5 Things Professional Investors Do With Their Money: 233 of 367 Tehran Exchange Stocks Trailed the Main Index (Friday, 13 November 2026)

The phrase "what professional investors do" comes from portfolio-management principles: splitting assets, periodic review, cash for a rainy day, buying in steps, and a fund before a single stock. Sahmino lessons on diversification and investment funds explain the same principles. This piece does not say what any particular investor did. For each practice it gives one dated number from Sahmino records, so the difference the practice makes in Iranian data is visible. The countdown starts at five and the strongest number sits at number one. Our earlier list, five habits of successful investors, used other spans and other assets; everything here is new.

5. They split their money

From 24 January to 22 February 2026, the Tehran Stock Exchange main index (TEDPIX) fell from 4,342,782 to 3,618,482 points: down 16.7 percent. Over the same span, the price of one gram of 18-karat gold rose from 16,342,600 to 19,634,800 toman (up 20.1 percent) and the free-market dollar from 141,000 to 163,265 toman (up 15.8 percent, which means the rial weakened). If 100 million toman had been split into three equal parts across these three on 24 January, the average of the three returns was a 6.4 percent gain: (20.1 minus 16.7 plus 15.8) ÷ 3. We picked this span to show assets moving apart; the next section shows that over the full year all three rose, so a split does not always create such a gap.

4. They review the mix

Keep the same three-part split from 15 November 2025 to 11 November 2026, 33.3 million toman in each. The price per gram of gold went from 11,225,900 to 25,178,700 toman (up 124.3 percent), the dollar from 112,830 to 264,070 toman (up 134.0 percent) and the main index from 3,105,525 to 8,427,304 points (up 171.4 percent). Values: gold 74.8, dollar 78.0 and index 90.5 million toman; total 243.2 million toman, a 143.2 percent gain. The weights moved from 33.3 percent each to 30.7 (gold), 32.1 (dollar) and 37.2 percent (index). A portfolio that gave the stock market one third ended the year 37.2 percent stocks. Review means putting that gap between the chosen weight and the drifted weight on paper; without it the mix quietly takes more risk in whatever rose most. The exchange was closed for about 80 days of this year, and the index recorded no change on those days.

3. They keep rainy-day cash and know its price

The Statistical Centre of Iran's consumer price index (base 1400 = 100) was 417.5 for November 2025 and 761.8 for October 2026: up 82.4 percent in 11 months (761.79 ÷ 417.54 = 1.824). Ten million toman held as non-interest cash in November 2025 bought, in October 2026, what 5.48 million toman bought in November 2025 (10 × 417.54 ÷ 761.79), which is 45.2 percent less. Sahmino's risk-free rate, the median annualised yield to maturity of Akhza treasury bills, was 42.5 percent a year on 12 November 2026. These two numbers are not the same kind: one is today's annual rate and the other is price growth over 11 months. They do show that cash is insurance and its price is inflation. In return, cash that has been set aside lets a person buy in a fall, which the next section shows.

2. They buy in steps

The main index stood at 5,311,524 points on 7 July 2026, at 4,966,761 on 13 July and at 4,755,500 on 19 July: down 10.5 percent in 12 calendar days. Take 100 million toman in three equal steps on these three days. By 11 November 2026 the index reached 8,427,304. Results: a lump sum on 7 July gained 58.7 percent (8,427,304 ÷ 5,311,524 = 1.587), the three steps 68.5 percent, and a lump sum on 19 July, the lowest close after 7 July, 77.2 percent (1.772). The average level paid in the three steps was 5,000,906 points, which is 5.8 percent below 5,311,524 (3 ÷ (1÷5,311,524 + 1÷4,966,761 + 1÷4,755,500)). The steps beat a purchase at the 7 July high because the index fell afterwards; had it climbed without a pause, the lump sum would have won. And the low can only be seen after it has passed.

1. They put a fund before a single stock

The main index rose from 3,106,963 points on 11 November 2025 to 8,427,304 on 11 November 2026: up 171.2 percent. The Sahmino screener carries a one-year return for 367 stock-group symbols on the Tehran Stock Exchange (nightly reading to 13 November 2026). Of those 367, 134 rose more than 171.2 percent and 233, or 63.5 percent, rose less. Returns were spread from a 60.9 percent loss for PMSZ to a 741.9 percent gain for SEPA; the second-worst symbol, SGOS, fell 49.4 percent. The index is the market's average and most symbols trailed it. A fund that holds a basket of symbols pools part of this spread and does not tie its unit holder to one symbol. A fund charges management costs, and its market price can differ from the net asset value of its unit; neither is in this calculation.

Summary

The strongest number on this list is number one: of 367 Tehran Stock Exchange symbols, 233 rose less than the main index. The other four practices have numbers of their own: the split gained 6.4 percent in the span where assets diverged, the stock weight went from 33.3 to 37.2 percent in a year, 10 million toman of cash bought 5.48 million toman's worth 11 months later, and three steps returned 68.5 percent against 58.7 percent for a lump sum. None of the calculations include fees, bid-ask spreads, gold making charges, tax or index dividends; the main index is a price index, cannot be bought directly, and is not the return of any fund. Gold, dollar and index prices come from Sahmino daily records, inflation from the Statistical Centre's index, the risk-free rate from Sahmino's nightly record and symbol returns from the Sahmino screener. All figures belong to the spans named.