Investors use Stockflock Concierge to save time.

"One of the investors I chatted with complained that making money from stock market is not easy. We hear about big boys moving the market and making big bucks for themselves. But when it comes to ourselves, why does it feel like an impossible task?

"Because investing is a difficult business. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Fund managers hire brilliant, well-paid analysts and pay thousands for Bloomberg terminals to help them invest better. All these resources are not available to most of us.

"Can you do well investing for yourself then? Absolutely. Here comes the good news.

"The internet has levelled the playing ground. Internet forced trading cost to plunge over the years and will continue to do so. Internet has made it possible for us to get good data and write-ups, many of us are just missing where and time to find the information you need to invest wisely.
 

"For the time starved, there are courses to teach investing and tools to help you invest. After all, 14 out of 30 STI stocks have returned over 8% annually for the past 10 years. That means if you picked your investments carefully, even blue chips stocks can provide a very good return.

"You don’t need to try exotic investments to grow your wealth. You just need to put in some effort and time, like what most investors do to do well in the market.  
 

"So what if you don’t have the time to keep track of so much information swimming around you?

 

"We all struggle with too much junk information. Wasting time deleting the unimportant and missing the crucial piece to making the one good investment.

"Stockflock is providing just the tool for busy investors by providing updates on the companies you are watching from different sources, including AK's blog, TheEdge, corporate announcements and many others.

"If you are having trouble keeping up with all the information floating about, you might want to consider what is being offered at Stockflock Concierge. We think you will find the personalized information pleasantly helpful for such a low cost. It’s cheaper than a cup of coffee!

Information you need to invest better

"For AK's readers, the start-up is offering a promotional rate of S$2/month for the first three months. So don’t forget to use the discount code “AK71”!" 
Try it here, the promotion is only for a week!

Wilson Ong

AK says:
For those of us who are a bit too busy to keep track of things, Stockflock  Concierge does offer a valuable service at a very reasonable price. For only $2 a month, there is certainly no harm in taking advantage of the offer for a trial period of 3 months. Gambatte!

Something AK wants to lose and not gain.

I was inspired after talking to a new found friend to try a new diet. So, I have not had any rice, bread, noodles or crackers since 8 November.

I have cut down on stuff with lots of added sugar which, of course, includes sugary drinks. I now drink water or green tea only.

If I want something sweet, I take some roasted almonds, dark chocolate (70% to 85%) or fruits. 


I have increased my intake of animal protein and greens. I have even started to take butter and certainly hope it is the right thing to do.

Cowhead belongs to QAF Ltd. Buttercup belongs to Auric Pacific.
Be careful. I found out today that Buttercup is actually not butter!
http://foodtherapybyaz.com/2014/05/27/i-cant-believe-its-not-butter/
Luckily, I chose to get Cowhead. I like supporting my companies.
AK is definitely a butter virgin.

Although being inspired is important, what really made me want to try this new diet was a visit to the clinic.


I was told that I was 7 kgs overweight. OMG! 

OK, to be honest, I knew that I was probably somewhat overweight because my pants felt tighter around the waist than before but 7kgs? 

That's a lot of excess weight!

Anyway, my new found friend told me that, to lose weight, exercise is 20% while diet is 80% of the formula. That was a revelation. I have always thought that exercise is more important than diet.

So, what have I been eating this week?

Here are some photos of the meals I had:

All prepared at home (except for the dark chocolate, of course).

It has been only a week. I don't know if I have lost weight but I guess I will know in another couple of weeks. 

Stiff upper lip and soldier on. What?


On a separate note, I am thinking of taking a short break from blogging and anything related to my blog which would include time spent on Facebook.

So, if you do not hear from me for a whole week or a few days in the near future, don't be alarmed. Just taking a break.

Trading around core positions for extra money.

Some might remember me talking about how I was trading stocks a bit more in the past. I also talked about how it is possible to trade around our core investments for income here and there.

If we are good at it, we could make some extra money from trading and yet retain a portion of our investments for regular income.



I don't trade stocks as much these days because it entails more work. It isn't just about buying stocks and holding them for dividends. We have to look at charts and decide when to sell and, of course, hope that prices might come down again so that we could buy.

However, sometimes, I just feel like doing a bit of trading and one example in the last two weeks was ST Engineering. I partially divested at $3.35 a share at the end of October with the intention to buy again if its stock price should decline meaningfully.

I decided to sell at $3.35 because that was where the mildly declining 200d MA was approximating back then. 

As ST Engineering's stock price declined over a few days, I resisted the urge to buy as connecting the lowest and second lowest price points gave me a trend line which suggests that there is probably going to be stronger support at $2.98 thereabouts which happens to be where the 123.6% Fibo retracement line is also located.

My BUY order at $2.98 today was filled.

Of course, it does not mean that the stock price will not go lower from here. 

Technical analysis simply shows us where the supports are. It doesn't say if the supports will hold. Now, if the support should break, we might see $2.88 tested next. I could buy more then.

Now, what if the stock price did not decline but went higher instead? 

Trading around a core position means that we still have a core investment retained for income generation.

So, some might remember that the mistake I made with ARA a few years ago was not retaining a core position whereas I sold only half of my investment in Old Chang Kee and retained half for income, for example.

So, when employing such a strategy, it is important to buy into stocks which we would be quite happy to hold because of the regular income we will receive. If the opportunity for a trade should present itself, sell a portion of our investment and retain a core position.

If prices go up, we are happy. If prices go down, we are happy too.

I don't think anyone would be unhappy with such a situation or am I mistaken?

Related posts:
1. Have my curry puff and eat it too!
2. ARA: Re-initiating a long position.
3. ST Engineering: Mystical art.