A Newbie Guide to Investing

[Matt88]

I tried that once.. Cant really say whether it work or not but got a bit of feeling whether the employees love their jobs or not.. IMO it really depends on the questions you are asking.. but the experience is fun when u are trying to be a detective..

[beginnerinvestorz]

Hello investors!

I have a question regarding portfolio management.

I read that Warren Buffett once mentioned that his favorite holding period of a stock is forever. But why forever? - Because of dividends?
Shouldn't we sell when the stock is overvalued or when it reaches our desired return to gain in an investment?

Thanks for reading my newbie question! I haven't quite grasp the whole picture of Value Investing..

[yeokiwi]

I read that Warren Buffett once mentioned that his favorite holding period of a stock is forever.

Have you read through all the shareholders' letters written by Buffett?
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

[beginnerinvestorz]

Hi yeokiwi,

I have not read any of his letters to shareholders, have I misquoted him?

Thanks for the link! I will start reading all of it diligently.

[yeokiwi]

Hi yeokiwi,

I have not read any of his letters to shareholders, have I misquoted him?

Thanks for the link! I will start reading all of it diligently.

Not really.. rather than listen to third parties' opinions that may be prejudiced, it is better to read the views of the original author of the quote.
The letters are pretty easy to read compared with the financial statements or most annual reports.

[specuvestor]

Hello investors!

I have a question regarding portfolio management.

I read that Warren Buffett once mentioned that his favorite holding period of a stock is forever. But why forever? - Because of dividends?
Shouldn't we sell when the stock is overvalued or when it reaches our desired return to gain in an investment?

Thanks for reading my newbie question! I haven't quite grasp the whole picture of Value Investing..

The simple answer is Buffett buys a business not a stock. If the business continues to generate "sufficient" cashflow, there is no reason to sell it. With these cashflows he is a nett buyer of stock so most of the time he prefer stocks to be cheap than expensive. A businessman's paradigm is very different from investors. That's probably the first thing you need to figure out else you will be confused by the different approaches because they are talking from different point of view

An Outside Passive Minority Investor (OPMI) cannot hope to have the same approach as a corporate raider for example. Reading about distressed asset can be interesting but understand your constraints and the differences.

[Ferns]

In starting my brokerage account, I did not get a broker. Is there a need to get one? I was thinking of doing everything myself, but I also know that's kinda delusional, since it's not my profession, but I just didn't like the idea of a higher commission, haha.

[felixleong]

having a broker is free of charge, free advise and free service
when you make a trade, if you do it online yourself you will still enjoy the low rates ^_^

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Hello investors!

I have a question regarding portfolio management.

I read that Warren Buffett once mentioned that his favorite holding period of a stock is forever. But why forever? - Because of dividends?
Shouldn't we sell when the stock is overvalued or when it reaches our desired return to gain in an investment?

Thanks for reading my newbie question! I haven't quite grasp the whole picture of Value Investing..

If you find a good business that makes you high returns, you might almost never wanna sell it away.

Example if you invest $1 into that business and it can give u an annual return of investment of 30% for life, wouldn't it be wise be wise to keep holding it and let the $$ compound at 30% indefinitely?

The only time you wanna sell such a wonderful business away is unless mr market offers you a very ridiculous price... say 10 times your initial investment for that business?

[Ferns]

So, by having a broker, you can call him/her any time and ask for opinion?

What's in it for them? Are they like sales exec inside a shop, tell you which clothes look good on you, suggest what colour to match with what colour, etc? Then as long as you buy, even if not through them they also gain?

[Ferns]

I've tried looking at Investopedia to get an idea of how to determine intrinsic value. There's the Discounted Dividend Model, DCF, etc...

In all of these, I still find it quite vague, like when they mentioned period n, does it refer to future or past? If it's the future, how do you determine the value?

Is there a good place/book to read up more on determining intrinsic value? Appreciate getting any recommendations to facilitate my learning.

Thanks!