Singaporean Talks Money

Sunday, 24 December 2023

Your investments are not going to be growing linearly | Sharing my experiences investing for the past 6 years

My investment portfolio broke above $100,000 recently and I wanted to share some of my thoughts as a reflection as I reach this milestone. I started investing when I was 22 years old, which was 6 years ago and what a journey it has been.

There were moments in the 6 years journey where I thought building wealth was so difficult and there were times when I felt money was so easy to get, it was indeed a rollercoaster ride and even so in the upcoming years. But all in all, I learned a lot and there were some things that I hoped I started doing earlier.

Times I thought building wealth was so tough and when can I see significant results

When I first started, I only had less than a $100 or to low hundreds per month to invest, this meant that I needed to accumulate for a few months before I could invest. When I started, I only invested in Singapore stocks so my portfolio was not growing as fast as I wanted since Singapore stocks usually do not fluctuate much and is mostly a dividend kinda play.

During my early twenties, there were no neo-brokers like Syfe Trade, moomoo, tiger brokers and Interactive Brokers needed $100,000 in asset minimum otherwise there was a monthly charge so I felt like it was easier to start with Singapore stocks. But if I could start, I would start buying US stocks first as the return would have been much better.

I have to say that my investments only became significant in 2020 when it was closer to $50,000 and we sort of experienced a bull market coupled with a change of job in 2021 with a significant pay raise.

I do believe that increasing your income is one of the main ways to increase and see significant effects in your investments as you would have more disposable cash to invest.

Times I thought I was going to be rich

The crypto boom that happened in 2020–2022 made me increase my net worth although I did lose a significant portion but it exposed me to cryptocurrency and taught me lessons on risk and position allocation. My portfolio was up enormously even reaching close $100,000 which was crazy.

I thought I would be rich and it was because cryptocurrencies rose at a rate that was so much more than traditional assets. To be honest, it was like gambling and it was fun and adrenaline inducing but I remember being so focused on prices at that time that I was stuck on checking prices and finding new things to do. It was pretty unhealthy as I was addicted to the excitement and price actions.

There were some millionaires made during those times but I am not too sure how many managed to retain it, I lost a significant amount too but learned a lot over those few months. The phrase by Warren Buffett, “to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.” really strike me after the whole crypto bubble and how it explain the whole situation so well.

Your portfolio is not going to be growing linearly

There are good years and bad years, your portfolio will not go up in a straight line. There were years where I contributed significant amounts in but it still resulted in a loss. There were also times when I did nothing but it grew. There are many factors that can affect the portfolio, as long as overall, your portfolio grows with the broad market index or even manages to beat it then it is all right.

You will be very doubtful in your early years of starting out but over the years of accumulating and compounding, you will see a difference. Of course, this also depends on the things that you invest in and you need to make sure that your portfolio allocation and risk appetite suits you.

Things I would have done differently if I were to start over again

Always take profits especially if the profits prove to be huge and it is a volatile asset

Always take some profits off first especially if it gets too juicy. I know that investing is for the long term especially when you are buying the index ETFs that track S&P or STI but during the crypto boom, I was in a profit on assets that were very new and although there was an ecosystem build for it, it seem very inflated by tokens and leverage as people were able to lend and borrow for larger amounts. There were warning signs and of course, being greedy and in an echo chamber, I thought that it will go up endlessly. If I had just taken back my principal and left my profits there, it would not have affected my portfolio that much.

Take some opinions with a pinch of salt especially those with short term outlook

X (previously twitter) was a huge platform during the crypto boom as many discussed and form their opinions or research. It was interesting to read and follow on all these but do not take all tweets seriously. There were many ridiculous tweet mentioning about 100x bagger when it was just a scam token.

You really have to make sure that you are aware of what you are investing in after all, it is your money and no one cherishes it more than you. I follow many individuals who were pro on a certain cryptocurrency and this form an echo chamber that meant I did not see other opinions and naturally just reinforced what I wanted to know/knew.

Experts may not always be right

We watch the news everyday and there might be a lot of negative or positive news however it doesn’t mean that it will reflect on the market. The economy is not the market and bad news doesn’t mean the market will go down so a consistent investing behaviour is always recommended to eliminate the emotional portion that can affect your investing strategy.

Build up a base first before venturing into speculative assets

It was good that I did not sell all my stocks and leaped fully into crypto although I did sell my SG stocks but split them between US stocks and cryptocurrency. I did came to my mind if I wanted to sell all my stocks and all in on crypto but I felt that I still needed to have the base of stocks and my portfolio was still in the progress of building. Knowing your risk tolerance is a huge part that can help guide your decisions and your portfolio growth. I will be sharing more on my end of year portfolio review in my next video.

Affiliate links/Codes:

► Where I Buy my Cryptocurrencies:
►Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/evwynu4g57 or code: evwynu4g57 to sign up
►Gemini: https://gemini.com/share/558gylyhg use my code and we'll each get $10 USD of Bitcoin.
► Where I store my Cryptocurrencies:
► Ledger: https://shop.ledger.com/?referral_code=980EF358BYAQM (Earn $10 in BTC)
► Where I buy my stocks:
FSMone Referral: P0364886
Tiger Brokers
Interactive Brokers (Open an account today and start earning up to $1000 of IBKR Stock for free!*Terms and Conditions apply)
►Syfe Trade Referral Code: SRPSL8MGX
►Syfe Wealth Referral Link: SRPSL8MGXE

Sunday, 12 November 2023

29 years old and already $250,000 in debt... Either get rich or have no future | Undercover Korea and thoughts on it

Saw this video on Youtube and it was rather eye-catching with it’s title and after watching it, it was scary seeing how crypto and investments can make individuals addicted as they are not in fact investing but gambling as they aim to strike a huge pot of gold. A lot of people invest with the mindset of striking something big as seen in the video and in South Korea, a huge proportion of people in their 20s and 30s are hoping that cryptocurrency can be the one to help them strike big.

Individuals in the video

Many of the individuals borrowed or used leverage when they invested hence they are currently in debt. Besides that, most of them wants to make it big in a short time and preferably via one trade. This means that they are banking all on that one trade and also resulting in them trading and not have any long term perspective or positions.

It is sad seeing their families suffer especially those who are married and had children. Imagine having to provide for your family but being crippled with debts and addiction. For some of them, their spouses have decided to leave them or stay apart until they have solved their addiction.

Allure of making it rich with one trade

Cryptocurrency is huge in South Korea as they see it as the alternative investment that can make them rich.

According to an April survey of 1,855 office workers by local recruiting portal Saramin, 40.4 percent of the respondents said they invested in cryptocurrencies while the rest did not. Those in their 30s were the most avid crypto investors, with 49.8 percent investing in crypto assets. Among those in their 40s, 34.5 percent said they traded crypto coins, while 16.9 percent of those in their 50s said they were crypto investors. - The Korea Herald

There are many South Koreans who game and people who game are very comfortable with in-game currencies which I would say is like cryptocurrencies so it is easier for them to adopt it and use it.

The other side of the trade

Besides telling the stories of those who are in debt and lost more than their money but also relationships, they also showed “successful stories” where individuals film on social media how they have made 6 digit profits in a single month. They share stories of how they started with 4 digits and turn it into millions.

These stories sound so appealing and make it seem like I can make it too but how true are those stories? No one knows as stories can be made up and even if they did achieved that, telling people that they are double leveraged not showing the risk they took and that it could also go very very wrong.

Thoughts

The stock and cryptocurrency market has become a place for people to park their money as it is easily accessible and property seems so unachievable particularly those who live in the cities where property prices has gone up relentless over the past few years.

Many think that the older generation made it through property and that there is no way the younger generation can afford property considering the rise in prices and so they put all hopes into stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Many of the brokerage also gamify investing, showing lists of top traded stocks, news that is related to a certain stock and even encourage you to do more trades with free gifts or zero commission charges and even using margin or leverage. There was a time where you needed to call your stock broker to make a buy or sell action. Today, everything has become so much more accessible but the lure of taking up loans and leveraging is very dangerous and most do not know the consequence of it until it happens.

It is contradicting as well as the government wants the stock market to look good during their time so an upward bull market is like one of the checklist to showing that you are a great leader hence they need money to flow into the market.

It is important not to take on debts or leverage and make sure you know what you are doing, do not follow blindly on the advice of others and make sure that you secure the basics first before proceeding. It is sad to see news of people in debt and having their family repay them together as it is not only affecting a single individual but everyone around him suffers as well. It really is a good documentary to understand what some of the South Korea citizens are facing.

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