--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to think that good short-sellers…" description: "\"I used to think that good short-sellers could be trained like long-focused value investors because it should be the same skill set; you’re tearing into..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/james-chanos-20532_bigs_i-used-to-think-that-good-short-sellers_2506010.jpg" --- # I used to think that good short-sellers could be trained… ![“I used to think that good short-sellers could be trained like long-focused value investors because it should be the same skill set; you’re tearing into the numbers, you’re valuing the businesses, you’re assigning a consolidated value, and hopefully you’re seeing something the market doesn’t…” quote by James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/james-chanos-20532_bigs_i-used-to-think-that-good-short-sellers_2506010.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/james-chanos-20532_bigs_i-used-to-think-that-good-short-sellers_2506010.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/101/james-chanos-20532_bigs_i-used-to-think-that-good-short-sellers_2506010.jpg) > “I used to think that good short-sellers could be trained like long-focused value investors because it should be the same skill set; you’re tearing into the numbers, you’re valuing the businesses, you’re assigning a consolidated value, and hopefully you’re seeing something the market doesn’t see.But now I’ve learned that there’s a big difference between a long-focused value investor and a good short-seller. That difference is psychological and I think it falls into the realm of behavioral finance.” [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Short selling requires a distinct psychological approach, not just the same analytical skills as long‑value investing. **In simple terms:** Short sellers think differently. Key Takeaway Adapt mindset for short strategies. Themes finance psychology investment behavioral finance Mood analytical pragmatic Type financial behavioral When to use this quote - trading strategy development - risk management training - portfolio construction Key Concepts cognitive bias risk perception Questions to Reflect On - What mental habits differentiate short sellers? - How can investors train for short‑selling psychology? A Different Perspective Psychological shift may be hard for analysts accustomed to long positions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavioral Finance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavioral-finance-677240/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Finance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finance/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Focused Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused-value-677242/) [Hopefully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopefully/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Investor Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investor-good-677241/) [Investors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investors/) [Investors Skill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investors-skill-1109965/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sellers/) [Short Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-sellers-679407/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [I've learned there's a big difference between a long-focused value investor and a good short-seller. That difference is psychological and I think it falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ve-learned-there-s-a-big-difference-between-a-long-focused-value/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [While short sellers probably will never be popular on Wall Street, they often are the ones wearing the white hats when it comes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/while-short-sellers-probably-will-never-be-popular-on-wall-street/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Short sellers age in dog years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/short-sellers-age-in-dog-years/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [My experience is that short sellers do far better analysis than long buyers because they have to. The market is biased upward over time-as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/my-experience-is-that-short-sellers-do-far-better-analysis-than-long/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Going public today is fraught with peril on many levels. One is earnings guidance. If you miss guidance, the stock price becomes very volatile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/going-public-today-is-fraught-with-peril-on-many-levels-one-is/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [What's the best gamble in the world, right now? Its betting that Deutsche Bank stock is going to go down. Short sellers borrowed money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/what-s-the-best-gamble-in-the-world-right-now-its-betting-that/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Short sellers sell stock they have borrowed, hoping to buy it back later when its price has fallen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/short-sellers-sell-stock-they-have-borrowed-hoping-to-buy-it-back/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [By incentivizing Wall Street players to sniff out inefficient or corrupt companies and bet against them, short-selling acts as a sort of policing system;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/by-incentivizing-wall-street-players-to-sniff-out-inefficient-or/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [To me, if you are in the same building with Peter Sellers or John Cleese, or any of those guys and holding your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/to-me-if-you-are-in-the-same-building-with-peter-sellers-or-john/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [The problem that we have is the President himself- a President who prides himself on his own weakness and incompetence and whose love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/femi-fani-kayode/the-problem-that-we-have-is-the-president-himself-a-president-who/) [Femi Fani-Kayode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/femi-fani-kayode/) > [I love to come in and play with a wig or glasses or clothes. I love using props. I'm from the Peter Sellers school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-aykroyd/i-love-to-come-in-and-play-with-a-wig-or-glasses-or-clothes-i-love/) [Dan Aykroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-aykroyd/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [We have lost the good old British spirit. Instead we have American journalism and black-shirted buffoons making a cheap imitation of ice-cream sellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-mosley/we-have-lost-the-good-old-british-spirit-instead-we-have-american/) [Oswald Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-mosley/) > [I consider that the Golden Rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. Software…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/i-consider-that-the-golden-rule-requires-that-if-i-like-a-program-i/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [The people on the QVC shopping channel convince me that life is worth living. They see the good in everything. People who go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/the-people-on-the-qvc-shopping-channel-convince-me-that-life-is-worth/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) ## More by James Chanos > [Dubai was a property bubble. Plain and simple. 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There's nothing evil about how they're traded, how they're accounted for, and how they're financed, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/derivatives-in-and-of-themselves-are-not-evil-there-s-nothing-evil/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [So you know, everyone points out Greece's default record, but the history of a lot of sovereign nations is not a good one when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/so-you-know-everyone-points-out-greece-s-default-record-but-the/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I've seen a lot more go to zero than infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ve-seen-a-lot-more-go-to-zero-than-infinity/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Chinais a world class if not the world class property bubble, primarily high-rise buildings, offices and condos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/chinais-a-world-class-if-not-the-world-class-property-bubble/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [There's almost 70 billion in square feet under construction in high rises in commercial, residential and light manufacturing. And we estimate about 30 billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/there-s-almost-70-billion-in-square-feet-under-construction-in-high/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [What people don't realize is that China papered over its last two credit bubbles, those in 1999 and 2004. The banks were never bailed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/what-people-don-t-realize-is-that-china-papered-over-its-last-two/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [The U.S. healthcare system is probably the most interesting large group of companies that are heading for major problems that we've seen in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/the-u-s-healthcare-system-is-probably-the-most-interesting-large/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I call it the Rule of Three. If you read a company's financial statements three times, and you still can't figure out how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-call-it-the-rule-of-three-if-you-read-a-company-s-financial/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [Healthcare is growing now at about 10 per cent per annum in the U.S. top line, versus 3 per cent for the economy. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/healthcare-is-growing-now-at-about-10-per-cent-per-annum-in-the-u-s/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [It's very difficult in the technology space when you have been leapfrogged to prosper again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/it-s-very-difficult-in-the-technology-space-when-you-have-been/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [I've learned there's a big difference between a long-focused value investor and a good short-seller. That difference is psychological and I think it falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/i-ve-learned-there-s-a-big-difference-between-a-long-focused-value/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) > [What American people and what the markets want is a fair and level playing-field, where the rules are clearly elucidated, where the referees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-chanos/what-american-people-and-what-the-markets-want-is-a-fair-and-level/) [James Chanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) [Explore all 30 James Chanos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-chanos/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. 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