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29-12-2013, 10:39 AM
Let me relate my true life experience before I became a pure long term investor.
Nearly a decade ago, I was new to the world of investing or trading, whatever you call it. My business was flourishing and I have 2 properties at that time. I decided that I cannot be working like no tomorrow. I was working 10-12 hour days and returing home after midnight at least 3 days a week.
Forex was out for me, as I have this thinking that it was too volatile and except for soros, I haven't heard anyone in s'pore who truly became rich doing forex.
Then came stocks. So I opened a trading account with Kay Hian. I asked my broker for tips and started trading with real money. I bought based on recommendations or info or feel and sold based totally on the same. Sometimes I made a few hundreds within a day, sometimes, when lucky, a few thousands. Totally without any fundamentals in my buying and selling. Can make money is good a,lready. No need to consider other things.
Overall then, I made some and I lost some. If I didn't recall wrongly, I made a bit more than I lost. But I LOST MY PREVIOUS TIME, which cannot be measured by money. That's on top of managing my business and family matters. Really, 48hours a day also not enough. I spent lots of time taking to my broker and trading! I was kept awake many a night, thinking of what strategy I should use the next day. And what to do with the stocks I have bought the previous day and not sold them yet. What if the market goes down? Life was not good.
Then I thought to myself, I am well educated and I got a proper business, how come I ended up this way?
I did not bother to read up any investment books at that time. Surely there must be a way to invest properly and safely. I gave myself a a little time or I will simply just go for bricks and mortar.
I spoke to my broker about what he thought was cheap. Then came certain names like hong fok, bonvests, allgreen, auric etc. To him, anything which would promote trading to his clients is good for him.
I began to buy a few of the above counters and waited. Again, some made money and some did not. But now, I began come to this awakening that those counters were deep value, and for them to vanish in value was not possible as the assets they owned were real. But those counters paid miserable dividends, some did not pay at all.
I did not have the patience to buy and hold something which gave me little income, and ended up a lot of funds stuck. But the difference now is that I COULD SLEEP soundly. I know that I can wake up the next morning unlikely to find any of those counters halved their value.
Now true, that I do not need to watch them much as I called myself a "deep investor" (a bit thick skin, pardon me)
I had more time. Investment volatility was reduced now..much. My business was not affected. My sleep was intact.
I thought to myself, something was still lacking. Surely, I should hope for or get something for waiting. Dividends...or regular payouts for the risk of staying vested in those counters! Then I did some research in the nlb about dividends. I found a few book written all about dividends. I wrote about dividends in a few previous threads and I shan't reiterate them here.
So I became a long term investor with a special interest for dividends, growing dividends. I have never look back since. My wealth have grown and I can choose to work or choose not to; and the only thing now is that I am trying to buy back my lost time, time lost when I was so busy working and chasing wealth.
That's my story. Thanks for reading.
Nearly a decade ago, I was new to the world of investing or trading, whatever you call it. My business was flourishing and I have 2 properties at that time. I decided that I cannot be working like no tomorrow. I was working 10-12 hour days and returing home after midnight at least 3 days a week.
Forex was out for me, as I have this thinking that it was too volatile and except for soros, I haven't heard anyone in s'pore who truly became rich doing forex.
Then came stocks. So I opened a trading account with Kay Hian. I asked my broker for tips and started trading with real money. I bought based on recommendations or info or feel and sold based totally on the same. Sometimes I made a few hundreds within a day, sometimes, when lucky, a few thousands. Totally without any fundamentals in my buying and selling. Can make money is good a,lready. No need to consider other things.
Overall then, I made some and I lost some. If I didn't recall wrongly, I made a bit more than I lost. But I LOST MY PREVIOUS TIME, which cannot be measured by money. That's on top of managing my business and family matters. Really, 48hours a day also not enough. I spent lots of time taking to my broker and trading! I was kept awake many a night, thinking of what strategy I should use the next day. And what to do with the stocks I have bought the previous day and not sold them yet. What if the market goes down? Life was not good.
Then I thought to myself, I am well educated and I got a proper business, how come I ended up this way?
I did not bother to read up any investment books at that time. Surely there must be a way to invest properly and safely. I gave myself a a little time or I will simply just go for bricks and mortar.
I spoke to my broker about what he thought was cheap. Then came certain names like hong fok, bonvests, allgreen, auric etc. To him, anything which would promote trading to his clients is good for him.
I began to buy a few of the above counters and waited. Again, some made money and some did not. But now, I began come to this awakening that those counters were deep value, and for them to vanish in value was not possible as the assets they owned were real. But those counters paid miserable dividends, some did not pay at all.
I did not have the patience to buy and hold something which gave me little income, and ended up a lot of funds stuck. But the difference now is that I COULD SLEEP soundly. I know that I can wake up the next morning unlikely to find any of those counters halved their value.
Now true, that I do not need to watch them much as I called myself a "deep investor" (a bit thick skin, pardon me)
I had more time. Investment volatility was reduced now..much. My business was not affected. My sleep was intact.
I thought to myself, something was still lacking. Surely, I should hope for or get something for waiting. Dividends...or regular payouts for the risk of staying vested in those counters! Then I did some research in the nlb about dividends. I found a few book written all about dividends. I wrote about dividends in a few previous threads and I shan't reiterate them here.
So I became a long term investor with a special interest for dividends, growing dividends. I have never look back since. My wealth have grown and I can choose to work or choose not to; and the only thing now is that I am trying to buy back my lost time, time lost when I was so busy working and chasing wealth.
That's my story. Thanks for reading.