Category Archives: Interviews with InvestIdeas Members

Interview with Members : Trendlines

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After a break of some time, we are please to introduce Trendlines this week:-

1) InvestIdeas: What can you tell us about your background ?

I am an engineer by training, in my mid-30s, and a part-time trader/investor mostly based in Singapore. Learnt investing/trading the-DIY-way.

Started out as a Value Investor. During the crash of 2007, realised the importance of sentiment in the market, and branched out into trading.

After initial success, paid back all the trading capital and more, due to excessive trading and the lack of a money management strategy. Those were my “tuition fees”. If one wants to learn to swim in water, one has to swallow a few mouthfuls of it at least

Realised that money management strategies + portfolio allocation is more important than knowing market direction, and started researching them. Elliott Wave Theory gave me an intuitive framework for the market, and I have not looked back since.

2) InvestIdeas: How long have you been investing / trading ?

Investing for about 5 years, and trading for 3, and always learning. A newbie really, compared to the wealth of experience on this forum.

3) InvestIdeas: What is your Investment Strategy ?

It’s a Mixed Bag. Both VALUE INVESTING and TRADING have a common underlying theme – markets react to SENTIMENT in the short-medium term, and FUNDAMENTALS in the long-term.

(Ben Graham – “In the short run the market is a voting machine. In the long run it’s a weighing machine.”)

The Elliott Wave Theory(EWT), first developed by Ralph Nelson Elliott, essentially describes market sentiment in price form on a chart. This method resonated with me inuitively.

Coupled with a few other indicators and simple money management strategies, this has become the framework behind my trading methodology.

Initial Allocation from Savings (Will change with age)
40% – Unit Trusts (Active)
40% – Stocks/ETFs (Passive)
10% – Trading
10% – Cash

Unit Trusts -> All of them in emerging markets, as the only direction in the long-term is UP, and so the surest way to participate in the growth. I do medium-term rebalancing(every 6 months or so) between individual emerging markets & money market funds, using EWT.

Stocks -> Buy & Hold Dividend yielding stocks/reits, with a few Growth stocks thrown in. But, i never buy a stock without reading its chart.

Trading -> Mostly using leveraged ETFs / Warrants. 1-2 trades a month(best ideas), maximum 4, to supplement investment income.

4) InvestIdeas: What are your favorite books on trading/investing?

Elliott Wave Principle, Frost & Prechter
How to Make Money in Stocks, William J. O’Neil
Long-Term Secrets To Short-Term Trading, Larry Williams
The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham
Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Taleb

5) InvestIdeas: What are your investment vehicles ?

Investment: Unit Trusts, Stocks/ETFs, Property, ILP
Trading: Leveraged ETFs, Warrants, Stocks

Continue reading at the forum..

Interview with Members : Winston

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This week, we are please to introduce Winston ..

InvestIdeas: What can you tell us about your background ?

I went to University in North America. I then worked in the Financial Services industry. I have worked and lived in 5 countries.

I’m currently struggling with what I want to be doing with my “Second Half”. I’m not too passionate about activities like the “Red Cross”, ‘Green Peace” etc. However, I do enjoy exchanging ideas with some members of the forum. So maybe that could be my way of giving something back. Not too sure that I will be getting the Noble Peace prize for that though :P

InvestIdeas: How long have you been investing / trading ?

I started investing with some colleagues at work many years ago. We would pool our money and buy stocks with it. The stock broker was on the 2nd floor of the building. We would go there during our breaks to watch the stock prices. Our breaks were more frequent during bull markets and less frequent during bear markets

I then asked Dad for some money to invest. Thereafter, I would spent my nights looking at the price action of various stocks. At that time, I would buy stocks that were trading at the 25th percentile of their 52 week trading range.

I then “graduated” to reading Analyst Reports, reading Investment Books, watching the Financial News Network ( now known as CNBC ), Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser etc..

Around that time, I also learnt Options, Futures and Short-Selling.

InvestIdeas: What is your Investment Strategy

I tend to use a Tops Down approach ie. Macro then Industry and finally the Specific Company.

I try to use both FA and TA.

I learnt FA from the two books by Peter Lynch and the various books on Warren Buffett. I learnt TA ( OHLC ) when I was trading Options on Futures.

I normally want a strong catalyst before I invest. ( This is the “N” in “CANSLIM” )

I dont really have a Stop Loss but I do try to monitor my portfolio regularly.

However, I do put down the expected time frame for the investment and if the investment does not perform within the time-frame, I will normally sell it.

Recently, I have been mostly “Swing Trading” as I’m not too comfortable with many things nowadays eg. US Unemployment, European Contagion, Chinese NPLs etc..

Sometimes, I also try to zig when the short term players are zagging

Continue reading at the forum

Interview with Members : Peter

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This week, we are very please to introduce Peter …

InvestIdeas: What can you tell us about your background ?

I have a technical degree and am working in the Electronics industry. I come from a family of three

InvestIdeas: How long have you been investing / trading ?

Around 25 years but more seriously, only during the last 15 years or so

InvestIdeas: What is your Investment Strategy ?

No particular strategy, sort of trial and error at the start, paying tuition fees along the way, fine tune and improve along the way.

I’m using a method of multiple crop farming. The idea is to select a crop (can be a stock or a property) where there is weakness or opportunity, good potential for upside, cultivate it, and wait for fruits to ripen for harvesting.

Just like a farmer, it is important that the land is cultivated as much as possible, as there will be no harvest if the land is not planted.

Continue reading at the forum…