We are very please to introduce La Papillion this week:-
Investideas: You have a very special nick. Why are you using this nick and what does it mean ?
It was a very mundane thing. I watched a French film (I loved those) titled papillion. As with all French, it sounds very nasal and I loved the sound of it, hence i adopted it as my persona. That’s the real story.
But people do not always want the reality, so I constructed a invented history to my nick, which I always tell people when they asked. La papillion means butterfly in French. As you all know, caterpillars metamorph into butterflies after becoming dormant in a chrysalis state. I chose the nickname because it signifies my transformation from a newbie to an adept in the stock market. More sexy and nicer right? 
InvestIdeas: What can you tell us about your background ?
I was quite the straight A student in secondary school, always topping the class. Fumbled a bit in JC but went on to get my first class honours in civil engineering in NUS. Not exactly those untouchables who gets into dean’s list and all but the kind of person you love to hate – the don’t-do-work-but-still-managed-to-get-better-than-others type.
I’ve no interest in civil engineering – that realisation came one day when I was bored to tears in a lecture hall in year 3 of my 4 years course. Why did I enter then? It was my combination in JC. I think I just followed my elder brother without really thinking for myself.
Initially I wanted to pursue a PhD in engineering in NUS. Applied, got in but subsequently rejected it (thank the heavens for that!). The initial idea is to ‘elope’ with my gf to overseas and pursue it together. In the meantime, I need to do something to pass the time and to support my expenses.
I thought that since I’ve got such a good academic track record, I’ll give tutoring a shot. Well, this leads to that and that leads to this and eventually I became a full time tutor. You can say that I stumbled into this. Who the hell would aspire to be a tutor when young, haha!
InvestIdeas: How long have you been investing / trading ?
I was sucked into the last stages of the running bull around 2006. Then, I had just signed up with a expensive and prohibitively over-the-top whole life plan. I didn’t know what it was all about, and I felt very uncomfortable about it. A friend asked me if I wanted to open an account to trade stocks, and I tagged along with it.
After that, it was like I popped the pill and entered the matrix. Things are never quite the same after that. I started off with warrants (great job right?) before realising it was a suckers game. Then I traded penny shares, dabbled with TA and FA. You can say I know a bit of both sides but not quite an expert in it. These days, I just go where the money is – no point being an idealist and lose money.
InvestIdeas: What are your favorite books on trading / investing?
I used to have a few favourites, but they kept on being replaced. I read widely and once had an aim to finish all the investment books at Bedok library. I almost did it (55 books read in 2008) but realised that all the books are more or less the same after the 100th one you just put down. Since then, I’m very very selective in the books I’ve read.
Here’s a few memorable ones that I would love to read year after year:
1. The five rules of successful investing – Pat Dorsey
2. The black swan – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3. Liar’s poker – Michael Lewis
4. Reminiscences of a stock operator – Edwin Lefevre
5. Killing sacred cows – Garett B. Gunderson
6. All the books by Dr. Alexander Elder
InvestIdeas: What are your investment vehicles ?
I’m holding stock positions in SG, HK and the US market. I also trade the SG and HK market. A few months ago, I started trading the e-mini SP500 Index Futures. Since then, you can always spot me from a distance because my eyes look so black due to the chronic lack of sleep.
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