Is it time to invest?

"Heng, markets are up, Donald Trump going to sign trade deal with China, Boris Johnson won (UK) election by a landslide, PMI is up, unemployment is down. But... The ten year recession cycle is coming. Is it time to invest?" This is a very common question, especially if it is hard earned money. It doesn't …

Unraveling Insurance Speak

Do you have a nagging feeling that your insurance agent did not tell you the whole story about the policy he/she wanted you to buy? Do you feel like something is wrong but you couldn't say exactly what it is? Well, you are not alone, and even a Financial Advisor like me needed to be …

Process-oriented vs Goal-oriented

After speed reading thru a child psychology book gifted by a client, I was struck by the recommendation to treat parenting as process-oriented rather than goal-oriented and I can see the similarities to sensible management and investment approaches. The book gave the example of a baby repeatedly putting on and taking off her sock on …

On the misconception of trading time for money and trading money for time

“Before diagnosed with C, my father was busy working, earning money. After that, he retired and tried to join in the family’s activities. Before he was always saying ‘you guys go ahead’, nowadays it’s always ‘where you guys going?’. It’s driving me and my siblings nuts!” - Ms W... One thing the family members always …

Attack On Titan and the psychology of Action

"And just like that, everything changed. At that terrible moment, in our hearts, we knew. Home was a pen. Humanity, cattle." — Opening narration “Sie Sind Das Essen Und Wir Sind Die Jager!” 1.You are the prey and we are the hunters. 2. Are you the prey? No, we are the hunters! The World of …

Stories we tell ourselves about market irrationality

One of the dangers of investing on our own is the abstract stories we tell ourselves about market behavior. Generally, at this point in time, the story is about the market’s “irrational” behavior. There are some stories about how value investing doesn’t work anymore. The investment models and numbers doesn’t map onto the market. There …

Questions heard during a recent Robo-investing Seminar

Went to the Stashaway ‘Advance’ Seminar to listen to their in depth explanation of their investment strategy. Some of the FAQs I find interesting: Q1: Considering the market just rebounded, if I have a sum of cash, should I still invest lump sum or spread it out? Stashaway approximate answer: Have a plan, work out …

Property Slowdown

Recently someone expressed their remorse at having invested in a property. “House price didn’t move, cannot get rental, have to pay loan...” Normally this is when a good Financial Advisor will step in and advise “oh, a property is a good diversification to stocks, building cost usually inflation and increase price, blah blah blah” But …

What is Diversification?

Once, it happened, Ah Tan excitedly announced to his whatsapp group: “ I finally learned what diversification is! I’ve put my money across 10 over cryptocurrencies and only half of them defaulted, the others are safe! Luckily I diversified!” Abu, not to be outdone, announced:” Guys, guys, my diversification works! I’ve put money into 10 …

Does FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) work?

Why FIRE (Financial Independence Early Retirement) works for some people, is because thru the action of cutting spending, these people realise what is most important to them. “I protect that which matters most. “ - Seraph By refraining from the compulsive desire to accumulate, only then can one be freed of financial bondage. Some people …