Sunday, 15 January 2012
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Investing Strategy
My current investing strategies involves buying blue chips on the Singapore stock market such as Singapore Press Holdings, Capitaland, Keppel Land and OCBC which pay out more or less consistent dividends payout each year. I expect around 5% dividend yields each year which are then reinvested.
Have been reading The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham and commentary by Jason Zweig. I was trying to look into the more practical side on how to improve the way I invest. Some of the things that I learnt include
1. Buying into the stock market when the prices are undervalued.
The stock market is a very emotional place, and occasionally. when there is some rumours, or scandals, there presents opportunities to buy up good stocks for cheap prices.
2. Identifying the good stocks.
Obviously, it is important to be able to identify good stocks in the first place. Some stocks are like apples that look good on the outside but are rotten on the inside. It takes time to understand which stocks are the good ones.
My opinion is that Singapore blue chips are quite a safe option as the government has large stakes in them. Moreover, the Singapore government has a reputation to maintain.
The negative aspects are that Singapore has a small market. However, many of the companies are already expanding into the rapidly growing markets of China and India.
3. Looking for Stocks that Grow Steadily.
Warren Buffet looks into stocks that he understands, and which have large growth potentials. Incidentally, a lot of his stocks have low beta values, i.e, the stock prices do not fluctuate a lot, which could also that the business cycles of these companies are less cyclical as compared to technology stocks.
Have been reading The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham and commentary by Jason Zweig. I was trying to look into the more practical side on how to improve the way I invest. Some of the things that I learnt include
1. Buying into the stock market when the prices are undervalued.
The stock market is a very emotional place, and occasionally. when there is some rumours, or scandals, there presents opportunities to buy up good stocks for cheap prices.
2. Identifying the good stocks.
Obviously, it is important to be able to identify good stocks in the first place. Some stocks are like apples that look good on the outside but are rotten on the inside. It takes time to understand which stocks are the good ones.
My opinion is that Singapore blue chips are quite a safe option as the government has large stakes in them. Moreover, the Singapore government has a reputation to maintain.
The negative aspects are that Singapore has a small market. However, many of the companies are already expanding into the rapidly growing markets of China and India.
3. Looking for Stocks that Grow Steadily.
Warren Buffet looks into stocks that he understands, and which have large growth potentials. Incidentally, a lot of his stocks have low beta values, i.e, the stock prices do not fluctuate a lot, which could also that the business cycles of these companies are less cyclical as compared to technology stocks.
Thursday, 1 January 2009
Money and the Fear of not Having Money.
To many people, money is a very important thing. Yet, they fail to understand it, and constantly make poor financial decisions due to fear and greed.
Some are self-deluded and seek to live a lavish lifestyle or seek instant gratification. Others try to fall into get-rich schemes or lose huge amounts of money through speculation on the stock markets due to greed.
Many poor people live in fear of losing their jobs and are afraid that they are not able to pay off their mortgage especially during a time of recession.
Financial literacy is important. Being financially disciplined is important. It involves setting goals. There is no quick way of getting rich. There are three things that I would like to mention,
1. Control Spending
As mentioned about instant gratification, many people do not plan a budget and spend excessively with a consumerism mindset. Many even get into debts by swiping their credit cards.
2. Invest in Assets
Assets are things that generate income, eg stocks that pay off dividends.
3. Generate Alternative Sources of Income
This will require creativity by thinking of business ideas, or writing books etc.
Recommended Reading
Rich Dad Poor Dad
4-Hour Workweek.
Some are self-deluded and seek to live a lavish lifestyle or seek instant gratification. Others try to fall into get-rich schemes or lose huge amounts of money through speculation on the stock markets due to greed.
Many poor people live in fear of losing their jobs and are afraid that they are not able to pay off their mortgage especially during a time of recession.
Financial literacy is important. Being financially disciplined is important. It involves setting goals. There is no quick way of getting rich. There are three things that I would like to mention,
1. Control Spending
As mentioned about instant gratification, many people do not plan a budget and spend excessively with a consumerism mindset. Many even get into debts by swiping their credit cards.
2. Invest in Assets
Assets are things that generate income, eg stocks that pay off dividends.
3. Generate Alternative Sources of Income
This will require creativity by thinking of business ideas, or writing books etc.
Recommended Reading
Rich Dad Poor Dad
4-Hour Workweek.
Creativity
Oreo Elevator from CL on Vimeo.
Agency: DRAFTFCB NEW YORK USA
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Becker
Executive Creative Directors: Sandy Greenberg, Terri Meyer
Art Director: Jeseok Yi
Copywriter: Claudio Lima
Photographer: William Tran
I found this from got-ads.blogspot.com. It's amazing how much can be achieved by being creative. Feel like having an Oreo now.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
The Blog Traffic Experiment
Many people have suggested different ways on how to increase traffic to a blog. I am interested in finding out which is the most effective way of doing so.
I've decided to take the advice of listing my newly generated blog in a forum, bloggerforum, and I will monitor any increase in traffic to my blog by web stats and publish the results in a week's time.
I've decided to take the advice of listing my newly generated blog in a forum, bloggerforum, and I will monitor any increase in traffic to my blog by web stats and publish the results in a week's time.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Initiative
(When the Berlin wall was due to come down, a junior executive of a certain advertising agency came to me with an idea of pasting a poster on the other side of the wall.
I said, 'Good idea, but where are you going to get the money from?'
He said that he had some saved up.
I said,' How will you get it down?'
He said,' I'll get it done' He did. It made worldwide news.
Needless to say, he went off to start his own company.
All the best ones do.)
from Paul Arden's 'Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite'
I thought that was brilliant. So much to learn from it.
I said, 'Good idea, but where are you going to get the money from?'
He said that he had some saved up.
I said,' How will you get it down?'
He said,' I'll get it done' He did. It made worldwide news.
Needless to say, he went off to start his own company.
All the best ones do.)
from Paul Arden's 'Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite'
I thought that was brilliant. So much to learn from it.
Goal Setting 2009
Someone recently reminded me of a study conducted in a Harvard MBA program, in which students were surveyed on whether they set goals and write them down clearly - 3 percent of the graduates had written goals; 13 percent set goals but did not write them own, and 84 percent of the students had no specific goals at all.
Ten years later, the 13 percent who set goals were found to be earning twice as much on average as compared to the 84 percent who had no goals. The 3 percent who set clear written goals were found to be earning 10 times as much as those who did not set goals.
Hence, I was inspired to commit to certain tasks, one of which is writing a blog. Strangely, recently I have become quite excited with investing, despite the fact that I'm going into a career in science, which led me to consider writing on the things that I have learnt.
Ten years later, the 13 percent who set goals were found to be earning twice as much on average as compared to the 84 percent who had no goals. The 3 percent who set clear written goals were found to be earning 10 times as much as those who did not set goals.
Hence, I was inspired to commit to certain tasks, one of which is writing a blog. Strangely, recently I have become quite excited with investing, despite the fact that I'm going into a career in science, which led me to consider writing on the things that I have learnt.
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