Outside The Hall
I reached the Suntec Convention Hall (level 4) at around 12pm..JPG)
I dropped my lucky draw coupon at the entrance and received my ‘goodies bag”. I remember attending such exhibition in mid-90s also conducted by SGX (then known as SES) and the goodies was really good. Among other things, I got phone card, name cardholder and an expired share certificate (Jack Chia MPH). I still have the share certificate, should be an antique soon. I am prepared to let go at S$10,000 (negotiable).
Inside The Hall
As usual, it was big and crowded. But at least not like that kind.JPG)
of crowd you see at Chinatown during Chinese New Year eve right after the reunion dinner. In the hall, I decided to start from the left side and I came to Optionetic’s booth. They are giving away free book, if you surrender your particulars. By the name of the company I already know their expertise. So about option trading:
- Can be call or put options. You can make money in an up market and a down market.
- Speculation based on certain catalyst, usually corporate announcement.
I reached the Suntec Convention Hall (level 4) at around 12pm.
.JPG)
I dropped my lucky draw coupon at the entrance and received my ‘goodies bag”. I remember attending such exhibition in mid-90s also conducted by SGX (then known as SES) and the goodies was really good. Among other things, I got phone card, name cardholder and an expired share certificate (Jack Chia MPH). I still have the share certificate, should be an antique soon. I am prepared to let go at S$10,000 (negotiable).Inside The Hall
As usual, it was big and crowded. But at least not like that kind
.JPG)
of crowd you see at Chinatown during Chinese New Year eve right after the reunion dinner. In the hall, I decided to start from the left side and I came to Optionetic’s booth. They are giving away free book, if you surrender your particulars. By the name of the company I already know their expertise. So about option trading:- Can be call or put options. You can make money in an up market and a down market.
- Speculation based on certain catalyst, usually corporate announcement.
- Limited downside but unlimited upside.
- Huge market in US
- Can also use to protect portfolio (protective puts)
Again, since it’s about speculation, I am not going to touch on it. I had never tried option trading but I know what it is from my (CFA) studies. However, I am going to share with you my friend’s experience with options trading.
Option Trading and Training
Option trading is nothing new to traders in US, but relatively new to Singaporeans. If I am not wrong, the idea was brought in and became active after 2000 (dot.com burst). A few trainers emerged to conduct (expensive) courses and companies setting up and offering their trading platforms.
One of my friends attended such training. One day, I went to his place and I picked up one of the training manual to glance through. Something caught my attention. I saw a few pages with pictures of fund managers. They were categorised under two headings: those funds that had gone bust and those who survived to-date. The learning outcome of these pages was not stated. For those who survived, I saw photos of Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett etc. – value investors. Immediately I know what’s going on. I turned to my friend and said:
“bro, I never heard of these (bankrupted) fund managers. But I am willing to bet with you that they are not value investors. Let’s key in their names into Yahoo search……”
Truth enough, they were all hedge fund managers. These are fund managers constantly looking for opportunities in any forms - options, futures, forex, M&A etc. They can be in and out of a market very fast once a catalyst sets in. What’s really amusing is that by putting up these pictures, the trainer is effectively slapping his own face – options equal to speculation!!! And to add to your laughter, many trainees including my friend didn’t realize that!!! He was shocked after that.
- Huge market in US
- Can also use to protect portfolio (protective puts)
Again, since it’s about speculation, I am not going to touch on it. I had never tried option trading but I know what it is from my (CFA) studies. However, I am going to share with you my friend’s experience with options trading.
Option Trading and Training
Option trading is nothing new to traders in US, but relatively new to Singaporeans. If I am not wrong, the idea was brought in and became active after 2000 (dot.com burst). A few trainers emerged to conduct (expensive) courses and companies setting up and offering their trading platforms.
One of my friends attended such training. One day, I went to his place and I picked up one of the training manual to glance through. Something caught my attention. I saw a few pages with pictures of fund managers. They were categorised under two headings: those funds that had gone bust and those who survived to-date. The learning outcome of these pages was not stated. For those who survived, I saw photos of Peter Lynch, Warren Buffett etc. – value investors. Immediately I know what’s going on. I turned to my friend and said:
“bro, I never heard of these (bankrupted) fund managers. But I am willing to bet with you that they are not value investors. Let’s key in their names into Yahoo search……”
Truth enough, they were all hedge fund managers. These are fund managers constantly looking for opportunities in any forms - options, futures, forex, M&A etc. They can be in and out of a market very fast once a catalyst sets in. What’s really amusing is that by putting up these pictures, the trainer is effectively slapping his own face – options equal to speculation!!! And to add to your laughter, many trainees including my friend didn’t realize that!!! He was shocked after that.
"Yo bro, if you are reading my blog now, please tell my readers that I am telling the truth!"
(Subsequently, this friend of mine gave up options and started to learn value investment from me F.O.C. although I could have charged him S$10,000. A year later, he found a job as a Research Executive in a big company, though luck plays a part).
Land Banking
Back to the exhibition hall. Anyway, I got a copy of the free book from Optionetic and surrendered my particulars (please lah, I’m still a Singaporean leh, anything free just grab). I bypassed booths from broking house such as CIMB-GK, a few listed companies such as Petra Food, Bursa Malaysia, SGX, wine investment, GE Life, Adam Khoo’s Learning Technology and then I came to this company Walton International. This is a land banking company. Coincidentally, I heard of this term "land banking" only the night before when a friend told me that he will be signing a contract to “buy land”!!! A lady consultant approached me and I decided to sit down to understand their products. The followings are some of the points I picked up:
- A land banking company buys and holds a piece of undeveloped land mostly in countries such as UK, Canada and US. It takes a few years before the land can be dispose off at a good profit, if there is a demand.
- You invest by buying at least a unit which cost S$10,000. If the land you chose is located in US, then you have to multiply by the exchange rate. And you are locked in. You may exit from the investment early as the company may (not sure if it is guaranteed) buy over your units. But returns will be minimal.
- Thus a whole plot of land is actual owned by many investors. You need to invest with long term view and returns come in at times of disposal. The land will appreciate when the local government release “planning permission” on the land and developer starts to bid for it. Or else….
- Unlike property, land do not depreciate (unless got hit by natural disasters).
What I am interested in is the correlation of land banking with the economy. A few days later, I done a quick check on Yahoo. I got both positive and negative comment on this investment products. Since I have not completed my due diligence, I shall not jump to conclusion. But one thing for sure, the company had created an awareness. I will monitor and when there is a chance, to discuss it with some of my friends who are active in investment and up-to-date.
Value of a Winning Strategy
After I exchange card with the consultant, I quickly proceed to seminar room 4 for the topic that I am interested: “Can I invest for a living?”. Guess what? It was flooded all the way to the door and I can’t see a thing. Disappointed, I left the hall and visited a friend who is doing business in Suntec. At 2pm, I managed to attend another talk on “Learn the power of option trading”. At the end of it, the speaker revealed the course fees to be S$6,000 plus and they are offering a S$1,500 discount for first five who signed up.
Do you know that Warren Buffett never writes a book on his winning investment strategy? If option trading is such a easy winning strategy, why would they want to reveal it and earn from training fees? Or why should they waste their time teaching instead of trading? Or teaching is actually more profitable than trading? I leave it to you to ponder. If I found a guaranteed/chop/signed winning strategy, pay me tens of S$10,000 and I still won'I reveal.
I ended the day with a nice coffee session with a few (new) friends sharing and exchanging investment knowledge. Hey, without scrolling back, can you recall how many times I mentioned "S$10,000" in this article? :-)
Land Banking
Back to the exhibition hall. Anyway, I got a copy of the free book from Optionetic and surrendered my particulars (please lah, I’m still a Singaporean leh, anything free just grab). I bypassed booths from broking house such as CIMB-GK, a few listed companies such as Petra Food, Bursa Malaysia, SGX, wine investment, GE Life, Adam Khoo’s Learning Technology and then I came to this company Walton International. This is a land banking company. Coincidentally, I heard of this term "land banking" only the night before when a friend told me that he will be signing a contract to “buy land”!!! A lady consultant approached me and I decided to sit down to understand their products. The followings are some of the points I picked up:
- A land banking company buys and holds a piece of undeveloped land mostly in countries such as UK, Canada and US. It takes a few years before the land can be dispose off at a good profit, if there is a demand.
- You invest by buying at least a unit which cost S$10,000. If the land you chose is located in US, then you have to multiply by the exchange rate. And you are locked in. You may exit from the investment early as the company may (not sure if it is guaranteed) buy over your units. But returns will be minimal.
- Thus a whole plot of land is actual owned by many investors. You need to invest with long term view and returns come in at times of disposal. The land will appreciate when the local government release “planning permission” on the land and developer starts to bid for it. Or else….
- Unlike property, land do not depreciate (unless got hit by natural disasters).
What I am interested in is the correlation of land banking with the economy. A few days later, I done a quick check on Yahoo. I got both positive and negative comment on this investment products. Since I have not completed my due diligence, I shall not jump to conclusion. But one thing for sure, the company had created an awareness. I will monitor and when there is a chance, to discuss it with some of my friends who are active in investment and up-to-date.
Value of a Winning Strategy
After I exchange card with the consultant, I quickly proceed to seminar room 4 for the topic that I am interested: “Can I invest for a living?”. Guess what? It was flooded all the way to the door and I can’t see a thing. Disappointed, I left the hall and visited a friend who is doing business in Suntec. At 2pm, I managed to attend another talk on “Learn the power of option trading”. At the end of it, the speaker revealed the course fees to be S$6,000 plus and they are offering a S$1,500 discount for first five who signed up.
Do you know that Warren Buffett never writes a book on his winning investment strategy? If option trading is such a easy winning strategy, why would they want to reveal it and earn from training fees? Or why should they waste their time teaching instead of trading? Or teaching is actually more profitable than trading? I leave it to you to ponder. If I found a guaranteed/chop/signed winning strategy, pay me tens of S$10,000 and I still won'I reveal.
I ended the day with a nice coffee session with a few (new) friends sharing and exchanging investment knowledge. Hey, without scrolling back, can you recall how many times I mentioned "S$10,000" in this article? :-)
1 comment:
Hi Bro, it's fun reading your experience at the invest fair. Have to agreed with you on the value of investing vs speculating approach. Too bad didn't have the time to visit the fair, although so close to my work place. This is my second day reading your blog. Done a great job! Will continue visiting. Cheers!
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