My portfolio suffered a major set back yesterday, with all my stocks plummeting. I saw red all over the place. I just couldn't stand it, so I did what was necessary, I logged off from my online account. Seeing my stocks that bad just isn't a great feeling. ;) Thoughts ran through my mind such as, "I should have sold earlier... I should have taken profits, I should have... etc etc".
But funny thing is, that's part of the whole investment process for me. You have to learn when to put stops, you have to learn when to get in, when to get out, and most especially, learn how to handle the ups and downs of the market.
And look here, we have green all over the place, but I've still got some stuck stocks.
Oh well.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Family Love
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
~Jane Howard
I'll deviate from my usual investment topic, into something more personal.
The past days, Chase has rediscovered the extra care and love that his family has for him, when he got sick starting last Wednesday. He had high fever then, and was having wild stomachaches every couple of hours (or was it minutes?). Chase, who lives in Manila with his brother and sister only, has grown quite independent himself and usually, given circumstances such as this, can recover with simple medications and rest. However this time, there was something very wrong. His sister was worried sick, that she hardly slept Wednesday and Thursday night. By Thursday, his brother (who's a doctor) became increasingly worried as well, because Chase is complaining of having heart aches ( not the love kind! ). Now by Friday everyone was so worried, thus their mother decided that she needed to go down to Manila from Baguio to take care of this sick boy.
This story is not about Chase getting sick. It's about his family being there for him when he needed it the most. The outpouring of love was enormous, that made him think of how he really wanted to be there for them, not just when similar circumstances arise, but to be just there for them.
Isn't it wonderful how lucky we are that these people love us so much?
I remember a couple of years back, that I felt so strongly loved by my family as well. I had food poisoning from school and had the effects while I was riding the LRT. My stomach ached so badly that I got off at Central Station because I felt like passing out already. I hyperventilated, couldn't move my fingers, and the stomach ache was unbearable. I went to the bathroom, but I just cannot get it out of my system! Good thing, LRT Central Station had a clinic ( I didn't know they had one, I just thought of going down there because they had restrooms for sure ). So the station called my mom, who called my dad to pick me up at once, who then called my brother to get to the LRT station ASAP. However, my brother then had a math exam, but he was so worried, that he did the exam so fast, left the class, and went straight to see me there.
You know, such stories, just make us want to just say to ourselves, "damn, we are so blessed!"
And it makes us realize, that we really do want to be there for them as well.
Our family, is a blessing. We should always thank the Lord for giving us such wonderful people who love us unconditionally.
~Jane Howard
I'll deviate from my usual investment topic, into something more personal.
The past days, Chase has rediscovered the extra care and love that his family has for him, when he got sick starting last Wednesday. He had high fever then, and was having wild stomachaches every couple of hours (or was it minutes?). Chase, who lives in Manila with his brother and sister only, has grown quite independent himself and usually, given circumstances such as this, can recover with simple medications and rest. However this time, there was something very wrong. His sister was worried sick, that she hardly slept Wednesday and Thursday night. By Thursday, his brother (who's a doctor) became increasingly worried as well, because Chase is complaining of having heart aches ( not the love kind! ). Now by Friday everyone was so worried, thus their mother decided that she needed to go down to Manila from Baguio to take care of this sick boy.
This story is not about Chase getting sick. It's about his family being there for him when he needed it the most. The outpouring of love was enormous, that made him think of how he really wanted to be there for them, not just when similar circumstances arise, but to be just there for them.
Isn't it wonderful how lucky we are that these people love us so much?
I remember a couple of years back, that I felt so strongly loved by my family as well. I had food poisoning from school and had the effects while I was riding the LRT. My stomach ached so badly that I got off at Central Station because I felt like passing out already. I hyperventilated, couldn't move my fingers, and the stomach ache was unbearable. I went to the bathroom, but I just cannot get it out of my system! Good thing, LRT Central Station had a clinic ( I didn't know they had one, I just thought of going down there because they had restrooms for sure ). So the station called my mom, who called my dad to pick me up at once, who then called my brother to get to the LRT station ASAP. However, my brother then had a math exam, but he was so worried, that he did the exam so fast, left the class, and went straight to see me there.
You know, such stories, just make us want to just say to ourselves, "damn, we are so blessed!"
And it makes us realize, that we really do want to be there for them as well.
Our family, is a blessing. We should always thank the Lord for giving us such wonderful people who love us unconditionally.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Start of Investing in the Stock Market
Last saturday, Chase and I decided to fix up our excel sheet to track down our stock investments. We're not big investors yet, but we're starting to get really interested in investing in the market.
I, personally, invest through my real life broker who works wonders for me. I know I'm a very small client, which is why I do not expect that my broker give me all the time and attention for my inquiries. Let's just say that for now, once he recommends, I research, and then push on with the transaction if I believe it's pretty good as well. This small task has done wonders for me, but credit definitely goes to my broker!
Of course, trading with a real life broker is awesome, but we also need to learn the ins and outs of trading. There's so much scientific knowledge to be learned from this experience, which is also the reason why I opted to sign up for an online account, so that I can have a real feel as to how to actually perform transactions, research, etc. And it's been a pretty good ride I should say.
So given this preparation that we are going through, we are slowly learning the ropes of investing our hard earned cash. Unfortunately for me, I'm quite cash strapped as of the moment due to my laptop purchase recently.
It's really nice that Chase's getting into it as well!
I, personally, invest through my real life broker who works wonders for me. I know I'm a very small client, which is why I do not expect that my broker give me all the time and attention for my inquiries. Let's just say that for now, once he recommends, I research, and then push on with the transaction if I believe it's pretty good as well. This small task has done wonders for me, but credit definitely goes to my broker!
Of course, trading with a real life broker is awesome, but we also need to learn the ins and outs of trading. There's so much scientific knowledge to be learned from this experience, which is also the reason why I opted to sign up for an online account, so that I can have a real feel as to how to actually perform transactions, research, etc. And it's been a pretty good ride I should say.
So given this preparation that we are going through, we are slowly learning the ropes of investing our hard earned cash. Unfortunately for me, I'm quite cash strapped as of the moment due to my laptop purchase recently.
It's really nice that Chase's getting into it as well!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Laptop
I've recently bought myself a new laptop - Acer Aspire 5583WXMi. I've wanted one ever since and I was finally able to convince myself to buy it! And so far, I've had it for a month and I'm loving every bit of it! It's processor is Intel's core 2 Duo, with Nvidia GeForce 7300 graphics card, 120 gig hard disk space and 1 Gig DDR memory.
Not bad.
Not bad.
My Investment Portfolio
I've recently started building up my stock portfolio. My objective is to invest on companies that have very good fundamentals. I'm not looking into short term trading (I have my broker to do that for me). This one's for my own portfolio, which I am building through the use of an online account. Currently, I've worked up a hefty gain considering I only started with the minimum amount. Not bad. I actually hit it big with an IPO that I bought a couple of months back. The rest, well, I'm holding on for the long term.
Currently, I am holding only two stocks for my long term portfolio. I really don't have the hundreds of thousands or millions to invest, so I'm taking it one step at time. I try to add some when (1) money's available, and (2) when stock prices are at a discount.
In addition to the stock market portfolio, I've also invested on another long term instrument - Sunlife's Balanced Fund. I haven't added there for quite a while since I'm currently focused (and very much interested) on the stock market. Besides, I just bought a new laptop, so my cash flow's a little tight :)
Currently, I am holding only two stocks for my long term portfolio. I really don't have the hundreds of thousands or millions to invest, so I'm taking it one step at time. I try to add some when (1) money's available, and (2) when stock prices are at a discount.
In addition to the stock market portfolio, I've also invested on another long term instrument - Sunlife's Balanced Fund. I haven't added there for quite a while since I'm currently focused (and very much interested) on the stock market. Besides, I just bought a new laptop, so my cash flow's a little tight :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sometimes Investment Returns Aren't Financial
"Sometimes Investment Returns Aren't Financial" - Chase Tan
Ever since I've started working, I've been reading a lot of articles and books, all about how to make it to the future financially secured. It's been a real goal for me to be able to achieve financial stability at a young age. I'm just afraid of seeing myself in the future relying on other people to take care of me. I'd want to be stable, and can hold up strong on my own.
My first real investment was buying up some shares for a Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF). It went well the first few weeks, thus I decided to add more. But just weeks after I added a huge chunk, the huge May 2006 selloff happened and the next thing I know, I was losing 3000 pesos already. For a first timer like me (who at that time was working for about only a year), that was big. And the panic settled in. I redeemed my shares, cut losses, and waited for the market to turn alright. Which it did, eventually.
So there goes my first lesson: Do Not Panic!
Panic doesn't do one any good. That was what happened to me. I panicked and sold everything at once. What I didn't know was that I didn't look at the investment for the long term. Considering I really didn't need the money at that time and it was simply extra cash I had saved up over the months, I could've waited it out and eventually it would've gained upward momentum again.
I guess one of the major issues that time was that I wasn't educated about the whole investment field. I lacked the experience, awareness and knowledge of how everything works. If I did my research, I would've known that the whole economy outlook was actually very bullish at that time. It was a correction, that just so happened to occur during my initial attempts in investing.
Don't get me wrong. I did get a lot out of this experience. Not only did I learn to be more careful about my investment actions, I was even able to help out my parents on their business. The money I took out from the UITF, I loaned to my parents to help them cut back on the interests they are paying the lenders. For example, if their interest per month was 12%, then paying out a part of that debt would save them thousands of pesos a month. And instead, they pay me an interest of only a measly 5%. Not only did they save a whole lot of money, they made me somehow feel like a part investor of the company! Not bad eh?
So you see, even though things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to be, I even had a sweeter deal in the end. Even though I am not getting bigger returns as the UITF would've given (given the market these days!), at least I know I was able to help out my parents, and that in itself, can never be replaced by any bigger amount that is waiting for me out there.
Ever since I've started working, I've been reading a lot of articles and books, all about how to make it to the future financially secured. It's been a real goal for me to be able to achieve financial stability at a young age. I'm just afraid of seeing myself in the future relying on other people to take care of me. I'd want to be stable, and can hold up strong on my own.
My first real investment was buying up some shares for a Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF). It went well the first few weeks, thus I decided to add more. But just weeks after I added a huge chunk, the huge May 2006 selloff happened and the next thing I know, I was losing 3000 pesos already. For a first timer like me (who at that time was working for about only a year), that was big. And the panic settled in. I redeemed my shares, cut losses, and waited for the market to turn alright. Which it did, eventually.
So there goes my first lesson: Do Not Panic!
Panic doesn't do one any good. That was what happened to me. I panicked and sold everything at once. What I didn't know was that I didn't look at the investment for the long term. Considering I really didn't need the money at that time and it was simply extra cash I had saved up over the months, I could've waited it out and eventually it would've gained upward momentum again.
I guess one of the major issues that time was that I wasn't educated about the whole investment field. I lacked the experience, awareness and knowledge of how everything works. If I did my research, I would've known that the whole economy outlook was actually very bullish at that time. It was a correction, that just so happened to occur during my initial attempts in investing.
Don't get me wrong. I did get a lot out of this experience. Not only did I learn to be more careful about my investment actions, I was even able to help out my parents on their business. The money I took out from the UITF, I loaned to my parents to help them cut back on the interests they are paying the lenders. For example, if their interest per month was 12%, then paying out a part of that debt would save them thousands of pesos a month. And instead, they pay me an interest of only a measly 5%. Not only did they save a whole lot of money, they made me somehow feel like a part investor of the company! Not bad eh?
So you see, even though things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to be, I even had a sweeter deal in the end. Even though I am not getting bigger returns as the UITF would've given (given the market these days!), at least I know I was able to help out my parents, and that in itself, can never be replaced by any bigger amount that is waiting for me out there.
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