New to investing

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. - Benjamin Franklin

I think learning about evaluating company business, results, share price, cashflow etc
is good as it help to open up the mind to the world (imaginations).

Another way of learning is on our job.
Our job required certain knowledge for us to excel.


Especially early into our career, 
if we focus and spend time in learning our trade,
the return should be more than learning to invest.
Keep looking, don't settle.

As for investing, it's quite easy.
Luck plays a very important role to hit the right spot.
The spot that you know but others shunned.
I attribute it to luck than hard works.

  Work hard, my dear. concentrate and focus on your work!


If you have some spare time, take a look at Straco, Singapore Shipping Corp, FCL and iFast.

Let me know what you see.

Meanwhile, enjoy:

For 99% of friends out there, buying a low cost index fund (dollar cost averaged over the long term) is always the best bet.

Not many people have the time, passion or fortitude to do disciplined active investing. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

Spare some thought over this question:
"Here is my test. Assume that you have been an active investor all your life and that you are told on your death bed that your actively managed portfolio delivered 0.5% less than you would have earned if you left your money in index funds for your entire lifetime. Which of the following would be your reaction? a) Rage at an Investment God that would allow this to happen b) Anger at yourself for having wasted so much of your life picking stocks c) Disbelief in the numbers and a demand that they be recomputed d) Serenity" - Aswath Damodaran (Dean of Valuation) 

If what I typed so far didn't deter you, then I wish you best of luck

(03-10-2017, 10:41 PM)Wildreamz Wrote: For 99% of friends out there, buying a low cost index fund (dollar cost averaged over the long term) is always the best bet.

Not many people have the time, passion or fortitude to do disciplined active investing. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

Spare some thought over this question:
"Here is my test. Assume that you have been an active investor all your life and that you are told on your death bed that your actively managed portfolio delivered 0.5% less than you would have earned if you left your money in index funds for your entire lifetime. Which of the following would be your reaction? a) Rage at an Investment God that would allow this to happen b) Anger at yourself for having wasted so much of your life picking stocks c) Disbelief in the numbers and a demand that they be recomputed d) Serenity" - Aswath Damodaran (Dean of Valuation) 

If what I typed so far didn't deter you, then I wish you best of luck

lol good question.
1stly... I think most people wouldn't think about their portfolio on their death beds.

But putting aside technicalities, I thought deeply about this hypothetical question and I guess my response would be to laugh it off and think about all the fun and excitement I had.
0.5% ROI over a lifetime is not a high price to pay for one heck of an experience!

There is much more to life to most people than investing, that's for sure.

To me specifically, yes, I'm having too much fun, I will still be looking up companies if I'm vested in index fund. So what the heck, I have no regrets taking on this journey, whatever the outcome. So far anyways..

(03-10-2017, 11:13 PM)TTTI Wrote:

(03-10-2017, 10:41 PM)Wildreamz Wrote: For 99% of friends out there, buying a low cost index fund (dollar cost averaged over the long term) is always the best bet.

Not many people have the time, passion or fortitude to do disciplined active investing. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

Spare some thought over this question:
"Here is my test. Assume that you have been an active investor all your life and that you are told on your death bed that your actively managed portfolio delivered 0.5% less than you would have earned if you left your money in index funds for your entire lifetime. Which of the following would be your reaction? a) Rage at an Investment God that would allow this to happen b) Anger at yourself for having wasted so much of your life picking stocks c) Disbelief in the numbers and a demand that they be recomputed d) Serenity" - Aswath Damodaran (Dean of Valuation) 

If what I typed so far didn't deter you, then I wish you best of luck

lol good question.
1stly... I think most people wouldn't think about their portfolio on their death beds.

But putting aside technicalities, I thought deeply about this hypothetical question and I guess my response would be to laugh it off and think about all the fun and excitement I had.
0.5% ROI over a lifetime is not a high price to pay for one heck of an experience!

Beside the fun experience, the knowledge gained from both successes and failures, are worth the cost. I learned a lot by exploring the reasons why a biz model work. 

The key to living great is staying happy. No right or wrong and no regrets. Win or lose is just a perception. What is truly winning? No one knows except you know best cheers to life.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

(02-10-2017, 04:39 PM)TTTI Wrote:

(02-10-2017, 12:15 PM)Porkbelly Wrote: My 2 cents worth.

Investing in anything has basically one goal:

beating the interest rates on bank deposits and the inflation rate
over 1 year or more.

Anything less than 12 months may be too specualtive and similar
to gambling in the casinos.( unless your crystal ball is fail-proof)

And the money used should be spare, left over cash,
after deducting necessary expenses and savings.
Savings is the bedrock, without that its quicksand.

There is also the element of luck.
Not everything boils down to scientific analytics.
All the best though!

Actually, I thought the goal should be beating some passive low cost ETF instrument like STI ETF.
Or you can find some pan asia benchmark if your active investing encompasses regional stocks.

The argument is that a passive cost averaging way of investing using ETFs is fairly passive, with minimal effort, so an active management approach must beat this handily to be worth the effort.
Using the interest rates is kinda setting the bar too low... at least in this current environment.

Yes, using bank's deposit rates is a low benchmark.
But is it low because of the rate or is it low because
there are other markers to use, like an ETF?

An understanding of how the ETF reflects the market is
required. There are many ETFs to choose from.
Some ETFs may get delisted too.
For beginners, it can get confusing.

I started out using the local deposit rates from banks.
The reasoning was, if I cant earn a better return elsewhere,
I might as well leave it in the bank.

After some time, with confidence and understanding about
risk apettite etc, another benchmark can be used, like an ETF.

(05-10-2017, 02:08 PM)Porkbelly Wrote:

(02-10-2017, 04:39 PM)TTTI Wrote:

(02-10-2017, 12:15 PM)Porkbelly Wrote: My 2 cents worth.

Investing in anything has basically one goal:

beating the interest rates on bank deposits and the inflation rate
over 1 year or more.

Anything less than 12 months may be too specualtive and similar
to gambling in the casinos.( unless your crystal ball is fail-proof)

And the money used should be spare, left over cash,
after deducting necessary expenses and savings.
Savings is the bedrock, without that its quicksand.

There is also the element of luck.
Not everything boils down to scientific analytics.
All the best though!

Actually, I thought the goal should be beating some passive low cost ETF instrument like STI ETF.
Or you can find some pan asia benchmark if your active investing encompasses regional stocks.

The argument is that a passive cost averaging way of investing using ETFs is fairly passive, with minimal effort, so an active management approach must beat this handily to be worth the effort.
Using the interest rates is kinda setting the bar too low... at least in this current environment.

Yes, using bank's deposit rates is a low benchmark.
But is it low because of the rate or is it low because
there are other markers to use, like an ETF?

An understanding of how the ETF reflects the market is
required. There are many ETFs to choose from.
Some ETFs may get delisted too.
For beginners, it can get confusing.

I started out using the local deposit rates from banks.
The reasoning was, if I cant earn a better return elsewhere,
I might as well leave it in the bank.

After some time, with confidence and understanding about
risk apettite etc, another benchmark can be used, like an ETF.

Could you guys share on how you all got started with investing and progressively moved further to become good at investing ?
How do i get started , having set up a cdp account and a trading account ?
My capital is rather small 2k (NSF) , hoping to build it up in the near future , and eventually with a real salary amass enough capital to buy shares. Should I get a penny stock , reit or etf ?
Where do i get started on picking a penny company /reit / etf to analyse ? which one should i choose out of the many available? random or filter through all?
Your inputs are greatly appreciated.

(23-10-2017, 09:25 PM)slpypnda Wrote:

(05-10-2017, 02:08 PM)Porkbelly Wrote:

(02-10-2017, 04:39 PM)TTTI Wrote:

(02-10-2017, 12:15 PM)Porkbelly Wrote: My 2 cents worth.

Investing in anything has basically one goal:

beating the interest rates on bank deposits and the inflation rate
over 1 year or more.

Anything less than 12 months may be too specualtive and similar
to gambling in the casinos.( unless your crystal ball is fail-proof)

And the money used should be spare, left over cash,
after deducting necessary expenses and savings.
Savings is the bedrock, without that its quicksand.

There is also the element of luck.
Not everything boils down to scientific analytics.
All the best though!

Actually, I thought the goal should be beating some passive low cost ETF instrument like STI ETF.
Or you can find some pan asia benchmark if your active investing encompasses regional stocks.

The argument is that a passive cost averaging way of investing using ETFs is fairly passive, with minimal effort, so an active management approach must beat this handily to be worth the effort.
Using the interest rates is kinda setting the bar too low... at least in this current environment.

Yes, using bank's deposit rates is a low benchmark.
But is it low because of the rate or is it low because
there are other markers to use, like an ETF?

An understanding of how the ETF reflects the market is
required. There are many ETFs to choose from.
Some ETFs may get delisted too.
For beginners, it can get confusing.

I started out using the local deposit rates from banks.
The reasoning was, if I cant earn a better return elsewhere,
I might as well leave it in the bank.

After some time, with confidence and understanding about
risk apettite etc, another benchmark can be used, like an ETF.

[emoji813]

Could you guys share on how you all got started with investing and progressively moved further to become good at investing ?
How do i get started , having set up a cdp account and a trading account ?
My capital is rather small 2k (NSF) , hoping to build it up in the near future , and eventually with a real salary amass enough capital to buy shares. Should I get a penny stock , reit or etf ?
Where do i get started on picking a penny company /reit / etf to analyse ? which one should i choose out of the many available? random or filter through all?
Your inputs are greatly appreciated.

My suggestion is don't dabble in stocks first at this point. Buy a few books on value investing read first and make friends with ppl who are into value investing cos who you engage will influence you in future. Then either do business or study hard get a good paying job. From there then start investing.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

When I was an NSF, I was dreaming about cool motorcycles and chasing skirts. Even if I were to go back in time and speak to my past self, I don't think I'll be able to convince myself to read and practice all the tedious stuff that serious investors undertake. It must be the hormones, right? Just kidding, everyone is different. If you really put in the hard work from here on, I salute you.

There are brokerages that charge lower commissions, use those. You can divide your $2K into four parts; $500 for an etf of your choosing, $500 for a reit of your choosing, $500 for a stock of your choosing, and the remaining $500 for your own social life. How to choose? Read the literature as recommended in this thread.

Don't worry about paying too much for commissions due to your small investment amount; 1-2% is ok if your bet turns out to be good. I don't believe in 'paper trading;' we learn best when something of value is at stake. If you have been diligent in your learning (i.e. reading the right materials) and trying your best to apply what was taught, you will have learned much, even if you happen to lose 30% or more of your $2k. After 5-6 years of consistent hard work, you will realise the money you lost was nothing compared to the lesson you have learned; of course, assuming you will then be earning more money.