Celebrity investment blogger who knows it all?

I have been rather busy with a personal project lately and will continue to be busier than usual in the coming weeks. So, I could be absent from blogging for a day or two (or a few) from time to time.

Of course, I will try to reply to comments, emails and PMs in FB in a timely manner but if I don't, it is because I am too busy to do so. Please pardon my tardy replies in such instances.

This is, perhaps, another reminder that AK is a regular guy who can only try to do what he thinks is right with what limited resources (which includes time, of course) he has.

I know that many readers have come to think of AK as someone a bit more than ordinary. 

I know because I get comments such as:

AK is a super idol? 
If I were on American Idol, 
X-X-X.

So, is AK extraordinary?

I have never felt anything more than ordinary.

I don't feel very wealthy. 

I don't feel very smart. 

I don't feel very wise. 

There are wealthier, smarter and wiser people by the truckloads. 

An important difference is that AK has a blog and likes talking to himself a bit too much, I feel.

I shared with a friend who is in the business of investment education recently that I fear that some are beginning to think that I have all the answers. 

This is a problem that investment educators have. 

People think they have all the answers because they are regarded as gurus. If they don't have the answers, then, their credibility could be discounted.

Well, you might have heard this saying before:

"Good things not cheap. Cheap things not good."

So, expensive is better. Expensive course means instructor must be guru lor. 

Then, cheap is not good. Cheap course means instructor is half guru, maybe. 

What about free? 

Aiyoh, so simple. 

Free means instructor is not guru lah! (Where did I put SMOL's instant noodles cooking pot?)

AK is not an investment educator and he is definitely not a guru. 

ASSI is free for all to read and does not have advertising campaigns or other marketing efforts to "gurufy" AK. 

(The only ads are the ones you see in my blog which hopefully will help to make me some pocket money for the hundreds of hours I put into blogging. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

In fact, I periodically blog about how I am just a regular retail investor.

So, to the many readers who contacted me recently as well as those who are thinking of contacting me on whether it is the right time to buy certain stocks, whether their investments will be safe and whether the market has hit bottom, please forgive me when I mostly say I don't know (for now).

I will, however, say that if you have yet to pick up FA and TA, please do so. There are great books out there. 

If you don't know where to start, my blog has a list in the right sidebar titled "Food for thought". 

You might want to start by reading the books listed there. Education is necessary but it doesn't have to be expensive.

Remember, AK's path to financial freedom is not the only path. I am not so dogmatic as to insist that there is only one correct way.

It takes time to discover the path you are best at walking but while we are on the same path, I could share what I know with you but there are many things which I don't. 

So, I appreciate a hint, a nudge or a wink whenever you think I am walking into a "longkang". On that note, happy walking.
-----------------
UPDATE (29 July 2017):
I am so used to saying that ASSI has more than 2,000 blog posts. I must remember that we have more than 3,000 now.

Related posts:
1. Five revelations from a regular retail investor.
2. Revisiting AK's simple strategy with Charlie Munger.

That's IT with AK71.

OK, amusing blog title? Go ahead, please laugh.


Muahahahaha!


LOL!


ROFL!


Fell off your chair? I hope you were not sitting on a high chair.


After all, AK71 and IT don't mix well. ;p

So, what is this blog post about? It is just to record some observations as to which OS and web browser are number 1 now amongst the readers of ASSI. Statistics are for the last one month:

Number 1 OS is still Windows although at 49%, it is probably not as dominant as before.

Android has a very small lead over iPhone. Actually, reading blogs on a phone must be quite demanding. I don't know why people do it. Of course, with bigger screens available from Samsung and HTC, for examples, perhaps, that is why Android has a slight lead.

Nonetheless, Apple is one against so many. If we add iPad and iPod, then, Android is beaten. Apple is just an amazing company.

What about browsers? It has always been Internet Explorer for me. Only when I started blogging a few years ago did I learn about other browsers. So, being the dinosaur that I am, I am a bit surprised to find that Internet Explorer is number 3 in my blog stats.

Number 1 browser is Safari with a 27% share and number 2 browser is Chrome with a 25% share. My good old trusty Internet Explorer has a 20% share.

Even though I am a "know almost nothing" guy when it comes to IT, these numbers are still interesting to me and tell me how things are changing rapidly (and that I am probably being left behind).

Related post:
ASSI: 10 quarterly reports in 1 blog post.

Is AK71 going to stop blogging?

In the last one week, I have not blogged about investing in stocks. In fact, I have not done any substantial blogging at all. Quite suddenly, I found my energy level to be quite low. It is almost as if I am running on empty now.

I decided to spend more time doing things for myself and that is exactly what I have been doing. I cannot say that I have been doing anything progressive but I think I have been doing things which I was doing a lot more of in the past, things which I enjoyed but have neglected since I started blogging.

In a few replies to readers, I revealed that I want to spend some time thinking about my blogging efforts and the direction which my blog should take in future. Honestly, I haven't been spending much time thinking about it. However, the time I did spend thinking about the matter did not yield any clear direction. Perhaps, I shouldn't think too much and time would tell me what to do eventually.

In a reply to a reader, I said that "I might not stop blogging but I think I will be powering down. Feeling somewhat drained." Having said that, I have conflicting feelings within me as to how I should be blogging henceforth and, indeed, whether I should continue blogging. I cannot help but question if my blogs have done more harm than good.

I have shared freely my thoughts on many things in ASSI. Through it all, I injected my personal beliefs which included pragmatism, integrity and compassion. Certain events in the recent past have shown me that perhaps what I have done is insufficient and that despite my best intentions, things went wrong. When a reader asked me what happened to me recently, I said "self-doubt" happened.

ASSI is something I have spent a lot of time on in the last (almost) 4 years. It is hard to give up. However, too much of a good thing is often bad. So, "moderation" is probably the key here.

This has been one of the hardest blogs I have ever penned as I struggled with my thoughts and feelings. Although the blog is not very long, it took me more than an hour to compose. I almost gave up but I know I must do the right thing and to keep readers guessing is not right by me.

I am not disappearing but we should not be surprised if I don't blog as much as I used to before. Indeed, do not be surprised if I do not blog the way I used to or about some of the things I used to either. Nothing is set in stone, of course. I will be keeping my options open.

Small tokens of appreciation for readers.

I said I will be sending small tokens of appreciation to readers who bought tickets to a seminar from my blog recently. So far, three readers have contacted me by email but only one has provided me with a mailing address so that I could send out the token by snail mail.

What are these small tokens I am talking about? These:

I took a photo to share the message with everyone reading my blog because I find the message inspirational.

Sometimes, when things look all uphill, remember this. If we believe that we can achieve, we are halfway there. :)

P.S. I am also making a personal offer to pay the readers who bought the 6 tickets through clicking the links in my blog to the ticketing site. Affected readers, please contact me by email.

A drawing of AK71 by a talented artist.

A reader asked her 7 year old niece to visualise and draw a picture of AK71 and this was the result:

I think I might disappoint the reader and her niece because this is more handsome than the real me.

Thank you, little artist. You have put a smile on AK71's face.

AK71's self portrait.

Related post:
Really Follow AK71 on Facebook.

Sex bloggers did it again!

As if it is not enough being labelled a sex blogger and having National University of Singapore terminated his scholarship last year, Alvin Tan has done it again with his girlfriend, Vivian Lee!

What? Another sex video gone viral? Nope, something worse!

This:

Last Thursday, Tan and Lee, both Malaysians, posted a photograph of themselves eating “bak kut teh” (herbal pork soup) with the words “Selamat Berbuka Puasa” - a Malay greeting for breaking fast - and the “halal” logo, prompting attacks by netizens for its insensitivity toward religious matters.

Are they dumb or what? Insensitive and selfish. They are a disgrace to their country, their schools, their families and their race!

The couple could be prosecuted for displaying offensive pictures and words under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act. If convicted, they could be fined up to RM50,000 or be given a one year jail sentence, or both.

Lock them up! They have to be taught a lesson in decency (in more ways than one too)!

They have issued an apology but will they change? Spare the cane and spoil the child, I say.

Source:
Dr Mahathir: Punish the sex bloggers!

Related post:
Sex blogger loses scholarship!

AK71's Facebook.

There are great artists in this world and there are great IT brains too.

I am really slow when it comes to IT stuff and I know bloggers like Drizzt (InvestmentMoats) and LP (Bully the Bear) who have kindly tried to influence me to become more IT savvy at one time or another have probably given up on me. Friends and colleagues too have found out what a dinosaur I am.

Which one is AK?

Blogging is something I do for fun and I don't want to feel any pressure to learn new stuff. Otherwise, blogging becomes stressful and when something becomes stressful, it is no longer fun.

Anyway, I think I might have moved up the IT ladder today as I have included a "Follow AK on Facebook" button in my blog's left sidebar. This is after receiving questions from readers on whether I have a Facebook account.

I do have a Facebook account. I started one a few years ago at a friend's recommendation to build up readership numbers for my blog but I didn't do much to it or with it. I still don't.

Anyway, try the button and let me know if it works:

If it doesn't work, I will need to seek help.

Where did I go wrong? Reply from AK71.

Hi JB,

Thanks for taking the time to write everything in such great detail. I will have to tell you that I am not qualified to give advice or guidance. I can only share my opinions.

Regarding "high could go higher" and "cut loss", these are things we hear people who trade the market using TA might say. They are not wrong but if we choose to learn the techniques of any school, we must learn them well.

I am not well versed in this school but I know that what the school teaches has worked for many people. Just have to follow the rules. For one thing, a stop loss is probably activated when prices fall 10% and not 50%. So, I guess you maybe didn't have enough practice and you didn't master the techniques. Perhaps, you did not have the discipline to follow the methods taught by this school.

As for China Taisun, it is easy to simply generalise S-Chips as untrustworthy and to avoid them at all cost. Indeed, that is the easiest approach to S-Chips. If we cannot trust what they show us in their books, then, how do we do any FA on them?

However, I am not saying that all S-Chips are bad and I have invested in some as well with good results. What I have done that is crucial in my S-Chip investments is that I limit their size. Combined, they are never bigger than 10% of my entire portfolio.

FA is important but it is also equally important not to put all our eggs in one basket. Things could go wrong even in the best companies. Even blue chip companies are not invincible. Think Chartered Semicon. I believe that if your exposure to China Taisun had been smaller, it might have been less traumatising for you.

You might actually have thought of the things I have shared here. Nothing mystical. Just a bit of common sense. :)

All of us are made differently. Some of us have the temperament to be traders and some to be investors. So, we must know ourselves.

As for FA, learn from an expert. Go to my blog's right sidebar and you will find a section labelled "Food for Thought". There are many good options but you might want to zoom in on "5 rules for successful stock investing" for starters. :)

Read JB's letter to me: here.

Related posts:
1. What should I do? A letter from a 64 year old retiree.
2. 5 rules for successful stock investing.

Where did I go wrong? A letter from a reader.

Hi AK,

This is JB here. I hope I am not too much to ask for your guidance and pointers. In terms of TA and FA , I am far from you and hope you can 'unknot' some of the questions I have in my mind for the last few years.
 

A little background of my stock investment journey.

 

 

I started off as an ignorant stock investor or so call punters in 2006 with some motivation from a friend that Mr market  is like Fortune God who gave out money every other days. In hindsight , it was the crazy euphoric market then. Subsequently, I attended a course that taught us about trend is your friend and when stock break resistance is a good sign. Buy high, sell higher. And when market drop, must cut loss. Again, I only cut after the stock has plunged like 50%. :(

 

 

Of course, this whole episode ended sadly with losses that pain me till today.

But I am not a gambler, I know I have to learn so i went back to books to learn. After reading numerous books, and looking at charts, I realised there were so much to learn about Mr Market than just the 2 day course. The course is just a tip of the ice berg. (felt so cheated)

Nevertheless, I learnt about FA and TA. First to use FA to choose the company to invest , then use TA to enter. That started part 2 of my stock investment journey in 2009. Looking back, I guess most stocks you buy then can make money if hold till today.

 

 

But sometime in nov2010, instead of diversifying into a few blue stocks, I thought if I can do some due diligence in FA, I can channel all funds and buy a good stock that is cheaper and hold. After some research then, I found this company China Taisan.

 

 

FA China Taisan in Nov 2010:

1) Continuous growth for the last 3years. with QoQ 10-25%. EPS also grow. P/E4 or less ,  dividend 2%

2) Textile industry start to rebound with asian games in guangzhou in the pipeline

3) Just had TDR listings , alot of cash

4) Managment buy in and company share buy back.

5) broker AM fraser indicated TP25cents

6) Singapore adviser to management- DR Felix Ong (who was the boss of Enporis )

 

 

I bought alot at 0.195 and continue to average down to 0.17 till the scandal for China Gaoxian happened. It affected the general sentiments.

Attended AGM meeting in April2011. They assured us company will be profitable for the year amid unforseen circumstances.

 

But the share got shot down further until i got to admit defeat that perhaps I have spotted the wrong one. Hence, I sold off at 0.10. I have loss money and my confidence too.

 

 

Even until today, given the same circumstances, I always ask myself what would  I do differently? Or are there some areas I need to improve myself.

 

From the checklists that I have mentioned above, Ak, are you able to help me identify where I go wrong?

 

 

Your insights are greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Await your reply.

Warm regards,

JB

The next blog post will be my reply to JB: read it here.

What should I do? A letter from a 64 year old retiree.

I am sharing an exchange I had with a reader a few days ago because I think others could possibly be interested in it:

Hi, AK71,

1.        I have been following your blog for quite some time and find your explanation and reasoning of the stock market very interesting.  Not many people are so frank like you that are willing to give an in-depth advice of the financial market.    So far, I did not pen anything in your blog to ask for your advice, as I could not express myself well in writing. 
 

2.        I would like to seek your kind advice to set up a reasonable and proper stock portfolio to earn passive income.  I am a 64 years old retiree and living on passive income from dividends from my 44 stocks in my portfolio.  Overall, I have made a capital gain of about 15 - 20% from these 44 stocks (with some profits and some losses for each stock).    I know that 44 stocks are very difficult to monitor but I do not know how to diversify them.  Each time the market drop, my heart drop too.  At this age, I cannot effort to loss much of my hard earned money, as I do not have time to wait for the market to recover again.
 

3.        I would appreciate your kind professional advice.  Thank you.

My reply:

Hi J,

I really hate to disappoint you but I am not a professional financial adviser. I would suggest that you find professionals and engage their services.

However, what would I do if I were in your shoes? This is the part where I talk to myself. Please ignore me.

First, understand my motivations! I am in my 60s and retired. I am not able to suffer another market crash for more reasons than one. I am interested in a predictable flow of passive income.

Secondly, go through my portfolio of 44 stocks. Compartmentalise the investments into those that match my motivations and those which do not.

Thirdly, keep the investments which match my motivations and think about possibly increasing exposure to these investments when prices are softer. Sell those investments which do not match my motivations at an opportune time and never look back.

Fourthly, money from divestments should go into a dedicated "war chest" to buy more stocks which match my motivations during times when Mr. Market goes into manic depression.

Throughout, I have to understand that this is the general framework that I must keep in mind but being a framework, it will overlook finer details which could influence my decision to invest or to divest in specific instances.

Best wishes,
AK

Everyone has different circumstances and motivations. There is never a universal solution to all problems. If we understand our motivations, we will know what is most appropriate for us.

Related posts:
1. A letter from a 66 year old retiree.
2. A letter from a reader in his early 20s.
3. A letter from a 24 year old fresh grad.
4. Voices, noises and choices.

Am I trying to be the most popular blogger in Singapore?

Someone asked if I was trying to be the most popular blogger in Singapore. I don't know why she got that impression. Was it something I said or did? Hmmm...

Anyway, I really am too lazy to work much harder on my blog. Blogging is a hobby and I want to keep it that way. I mean I enjoy blogging enough to want to continue doing it but to work hard at it is really a different ball game, isn't it?

For anyone who has the ability and the will to become a popular blogger, there could be many financial advantages. No kidding? Yes, no kidding! There are enough examples out there.

Xiaxue

A blog I visit from time to time belongs to, arguably, the queen of bloggers in Singapore, Xiaxue.

She makes enough money from her blog to do it full time. I was told she makes $XX,XXX in certain months and has a manager to deal with advertisers!

When she got married, she didn't have to worry about most of her wedding expenses. She had so many sponsors!

See:
http://xiaxue.blogspot.sg/2010/03/my-wedding-solemnization.html
(Just scroll to the end of the blog post if you don't want to look at the photos.)

Then, recently, she got her matrimonial home renovated and, again, she had so many sponsors!

See:
http://xiaxue.blogspot.sg/2013/03/home-decor-part-1-living-room-and.html
(Again, scroll to the end of the blog post and you will see what I mean.)

Pretty amazing!

I think part of Xiaxue's success stems from not being a finance blogger in Singapore. Hahaha... I am only half kidding. Want to have more financial rewards as a blogger? Don't do what I do!

If you don't believe what I just said, you just have to search for blog awards in Singapore and there are quite a few annual events out there but you will never find a category at these awards that says "Best Investment/Personal Finance Blog".

Sobering for some.

Related posts:
1. A couple of thoughts.
2. Request for sponsorship.

My blog as a business?

I am quite the idiot when it comes to IT stuff.

Friends have given up asking me to use Excel and Powerpoint. At one point, I thought Excel meant to do well at work and Powerpoint was some special power which magic users had in Dungeons and Dragons.

Talk to me about Cloud and I will tell you it is all about dew point and ADLR which stands for adiabatic lapse rate. Hey, I could sound Greek too, you know, but just from a different corner of the island.

Actually, I have been reprimanded by a fellow blogger before for not becoming IT savvy. I am sure he means well and I do see why he thought I was not doing enough. 

Hey, I even gave up Facebooking after a few months but I only started a Facebook account because a friend told me my blog should have one. I didn't do it voluntarily.

To me, isn't having a blog good enough to reach out to people? Apparently, it isn't! 

Oh my goodness, it is just too much for my Jurassic Age brain to process. Woe is me.

A meeting over the weekend with someone whom I later found out to be an internet marketing guru set me thinking about my blog. 

I was impressed when I found out how he harnessed the power of the internet and made very good money. 

Passive income, I thought. No, he said, not passive. It is still a business that has to be maintained.

Oh dear. That sounds like work to indolent me.

I did some reading on internet marketing over the weekend and I am still quite lost. I mean I have ads in my blog and I also recommend some value for money deals in my blog. So, I guess these are considered internet marketing too, right? 

Then, why don't I make big money from blogging?

Of course, anyone who has followed my blog for a while would know that, for me, blogging was something that happened not by design. 

I started this blog out of boredom and curiosity. 

Any internet marketer would look at my blog's URL and shake his head. Too long. Too hard to remember.

Over the years, I just kept blogging and sharing my ideas. If I made some pocket money from blogging, I was happy but it was, obviously, not a major consideration despite what some people might think and say.

Now that I have been offered a peek into what I might be able to do with my blog, one question is, of course, how do I go about doing it? 

Another question is whether I want to do it?

Truthfully, I am more interested in learning about how to do it than to be actually doing it. After all, it could be something I might be able to do in future. 

A retirement pursuit? Maybe.

In a way, being really passionate about blogging without any overarching need for monetary rewards could have been a good thing because over the last few years, just doing what I enjoy doing, without any plan for branding, I found that I have established a brand. 

What do I mean?

If we were to Google "ASSI" or "AK" or "ASSI AK", my blog would appear at the top of the search results! 

It is true! Go ahead and try it.

I have known this for some time but the significance of it did not hit home until very recently. It is both exciting and scary. 

I am an anonymous public figure! 

I am an oxymoron! 

How is that for wow factor?

Anonymous public figure.

Any marketing person would tell us that a strong brand is an incredible asset. So, could I be sitting on an asset? 

If I could think of how to make this asset work for me, I could quit my day job and become a full time blogger like XiaXue and Mr. Brown, couldn't I?

Ahhhh... (picture Homer Simpson in a daze).

Ooooh... (nope, this is not a paid advertorial for Pizza Hut). 

Sigh... (allow me to look phased out for a while).

OK, back to reality. Hard landing. Ouch.

Anyway, I am just thinking out loud here, as always. I hope I have not offended anyone.

Blogging power!

I think I should be a fashion blogger!

I could start a trend. No?

Article published in Yahoo! Finance Singapore (3).

An ASSI classic was republished in Yahoo! Finance Singapore on 6 March 2013.

The article has, naturally, attracted comments and some of them are eye openers.

I am a frog in a well and can only see a small patch of the sky.

In case anyone is interested in finding out more, here is the link:

Yahoo! Finance Singapore.

To read the comments, simply scroll down beyond the end of the article. Happy reading!

Related post:
Article published in Yahoo! Finance Singapore (2)

Following comments in ASSI.

In the last few months, I received quite a number of emails asking me how could readers be notified when new comments are posted in ASSI. This is because, quite often, I would provide more information simply by commenting in certain blog posts.

For readers who visit my blog daily, the easiest way is to check the sidebar in the section labelled "RECENT COMMENTS".

For readers who only want to visit when there are new comments, go to the top of my blog and you will see, on the right, two small orange color boxes. These are RSS buttons. You could subscribe to all "Comments" and "Posts" by clicking on these.

For readers who only want to be updated when comments are made in specific blog posts, go to the blog posts, scroll down and you will see "Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)". Alternatively, if you click on "Post a Comment", you will come to a screen where you could post a comment and tick in a little box below "Email follow-up comments to XXXXXX".

Common but admirable people.

Once in a very long while, we might get to meet people whom we are truly impressed with and, even rarer, admire. Today, over lunch, I found such a group of people.

Although I have promised to keep the information shared with me confidential (and it will be so), I just want to share with readers how I am heartened that there are selfless people in Singapore who are doing good and trying to do more each day.

Some people have told me that what I am doing here in ASSI is noble, that I share freely with everyone what I know, that I spend so much time replying to emails and comments from readers. In fact, some might wonder why I do it?

Honestly, this blog was started mostly out of curiosity. I did not start with the primary intention to share the importance of financial freedom. What I thought and what I felt, I just blogged.

Over time, the number of readers grew and I realised many people enjoy reading my blogs. So, somewhere along the line, I decided that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Therefore, I started to write more seriously in an effort to inspire readers and to share what I know. A metamorphosis took place.

However, even though blogging feels like a second full time job for me by now, I have a day job that pays me a salary. So, I don't need to blog for a living and it doesn't matter too much that I am not being properly compensated for the amount of time I put into blogging.

Now, these people I got to know over lunch today are in a different league. They are paid very little money in their day jobs which are to share the importance of financial freedom with as many people as possible on a regular basis. Money made through their group efforts is put aside to do good in future for the underpriviledged.

I feel that this is truly noble and admirable.

I think all of us know how easy it is to feel cynical about people in this materialistic world that we live in but as we strive to become better people, it is good to know that there are people who are also striving to make the world a better place and they are making huge sacrifices to do so.

In the past, some readers suggested to me how I could conduct inexpensive and simple courses on investing in the stock market. I have, of late, thought how this could possibly be a retirement activity. Now, I am inspired that if I should do this, I could also possibly do something for the charities.

This has been a heart warming day for me.

ASSI is too slow or so they say.

Someone told me that my blog takes forever to load. So, being somewhat concerned that this could be the case for more than just one person, I decided to read up on the topic.

I am not a savvy person when it comes to IT but Google makes it easy for people like me. So, why is a fast loading speed important?

Why do people want to go everywhere in a hurry?
Take it slow. Take in the sights.

Google says "The speed at which your blog loads is critical to attracting more readers to your blog. If your blog takes a long time to load, many readers may leave your blog before they have the chance to read it." This makes sense. We humans are an impatient lot. We want instant gratification!

Next, I used PageSpeed to do a health check for ASSI. Here is the link: PageSpeed.

Click on "Analyse your site online" and enter the blog's URL. Easy.

The analysis will give the blog a score. A higher score indicates little room for improvement. ASSI scored 93 out of 100. Yeah!

However, the PageSpeed Score does not measure the time it takes for a page to load. Oh...

OK, you will love this website I found that will tell you exactly how long it takes for a webpage to load. Here is the link: Stopwatch!

ASSI today took 6.8 seconds to load. That is not too bad, I feel, especially when we take into consideration that I embedded two videos today. Without the videos, the loading speed should be faster.

I think I shall suggest to the complainant to get a faster internet connection. (wink)

Related post:
Bloggy Award
(I dug out this really old blog post dated 9 January 2010. I was so fresh to blogosphere then.)

A letter from a 24-year-old fresh grad.

About a month ago, I published a very bracing email from a 66 year old retiree. The email affirmed that I have done good with my blogging efforts and I felt very much encouraged.

Of course, there are people, including eminent bloggers, who have been quite outspoken that my emphasis on investing in S-REITs in the last few years is only suitable for people who are older because they probably require a consistent income stream as they near or are in retirement.

My own stand has been and still is that what we invest in depends on our motivations for being invested. There is certainly nothing wrong with the young investing for income if that should be their inclination.

Today, I received an email from a 24 year old who has freshly graduated from the university.  He gave permission for me to publish his email which shows how pleased he is to be investing for income.

Hi Ak,

 

I've been a really avid fan of your site. I'm a 24-yr old fresh grad, who started investing 3 years ago.

 

When i first started, I read your blog with much interest, but great apprehension, because I didn't know much about investing early on.

 

After building a core portfolio, centering on S-Reits, my investing journey has been nothing but awesome.

 

First REIT is my best performing investment, and I would not have even bothered to look at it, if it weren't for your perspective.

 

In fact, my 3 year annualised gains for my entire portfolio is 22.67% per year! (In most part, thanks to you!)

 

So from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely thank you for all the good work that you have done, and for all the time and effort for crafting such good analysis and entries. :)

Sincerely,

ZZ

 

There isn't a holy book that everyone has to follow to invest in the stock market as far as I am concerned. There is more than one road to Rome and because others walk a different path from us does not mean that they are walking through rubbish.

 

There is room for diversity in this world and if a road takes us to where we want to go, it is in the right direction. Of course, we must first be clear on where we want to go and that is something we have to decide for ourselves.

 

Related posts:

1. A letter from a 66-year-old retiree.

2. Wealth creation in the stock market.

3. Market gyrations, my portfolio and a sabbatical.

 

A letter from a 66-year-old retiree.

I have received many emails in my three years as a blogger. Of course, there were some unpleasant ones but, fortunately, most of them are not. Many are questions which I would try to answer to the best of my knowledge. As I am not a trained financial adviser, however, I am not allowed to give advisories and I have refrained from doing so.

 

 

Sometimes, I would share readers' emails here in my blog, especially those which I think are inspirational or those which I think readers might find beneficial in some way. Today, I received a bracing email from a 66-year-old retiree. 

 

Blogging is a very time and energy consuming activity but if I have been able to make a positive difference in the lives of people through my blogs, then, it is definitely worthwhile.

 

hi AK,

i am a 66 yr old retiree who came upon your blogpost ASSI about a year ago quite by chance.

i had dabbled in shares many many years ago and having been burnt i swore i wont touch the SGX ever again.

However, after selling off my apartment and cutting off the rental income last year i was in a bind

as there was no more income and saddled with cash earning practically nothing and being retired....

until i came upon your blogs on the REITS and especially AIMS and SABANA. i have vested in both since end of last year and have been comfortable with the passive income without the hassle of tenants , repairs , maintenance fees and taxes.

i do not think you fully realize how your intelligent, knowledgeable, and objective views have helped

people like me who previously only depended on tips and rumours with disastrous results.

not only have i benefited from your analysis but i have also learned alot from your gems

like 'i have begun not to be bothered with price movements and be more focused on passive income (something to that effect)'

most of all you come across to me as very sincere in wanting to help those who want it.

therefore i urge you to ignore those who are critical of you and yet devoid of any alternative views. (like those comments of your recent yahoo finance reprints)

.....

yours gratefully,

.......

Related posts:

1. A letter from a reader in his early 20s.

2. Article published in Yahoo! Finance Singapore (2).
3. To be richer, be comfortable with being invested.

Unrelated post:
See photos of my staycation in MBS: here.

Request for sponsorship.

"Astonished, we were."

Recently, I received what I thought to be a rather bizarre email.

As someone who is blogging for fun and making a bit of pocket money from ad placements etc, I never would have thought that I would be asked for a monetary sponsorship. Well, I was recently asked!

Apparently, the event will have:

1000 delegates:

• Age between 28 to 55
• Annual income more than $40,000
• Professionals, Managers, Executives and Businessmen (PMEBs)
• Entrepreneurs
• High Net Worth individuals

"There would be abundant opportunity to gain exposure for your site during the event."

The proposal listed various levels of sponsors. A monetary sponsorship of $500 would qualify for the Bronze Level while $10,000, the highest, would qualify for the Platinum Level.

 

At the Bronze Level, ASSI will get our "corporate logo" into the event and will be eligible to insert a "voucher" into the 3,000 goodie bags.

 

I was truly flabbergasted.

 

ASSI doesn't have any logo, let alone a corporate one and I would have to provide 3,000 vouchers on top of the $500 monetary sponsorship? Wow!

 

A friend told me in jest that I should be happy because it means that my blog has moved to a higher level. What higher level? People actually think that I am making serious money from blogging now? That is the higher level? I almost fell off my chair laughing.

 

Gaining more exposure for my blog would be good. If I am able to reach out to more people, sharing my ideas on financial freedom and my methods, why not?

 

If every reader would share my blog on Facebook, Twitter etc, I think it would be more than enough.

 

After all, I blog for free. Should I pay to promote my blog? I think not.

Don't build traps for ourselves. (FKA "The worst type of readers.")

We might have all heard of the saying that "no publicity is bad publicity". 

Well, it is generally for people in the entertainment industry since anyone who wants more people to recognise them and be aware of them would "benefit" from all forms of publicity.

After photos of his sexual escapades were made public, Edison Chen was able to land a deal with Carl's Jr. to be their spokesperson for the launch of their "Thick Burger" in Asia! 

What a boon from his indiscretion!





Well, in the last two days, off the top of my head, traffic to my blog increased by some 25 to 30% because of an edited version of an old blog post of mine appearing in Yahoo! Finance Singapore.

I am still trying to fathom if this is good news or bad.

Follow the link to Yahoo! Finance Singapore and you will see tens of comments and almost all are negative. 

Many are downright rude while most are dismissive. 

So, this is bad, isn't it?

I cannot draw the conclusion that it is bad because none of these negative comments appeared in my blog. 

So, the writers of the negative comments probably did not visit my blog at all. 




They made assumptions and passed judgement based on one edited version of an old blog post of mine.


Then, what about all the traffic that Yahoo! Finance Singapore sent me? 

These are probably people who are more open minded and who bothered to find out more about me and my ideas. 

So, this should be good, right? 

The willingness to find out more could be the first step to a new journey.

After blogging for almost three years, I have encountered many types of people. 

There are many who are appreciative of what I have done although I am not sure that I am all deserving. 

There are also rude ones who called me names and even questioned my motives. 

I am very sure I don't deserve such treatment. 





However, these are not the worst. 

Not the worst?

I believe the worst are those who pretty much dismiss what I have shared to be fairy tales.

The worst are those who think that I am a prolific fiction writer and that my claims that people can escape wage slavery are spurious.

Actually, for those sceptical readers of the edited version of that particular blog post of mine in Yahoo! Finance Singapore, if they would only make the effort to visit my blog and read the unedited version including the comments left by some readers, they would be able to appreciate how it is all possible.





A life with greater financial security for any regular wage earner who is not disadvantaged in any way is possible.

Often, the traps we find ourselves in are built by ourselves.










 

Related posts:
1. Article published in Yahoo! Finance Singapore.
2. Do you want to be richer?
3. Wage slaves should be fearful.
4. ASSI is an affiliate of BetterWorldBooks.