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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Review/Reflections for 2011

2011 will always be a year that I remember and it is a milestone in my investing journey. It is the year where I morphed from an employee to a full-time private investor. How time flies! I had been a fruitful few months since I started doing full-time investing. Initially, there were some sceptics out there who doubted my decision. Some said that I was "silly" to give up my job for the uncertain world of investment. Some declared that I did it on impulse and will not last more than two months. Some said that I was too young to "retire" and should continue working.

Despite all the above critics, I pushed on and stayed firm on my decision. I enjoyed investing and it was not a big unknown to me as I had been doing it on the sideline for more than 10 years when I was in full-time employment. Therefore, I know what I am embarking into and it is something that I considered seriously before coming to a decision. I was getting bored and unhappy with my day job in IT. I wanted a change not only in environment but also in form. I wanted full control of my time. I wanted to start to enjoy my life again.

Granted, what I earn now from pure investment is much less than when I was holding a day job. But money is not everything in life. As long as my current mode of operation is sustainable, I will continue to do full-time investing for as long as I can.

2011 was not a good year for investors. Markets had been down and companies not doing well. As I had been quite defensive in my portfolio positioning since last year, I had not been hit very badly by the market sell-down. Also, the rights issue strategy came into play again and I was able to subscribe for some excess rights shares at a good price for some companies in my portfolio. As usual, I met my objective of minimizing sell trades to save on brokerages.

By attending more AGMs/EGMs in 2011 and having more time in hand to go through annual reports and circulars more throughly, I believe that I have a better understanding of the companies in my portfolio now as compared to a few months back when I was in full-time employment. Knowledge is only useful when applied, and therefore I believe that my skill-set will be useful when selecting companies to invest. I also gained more confidence in overweighting my better stock ideas in my portfolio, since I have done more research now and hopefully they can translate into better portfolio performance in the future.

Thanks for all those readers who had visited my blog and also left some comments here in 2011. I believe the sky is darkest before dawn, and hopefully 2012 will be a better year for all investors out there. I hope that all of you can continue your investing journey and enjoy the process, as much as I do. Wishing all of you out there a fruitful and profitable 2012!

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7 Comments:

Blogger ZhuKoLiang said...

i have never doubted shifu's decision, and i strongly believe it is a wise decision to become fulltime investing.

i was right to believe into your strategy when i first read into your blog 4years ago. at that time, i remembered your goal was to retire at age 45 i think. Now, i believe you have surpassed your goal.

i fully agree and second your view that money is not everything in life. in Daftgapore, everyone has been obssessed by $$$, and forget about soo many other aspects.

i also truely agree that knowledge is only useful when applied.

Most important for all in investing, what i like best is what u said in enjoying the process, and not focussing too much on the outcome (ie portfolio performance).

i wish u huat big big in 2012..

5:57 PM  
Blogger athulican said...

"Granted, what I earn now from pure investment is much less than when I was holding a day job. But money is not everything in life."

Well said. The amount of money is not the most important, the most important thing is how much is enough. How much money is one willing to trade off for certain aspects of his/her life, which may proved to be key to a life well lived. Live life without regrets, my friend.

Happy 2012.

1:14 AM  
Blogger RH said...

Hi, I came across your site and wasn’t able to get an email address to contact you. Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back.

Thanks!

Harry
harry.roger10@gmail.com

4:15 AM  
Blogger ghchua said...

Hi newbie_george & athulican,

Thanks for your encouragement. It certainly makes me felt that I have made the right decision.

9:39 AM  
Blogger Everlearning said...

Hi ghchua,

You did the right thing! FOLLOW YOUR HEART!

I believe you are better off without a job to take charge and control of your huge investment portfolios.

Last quarter I terminated my nearly decade's unit trust. I just could not believe that it continued to drain and dry out my capital value.

So, now I have completely eliminated my investments with all banks and solely concentrating on my equities investments.

I believe you can make it. You can wholeheartedly give your best into full-time investing and to me, you enjoy what you are doing now matters and makes sense!

5:03 PM  
Blogger ghchua said...

Hi Everlearning,

Thanks for your encouragement too! It certainly makes me felt more comfortable with my decision. Indeed, it had not been an easy decision but I think what you said resonates with me.

To quote George Yeo, I am more of a "free spirit". I think civil service and corporate level kind of politics doesn't suite me. I may do some assignments on a part-time basis but I don't think I will return to full-time employment anytime soon.

7:41 PM  
Blogger Everlearning said...

Hi ghchua,

I feel sorry for George Yeo to have ended his government post in this manner.

He is "free-spirit", but many are ensnared and enslaved into "trap-spirit".

A clean society should not have a part to promote unwholesome activities. I feel even sorry for the future generation who could not liberate should "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak".

Sorry, I should keep my comment on investments, but divert into something different. I am just a little agitated when the person's name is mentioned.

4:25 PM  

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A self-directed investor, looking to invest for retirement needs and bypass all those expensive financial planners/insurance agents. Investing is fun, profitable or most important of all, knowledge gained is useful for the rest of your life!

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