Stocks Discussion

Ask me 1 year ago? I would say even getting 20% on 1 year is impossible. Right now, I am so confident that it is way possible. But of course the road to this is not an easy one.. So many renowned investors only got so closed to there. But what matter is your mindset and your knowledge, knowing that it is possible. And of course, there must be certain level of risks undertaken, which you have to be aware of. Focus on great businesses, valuation, stay patient, don't be greedy, and that time will come eventually, somehow ;)

1. Putting all your eggs in one basket. Pretty self explanatory. Overexposure to a single counter will dramatically affect your portfolio returns should it tank. 2. Not maintaining a sizeable warchest for the following reasons: - Inability to dollar cost average down for instruments you own and still maintain a bullish outlook - Inability to buy the dips on instruments on your watchlist 3.Not doing your own due diligence. Never blindly follow what people tell you to invest in. Trust no one, not even your friend or family member.

I started my financial journey before university, when I realized that I needed to pay my own university education, and I definitely did not want to take a loan. The top three things that were most pivotal: 1. Putting out on paper what my financial goals were, and the timeframe I had. With that, I backcalculated how much I needed to save one month, and from there, how much I needed to earn. 2. Needing to do that at a fairly young age also meant that I started thinking about time in market and compound interest early on 3. Because of the above, I got started on reading on stocks early, and opened things like brokerage account etc fairly early too. I started also hunting property 2 years before I bought my first one. The 3 things above, I believe, set my foundation in personal finance. It was very daunting in the early days, especially when there weren't platforms like Seedly, and it was rare to discuss personal finance with friends or family. Kudos to Seedly for making it more friendly, especially for the young ones!

Fundamental analysis, even though I started with a background of technical analysis. It's just more fun (imho) to learn about the business, its investment moat via competitive advantage, its revenue streams, cost buckets and potential for economies of scale etc.

Gold as a commodity is subject to high volatility. But people do buy into it as a hedge due to the decoupling effect with regards to correlation of its performance during market turmoil. You can buy into it via gold ETFs, gold certs, etc. I wouldn't put too much in though. It's not going to produce income for me.

"What edge does your company have that the competition doesn't?" Of course, the actual wording of the question will be different depending on the company, but the idea behind the question is there.

Hi anon, Definitely. Netflix is moving fast to create original content, but the House of Mouse has the advantage of a massive library of classic shows/movies etc that will help them cement their dominance. That's not to mention Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc. When Netflix came out, it was a game changer, but the other competitors have caught up and the blue ocean has become red. Only if they present a strategy that will help them navigate out of the situation, will there be a chance for their shares to continue their meteroic rise.

Diversify across sectors, geography and asset class. Rebalance periodically so that you do not stray too far from your established norms. There's no fixed template for how many % in which asset class, but you'll want to have a good mix of all the asset classes, so that you have stuff that is not correlated in the event of a downturn. And ride out the storms, they will occur. You have to be patient. You can speak to an advisor for some inputs on how to do this, and decide if you'd want to engage their service, or execute on your own.

There is no clear check list, but I'd look at their ability to deliver the results, and their honest and integrity in acknowledging when things go wrong. They should also be straightforward and forthcoming with answers. If they try to brush off issues or beat around the bush, it doesn't inspire much confidence. In the end, execution is key, that's why the biggest person is usually the chief executive officer. You can have all the grand master plans, but without proper execution, the company will falter.