four years in the making, guided by a coach who makes small adjustments depending on injuries and the competitive landscape. You will be hard pressed to find any athlete on the podium that just wings it. This is very similar to successful investors, who have a plan, often have a coach (via a financial adviser) and make adjustments depending on the investment environment around them. If you need to look for inspiration, look ...