I enjoy writing and sharing about investing and financial markets. When I started this personal finance blog, I asked myself – why should anyone read what I write in this blog since there are so many other personal finance blogs out there?
Credibility.
I do not want this personal finance blog to be like any other blog that you can easily find online. I write the articles on this blog based on actual investing experience. In addition, I put my money where my mouth is. I share actual trades that I execute with real money. I will also share the results of my investing decisions in this blog. So, do feel free to visit this blog regularly to learn about investing through a real-life investment portfolio. By the way, I post weekly on Friday (6 pm) Singapore Time.
Updates On Endowus CPF Investment Portfolio
If you have been following this blog, you may be aware that I am using Endowus CPF Investment as a real-life portfolio for all of you to learn how to invest.
Since I posted the article last Friday, I have added another $ 1,000 to the Endowus portfolio. The total amount invested so far is $ 3,000.
S&P 500 continues to perform well. Many of you have just started learning investing. Therefore, I will not go into the details on the reasons why this most popular index has been performing very well recently. Let’s focus on the fundamental knowledge first. I’m confident we will one day be a community of highly sophisticated investors in Singapore and beyond.
3 Investing Mistakes I Made When I Bought My First Stock
Last week, I shared briefly about the very first stock I bought 15 years ago. It has come a long way. However, I realised that the best way to guide new investors is by looking at how I started my investing journey. I believe these are the three basic investing mistakes I made when I bought my first stock at 24 years old.
1. Individual Stock
As you may already know, I bought a company called China Sky. It was 30 October 2006. If I could start all over again, I would not have bought an individual stock as my first investment. Picking a single company that will outperform the market is not as easy as investing in the index itself. It requires in-depth accounting, finance and even economics knowledge. I would have done much better simply by investing in S&P 500.
2. Analyst Recommendation
I used to make investment decisions based on what I read in the newspapers. In the modern context, this applies to what you read on the internet too. I will keep it simple while most of you are still learning now. The market is way more ‘efficient’ than most financial analysts think. The price would have moved to what it should be by the time you finish reading the news. It is even worse if you make an investment decision based on what financial analysts forecasts as they will need to take time to write and release their recommendations. I have since stopped listening to financial analysts. Most of them don’t even invest their own money in the stocks they recommend. Why should I then?
3. Chart Reading
I selected China Sky based on the analyst’ recommendation. However, I ‘timed’ the entry based on chart reading. Hey, don’t get me wrong. Chart reading (or more commonly known as technical analysis) works. Those who tell you otherwise may not know how to read them properly. However, it is a highly demanding knowledge to acquire. It took me a long (long) time to nail it down successfully.
Most who make investment decisions on chart reading do not make money. If you believe they do, ask to see their actual results. 🙂
Therefore, we will stick to passive investing while learning and get accustomed to the financial markets. We want a relatively safer approach to investing. I can always share more about fundamental and technical analysis when all of you gain sufficient investment knowledge.
I Love Rooftop Dining!Â
I hope you had a great Friday evening last week. I visited Spago Bar & Lounge at Marina Bay Sands after posting the article.
I love rooftop dining. I believe Spago has got one of the most incredible rooftop dining experiences. The view from the restaurant is stunning.Â
Check this out!
I understand some of you who are following this blog may not come from Singapore. If you happen to visit Singapore someday, do remember to check them out!
It’s Friday, people! Have a lovely evening, enjoy your weekend and see you next week! 🙂
Yanto Wong
