Bangkok: For the past 30 years, one dedicated investor has made full-time investments in the Thai stock market, meticulously documenting investment performance for nearly as long. This year marks the culmination of three decades of comprehensive investment records, chronicled annually in a series of articles from the column “The World from a Value Investor’s Perspective.” The journey has been a rollercoaster ride through Thailand’s economic landscape, marked by the rise and fall of market fortunes.
According to Thai News Agency, the story begins in the mid-1990s during the “Tom Yum Goong” crisis, a time when the investor, having been dismissed from a job, found solace and opportunity in the stock market. With savings channeled into publicly traded companies that promised survival amidst the economic turmoil, the investor witnessed firsthand the collapse of the bustling stock market, which saw trading volumes plummet to a mere 3-4 billion baht daily.
In the first decade, the introduction to value investing, inspired by Ben Graham and Warren Buffett, led to the publication of a book and a series of weekly articles in Bangkok Business News. This era saw the rise of the Value Investing Club, which later evolved into the Value Investing Association (Thailand) in 2000. The success of value investors (VIs) was evident, with the investor experiencing a compound annual return of 38.6%, growing the initial investment 25.2 times, despite the market’s negative returns.
The second decade, from 2007 to 2016, witnessed a shift in the perception of value investing. The approach gained widespread acceptance, attracting wealthy individuals and business owners. The Thai stock market rebounded from the subprime crisis, ushering in a golden period. Although the investor’s returns were not as stellar as the first decade, the portfolio still grew 11.9 times with an average compounded return of 29.2%.
The last decade, from 2017 to mid-2026, brought challenges as Thailand grappled with economic issues due to an aging population and political instability. The investor’s portfolio growth slowed, with a compounded annual return of just 2.8%. Yet, recent developments in 2026 have sparked optimism, as the Thai stock market has shown signs of recovery, bolstered by improved governance and international acceptance.
Overall, over three decades, the investor achieved a compound annual return of 22.5%, growing the portfolio approximately 440 times, far outpacing the stock market’s average returns. Despite past disillusionment, the recent revival of the Thai stock market offers a glimmer of hope for the future.