#InsightsInterview with Well Handy, one of our top contributors
This is # InsightsInterview Episode 9 with one of our top contributors on the InvestingNote Platform, with the username Wellhandy.
This # InsightsInterview series is to showcase financial experts, influencers and bloggers on a personal and insightful manner, to get glimpse of their investment journeys and their insights on the market in the near future. Every one of them have different styles of investing, expertise in different types of securities and also have their own story to tell.
Previously, we have launched 8 episodes of # InsightsInterview by influential bloggers. To read more about their post, you can find out at the end of this interview. The links are attached to the previous interview series.
Recently, we interviewed Well Handy, to understand more about his investing strategies, biggest trade winner and loser, and what motivated him to get started in the first place.
Well Handy is one of InvestingNote’s most reputable member in IN Member’s Ranking with more than 1000+ followers, specialising in basic analysis. Till date, he has created many educational post and investment ideas and spurred discussions on InvestingNote platform. This is #InsightsInterview, Episode 9.
Tell us more about yourself and how did you get started in investing or trading?
In my early years working, a company I worked for, had a system whereby they matched every share you bought with a bonus share.
It felt like free money.
When I first started, I bought shares on recommendations by analysts. When the prices of shares in the recommendations promptly went the opposite direction of the recommendations, I learnt to be more interested in the details of this particular enterprise (buying and selling of shares).
What type of trader or investor would you say you are?
I see myself as inclined similarly towards both FA and TA and as a ‘buy and hold’er: I buy and hold different things for different periods at different times.
In terms of buying and selling transactions, they are more discretionary leaning towards systematic.
My body of work in technical analysis is well represented when you follow me on InvestingNote.
What are your best investment and worst investment since you started investing?
As cliché as it may sound, the best investment is in yourself. And it happens to be right.
The worst investments are every moment we slack off in matters of importance and ‘pinch pennies’ in matters of little consequences.
Ergo, we may be making the worst investments daily. The most valuable ‘cost’ in investment terms is time. Time and effort. There are quite a few millionaires. There are no immortals.
That tells you everything you need to know about the value of time vs money.
When we put in the time to build the foundations to save our future time, that is the single best investment anyone can make.
Someone once asked me on InvestingNote – How to be more efficient in investing when we are juggling with multiple commitments? I believe when the foundation is done right, the efficiency flows from there. This is the same thing throughout life. We mastered walking and suddenly, walking is effortless. We mastered addition of numbers 1 to 10, suddenly we stopped using fingers. We mastered dribbling, suddenly we don’t look down while taking the ball across the football field. We mastered work, suddenly we don’t have to check references whenever we need to answer a work query.
The list goes on.
Mastery is efficiency.
Do you have an idol in investing or trading? If so, what’s the most memorable teaching from them?
I don’t believe in idols. All working knowledge work until they stop working.
I think Star Wars nailed it when they made the movies alternate between Empires and Republics.
As we looked into the histories of Man, be it nation building or fashion or technologies, it has often appeared cyclical especially when we stand far away enough.
So simply, it is a matter of picking the ones who are working better right now. And for me, they are all the greats like Buffett, Paul Tudor Jones, Soros and more.
I’ve condensed my lessons from them into a controversial and provocative comment over here.
Let me just paraphrase that here:
At the core of each money making ideology/strategy is the same,
– risk management/ position sizing
– asymmetrical odds
– adaptation to changing market conditions
– frequency of opportunities
– temperament/patience
Do you have any rules to stock picking?
Sure I do, I have derived them from lessons I learnt from a variety of sources listed here.
but primarily, we want to pick stocks that can make money for us, instead of stocks that make money for others.
Can you share with us what is your current portfolio allocation?
50% of my US portfolio is vested. (some of my positions are listed in my posts and comments, fluid.)
I have DBS and two other positions in my SG portfolio.
What do you think of the current market conditions in Singapore right now?
I think the market conditions are fantastic this month for those looking to make money.
If you haven’t made money in the SG market this year, then the SG market may or may not be for you.
Which industry and sectors are you currently looking at and why?
Communications, industrials, tech, financials, consumer discretionary in the US market.
What is your day to day strategy towards investing or trading? Do you implement a top-down or bottom-up approach for stock picking?
I just try to take up positions that make money. Top-down or bottom-up as necessary according to situation.
If you are a research reader, you realize there are those whose research showed top-down returns better and there are those whose research showed bottom-up returns as better.
who do you believe? I believe the ones who makes money.
How do you manage your portfolio, passively or actively and elaborate on it?
I take up positions actively and watch the positions and watchlist passively.
Meaning I am active only when I take up positions and passively execute my plans as the scenarios unfold.
If you can go back in time to change one mistake about your investing/trading journey, what would it be?
It would be to start my journey the moment I have my first $1000 and keep injecting any idle cashflow to the accounts.
One of the most common mistakes across all market participants is being confused about injections and allocations.
Also what advice would you give to new traders or investors?
– Be a ‘buy and hold’er – stay in the market for extended periods of time.
– Read extensively.
– Stay open minded.
– Be Flexible.
For more advice, click here.
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This interview was conducted on 23rd September 2018.
Well Handy currently has more than 1,000 followers and provide many accurate stock estimates. Follow him to get the latest updates and educational posts on the Singapore stock market.
For more juicy analysis and personal stories by other financial influencers, check out our previous episodes on # InsightsInterview here:
- Ep 1: Terence, founder of TUBInvesting
- Ep 2: James Yeo, founder of SmallCapAsia
- Ep 3: Li Guang Sheng, founder of WealthCoachAcademy
- Ep 4: Rayner Teo, founder of TradingWithRayner.com
- Ep 5: Joey Choy, Top-Tier Remisier, founder of Trading-impossible.com
- Ep 6: Lynlynnakamori, One of the top contributors in InvestingNote
- Ep 7: ThumbTack Investor, one of the top contributors in InvestingNote
- Ep 8: Sporeshare, one of the top contributors in InvestingNote
To learn more on where to get started, we have other topics on investing here.
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