Investing Knowledge and Skills

Peter Lynch said: "In the Long Run, it's not How Much Money You Make that will determine Your Future. It's how much of that Money you PUT TO WORK - by SAVING It and by INVESTING It."

Even though you may be good in saving lots of money through careful tracking of daily expenses, but if your investment strategies didn't get you anywhere. You might as well save less and spend more to enjoy yourself.

You can increase your investing knowledge through reading investment, finance, and trading books. There are plenty of such books available at different NLBs. Do borrow them to read. Sometime, I do borrow them back again and again to do a quick refresh.

(BTW, if more and more people borrow such books, NLB will likely to allocate more budget to bring in more new books. Kindly help to borrow as many such books as possible as I am running out of new books to read. LOL)


Investing Skills are different from Investing Knowledge. You can judge yourself whether you have good Investing Skills or not from the results of your Investment Strategies. If you are not progressing well towards your Investment Goals, or not getting anywhere, then you are less skillful, but you can still be very knowledgeable. Your views on investment or trading can be quite impressive but your personal investment goals are not achieved.


Similarly, one can be a skillful investor who is progressing well on target towards one's own Investment Goals; but, may not be so knowledgeable to participate in discussions on investing and trading.

Your investing skills come from real life experience in investing or trading, learning from your own mistakes and also from other's mistakes. The Internet space is never short of people lamenting on their own investing mistakes and we just need to google from times to times.

You need an open mind to be able to realize your own mistakes, keep reviewing and refining your investment strategies if you realize that they are not working for a while.
Benjamin Frankin said:

An Investment in Knowledge Pays the Best Return.

So are you planning to visit NLB to pick up your next investment book today or on Monday?

Years Of Rising Bull Market Will Make Us Looking Smart With Our Investment Portfolio And Mastery Of Investing Or Trading Skills

Rainbowcoin 21 September 2019 at 22:51:00 GMT+8

Hi Uncle8888

If you can relive the 07-08 period, what would you have done differently to prevent a plunge from 157% to 15%?

How did you derive the projected plunge value (41%)?

Seeking some enlightenments. :)


Uncle8888 started his journey in Jan 2000 at age 44 to pursue Financial Independence at Sep 2011 @ 55 years old through short-term trading and long-term investing. He then spent days and nights following news and forums. He read books on investing and trading books from NLB.

Read? Books from NLB

Who are we in the Market?

Young ones may want to check out their older relatives, colleagues, friends or whoever who are veterans in the market.

Uncle8888 with his hindsight wisdom and 20 years of data points will say it out : Mr Market will make us to think who we are in the Market and make us looking smart and act smart.

A multi-years of general rising Bull market will float many boats to multi-years high; and same as multi-years rising Bull sectors too.  Currently; in this low or near negative interest rate environment; Mr Market is making which sector as King?

A good place to witness such exhibiting behaviour of Mr Market making retails proud, smart and mastery is to go to investing (trading) forums.

Below STI chart 

Only look closely at Mr Market from 2003 to 2007

In 2007 Read? Chasing the last $100K (last mile) and may fall hard!



Mr Market from 2008 to 2011

Finally, he reached FI two years later in 2013 instead of 2011 as targeted. 

Who has helped him to reach FI in 2013? 

Mr Market!

Going down the Mountain is never same as climbing up Mountain so his bench-marking is different.

Going down Mountain, Uncle8888 is focusing on sustainable retirement income for life at net worth level i.e interests, dividends and divestment/draw-down of assets.

What is the Moral of the Story?

Book at NLB: Brian Nichols' 'Taking Charge With Value Investing'

Value investing followers may borrow at NLB and take charge.

 

Investing - No minimum paper qualification is required!

Just for Thinking ...

Some of you may at first guessed that Createwealth8888 has some background in Financials or Accounting.

Yeap, you may be somewhat "right". The only background that I have with Accounting was sadly walking around and taking the last look at the compound of School of Accountancy in then the University of Singapore after submitting my letter of withdrawal from the course to the admin clerk.                                   

Read? Parents can be an Asset or Liability to the children?

To further educate myself on financial and investment knowledge, I have visited the book-shelf in "Finance and Investment" section in all NLB branches that are located near MRT stations.

Some people may find that all finance and investment books are more or less the "SAME" and stop reading them. But, I am still reading them whenever I come across any unread book and hoping to find one or two new ideas presented by the authors. However, it is getting harder to find unread books so I am waiting for the new NLB branch at NEX Serangoon to be opened next month and hopefully I could find a few unread books there.

What has been your best investment?

Uncle8888 was flipping the pages of SundayTimes at NLB when he came to read on ME & MY MONEY.


Vicom was one "Guru" stock pick.

BreadTalk was the other late "Guru" stock pick.

He was very curious to know what was or is that multi-bagger stock pick by this value investing "Guru".


But, he was shocked, arh and walau at the answer!

When he recovered from the initial shock; he thinks deeper why like that!

Yeap! "Guru" was right! He is actually running a training school business making much more money than investment return from personal financial investment from stocks picking.

Now "Guru" answer made real sense to Uncle8888. Truly honest answer!

Fully agreed! "Guru" best investment is Msc (e-business). 


Bei kamping. Bei kamping!

How To Make Long Term Investing Works For You???

Read? Does Long Term Investing Always Work?

Look closely at Uncle8888's Blog head banner when he started blogging on ...

Sunday, 19 November 2006

 

The journal begins ...

 

Today, I take the first small step to start this journal, hope that it will be fun after seeing my children blogging. So I am disputing my youngest son that I am not that old fashioned.

Coming to 9 years of blogging soon!

Hope many silent readers have benefited from these years of reading.


How to make long term investing works for you?


Some will think our success in investing could be due to luck and market timing.

Yes! For short term investing of less than one market cycle, Uncle8888 fully agreed it could be due to luck and market timing; but to survive and continue to build up your wealth substantially from the stock market over decades of several market cycles of bulls and bears.  It will require more than luck and market timing. 

You may be lucky to get into the stock market at the best market timing; but you may not make more money from your luck and the best market timing.

Here is the real people and true story ..

One office auntie who is also another silent reader here has mentioned she bought DBS @ $7.51 in Mar 2009. It was 2 cents lower than Uncle8888's DBS @ $7.53 bought during SARS crisis in Apr 2003. 

She only made small profit as she had sold her DBS way too early.

Her yield on investment cost for DBS @ $7.51 for holding SE Asian largest bank and strong brand is about 7.7%; but she has sold it for small profit.



How bad is 7.7% yield from a strong brand?


So what is the moral of the story?

The answer came from long long ago from this sifu ...


Read? Should our investing decisions be continuous struggle??? (3)

In the famous book entitled Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Jessie Livermore said: “After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!

It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets. I've known many men who were right at exactly the right time, and began buying or selling stocks when prices were at the very level, which should show the greatest profit.

And their experience invariably matched mine -- that is, they made no real money out of it.

I found it one of the hardest things to learn. But it is only after a stock operator has firmly grasped this that he can make big money. It is literally true that millions come easier to a trader after he knows how to trade than hundreds did in the days of his ignorance.”

Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon.



For those who still strongly believe in luck and market timing for long term investing; there is something to learn from this office auntie's story. No?
 


So how to make long term investing works for you?


Like it or not!

Long term investing is still a Game of Strategies.

What are your investing strategies?

What is your Game Plan?

What are Uncle8888's investing strategies and his Game Plan?

All can be found in this blog; but it will require your time, effort and energy to discover them.

Self-discovery is your true learning. It is the same way Uncle8888 has done it. No free lunch! No paying $X,XXX for course fee either! 

Uncle8888 has learned it all free from the cyber world and NLB's book shelves.
 
Now, office auntie said she will be brave and strong in the next Bear market.

She has to prove it to herself!




 

Romance of retirement very much alive

A36, FORUM, ST, 25 Dec 2015

Uncle8888 agreed with the writer's view!

Uncle8888 has been reading books on retirement planning from  NLB to prepare for his own retirement. 

This is one of the better models that he has discovered so far ...


Read? Future Cash Flow For Retirement Life???


We shouldn't worry too much over asset-draw strategy as we certainly deserve to spend our own money in our lifetime and just leave behind whatever unspent. 


He is planning in terms of future Cash Flow for his retirement life without leaving lots of money not spent.

The sources of his future cash flow will come from:

1) An investment portfolio that is generating just 4% yield p.a. at flat rate and non compounding. It is far better to be conservative when planning for future.

2) Yearly partial asset drawn on CPF OA and cash FDs till the last withdrawal on 2036

3) CPF RA, SA, MA and cash of $XX, XXX as self insured fund for medical and health care and also covered by enhanced medical shield. Here he will assume zero interest growth as it is very hard to predict future draw-down and even harder to calculate future interests growth. Zero is an accurate prediction. LOL!

4) Leaving behind a fully paid asset called home and investment portfolio for selling as guarantee "profits."
 

Using actuarial present value of his future cash flow (but, excluding the asset value of his investment portfolio and 4-rm HDB flat near Hougang MRT station) and total liabilities @ 2.5% year inflationary rate.



Latest update:

FIRE. But Can Your FIRE Be Extinguished???

Read? Concluding Post on Early Retirement

So is your FIRE conditional?

Uncle8888 has been researching and reading whatever books he could find from NLB on the topics of retirement for quite sometime.

FIRE is just beginning of retirement and FIRE may be extinguished sooner than expected. As retirees in the Land of Wealth or Assets Decumulation; do we still have the financial means or strength to participate in future massive right issues? We don't! Right?

FIRE just means we have reached the Edge of Financial Independence; but there is some works to be done. We have to move deeper into the Land of Wealth/Assets Decumulation to secure the Last Milestone i.e. Sustainable Retirement Income For Life across future market cycles over the next few decades and at the same time overcoming decades of future inflation!

The key is how can we make it sustainable and FIRE will not extinguish before we expired.

Read more? Retirement Planning Room

How and when to buy stocks is not the most difficult part?

Just For Thinking ....

Temperament7 July 2012 10:05:00 GMT+08:00:
commented:

".. ...  But when you first started investing in Keppel Corp, i don't think you can see that far. When did you start to see that far and why? Please ignore my questions if you don't like to answer."

The answer is obviously No, No, No!!!  There is absolutely no way for anyone to know the future.


Uncle8888 believe that how and when to buy stocks is never the most difficult part. We will have no problem in learning and acquiring knowledge and methods either FA, TA or combination of both FA and TA to buy stocks from many different sources and even free sources like NLB and Google.

Uncle8888 strongly believe the most difficult part is overcome the mindset that is deeply rooted in most of us i.e. scare to lose WINNING money back to the market!!!!

Most of us can easily sit on LOSING positions i.e. sunken costs for many years. Some may even hold these sunken costs to their grave.

The most difficult part is holding on to winning positions and overcoming the emotion of fear of losing more and more winning money back to the falling markets across market cycles.

Read? Investing Made Simple by Uncle8888 (16)


What is Right and Hold?

When the stock market is falling and you are giving winning money back to the stock market. Is this still Right and Hold???

May be we can learn something from the World's greatest investor in our time ...

“To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework” -  Warren Buffett, World’s greatest investor

BTW, on the side note

A $10,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway in 1964 was worth $80M at the end of 2009.

Book: Win By Not Losing: A Disciplined Approach to Building and Protecting Your Wealth in the Stock Market by Managing Your Risk

Read this new arrival to Cheng San NLB

Win By Not Losing reveals how you can make smarter, more profi table investments by first protecting your capital from major bear equity markets. It also shows you how to identify major bullish equity market trends and guides you on how best to participate. By avoiding the major downs and catching the ups, your portfolio compounds gains and allows you to achieve your financial goals. Chasing returns leads to the poorhouse.


CW8888:

Same principles!

He has been waiting more than two years for Winter to come and to plant Winter seeds to grow money trees.

Book : The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware

Uncle8888 saw this book on New Arrival shelf this morning at Cheng San NLB.


Grab it without even thinking or browsing!

Why?

He didn't know she actually proceeded to write a book on it.

Read? Top Five Regrets of the Dying


In his Retirement Income For Life sharing session for some of his closer colleagues and friends ....

Slide No 5:



 

Understand STI market cycles? The Joseph's Cycle!!!

You can borrow this book from NLB.


 
Read? The Joseph Cycle


From 9 Mar 2009 to 11 Jan 2015, it is about 5.8 year.  So based on Joseph's Cycle, will this Bull end by Mar 2016?


Understand STI market cycles?

Do you see what Uncle8888 saw?

You?

How?

It's when you sell that counts

If you really have difficulty in selling your stocks, you may want to learn about selling. The book is available in NLB.

An investor's success depends far more on when they sell a stock than on when they purchase it. And yet, most investors have a tendency to hold on to a stock far longer than is profitable. Brokers, too, have their own hesitations about advising clients to sell.

Book: The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douuglas

Available in NLB. This book has been recommended by some top traders themselves. It is about preparing ourselves psychologically for trading.

Book : 99 Lessons for Profitable Stock Trading Success

Easy read for newbies from NLB!

Financially Me, It is about Earning, Spending, Saving and Investing (4)

 Hi Jacob, 

I came across your blog and saw that you have successfully have your financial freedom. I was really curious how you did that as I was hoping for myself to successfully have financial freedom at age 55.

Hope that I can hear from you. :) 

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Read? Financially Me, It is about Earning, Spending, Saving and Investing (3)

Read? Who Are My Trainers in Financial Education?

Read? More posts relating to NLB books

Reading this won't make you great! (Think it is a good time to re-read)

Read? Reading this won't make you great!


He told Uncle8888 that he has been in the stock market for more than 10 years and has been reading many investment and finance books borrowed from NLB. He has even bought a few books from Popular written by our Singapore local authors as investment reference. Local contents!


But, he is still having net losses of more than $50K to date after all these reading!



How did Uncle8888 help him?














Throw him three more books that he hasn't read.

1.  Book : Create A Secondary Income Stream – Through Long Term Share Investing

2. Book : How to Make a Million Slowly: My Guiding Principles from a Lifetime of Successful Investing (Financial Times Series)

3. Infinite Wealth by Lai Seng Choy.



A Chinese way of curing a poisoned mind. 


Poison for poison!



 

 

Book: Think Like the Great Investors

Think Like the Great Investors uncovers the most common cognitive biases that can undermine our investment decisions and provides practical strategies to manage them. It will help you develop a mindset that leads to investing excellence through superior decision making by avoiding potential traps like confirmation bias, mental accounting, sunk cost bias, the natural tendency to overconfidence, and being carried along by the crowd at turning points in the market.


BAU at NLB

My dream of pursuing financial independence by 55 in 2011!

Read? Four Financial Progressive Stages

It was many years back .....

One day, after reading the book on "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert, I began to like the idea of investment, financial freedom and getting out of rat race so much that I have a mind flip. I began to dream of financial independence by 55.

(Another book that helped me is "Think and Grow Rich" ) Read? Two Books That Change My Views



But, how to achieve it?

Business or Investment?




For me, the choice is quite obvious. Without much talent for Business; I would have to take the Investment path to financial independence. Next, to decide on properties or stocks? I chose stocks and that is the way to go.













Read? Why you must not stop dreaming of reaching financial freedom and pursue it?









Why we must get out of rat race as early as possible? Read? Regret of the Dying



Why 55? 



When I began that dream, Singapore's official retirement age was 60; but now, it is 65. Too bad folks! We will have to work longer. 60 is the new 55.



Actually, I have already achieved financial security when I had this dream so financial independence is just the next step so I have this simple thinking. If I put in enough time and effort to educate myself to become savvy with long-term investing and short-term trading; I will be able to create wealth from the stock market. (This is how I named the title of this blog. This is why I am still blogging since 2006).

I started reading many finance and investment books that I could find in NLB libraries. I also started to follow closely many investment and trading blogs, forums, cboxes closely and to identify who were the experts and gurus and hoping to learn more tips and tricks from them. (But, unfortunately, some of my superheroes were killed in 2008/2009. Read? Following My Superheroes!)



I also attended many investment and trading previews to hear from Gurus themselves; but all of them have failed to convince me to part my hard earned money to attend their so-called easy money making programmes. May be I was too stingy!



It was only after a few years in the stock market, I realised that I must get real and set concrete goals to achieve that dream. I then set progressive yearly investment goals to be achieved from 2003 to 2011 and this is how the investment marathon race for 2003 to 2011 has began.

2011 is the most important year!

The race has ended.

I missed the end goal and achieved only 58.6% and the reason for failing is too obvious!



When one race finished, the next race (2012 - 2021) begins

The next 10 years of progressive goals for 2012 to 2021

Sometime in life, we will reap what we have sowed so I will be reaping what I have sowed in the past. It will continue to contribute to the future without much effort required. Read? One click! That is more than enough to generate passive income for a long time.

I will be looking to sow more One Click in the next bear.

Volatility is name of the Game

Stock Market Is War - Part 1

If Stock Market is War so are you aware of The Art Of War?

Sun Tzu: The Art of War

The Oldest Military Treatise in the World!

The Priciples of Warfare: Calculations!

Sun-tzu said:

Warfare is a great matter to a nation;it is the ground of death and of life; it is the way of survival and of destruction,and must be examined.

Therefore, go through it by means of five factors;compare them by means of calculation,and determine their statuses:

One, Way, two, Heaven, three, Ground, four, General, five, Law.

1. The Way is what causes the people to have the same thinking as their superiors; they may be given death, or they may be given life, but there is no fear of danger and betrayal.

2. Heaven is dark and light, cold and hot, and the seasonal constraints.

3. Ground is high and low, far and near, obstructed and easy, wide and narrow, and dangerous and safe.

4. General is wisdom, credibility, benevolence, courage, and discipline.

5. Law is organization, the chain of command, logistics, and the control of expenses.

All these five no general has not heard;one who knows them is victorious,one who does not know them is not victorious.

Therefore, compare them by means of calculation, and determine their statuses.

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When you come to invest or trade in the Stock Market, you are the General and so are you aware of The Art Of War?
There are two books available in NLB:

• Sun Tzu on Investing by Curtis J Montgomery
• The 36 Strategies of the Chinese for Financial Traders
  by Daryl Guppy