Business Times Interviews - Starting Young

[Chess_gal]

16 July 2011 - 7pm dinner. I will post the information here. Most probably at Orchard, one of the restaurant. The previous group picture is posted on my website "About Us".

[valuestalker]

Q: What are your current investments?

A: At the moment, my stocks are mainly in the United States: American Express (Amex), Moody's, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and BYD Co. Hong Kong is the only other market where I have one investment, too.

His portfolio is very Buffett's.
Why not just buy Bershire in 2008? Easier to maintain?

[Chess_gal]

Aiks, was my post deleted?

[cyclone]

No, it was only moved to a special place : http://www.valuebuddies.com/forum-48.html .

[Chess_gal]

Oh. thank you. Btw, may I know if you guys have organised any face to face meet up before? I think to make this forum more interactive, best to have a gathering to see the people behind the avatar. I have organised several forum meet up successfully and we went on to become real life friends.

[Musicwhiz]

Oh. thank you. Btw, may I know if you guys have organised any face to face meet up before? I think to make this forum more interactive, best to have a gathering to see the people behind the avatar. I have organised several forum meet up successfully and we went on to become real life friends.

Nope. Since this forum started in Aug 2010 (as part of the migration from then Wallstraits to Afralug to present), there has been no formal meet-up for forumers. There may have been some informal gatherings, but I am not aware of them.

[Musicwhiz]

Business Times - 04 Jul 2011

STARTING YOUNG
Tuition teacher got him going

James Lieow tells MAXIE AW YEONG he considers investing a practical education

YOUNG investor James Lieow received more than just academic lessons from his tuition teacher during his schooldays.

The 23-year- old undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) got interested in investing after his tutor introduced the concept to him. And since opening his own trading account in his junior college days, he has been hooked.

Currently pursuing an accountancy degree with a second major in banking and finance, he is also director of research and education at NTU's Investment Interactive Club (IIC). The young investor hopes his experience will be useful in future; he aspires to be a full-time trader.

Q: When did you start investing?

A: It was around my junior college days, which was quite early. My tuition teacher got me introduced to the idea when I was in secondary school, then I read up more for myself. She is now a full-time options trader.

Q: What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?

A: I try to get some exposure to index funds and 'risk-free' investments to reduce my overall portfolio risk. The risk-free investments include my savings account and money markets, which are relatively safer but low-yielding.

Q: How would you describe your risk appetite?

A: I would say that it is very big. I usually invest in international markets. I also have a margin trading account, and don't shy away from derivatives or taking short positions.

Q: Did you think that you were too young?

A: In the first place, I didn't think of it as a young or old thing. I didn't know what was the average age of investors. But my parents encouraged me. They would ask me to do an analysis of a particular stock - why I thought it was going to do better, how it would fare compared to its competitors - then they would grill me on my analysis.

Q: Do your parents invest as well? Were they worried that you may lose money?

A: Yes, they were. But I guess even if I lose a bit of money, it is a form of education. It's practical education - it can't be bought any other way. I'm lucky that both my parents are investment-savvy, and recognise the benefits of making your money work for you.

Q: Do your parents influence your investments?

A: I don't know what they invest in - they let me do my own stuff.

Q: What has been your best investment so far?

A: My best investments were stocks of companies which were taken over. One was ATI Technologies, which was acquired by Advanced Micro Devices. Another was 3Com Corporation, which was acquired by HP. As those companies were taken over, the premiums paid made the prices jump quite a lot.

Q: What has been your worst investment so far?

A: It would be shorting the Nasdaq 100 into the rally in early July 2009 for a counter-trend trade. I didn't lock in my gains after making an unrealised profit. On outstanding Intel earnings, the market gapped above my stop- limit, and I couldn't find a retracement to close my position. Eventually, I took a substantial loss.

Q: Do you think you have an edge, being a young investor?

A: As I am young, that may mean that I am less experienced as compared to some other investors. But I think it's not really an age thing. I think it's how adaptive you are, and how you learn from your experiences. Because I think as humans, our formative experience in doing something forms a huge part of how we will proceed.

That said, the time when I started investing was close to the financial collapse - so I have some of my formative experiences here. I would say that gives me an edge over investors who have only traded through good times. So I'm not only confident on the upside but on the downside as well.

Q: Do you have friends who invest?

A: Yes, my friends who are in the NTU-Investment Interactive Club with me invest as well. So when we come together for meetings, we share, not just among ourselves, but with the team. Most of the young people I know invest either in equities or foreign exchange. But for me, I'm not that familiar with foreign exchange, so I don't do that.

Q: Any tips you'd like to share with fellow young investors?

A: Start investing young, and keep up the good habit.

If you're between 17 and 30 with investing experience to share, do get in touch.

E-mail btyif@sph.com.sg with 'Starting Young' as the subject heading and include your name, contact details and a short write-up on your investing story.

[mrEngineer]

Tuition teacher full time options trader. Parents investment savvy and helped to grilled him on his analysis. What a lucky guy.

[Musicwhiz]

Tuition teacher full time options trader. Parents investment savvy and helped to grilled him on his analysis. What a lucky guy.

Haha, luck of the draw lah. Sometimes I also think to myself - if I was born in some third-world country, war-torn and destitute, it's just your life and destiny. Fortunately for all of us, we are able-bodied, healthy and able to post views on this forum!

[memphisb]

I think starting young means alot more time on their hands to do research etc. That would be a good advantage over the rest of the adult investors.