Reading annual reports

[weijian]

Actually if I were an investor, I will be happy that SGX does not mandate what you are proposing. If everyone can get the same metrics easily (click of a button), then there is little incentive for the value investor to work harder. In fact, all of us have to work even harder now to earn the same keep. As Warren Buffet once mentioned "It doesn't help if all of us tip toe in order to get a better view at the concert - eventually our toes will hurt like crazy and we still can't get a better view. The key is to tiptoe and no one notices".

Hmmm, I have more items to add whenever I look at the list I created, it just shows I haven't really compiled a "template".     Perhaps valuebuddies can come together to contribute ideas to write an investing book, that wld be cool right ?  


IMHO, quite a number of listed companies are not "investible"(don't flame me - I am not a professional). The 10 years' info will help an investor decide whether a company is worth spending time to research.  I feel the purpose of the stock market shd be to "enrich" the common people via investing(i.e. beneficial to society as a whole), and not so much for the purpose of the rich cashing out at the expense of   the "not-as-blessed". With these data available, hopefully less ordinary folks will lose money in the stock mkt(excluding punters) by avoiding those with less than stellar financials.

I think to spot that great stock as a value investor entails a lot more work than the numbers' aspect, e.g. financial analysis, that 500 pages a day thing, understanding & constantly keeping up with the industry, competitors, company, etc inside-out, waiting for the right entry price, etc etc. Not many people can(or are willing to) endure the kind of torture hardship patiently day-by-day, month-by-month, year-by-year, decade-by-decade, without knowing when the "big break"will come(unlike a regular paycheck). Perhaps like being an entrepreneur where most start-ups fail. It is even worse for people who has to do it alone(like yours truly). On the extreme end, there is a fine line between genius and madness(dreamybear => crazybear).  

At this point, I suddenly wonder .... there is MBBS, B.Eng., BBus, BAcct, etc why is there not a 3yr or 4 yr B.Value Investing, given that investing is as difficult ?  

There is just so much to do in this world with so little time, and things like familly, relationships, etc are more impt, although money brings security. To many, life is already unkind enough ... if certain things can be done for the betterment of mankind, why not make the world a better place ?  

hi dreamybear,
Thanks for your heartfelt sharing. Unfortunately, what we like to perceive and reality could have a gap. And sometimes, the gap is the killer. The stock market was setup with the intention for people to encash, and not the other way around. Commoners getting rich is a by-product of the former. But of course, once we grasp the cause-and-effect correctly, we are on our way to close the gap and eventually the receiving the fruits of the by product. 

I remember this saying that goes "embrace reality, especially when you don't like it" (probably came from Ray Dalio's Principles?). Its applicable much to life, as to investing in the stock market - facing our deep fears/insecurity, our biases and overcoming cognitive dissonance and eventually becoming stronger because of that. This is what many of us here meant with "temperament".