Intriguing IPO: Via Transportation (VIA)

Alternatively, how to be dispassionate when you want a company to succeed.

Les Deux Carrosses, Claude Gillot, circa 1707, oil on canvas (Louvre)

Investing rationally and dispassionately is harder than we’re all willing to admit.

Writers (myself included) proselytize the idea of not letting our emotions get the best of us when investing. More often than not, that message is specifically delivered to prevent people from getting FOMO about a fast-rising stock or to not panic after an inevitable 10%-15% drawdown.

What we investing proselytizers often neglect to cover is taking our emotions out of the equation when actually looking at the viability of a business.

A common phrase we have all heard is to invest in companies we like. That investing heuristic is most often used in reference to buying the companies that make the things you like. If you, the consumer, like the product, then chances are you are a barometer of a larger demographic that feels the same.

Where this investing heuristic starts to lead us astray is when we invest in a company because we think it will have some positive impact on society. Maybe it’s an innovative energy company, or a medical device company that claims to have solved a major medical issue. There are numerous examples of this, and I’m sure we all have that one company in our past that tugged on our idealistic heartstrings, only to leave us disappointed.

This brings me to a company set to go public this week: Via Transportation (NYSE: VIA). It is practically impossible not to root for this company on an emotional level. A company whose mission is to make public transit more accessible and affordable - what’s not to like?

Let’s dig in…and not let our investing heart get in the way of our investing head.