[Post 104] TipforThought:What's the hardest truth of life? and What's are the biggest career mistakes to avoid

What's the hardest truth of life?(Credit to Phillip Makohliso)

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1. Your parents are the only people who become genuinely happy when you succeed.
2. People want to see you succeed… but not more than them.
3. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The reverse is true if you get what I mean.
4. The way you are brought up contributes about 70% to the person you grow up to be. unfortunately, we don't get to choose our parents.
5. Genuine love is rare if you stumble upon it cherish it.
6. Nobody will die for you. You are on your own so man up.
7. Life is so unfair but it is still beautiful.
8. Bad things happen to good people.
9. Growing up comes with more responsibilities, thus life gets even harder as you grow.
10. Life is a journey with an unknown destination. You only cross the bridge when you get there… sometimes you are not even sure whether the bridge is there or not. Live today tomorrow is not promised.

What's are the biggest career mistakes to avoid? (Credits to Dandan Zhu)


                                               

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#1. Aiming too low. Whether it’s salary, title, or type of company, people are too intimidated by interviewers, scared of asking for what they want at every stage of the interview process, and suffer from imposter syndrome.

This is a direct result of decades of indoctrination by authoritative educational, parental, and societal institutions that tend to demolish your self-confidence in an effort to control you. This persistent lack of confidence is the #1 issue candidates suffer from when it comes to selling yourself effectively.

#2. Saying no to yourself. Because you feel that you lack the “qualifications” the job description asks for, you end up not going for the opportunity. This continued lack of self-confidence through self-discrimination, combined with the obsession of fulfilling requirements down to the last drop, handicaps good professionals from achieving career greatness.

Although job description doesn't matter, many candidates still try to play by the rules. They don’t understand that the job search is like war. The victor obtains the spoils. It’s every man and woman for themselves.

There are NO rules in job search! This is why often psychopaths and liars sometimes get the BEST jobs and offers. They understand manipulation.

Too often, the most accomplished candidates lose because they don’t know the song and dance that is the job search.

#3. Not understanding the modern job search ecosystem and process. There are 4 major hiring entities that you need to know how to manipulate, maneuver around, and negotiate with. The HR person, hiring manager, headhunter, and internal recruiter. Each person has a slightly different incentive, process, and interaction protocol. You should behave accordingly.

In addition, the process of job search is no longer: look on the web for listings, apply to jobs that you like, wait for feedback, go interview. The new process is: create your marketing documents (including your resume ), master LinkedIn networking, leverage the 4 hiring entities mentioned above, utilize the volume of interviews to your advantage, negotiate all throughout.

#4. Becoming a jack of all trades. The most dangerous problem candidates run into that seriously limits their market value and range of future career options is becoming a generalist. Corporations no longer value soldiers, willing to do any deed for pay. They want professionals, experts, and true masters of the industry and job vertical. They NEED these experts to remain viable and stay ahead of their competition.

No longer is being eager and willing to work for a firm for the next 25 years a valuable candidate trait. Firms want true market leaders. That means, specialization and experience within a niche skill are not only a good-to-have, but a MUST-HAVE to remain a relevant and desirable professional.

Lastly, #5. Having no financial plan nor power. Most professionals forget that they work largely to make a living. Since most people accumulate worse spending habits every year, people rely on their jobs more and more to fuel their lifestyle. This dependent relationship on a job quickly spirals out of control once their house of cards experiences even the smallest tremor.

Because of your deep reliance on your paycheck, your emotions run amok when experiencing any type of career turbulence.

Since your financial woes are so heavy and over-leveraged, you can’t see straight, let alone find a career you enjoy!

In most of these cases, professionals tend to work simply to chase the dollar, losing all meaning and passion for what they’re working towards outside of living the high life they buy with their post-tax dollars. They become money-mongers. Greed takes precedence. Career meaning, purpose, and ethical behavior quickly fall by the wayside when confronted by financial greed.

This is the #1 cause of corporate fraud, corruption, pollution, and general nastiness (think: Wolf of Wall Street, Enron, and Bernie Madoff). Individual greed driven by a need to keep up with the Joneses pollutes corporate cultures by attracting people who are in it just for the money.

In conclusion

Career problems aren’t simply an amalgamation of your job’s stressors. Your personal, financial, and professional problems, weaknesses, and vices will all meld together to gang up on you, if you let your guard down or stray off the righteous path of moral behavior.

Stay ahead of the game by learning, networking, and speaking with career experts, colleagues, mentors, and influencers that have the RIGHT advice to guide you.

Thanks for reading!

[Post 103] TipforThought: Building and managing your portfolio

Quick guide on building and managing your portfolio!

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1.Getting started and what to watch out for

• Most people save and invest because they want some money for future goal.
• If you are new to investing ,here are some step to help you get started on an investment plan.

2.Setting goals

• What are your goals?Common goals include paying off your student loan ,accumulating fund for retirement or savings for your children education
• Work out how much money you need for your goal
• Work out when you need the money for your goal.The time you have available to invest leading up to when the money is needed is known as your investment horizon.

3.How much can you afford to invest?

• How much money do you have available to invest ,after paying your  household expenses,insurance premium and debt as well as setting aside some savings?
• Can you cut back some expenses to free up more money for saving or investing?If your investment suffer a loss,will it impact your debt and other commitment ,or others goals?

• Do not commit to pay or invest more than you can possibly afford  long term.Look for a cost-effective alternative .If the product requires you to pay,what will be consequences if you do not have enough to pay.
• Do you intend to invest in one lump sum or fixed amount a regular amount ?e.g monthly,annually?
• How much time do you have/what's your age ?/do you have  time to ride out short term fluctuations or losses 

4.Know yourself and how some investing basics apply to you

5.Consolidate and priorities your goals

• After examining what you need ,when you need it,how much you can invest , and how much risk you can afford to take.
• You may need to re-prioritize your goals.You may need to settle for a smaller house or a smaller car,but it would be unwise not to build up adequate retirement savings and provide for adequate healthcare cover.

6.What's step should you take to achieve your goals?

• This could be saving up or Investing in a diversified portfolio to help you achieve what you need.Always keep the step above in mind when considering what action to take .
• Choose your investment based on how suitable it is for your needs and personal circumstances,how well you understand the product ,and how it will fit in your diversified portfolio to reach your investment objectives
• Do find out whether you can manage risk or limit losses once you are invested.Remember there are product where you can lose all your initial investment,products where you can lose more than your initial investment and products whose market values go up and down.
• With the latter,do be aware that markets could be at a downtown when you want to take out your money,so it is important to monitor your investments carefully in case you need to liquidate or take other action sooner.
• Do consider dollar cost averaging as a means to accumulating the assets you want

7.Monitoring Performance,Rebalancing and Adjusting your investments

• Investing is an on-going responsibility.Even if you can choose to be somewhat passive -Investing in unit trusts or funds that track indices - you should regularly review the performance of your investments to see if you are on track to achieving your goals .
• Keep watch over the factors which may influence the performance of your investments .You may need to take if your investment is under performing.

Thanks for reading!

[Post 102] Zero dollar project updates:carousell,Bitcoin Faucets,Short Link,Online survey and Adsense update

Updates for zero dollar project,last update around may 3

1.Carousell
2.Bitcoin faucets
3.Short link
4.Online survey

1.Carousell

My carousell:carousell.com/eric996

Did not keep track due to studies,assume NIL

2.Bitcoin faucets

Current coinpot holding

Bitcoin core: 6672 Satoshi
Bitcoin cash: 17014 bch
Dogecoin: 70.95. doge
Litecoin:  0.00243857 ltc
Dashcoin: 0.00089270 dash

3.Short link

Total earning for short link since last update:$6.95+$6.14+$6.31+$7.28=$26.68

For more information on how's I use both short link on my blog and YouTube, read here

4.Online survey

Current online survey on my list...(Bold mean that these survey websites have been verified for payout)

4.1 Toluna
4.2.surveyon
4.3 YouGov
4.4 mobrog
4.5 ipanelonline
4.6 viewfruit
4.7 mysurvey
4.8 millleu(App on google play store)

Survey that payout surveyon,mobrog,toluna,yougov,ipanelonline

The total payout from last project update:$6.25+$20.00+$25.60+$6.25+$5.00+$20.00+$15.68+$6.25+$20.00+$8.78=$133.81

Total earnings for lastest update of zero dollar project:$133.81+ +$26.68 =$160.49

That's all for the updates  for my zero dollar project!

[Post 101] AFA SG 2019(Anime Festival Asia)

Personally, I went to AFA (Anime Festival Asia) on a yearly basis except last year ,because nothing was of interest to me

Decided to go this year because of the great Anisong lineup on Fri(Fhana ,TRUE, Uchida Maaya, and Scandal) ,arrived at Suntec around 3pm (My first Anisong concert!)

Wanted to save the booking fee by purchasing on on-site ticket,but alias the booking fee was still included($103.00 ,very expensive!)

Below are some of the exhibition photo,for those who are veterans of AFA,the AFA exhibition is mostly the same year-on-year basis

Merchandise were pretty much all the famous anime e.g Kimetsu No Yaiba, sword online etc

(The crowd in the pictures below says it all,squeezy!!)

1)Greeted at the entrance by RX-78-2 Gundam

2)AKIBA stage

3)The queue at MUSE(anime merchandise store)

AFA merchandise are pretty marked up!(word of advice:buy anime merchandise outside of such convention unless its an item that is exclusive to AFA)

4)People try out new boku no hero(not pico,guys!) game

5)Back at AKIBA stage with DEAR KISS performing!(you would normally find me at hanging out at AKIBA stage most of the time!)

6) Spend the remaining of my time trying out the various trading card games to get free pack and card!(battle sprit and Yu-Gi-Oh)

Basically, people who go AFA can be divided into 4 categories:

1.The Anisong concert attendee

2.The first timer(those who want to experience AFA once)

3.The buying frenzy(never understand why they do that, most AFA anime merchandise are marked up!)

4.the stage goer and wota(The wotagei who know every anisong and fan chant ,and is always arm with lightstick)

The best part of the AKIBA stage is the DJ playing anisong,although if you're not familar with anisong,you'll still have a great time because of the crowd's enthusiasm

And what's AFA without some cosplay pics...

                          

And finally, the most exiting part of the day ,the anisong concert!

No picture or video to be taken during the event(god knows why they had to set up those recording equipment 

The artiste lineup is as follows(Fhana, Uchida Maaya ,TRUE ,Scandal)

Brief description of Fhana (courtesy from Wikipedia): Fhana is a four member Japanese pop band that formed in 2012 as an indie band. .Fhána originally formed with Jun'ichi Satō, Yuxuki Waga, and Kevin Mitsunaga, all three of whom had previously been active in separate independent bands. Fhána did not have a fixed vocalist at first, instead employing guest vocalists to sing the band's songs.Towana later joined Fhána as the official vocalist

Some picture of Fhana from AFA facebok(mostly Towana)...

Fhana setlist as below

I was a bit disappointed that Fhana setlist did not include moon river and hello my world!

Aozora no rhapsody was of course the highlight(chu chu yeah!!),Boku no Mitsukete ,Niji no Ametara and Hoshizuku no interlude is one of my favorites from fhana too 

About 5 mins into the concert, i notice that the person left and right wasn't very enthu, and it did kinda pissed me off a little ,hahaha(i suppose most people came to see scandal only)

2 song i recommend from Fhana!

1.Boku no mitsukete

2. Moon river

TRUE is one of my favorite solo singers (she's also very pretty!)

TRUE setlist as below

Again, a slight disappointment that TRUE setlist did not include divine spell, which is my second most favorite song from her, it would have been a definite uplifting concert tune. 

The highlight for me was when she sang STEEL-Tekketsu no Kizuna-, which in my opinion is her best song

2 song i recommend from TRUE!

1.STEEL -Tekketsu no Kizuna-

2.Divine Spell

Uchida Mayaa is my favorite Voice actress(and no offense i think she is one of the most prettiest va around)

Mayaa setlist as below

A little surprised that she sang cosmos given that it wasn't any anime song,(but its my favourite song from her ,so no complain!:D) 

Karappo capsule was probably the period when i start to lose my voice due to all the shouting and it wasn't even Scandal yet!(hahaha)

Another slightly pissed off moment was when Mayaa segment was about to start and someone said "Mayaa who?"(hahaha)

2 song i recommend from Mayaa!

1. C.O.S.M.O.S

2.Youthful beautiful

And finally the highlight of the concert: Scandal!

Scandal setlist

The audience was pretty wild when they begin their segment with "masterpiece" which is not an anisong and latest single at that time. 

Most people know Scandal through their anisong in bleach, so it was really fun to hear them belting out old anisong favorite such as Shoujo S ,Harukaze and Shunkan Sentimental

Scandal also belt out a new song from their album "kiss from the darkness", A.M.D.K.J ,which apparently is the first time it is being play live(a good treat to the fans,i must say!)

2 Song i recommend from Scandal!

1.Masterpiece

2.Yoake no Ryuuseigun

Would have love to go for JUNNA on Saturday but then it would be a waste of money as i do not listen to the other Saturday artist song though

Great respect for those who spend the money to watch only one segment performance!

All in all, AFA exhibition get only an okay for me as the exhibition is same old, same old. But the Anisong concert make the experience ten times better(and probably 10 times more expensive also!)

[Post 100]Trip To Invest Fair 2019! part 2

Continue from the last post...

Valuation model

Discounted cash flow model 

Company Name:Singapore O&G(Listed on SGX)
Market cap: 188.337
Last Done:0.395
Free cash flow per share:0.02764
Intrinsic value:0.326

Company Name:Raffles Medical(Local Peer SGX)
Market cap :1,882.653
Last Done:1.030
Free cash flow per share:0.03504
Intrinsic Value:0.414

Company Name: TalkMed(Local Peer SGX)
Market cap:657.251
Last Done:0.500
Free cash flow per share:0.01989
Intrinsic Value:0.235

Discounted Earning Model 

Company Name: Singapore O&G(Listed on SGX)
Market Cap: 188.337
Last Done:0.395
Earnings Per Share:0.01919
Intrinsic value:0.227

Company Name:Raffles Medical( Local Peer SGX)
Market Cap:1,882,653
Last Done: 1.030
Earnings Per Share:0.03887
Intrinsic Value:0.459

Company Name:Talkmed(Local Peer SGX)
Market Cap:657.251
Last Done:0.500
Earnings Per Share:0.02199
Intrinsic Value:0.260

Financial Analysis

Strong Financial Results Last 3 Years

• It has increasing revenue increase in last 3 consecutive years
• The company has strong financial strength(Piotroski F-score 8-9)
• It has good cash ratio of at least 0.8 for 3 consecutive years and no debt as net cash
• It has consistently high profit margin of at least 40% for 3 years
• It has consistent high net profit of at least 20% for last 3 years
• ROA(Return of asset) is above 10% for 3 consecutive years 

Compound Annual Growth Rare(CAGR) 

Notes:

1.CAGR calculation are based on Full year financial results announcements over the past few years

2.CAGR calculation will not be made if any of the Full Year Financial are not based on 12 months 

3.Adjusted CAGR calculations takes into account effects of applicable corporate action(e.g stock splits and consolidation) and the current number of shares

Revenue 

Over the last 3 year:+28.22%

Net earnings

Over the last 3 year:+19.65%

Earning Per Share(EPS)- Historical

Over the last 3 year:-10.43%

Earning Per Share(Adjusted)

Over the last 3 year:+19.65%

Dividend Per Share(DPS) -Historical

Over the last 3 year:-5.74%

Dividend Per Share(DPS)- Adjusted

Over the last 3 year:+22.35%

Technical Overview below

Investment Summary 

Evaluation

Summary

• The company has strong financial strength,no debt,high profit margin and in a recession proof industry 

• Based on Lyn's Research Technical chart also indicate a BUY for this stock(BULLISH)

• Based on Discounted Cash Flow model(DCF) and Discounted Earning Model(DCM),it is trading at a discount in terns of its intrinsic value as compared to its peer Talk Med and Raffle Hospital 

• Singapore O&G is lagging behind the market due to uncertainties regarding the healthcare industry due to rising trade war tension between US and China,leading to less medical tourist.This seems to put this stock in what we call a special situation: a potentially undervalued stock due to great concerns regarding its future earnings.Also a recession may happen in Singapore within the next 2 years ,hence we like it as an investment in a well-diversified portfolio,as it could yield an asymmetric return in a relatively short period of time 
• Strong BUY

(Quite an interesting presentation i must say, next up i have an presentation on stock pitch kimly,but it seem i have only one picture,somehow the other pictures were lost)

Thesis

• PE ratio 13.8 is relatively cheap
• Dividend yield of 5.37% is relatively good
• Balance sheet relatively strong
• Weighing the risk and reward,recommend a buy/long position for Kimly at $0.235
• For conservative investors,recommend a buy/long position at $0.210(10% margin of safety based on $0.235)

Other interesting brochures that i have collected during the event...

What is a CFD?

A contact for Difference(CFD) is a tradable instrument that mirror the movement of the underlying asset.It allow traders to take advantage of the asset price movement without physical ownership 

CFD Benefits 

• CFDs add a greater flexibility to traders in their trading strategies.In addition to trading long position as traditional stock investors. CFD traders have the options to take on short position.Hence,gain can potentially made in both bull or bear market

• CFD provide the ability to hedge an existing physical portfolio

• No expiry mean no time delay

• Access a wide range of global markets and trade multi assets thorough a single online CFD trading account

• Efficient use of traders capital 

• CFD provide leverage to traders so that they can trade without the need of depositing the full value of a position.This allows traders to utilize excess capital more efficiently rather than being committed to one transaction

Dividend Portfolio

Dividend investing is an investment strategy which focus on purchasing dividend paying stocks or REITS to generate a steady stream of passive income

Metrics to screen for Dividend Stocks/REITS

• Dividend Yield > 4%
• Dividend Pay-out Ratio < 1x
• Net Debt to Equity <0.5x
• CAGR of DPU >2% for past 3 year
• Total Debt to Total Assets < 0.4x (for REITs and Trusts)

Dividend is most suitable for investors with the below characteristic:

1.Low-Moderate Risk Tolerance Level 

2. Long investment Horizon

3.Low Effort & Time & Portfolio Monitoring

Growth Portfolio 

Growth investing aims to identify companies that have promising future growth potential,even if they have high valuation ratio

Metrics to screen for Growth Stocks 

Revenue Growth >15% for past 3 years 

Gross Margins > 25% for past 3 years

Price Upside from Analyst Consensus Estimates > 20%

Growth investing is most suitable for investors with the below characteristics 

1.High Risk Tolerance Level

2.Long Investment Horizon

3.Moderate Effort & Time for Portfolio Monitoring

Value Portfolio

Value investing focuses on buying companies for less than what they are worth (margin of safety),and then selling them when they approach their actual value (Intrinsic value)

Metrics to screen for undervalued Stocks

• Compounded Earnings Growth  > 10% for past 3 years
• Return Equity > 10% for past 1 year
• Net Debt to Equity < 1x
• Trailing P/E Ratio  < 15x

Value Investing is most suitable for investors with the below characteristics:

1.Moderate Risk Tolerance Level 

2.Moderate-Long Investment Horizon

3.Moderate & time for Portfolio Monitoring

Trend Following Portfolio 

Trend Following is a technical analysis approach that detect stocks in the initial stage of a trend and aims to ride on the trend for big profit

Metrics to screen for Trend Following Stocks

• RSI (n =20) > 50 FOR 1 day
• ADX Trend( N=20) above 25 for 1 day 
• Bullish ADX + DI  > -DI(N =20)
• Price >MA50 for 1 day 

Trend Following is most suitable for investors with the below characteristics:

1.High Risk Tolerance Level 

2.Short Investment Horizon 

3.High Effort & Time for Portfolio Monitoring

SGX Investor Resources

Be empowered by SGX's suite of investor resources.Designed and developed for all investments,from novices to professionals,we provide you the tools and technique to achieved informed investment decisions

Research- sgx.com/mygateway

Stay in touch with Singapore stock market with weekly curation of market news and investor education events

On-the-go- SGX Mobile App

Get first-hand news with live market updates on your customised watchlists through SGX Mobile App

Tool - sgx.com/stockfacts

Plug into SGX Stockfacts to access the stock fundamentals on all SGX-listed companies

Education - sgx.com/academy

Sharpen your investment acumen at SGX Academy with our team of professional trainers

That's basically sums up the brochure and the event,all in all a great convention to go full of like-minded people.Looking forward to the FSM invest EXPO 2020!