By Garbo Tian

Why have modern markets turned into a high-stakes casino? Driven by trillions in AI infrastructure expenditures and lingering geopolitical inflation risks, today's markets are dominated by ultra-high-frequency algorithms where retail and traditional investors act merely as "liquidity prey."

What is the antidote to market frenzy and FOMO? Abandoning the "External Scorecard"—which relies on peer pressure and short-term voting tickers—and cultivating an "Inner Scorecard" centered on business ownership and discounted free cash flow.

How do elite investors navigate extreme volatility? By emulating masters like Warren Buffett and Duan Yongping, viewing investing as running real enterprises rather than trading ticker tapes, thereby seizing absurd opportunities to buy high-quality assets at rock-bottom prices.

Welcome to the first quarter ending of 2026, a highly paradoxical and deeply fragmented crossroads in modern economic history. Global economic growth is expected to hover between 3.1% and 3.3%, a state economists mildly describe as "fragile resilience". But from where we stand, the global economy is dancing on the edge of a razor. Wall Street analysts recently forecast that global capital expenditures poured into AI infrastructure and data centers will reach a staggering $2.9 trillion by 2028. This is an unprecedented frenzy, pushing the winner-takes-all effect to an absolute historical peak.

Yet, step outside the air-conditioned server rooms, and the gritty reality bites back. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have rapidly pushed Brent crude oil prices above the $100 per barrel mark, bringing the specter of inflation back to haunt central banks. Faced with extreme volatility and the constant shadow of snapping global supply chains, the global capital market resembles a rudderless mega-ship sailing straight into the eye of a hurricane.

In this environment, many investors attempt to predict the wind's direction or outpace high-frequency quantitative models in trading speed. It is a brutal truth that in today's zero-sum game dominated by ultra-high-frequency algorithms, retail investors and even traditional institutional investors are no longer players. You are simply liquidity prey in the eyes of the machines.

Escaping the FOMO Trap: The Power of the Inner Scorecard

The antidote to this financial plague—often driven by FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out—lies in abandoning the "External Scorecard". This external system is driven by peer pressure and the daily fluctuations of the market's short-term voting. When we surrender our judgment to this external noise, we degenerate from business leaders into slaves of emotion.

Instead, investors must cultivate an "Inner Scorecard," a mental model championed by Warren Buffett. The essence of investing is not playing the ticker tape, but buying the discounted free cash flow of a business over its future life cycle. Consider the approach of Duan Yongping, often hailed as the "Chinese Buffett," who views investing as running a real enterprise. According to early 2026 SEC filings, the investment accounts actually managed by Duan hold a staggering $17.489 billion in the U.S. stock market alone, built on the profound patience of a farmer steadily tending his fields rather than a hunter chasing a fleeting thrill.

If you know your company produces indispensable products, earns steady profits, and possesses pricing power against inflation, there is no reason to panic alongside the crowd. The market is not your mentor; it is a highly emotionally unstable quoter providing absurd opportunities to buy high-quality assets at rock-bottom prices.

Strategic Alpha: Market Frenzy vs. Enterprise Ownership Matrix

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