Welcome 2015

[Giveaway]

Welcome 2015!

As we aged, we realised that time passed by faster than we wanted it to be. Maybe it was because we couldn't move faster as compared to our younger days, so time managed to catch up easily.  Maybe it was the deterioration of our memory, we lost track of time.  Whatever it might be, 2015 is here, let us embrace it.

Do you have a New Year Resolution? Care to share?

I don't set resolution, because I think after 365 days (and a quarter), I am unlikely to remember it.  But there are a few things I wish I could achieve, yes, wish/hope/pray hard.  Here they are:

1) To be fitter, healthier, and hopefully leaner
It is easy to do this in the beginning of the year but I wonder if I can pull through the whole of 2015.  I have started doing some Yoga poses at home, some stretching and mini workouts at home with online videos, in addition to my weekly pilates classes.  I try to jog once a week.  I also installed an app to keep my meal diary, to monitor what I eat and the food composition.  I document my fitness and wellness journey in Dayre.  If you would like, you may follow me (http://dayre.me/fitinme/).

2) To spend more time supervising AJ's school work
The first 2 years of primary school life was over, the honeymoon period was over, more serious work starts in primary 3.  In the last 2 years, I had been very relax with AJ's school work.  I hardly revised spelling with him, I just test him spontaneously.  Some days we even forgot there were spelling.  I never revised with him his tests and exams.  I was this relaxed with him in term of his school works.

But this year will be different.  Science is added.  Model drawing for Math is added.  There is higher expectation when it comes to Languages.  I have to supervise his work closely for sure.

3) To complete my Certificate in Bible Studies awarded by FEBC
I have been doing night classes, day classes and online classes in Far Eastern Bible Colleague (FEBC) on and off for the last hmm... ... 20 years.  I took a long haitus in between because of my overseas studies and AJ.  Now that AJ has gone to school for former education, I have the time to resume my studies.

4) To focus on trading
Ever since I was exposed to the financial market in 2007 where I started working as a Remiser, I fell in love with the stock market.  My passion in trading grew, I got more and more interested in honing my trading skills.  I left the industry in 2011 but the interest didn't die.  

Many people think the stock market is dangerous and that it is likened a gambling den.  Well, if you do not posses the skills, your winning stake is 50/50, thus it is a gambling den to you.  If you buy a stock based just on analysts' reports or rumours in the market, yes it is a gambling den to you.

But I treat it as my business.  In any business, we buy inventories at low prices and we sell them at higher prices (or sell higher first and buy at lower prices later like in the case of advance order).  Before business can be established, market research is necessary.  And so will I do my research on the companies and the broad market sentiment.  I read my charts and I studied the behaviour of the stocks.  So to me, trading is not gambling.  Trading is my business.  And this year I am going to focus my time more in this, which gives me the income.

While I trade, I also do value investing.  But I do value investing through a boutique fund manager because I find that trading is my forte, value investing is not.  So it is best to leave it to the professional to do it for me.  My husband and I engaged Aggregate Asset Management to handle this for us.  The reason why we select them is pretty simple.  They don't charge sales commission and management fee.  We pay only performance fee if the current year's performance super-cedes the previous year's.  They are so confident of their capabilities that they dare to do this.  As for me, as long as I received value increased in my investment month after month, I am pretty satisfied.  To-date, the return is more than 10% p.a.

Aggregate Asset Management has a high profile candidate in their team.  She is Teh Hooi Ling, a former high flying senior editor of Singapore’s foremost financial daily (The Business Times).  She is a 22-year veteran in financial reporting.  She now heads the research team in Aggregate and is also their Executive Director.

In her 22 years with Singapore Press Holdings, she wrote countless financial articles.  This book "$how Me the Money" is a collection of 45 articles that she has written for the past 22 years in The Business Times Investment Column.  Each article covers a few investment principles that young investors should take note of. A short book review can be found in Straits Times Press here.

The Aggregate Asset Management team has graciously offered 1 copy for one of my lucky readers.  If you would like to win a copy of this book, please follow the steps in Rafflecopter below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


PS.  Draw will end 6th Jan 2359.  This book is also available in the public libraries.  However, you probably need to make a reservation for it because it is really hot.

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Congratulations to Chuyan Kwek!

You have won for yourself this copy.  I will mail the book to you.