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Learning to Die with Zero. The Last Check Must Bounce (guestpost)

Learning to Die with Zero. The Last Check Must Bounce (guestpost)

My friend Christopher Ng recommended to his reader to read this book by Bill Perkins called Die with Zero.

I do not know whether it is a good book or not but I think it might be thought provoking enough for me to read it.

Die with Zero sought to answer a core question we all seek:

What’s the best way to allocate our life energy before we die?

This post was originally posted here. The writer, Kyith Ng is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @kyith and has 1,000+ followers.

When Bill released this book, I also heard many interviews that he did to promote his book. This book… might be the book to help re-calibrate my thinking. After doing so much research on how much a person need to accumulate so that they won’t run out of money in retirement, we need a book to teach us not to spend all our time accumulating.

Is this a good book? Personally, I find it hard to connect with.

In this article, I list out some of the notable takeaways from Bill Perkins.

Consumption Smoothing

The first concept that Bill explained was consumption smoothing. Bill took a page out of a time when he started working not too long ago. Back then, he was very thrifty and extremely proud about it.

However his boss, who is a partner at the company he worked for was astonished he was saving so much.

 “Are you a f***ing idiot? To save that money?”

It was a slap across Bill’s face.

 His boss Joe Farrel said: “You came here to make millions, ” he said. “Your earning power is going to happen! Do you think you’ll only make 18 thousand a year for the rest of your life?”

In his boss’s mind, Bill would eventually made much more than that.

He could certainly spend today and not save this sum of money.

It was a life-changing moment for Bill as it cracked his head open to new ideas about how to balance his earnings and spending.

If we look at our income chart over the years, it should be upward sloping. Due to our experience over time, we should earn more.

If we know that, we should be able to spend a greater percentage of our income today because eventually, we will make more and our savings rate will go down, but the savings in the future will make up for the higher consumption today.

We will basically transfer money from years of abundance into the leaner years.

What is difficult to connect for a lot of people is how much higher would your salary be in the future?

To use myself as an example, some of my peers are currently director of security while others are still a team lead in a small company.

If we smoothed out our income, the director of security and the team lead would be totally different.

I get the idea but I think whether it is sensible for us to do that or not is subjective.

Investing in Experiences

Your life is the sum of your experiences. …

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Microsoft’s First Quarter 2021 Results Look Good (Guest post)

Microsoft’s First Quarter 2021 Results Look Good (Guest post)

Microsoft’s results seem good despite the pandemic.

Microsoft reports $36.9 billion in Q2 2020 revenue: Azure up 62%, Surface up 6%, and LinkedIn up 24% | VentureBeat

This post was originally posted here. The writer, Kyith Ng is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @kyith and has 1097 followers.

US tech giant Microsoft announced their Q1 2021 results yesterday morning.

They achieve per-share profit growth of $1.82, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.54 a share.

The after-market share performance was muted. In fact, it’s nearly 1.5% lower. But due to the broad market fall this morning (28th Oct) the stock is down almost 5% to $203.

It has been consistently drilled into my head at work that the market is forward-looking in theory. And in a few practical cases, it is the case. After-market movements reflect the general crowd’s sentiments towards their expectations of future cash flows.

Microsoft’s results were not too bad in Q1 2021.

  • Revenue was $37.2 billion and increased 12%
  • Operating income was $15.9 billion and increased 25%
  • Net income was $13.9 billion and increased 30%
  • Diluted earnings per share was $1.82 and increased 32%

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Singapore Savings Bonds SSB December 2020 Issue Yields 0.87% for 10 Year, 0.24% for 1 Year (Guest Post)

Singapore Savings Bonds SSB December 2020 Issue Yields 0.87% for 10 Year, 0.24% for 1 Year (Guest Post)

Here’s what you need to know about Singapore Savings Bond for December 2020

Big demand for Singapore Savings Bonds, Business News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

This post was originally posted here. The writer, Kyith Ng is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @Kyith and has 1102 followers.

Singapore Savings Bond is a safe way to save your money that you have no idea when you will need to use it, or your emergency fund.

…

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US Presidential Election 2020 – How It Affects Malaysia (Guest Post)

US Presidential Election 2020 – How It Affects Malaysia (Guest Post)

US Election is once every 4 years, but how does it impact the markets?
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This post was originally posted here. The contributor to this article,@Denise is one of our many community members on InvestingNote.

update: Joe Biden wins the Presidency with 290 seats🎊

In the meanwhile, it could still be a period of volatility as the markets wait for a smooth transition (if there even is). So even though it seems like the President of the US has alr been highly-likely decided, it should be noted that there are still various ways the US Election can be contested.

Nevertheless, here are some macroeconomics principles that you’d be keen to know of:

[After all, this won’t be the last Presidential Election because there will always be another one every 4 years. Hence, the same factors would still apply.]

Just a quick backdrop:

On August 31st, 1957, diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the US were established when the US elevated its Consulate General in Kuala Lumpur to the status of the Embassy.

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Challenge RECAP: MY YOUNG INVESTORS CHALLENGE

Challenge RECAP: MY YOUNG INVESTORS CHALLENGE

Our first ever trading challenge for students in Malaysia, the MY YOUNG INVESTORS CHALLENGE 2020 has finally concluded!

img_20200919_151715

img_20200919_145137This exclusive challenge saw close to 1,500 students participants across 61 different universities in Malaysia. This challenge was organized with the key objective to provide students the opportunity to start their trading journey through experiencing different financial instruments. Just so you know, the top traded stocks were mostly the glove counters such as Supermax, TopGlove, and Hartalega.

It spanned over a month and we recently just held our virtual prize-ceremony last week to congratulate our finalists as well as announced a winner for our live lucky draw. Some insights and trading tips were also provided by our trading champions.

In case you’ve missed it, you may watch it here: https://bit.ly/3mDtSki

Aligned in our vision to empower more youths to gain investment literacy and also making this event a huge success, this is a BIG THANK YOU to ALL our partners and sponsors: UOB Kay Hian Malaysia, CGS-CIMB Malaysia, as well as ShareInvestor Malaysia, Anson (BullBearBursa), and Max(12Invest).

Follow our Linkedin page for more exciting updates!

Become a part of our community and also see what other investors are saying about the current market right now: (click on the view now button)

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InvestingNote is the first and largest social network for investors in Singapore. Find out more about us here.

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Also, join our telegram channel here: t.me/investingnoteofficial

We’re here to keep you in touch with the latest investing & stock-related news, happenings, and updates!

Explaining Quantitative Easing & Its Effect On Commercial Banks (Guest Post)

Explaining Quantitative Easing & Its Effect On Commercial Banks (Guest Post)

Do You Know What The Effects Of Quantitative Easing Has On Commercial Banks?

Quantitative Easing: what's it all about? - Investor's Champion

This post was originally posted here. The writer, Kyith Ng is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @kyith and has 1095 followers.

Quantitative easing means to liquify the financial markets and the main economy, a lot of money was pumped into the financial system.

The straightforward deduction is that if you create money from out of nowhere, either your currency is going to shit or that inflation will run rampant.

We are not seeing both in the United States right now but a lot of the people are speculating it will be a matter of time.

I wonder whether that will really happen. I say this because I can’t say I am that competent to make that deduction. Usually, we have to know to a good extent what I am talking about to make that conclusion.

I do think that from what I hear, we have created an interconnected system that will create more than 2 standard deviations, 3 standard deviation volatility.

One of my favorite people on the financial blogosphere Cullen Roche of Pragmatic Capitalism explained that when the Federal Reserve infuses money, it is an exchange of very short-term liquid money with long-duration money/bonds.

In a way I understand it but if I cannot illustrate it out well, then maybe I do not understand it as well.

In any case, BCA has a good explanation about what happens when the Central Bank buys back commercial securities from the banks.

It sought to help to explain the relationship of Central banks with the monetary system.

I used to not get the relationship of Central Banks that well but the way to think about them is like the Bank of the financial institutions. They somewhat act as the lender of last resort.

If banks produce the lifeblood of the financial system, then they have to be functioning.

But what if the banks are not functioning?
…

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A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ATR INDICATOR (Guest Post)

A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ATR INDICATOR (Guest Post)

Do you know how an ATR indicator works?

What Is The ATR Indicator & How Do You Use It When Trading MT4?
This post was originally posted here. The writer, Rayner Teo is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @Rayner and has 593 followers.

I love the ATR indicator because unlike other trading indicators that measure momentum, trend direction, overbought levels, and etc.

The ATR (average true range) indicator is none of it.

Instead, it’s something entirely different.

And if used correctly, the Average True Range is one of the most powerful indicators you’ll come across.

That’s why I’ve written this post to explain the awesomeness of the Average True Range indicator.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

ATR indicator explained — what is it and how does it work

The Average True Range is an indicator that measures volatility.

It’s developed by J. Welles Wilder and was first mentioned in his book, New Concepts in Technical Analysis Systems (in 1978).

Now you might be wondering:

“How is the ATR values calculated?”

Well, it’s done using 1 of 3 methods, depending on how the candles are formed.

Here’s how…

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Why Are High Income Earners Struggling With Wealth Too? (Guest Post)

Why Are High Income Earners Struggling With Wealth Too? (Guest Post)

Does Having Higher Income Also Mean Higher Wealth?

screenshot-2020-09-30-at-14-08-53This post was originally posted here. The writer, Brian Halim is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with a username known as @3Fs and has 2259 followers.

An interesting article from TODAY (Link Here) shows why for the majority of people, even a highly paid career such as a pilot – they continue to struggle and face the crunch to survive when these are considered high-income earners.

The article interviews a random selection of 12 pilots, and while the sample number is considered relatively small, it gives a good indication of how numbers crunching and dire the situation is for these pilots during the pandemic.

High-Income Earners = Higher Wealth?

Many of us would think that high-income earners have a better correlation to wealth.

After all, if you earn $10,000 as opposed to say $2,000, you should be much better off technically when it comes to your savings rate…. right!?

 Most People Would Think Linearly That Nothing Can Go Wrong 

As it turns out, this isn’t necessarily the case.

From the article, one of the pilots is earning an income excess of $14,000 (including allowance) yet still struggles when the company had to force a company-wide pay cut to $6,000. Another pilot being interviewed has also admitted to being cash-strapped as his total compensations suffered a major cut down from the earlier of $23,000 to $13,000. We would think that is still a lot by the most standard but when he has an obligation to pay $19,000 in his expenses the whole story is completely different.

It was easy for most of us (the bottom ladders) to assume that with that sort of income earned per month, it would have been a breeze to survive the winter. After all, basic housing, medical and food supplies don’t take up that much of a pile.

But life has a way of making fun of us when we least expect it. …

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Key Summary of Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s EGM on 28 September 2020 (Guest Post)

Key Summary of Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s EGM on 28 September 2020 (Guest Post)

This post was originally posted here. The writer, Lim Jun Yuan is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with username known as ljunyuan and has 1394 followers.

This morning, retail REIT Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX:J69U) held its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to seek unitholders’ approval on the REIT’s proposed acquisition of the remaining 63.1% stake in AsiaRetail Fund Limited (whose portfolio consists of Tiong Bahru Plaza, White Sands, Hougang Mall, Century Square, Tampines 1, and Central Plaza), proposed equity fundraising, as well as the proposed divestment of Bedok Point.

I have attended the EGM as a unitholder of the REIT and for the benefit of those who weren’t able to attend, in this post, you’ll find a summary of the presentation by Mr Richard Ng (the CEO of the REIT) on how the acquisition of AsiaRetail Fund Limited is beneficial for the REIT and its unitholders, results of the resolutions that were put to vote, along with responses to some of the questions raised by unitholders…

Benefits of the Proposed Acquisition of AsiaRetail Fund Limited

The following are some of the key benefits of the REIT’s proposed acquisition of the remaining 63.1% stake of AsiaRetail Fund Limited to highlight:

  • From 7 malls in the REIT’s portfolio currently, post-acquisition, its portfolio will have 11 malls. Some of the other key statistics include REIT’s portfolio net lettable area increasing from 1.4m sq ft to more than 2.3m sq ft, along with the number of leases increasing from 800 to more than 1,500.
  • The proposed acquisition is a DPU-accretive one, and based on its DPU for FY2019, after the acquisition of AsiaRetail Fund Limited, as well as after the divestment of Bedok Point, the REIT’s DPU will be increased to 13.02 cents/unit (from 11.99 cents/unit) – this represents an increase by 8.59%.
  • Post-acquisition, Frasers Centrepoint Trust will become 8th largest S-REIT (in terms of market capitalization), as well as being the 8th largest S-REITs by free-float – this will result in a higher index weightage in the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT index, and this will also expand the REIT’s outreach to new investors.
  • The enlarged portfolio will also see a reduced concentration risk from any single asset (from around 30% now to no more than 22% post-acquisition.)
  • In terms of tax leakages, Mr Ng share that currently, the REIT is incurring costly tax leakages of approximately S$4.7m annually as a partial owner of AsiaRetail Fund Limited. However, post-acquisition, it will be able to reduce its tax by approximately $400k to $500k a month.
  • While post-acquisition, the REIT will see its gearing ratio increased to 39.3% (from 35.0% currently), but Mr Ng highlighted that its average cost of debt will be reduced to 2.3% (from 2.5%), and at the same time, its weighted average debt maturity will be extended to 4.3 years (from 2.3 years at present.)


Results of the Resolutions

The following are results of the 5 resolutions proposed at the EGM:
…

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Family Inc: Measures of Health of Family Wealth (Guest Post)

Family Inc: Measures of Health of Family Wealth (Guest Post)

Personal finance books would usually teach us how to tell whether we are in a good or poor financial position.

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This post was originally posted here. The writer, Kyith is a veteran community member and blogger on InvestingNote, with username known as Kyith and 800+ followers.

Today, we continue with our Family Inc Series with a look at what Doug McComick recommends as metrics to measure the health of our family wealth.

You could use these metrics for a snapshot of how your family is doing. You could incorporate them into your tracking as well.

I take particular interest in this chapter to see if there are metrics that we can incorporate into my firm’s financial planning practices. You gotta keep trying to do better.

It is important for you to have an idea about your income and net wealth. And having personal income and balance sheet statements are a way to know how well you do.

We take a look at what Doug thinks we should take note of.

…

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