As the Chinese saying goes "知己知彼,百战百胜". It means that in order to win you must recognize what are your edge over others - such as what do you know but others don't know, what skills do you possess which others don't have, what's your investing temperament, what tools / assets do you have and how adept are you in using them.
If you are always copying others' actions and could not think for yourself why you chose to do what they did, then you will never find your edge. You can't win by copying Warren Buffett, you can't win by copying Peter Lynch, Donald Trump, your favourite blogger or anyone else - because they each played a different ball game with their own edge.
When you have found your so-called edge or methodology to win, test it out repeatedly and fine-tune it to your maximal ability. If you find that what you have been doing is NOT helping you to achieve your goals, then stop, erase and start over. Don't wallow in the sunken costs.
Quoting Albert Einstein - "Insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result."
You could start by finding your circle of competence in the market then slowly expand the circle by reading, practicing, having a mentor and keeping your own investing diary.
In the market, great fools sell to greater fools, great fools buy from greater fools... when you get richer, somebody else gets poorer. Find our edge to be the lesser fool and be our own master in the game we chose to be in.
Hi Uncle8888, Then you must be neither of them. Probably the Kungfu panda master somewhere in the mountains (you could choose to be like/ beat any of them).
2024 has been a relatively peaceful year. So peaceful that I have read countless novels and other books, met my sports buddies almost every weekend and picked up horticulture. Physical and mental health As we say, health is wealth. I have stuck fairly consistently with my exercise regime and tried to include more fruits and vegetables in my meals (although I eat out more and cook less these days). My weight, BP and cholesterol levels are doing ok. For those 40 years and above, remember to get your subsidized health screenings from the government . Working less and meeting up with friends more contributed to an improved mental health. I see that the government has stepped up on initiatives in the community but work place initiatives from employers still seemed lackluster, especially for those who can't WFH and need to commit 44 hours or more a week at frontline work. I have also started a Gratitude journey to celebrate all my little life milestones. Financials Investment wise ...
I recently saw this video on CNA Money Mind channel https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/money-mind-2024-2025/going-gold-4299741 and thought I would summarize some learning points for those interested in gold investment. Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash Gold is viewed as a safe haven asset in time of uncertainty, crisis or geopolitical risks. Demand for gold is influenced by Central bank purchases. The purchase premium of gold decreases in % with relationship to the gold bar's weight. Eg, a heavier gold bar has lower purchase premium over a lighter one. There's no GST for investment grade gold bars. Gold-backed ETF is backed by physical gold. Lower yield environment will benefit gold prices as the opportunity cost of holding gold lowers. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/673513/monthly-prices-for-gold-worldwide/ As seen from the chart, the last mega price spike was in year 2019 to 2020. This year we saw another mega spike. In order to circumvent any US withholding t...
My SAYE account has just hit its 25th month anniversary which is also the "month of maturity". Anticipating to get the 3.5% bonus interest for all these months of saving, I was shocked to see only $17+ cash gift credited as opposed to a few hundred dollars. I was about to send a message to query the bank what caused this interest plummet versus what I got in the 13th month when I came across a debit transaction in my account history (GASP!). To my oblivion and horror, I have accidentally selected my SAYE account to transfer $50 to a joint account to foot some bill in one of the months last year. Here's the terms and conditions for those who are not familiar with the SAYE account of POSB. "To receive the additional 3.5% p.a. Cash Gift Interest, ensure that you do not make any withdrawal from your POSB SAYE account." "If a withdrawal is made in the month, this will result in the previously accumulated additional 3.5% p.a. interest to be forfeited." Damn....
2023 is a year which I have relented to the inevitable dealing with adversities. Sending my mother in and out of hospital had become a norm. Being a healthcare professional, I thought I could handle it single-handedly well enough, not until the point when my mother ceased to be fit enough to attend dementia day care that I came to the conclusion that I needed a helper. However, things took a steep downhill turn before I could hired one (counted myself lucky that I did not commit to a hire). My mother passed away in June, it was a relief for me and probably a relief for her as well. However, life is not meant to be smooth-riding. My mother did not leave behind a will, thus I have to apply for the Letters of Administration with the Court and as my sibling has mental disability, this led to some complexities which have yet to be resolved. Instead of hiring a lawyer, I decided to apply the LOA and MCA orders by myself through the Service Bureau. I am paying my time and convenience for it ...
It's been a while since I have posted weekend brain food. I have been quite out of touch with investment theories and research as I was pretty caught up with work, sports and events. This is an old draft... very old yes. My thoughts part is recent. Benjamin Graham vs. Jesse Livermore - by A Wealth of Commonsense "In chapter 8, Graham introduces the story of Mr. Market as a way to illustrate the manic behavior of investors in the short-term. Chapter 20 covers the idea of margin of safety as a way to better understand risk management. Both chapters still hold up to this day despite the fact that the book was originally published in 1949." "You can still learn from legendary investors and traders. Market history can still help give you insights into potential risks. But markets change. Investors adapt. Rules are updated. Advantages slowly get arbitraged away . Strategies that outperformed in the past don’t work as well in the future once everyone knows about them. Th...
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All. How?
ReplyDeleteHi Uncle8888,
DeleteThen you must be neither of them. Probably the Kungfu panda master somewhere in the mountains (you could choose to be like/ beat any of them).