STE's Stocks Investing Journey

Today mark the last trading day of Oct 2018, Yes! Indeed, it's a "choppy and volatile" month for STI and world markets. DJ could swing more than 600 points intra-day from positive to negative. Well, that is really the characteristic of "Mr Market", it swings like a pendulum. Again, many of my friends are asking me if I am selling my stock as the market seems very volatile and 'risky" ( for them ), but my answer to them is the same, "No", I am not selling but just do some "portfolio reshuffling " on some of my holdings ( which I will update more in my next Dividend and Portfolio Update).  In view of such "crazy market " , some might be thinking of getting out of the market and holding 100% in cash . I am not so sure if this is a wise move, of course, if one could avoid the "40 days with biggest losses" from the market, he/she could really achieve an "extraordinary" result, but in reality, can we rea...

image credit to steemkr.com Yes, this was what President Trump said after Federal Reserve’s recent rise in the interest rate   and signals for more to come which has caused the recent “ market rout” where world major indexes   dropped by more than 5-8% in two days including most of the Asian’s stock market.  I am sure you have been bombarded by all sort of news headlines on “Market Crash “ or even active discussion about share price dropped or portfolio value decreased among your chart group.     Dow plunges more than 800 points in worst drop since February, Amazon and tech shares lead the rout   ( from CNBC.com)

<image credit:CNNMoney.com> Do some months have significantly different stock market returns than others? I am not so sure, but many investors believe that October will be the bad month for stock markets and January will be better with higher than average return.  Is it true that we can time the market base on calendar months like “ Sell in May and go away “, buy-in December for Santa Claus Rally “ and   J anuary Effect etc… which sometimes may refer to as “ Calendar Effect”. (link)

image credit to straitstimes.com 有人欢喜有人愁 If there's one issue dominating the business headlines these days, it's definitely the " Keppel and SPHto buy rest of M1; Keppel to privatise Keppel T&T ". ( from The Business Times) Depending on what was your entry price and average cost, some may make money at this offer price and some may still lose money. I am the one belongs to the second group as my average cost is well above $2.06. This is a typical “Buy High Sell Low “ case as I have decided to sell some at around $1.53- $1.59, 2 weeks ago.   By hindsight, I should have keeping these stocks or buy some more to average down my cost … hahaha .

<image credit: realinvestmentadvice.com> “ An  economic bubble  or  asset bubble  (sometimes also referred to as a  speculative bubble , a  market bubble , a  price bubble , a  financial bubble , a  speculative mania , or a  balloon ) is trade in an  asset  at a price or the price range that strongly exceeds the asset's  intrinsic value .  It could also be described as a situation in which asset prices appear to be based on implausible or inconsistent views about the future.  Asset bubbles date back as far as the 1600s and are now widely regarded as a recurrent feature of modern economic history. Historically, the  Dutch Golden Age 's  Tulipmania  (in the mid-1630s) is often considered the first recorded economic bubble.” From Wikipedia .com

Hi, don’t say STE never give “ kang-tao” or tips, you know what this number meant for right! Hahaha... just kidding. Congratulation ! for those who have invested in the US market, especially those in tech sectors like FANG s . Yes !! IT’S OFFICIAL: The bull market in stocks is now the longest ever. Here are the 4 main reasons it broke the record.  (Link) ·          The equity bull market is now the longest on record, at 3,453 days. ·          The benchmark S&P 500 has surged a whopping 323% over the period. ·          As traders celebrate the feat, they have four main drivers to thank: earnings growth, share buyback s , extended monetary accommodation, and a buy-the-dip mentality.

My last post on “ 3 rd Qtr 2018:Dividend and Portfolio Update ”   draw much attention as to how we would be able to accumulate $1.5 mil of dividend without support from family and purely by ourselves. Some readers sent me an e-mail asking how we did that and some with complement and kind words, which I really appreciate.   My friend LP ( BULLy The BEAR ) suggested that I should write another follow-up post to highlight how much we have sacrificed in order to obtain such amount of dividend we have today.   Another friend of mine B (A Path to Forever Financial Freedom ) even help me to think of the title of this blog post. Hahaha… With this short supplemental notes, I hope to provide a more “balance and holistic” view on how we would be able to achieve what we have today and what was the sacrifice we made or need to be done in order not to give the wrong impression to readers that it is easy to achieve this.