Five steps to take in REIT investment.

Now, I would not tell people if it is a good time to buy or to sell anything in the stock market. Regular readers know this. It is only on hindsight that we could tell if it was a good time to buy or to sell. Everyone has perfect hindsight. Not very useful, is it?


I know I have many more than a thousand blog posts by now and it would probably take quite a bit of time to trawl through them but I have hand picked a few and provided hyperlinks in the right side bar for your easy reference.

In this blog post, I want to share what I think I can safely share with anyone without getting into trouble and that is my general approach to the issue of investing in REITs. I try not to be repetitive but it is hard to avoid repeating at least some of the stuff I have said before in earlier blog posts.

Step one, know what is a REIT. Yes, don't laugh! People buy things just because it is the flavour of the month or year sometimes. It is true! Know what is a REIT and whether it fits your investment objectives. If you don't know what you want out of your investments, please leave your money in your bank account. 

Step two, if investing in REITs fits your investment objectives, look at the numbers of the different REITs available and see if you like them. If you read my blog posts on the different REITs I am vested in over the last 2 to 3 years, you will get an idea of what I look out for when I examine their financial reports. My approach is by no means fool proof but I believe that it does a pretty decent job.

Step three, if you like the numbers of certain REITs even at their current unit prices, then, they are still good investments for you! Doesn't sound like a difficult conclusion to arrive at, does it?

Step four, decide how much of each REIT you want to buy into at the current unit prices. As a percentage of your total investible cash, how much would you be comfortable with investing? Now, this is a very personal question. Some people are conservative while some are bolder. Two people could have the same belief that being partially invested while keeping a war chest ready is the way to do it but differ as to the proportion of investible cash to use.

Step five, buy, hold and monitor. Yes, don't think that everything is hunky-dory after making your investments. You want to monitor how they are doing on a quarterly basis. Keep track of macro trends and think how these could affect your investments. If you stay on top of things, you will feel confident in your investments and if there should be opportunities to buy more on the cheap, you would be able to act decisively. By the same token, you would also know when prices are somewhat rich and that partial or full divestment could be a good choice.


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Technical Analysis For Dummies dumps the confusing jargon and unreadable charts for basic explanations and practical guidance.





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Visiting an indecent (even lewd) shop.

Remember the big hoo hah about the gigantic poster of a half naked man at Knightsbridge? Actually, that was not a poster. It was more like an enormous mural!

The images which would put most Singaporean men (including myself) to shame were on two walls at the corner of the building, a few storeys high!

For those of more puritanical persuasion, you might want to avert your eyes because here is a flesh  flash back:

A while back, I went with a friend who was visiting. She went with her camera in hand and took photos with the lone topless hunk in the shop. After that, the nightmare began. Nightmare? Now, now, don't be naughty.

Too dark! Too many steps! Too many angular handrails!

I don't have very good night vision and I had to squint in the very dimly litted interior and would suddenly go blind in areas with spotlights which made me even more blind as I walked into dimmer areas again. As I went up and down the steps, I walked into the corners of the handrails at least twice. I had the haematoma to show for it too!

The shirts on sale were somewhat too thick for our climate. Of course, the prices were too rich for me. Anyway, if you guessed that I probably walked away empty handed, you are right. No prizes though. Too easy.

You might be interested in reading my older blog post on Abercrombie & Fitch.

Hint: you would also want to read the comments section.

Read the blog post here:
Ad by Abercrombie & Fitch is indecent (even lewd)!

See my staycation photos at Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore: here.

Marco Polo: Longer term buy on weakness.

The lower highs on the CMF suggest a weakening of smart money flow into the stock. The MACD, however, shows a strong positive momentum with a higher high in the process of forming.

Candlestick analysis gives cause for caution as two dojis and a black candle were formed in the last three sessions. However, the much higher volume as price pushed higher compared to the much reduced volume in the black candle day suggests a lack of sellers' conviction.

CMF shows higher lows on the weekly chart. This suggests that there is less money moving out of the stock in the longer term. MACD has turned positive and MACD histogram has formed a higher high, In the event of a retracement, support is at 38c while a stronger support is at 36.5c.

To me, it is quite clear that Marco Polo remains a longer term buy on weakness.

Related post:
Marco Polo: A neglected gem.

For those who prefer e-books:
Technical Analysis For Dummies

Wilmar: Testing resistance with strong momentum.

Wilmar's momentum oscillators are firing away! They are strongly positive and the stock could go higher even though it has hit resistance provided by the 200d MA.

A correction in price would see strong support at $3.23 while immediate support is at $3.53.

Daily chart.

Weekly chart.

In the event that price action overcomes resistance, the immediate target is provided by the descending 50w MA and I would hazard a guess of $3.81. If that goes, then, it would be the 100w MA at $4.60 but I would be quite surprised if it should happen without at least a pull back in the next few weeks.

---------------------------
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The difference between lending and donating!

"Creditors have better memories than debtors." Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin US postage stamp, 1847.

A good friend has been telling me on and off how a friend of his has not repayed a $200 loan made almost a year ago. 

Well, it could be as good as gone, I said. 

That got him depressed every time. 

I would then tell him that he is a poor candidate for a lender.

Is there ever a good candidate for a lender?




Well, I was taught that if we should lend someone money, we must do it with the mindset of a donor. 

Yes, a donor. 

The only material difference between lending money and donating money is that with the former, the money could possibly come back to us one day.

Of course, if we lend money as if we were donating it, the sum is written off. 

So, if the money should be returned one day, it is a "windfall"! 

Then, we would feel quite happy, wouldn't we? 




This way, we would not have any anxiety about the loan and we might even get to feel quite happy with a possible "windfall" in future!

This actually happened with another friend who told me that a childhood friend he lent $5,000 to suddenly called him and said he was finally able to repay the loan. 

It had been 4 years since the loan was made!

So, what must we remember? 




No, it is not the famous quote from Hamlet which goes: 

"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend."

Instead, everyone should learn this as soon as possible in life and remember it well: 

If we are not able to lend money with the mindset of a donor, don't do it.

Related posts:
Not enough money to be married.
Lending money to someone your care about? Ask questions!

Which is the most reliable car?

The 1.6 litre Lancer GLX (2005 - 2008) is the most reliable (i.e. least problematic) car in the last 15 years! That is pretty amazing.

The Mitsubishi Lancer is a low-powered, three-box Japanese saloon. Yes, it does have an evil twin, in the form of the Evo, but it's the standard granddad-friendly one that delivers the dependability which makes it the most reliable car Warranty Direct has ever seen. (Warranty Direct, 21 November 2012)

We almost bought this car 4 years ago but in the end, we went for the 1.5 litre Lancer EX which has more leg room and a Mivec DOHC engine for S$10,000 more.

What brought us to Cycle & Carriage's showroom back then was really the 1.6 litre Lancer GLX because they were having a sale and the car was being offered for $40+K, inclusive of COE.

$40+K? Yes! Pre-owned? Nope. Brand new from Cycle & Carriage! Now? I don't dare to check how much it now costs!

Buying pre-owned would make more money sense and for anyone who is looking for a compact pre-owned car that is high on reliability, a 1.6 litre Lancer EX built from 2005 to 2008 would seem like a good choice if we believe the report.

You might also want to arm yourself with useful knowledge before buying a used car. Be a savvy buyer and not be smoked by car salesmen! See:
Used Car Buying Guide: Guide to Inspecting and Buying a Used Car

Related posts:
1. Category A COE hits record!
2. Quick, buy a new car cheaper!
3. A new car for $75,000?
4. Buying a car now?

China Minzhong: What are we to do?

Some might wonder if it is time to sell shares of China Minzhong and to lock in some sizeable gains. Well, it is back to the basic question of: "What are we after?"

If we believe that China Minzhong's shares are still undervalued, then, fundamentally, it is not the time to sell. However, if we do not care about fundamentals and are in it for a trade, then, that is a different motive which would dictate that we act differently.

To any casual observer, it is obvious that China Minzhong's share price is having difficulty breaking resistance to go higher. Look at the daily chart and we can see why.

Daily chart.

China Minzhong's price movement seems to be losing momentum as the MACD forms lower highs and the CMF shows money flowing out. Continuing price weakness in the near term is not surprising.

Indeed, price could weaken to support at 80c which is where we find the merged 50d and 20d MAs. A much stronger twice tested support is quite obviously provided by the fast rising 100d MA. In the event of a whipsaw in a correction, this MA could be tested once again for support.

Weekly chart.

For someone with a longer term perspective, no analysis is complete without looking at the weekly chart and bulls would like what they see there. Quite obviously, there is a break out from resistance and where is the next resistance level? The descending 100w MA currently at $1.05? Possibly. Immediate support is at 78c. Do a quick risk/reward analysis and it would seem that being long China Minzhong makes more sense in the longer term.

Ultimately, what we decide to do depends on our motivation for being vested as well as our risk appetite. Remember, TA is about probability and never certainty.

Related post:
A Christmas collection of charts.


Technical Analysis For Dummies dumps the confusing jargon and unreadable charts for basic explanations and practical guidance.


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ASSI received US$15m offer!

UPDATED (29 Dec 16):

I was just offered $2.5 million on Facebook! What did I do? I rejected, of course. Please lah. $2.5 million only? It is nothing compared to the $15 million I was offered before.
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Today could be an auspicious day. Today could be a historic day. Today could be a fortunate day. However, I laughed so hard that I think today is an amusing day. 

Read on.

From the desk of the

Chief Account Officer
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC -Nigeria.

Attn: Sir,

Good day. I know this mail will come to you as a surprise but I need to contact you because of the urgency and confidentiality of this business transaction. I am Chief Account officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

I have a deal here in my office I need a foreign partner to execute with me. I and my colleague over invoiced a contract payment valued US$50million. We awarded contracts for the supply and maintenance of all the oil pipelines and oil drilling equipments for the nation oil wells to some foreign contractors valued US$103billion, which we over invoiced US$50 million addition to the total contract sum.

Now as a matter of fact, most of the contractors have been paid and the remaining contractor’s payments are under process to be paid to them. With that, I and my colleague have decided to include you among these remaining contractors to process the sum of the US$50Million in your company or in your name to claim it for our mutual benefit.

So I am now contacting you to present you as the sub-contractor who has this amount of US$50million to be paid for the supply of heavy oil drilling equipments used in recent overhauling of the refineries.

I will advice you furnish me with your personal information including your personal cell phone number and the name of your company with address to enable me register it with our cooperate affairs commission in charge of allied and companies registration as an indigenous company.

It is mandatory that any foreign company must be registered in this country. Also with your acceptance to execute this business with me, I need to be sure of your confidentiality towards the conclusion of this deal, you will be given 30% of the total amount, 5% map out for re-fund of expenses incur by any of the parties, while I and my colleague will take 65% once the money gets into your company account in your country.

Also with my position here, I can officially arrange with you to be lifting 2 or 4million barrels of Crude Oil per month by getting a year or two years crude Oil allocation contract in your name and company name whether you are here or not. With this we can make more money from the oil lifting here in Nigeria.

I will detail you more on this once I get your response.

Thank you and hope to hear from you as soon as possible. Send me your cell phone number to call you for more details.

Best Regards

Chief Account Officer (N.N.P.C)

Very nicely crafted. Now, what would you do if you were to receive an email like this?

Imagine ASSI rubbing shoulders with high ranking (corrupt) officials from Nigeria. Tsk, tsk. In this case, they are probably bogus high ranking (corrupt) officials. Double tsk, tsk!

OK, I have to go say the Lord's Prayer now.

Related posts:
1. Advice from a fraudster.
2. Taking candy from a baby.

P.S. To me, there is no short cut to wealth creation. We could try our luck at TOTO once in a while but what are the chances of winning? Of course, we might end up having to share the big prize money with 20 other winners too!

Wealth creation is best done with both feet on the ground and walking down well trodden paths.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: 2 books are better than 1.

Anyone who has been reading local personal finance blogs regularly in the last few years would have no doubt come across many accounts by bloggers about how they read a book titled "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and that changed the way they looked at money.

The book is about financial independence achieved through the ownership of income producing assets instead of working for a salary our entire life. Robert Kiyosaki is a natural story teller and the book is inspirational.

If you should be interested in getting a copy. There are great bargains at BetterWorldBooks:
 
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! (Pre-owned copies available in good condition @ US$5.98 each)

Robert Kiyosaki also wrote another book which divides people into four distinct types:

E is for Employee
S is for Self-Employed or Specialist
B is for Big Business
I is for Investor

I would suggest this as a companion read to "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" as Robert tries to encourage readers to invest in financial education and to start investing for cash flow.

Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom (Pre-owned copies available in very good condition @ US$6.98 each)

"It won’t happen overnight, and it will be hard work. But if you’re diligent, plan well, and execute your plan, you’ll be much better off in the future whether the markets are up or down." Robert Kiyosaki.

Buy pre-owned from BetterWorldBooks and you will be helping the environment and funding literacy for the poor. Free shipping globally.

Visit BetterWorldBooks here:


Related posts:
1. ASSI is an affiliate of BetterWorldBooks.
2. Seven steps to creating passive income from the stock market.

SoundGlobal: Another resistance level broken.

The last time I had a detailed blog post on SoundGlobal was almost a month ago on 7 December. At that time, I said that the declining 100wMA would provide resistance at about 60c.

Daily chart.

Resistance was taken out decisively today as volume expanded. However, a long upper wick was formed on the white candle with price closing the session at 61.5c, a strong resistance which was tested many times in July/August 2012. It could not be taken out then. Could it give in this time?

Ah, it is always hard to say for sure but the momentum oscillators are definitely looking more bullish this time. There was a lower high on the MACD back then which hinted at a weakening positive momentum.

For sure, we can use TA to see where the resistance levels are likely to be if 61.5c should be taken out in future sessions. How? By using Fibo lines and candlesticks.

Fibo lines.

138.2% is at 68c which coincides with the highs of February 2012. 150% is at 70c and this coincides with the highs of July 2011. 161.8% is at 71.5c and this coincides with the support turned resistance of May/June 2011.

It is good to bear in mind that prices don't go up or down in a straight line. They climb a wall of worries and go down a river of hope. So, although sentiments have taken a turn for the better, it would not be wrong to take profit through partial divestments at these resistance levels.

Weekly chart.

The weekly chart shows a clear break out from resistance provided by the declining 100w MA. Of course, the week is not yet over. If the session tomorrow should see share price closing clearly above the 100w MA, then, in the new week, there is a chance of price rising to test resistance at 68c, 70c and even 71.5c.

Related post:
SoundGlobal: Breaking out of resistance.

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I like to share good deals when I find them and did just that in my blog post on Wilmar last night. I said there were two copies of "Technical Analysis for Dummies" for sale at US$9.48 each and that they were really great bargains. A reader sent me an email to say that they are no longer available. I was surprised and checked just now. Indeed, they were both sold to readers of ASSI. Hey, you guys are fast!

I don't know when they might have more copies at US$9.48 each since BetterWorldBooks sell pre-owned books and they don't have regular shipments from the printers.

Well, when I checked just now, there are 5 copies of this book left which are in much better condition than the two which were sold at US$9.48 each.

These 5 copies are priced at US$17.36 each. With free shipping, they are still fairly good bargains. Of course, you would also be helping the environment and funding literacy for the poor by buying from BetterWorldBooks. :-)

A simple guide to the fundamentals of technical analysis. 


See:
Technical Analysis for Dummies

Tea with AK71: Home made onigiri.

It has been a while since I blogged about my home made lunches. Today, I feel compelled to blog about my lunch because my sister outdid hereself this time. Home made onigiri!

Wrapped up nicely too with instructions. Just tear down the red line and pull outwards on both sides.

Oishi des ne!

For any average income worker, saving some money by not eating out for lunch could amount to quite a bit of savings and it is actually meaningful.

Imagine someone with a gross income of $2.5k a month saving $3 daily for 20 days a month. That is $60 or 2.4% of his gross monthly income! Hey, don't laugh, some traders would run for the hills after making 2.4% on their punts in the stock market!

Some things, we should not try but this is one thing I think is worth trying. Bring your own lunch to work. If you don't try, you won't know. Trust me, it is a good money saving habit.

Related post:
7 money habits of AK71's.

As per Chu's request for recipes, I got these from the catalog at BetterWorldBooks:
1.
Healthy & Tasty Sushi Rolls and Onigiri
2.
Fun and Fancy Sushi: Nigiri-Zushi, Onigiri and Maki-Zushi for Every Day and Parties

Wilmar: Buy or sell?

Today, one person asked me if she should still buy Wilmar's shares while another person asked me where is the first resistance level in case share price continues to rise. One person is thinking of putting in a long position while another person is thinking of possibly divesting.

Daily chart

It is obvious to any chartist that Wilmar's share price broke resistance.

On the daily chart, the descending 200dMA at $3.62 or so is where we would find the next resistance level. The 200dMA could push share price down in the near term. It has that ability. If that should happen, then, it presents a chance for anyone who missed the boat earlier to buy in.

Weekly chart

If the 200dMA could be overcome, then, looking at the weekly chart, we see the next significant resistance provided by the declining 50w MA. In very bullish circumstances, we could see the 100w MA tested in due course. The longer term technicals are supportive of this but it could take weeks for it to happen. If this should happen, it would be a nice price for divestment, wouldn't it?

Related post:
Wilmar: Smart money outflow is reversing.

A simple, straightforward guide to the fundamentals of technical analysis. 

Explaining the basic principles of analysis and showing how to implement them, Technical Analysis For Dummies dumps the confusing jargon and unreadable charts for basic explanations and practical guidance.

Buy pre-owned for only US$ 9.48. 2 copies left!
Free shipping. Now, this is a bargain!

See:
Technical Analysis for Dummies

Not enough money to be married!

Over the weekend, I was told of a person in his early 30s who is married and has two children. He is regularly borrowing money from his family and friends. In fact, he would borrow from friends to pay the installments on the mortgage of his 5 room HDB flat as well. Amount? S$800 a month.

I am not married and I wouldn't know but with an annual gross income of some S$28K, is it tough to support a family of four in Singapore? It seems that this is the case for this man.

The wife stays home and takes care of the two children who are still attending primary school. It is reasonable to assume that the two children would probably be financially dependent on him for another ten years at least.

I fear that I might sound heartless for saying this but this person really should not have gotten married in the first instance. Making the mistake of getting married, he should have applied for a smaller 3 room HDB flat instead of a 5 room HDB flat which probably cost twice as much. Then, making the mistake of applying for a bigger flat, he should have deferred the decision to have children.

All the romantic notions of a perfect marriage, a spacious home and lovely kids have to be built on rock solid finances, especially in a city like Singapore which has very high cost of living. This is the hard truth.

We have heard of marriage counselling for couples who have serious differences. However, the Catholic Church, I know, provides pre-marriage counselling for would be couples as well. This is a very good idea, I feel. However, that is probably only on an emotional and religious level.

Building on this, I believe that there should be financial advisory services for people thinking of tying the knot so that people do not find themselves in a hole after getting married. Such services should be secular in nature and be made available to all people thinking of getting married. Do such services exist?

If we do a search online for "not enough money for wedding", we will find some websites telling us not to worry and how we could go ahead with it. Where is the common sense in this?

If there is not enough money for a wedding, the two people do not have enough money to be married.

Related posts:
1. Wage slaves should be fearful.
2. Why is Warren Buffet the world's greatest money maker?

It is official! Fiscal Cliff averted!

Mr. Market is in a good mood! The Fiscal Cliff has been averted!

As global stock markets made their 2013 debut, the House of Representatives passed a deal between the White House and Senate Republicans to raise taxes on the rich and put off automatic $109 billion budget cuts for two months.

The deal passed the Senate early on Tuesday, but its fate hung in the balance for hours as House conservatives sought to amend it to include big spending cuts, which would likely have killed it.

In the end, the House voted 257 votes to 167 to pass the original bill with minority Democrats joining a smaller number of majority Republicans to pass the legislation after a bitterly contested and unusual session on New Year's Day.

President Barack Obama planned to make brief remarks at the White House within minutes of passage of the deal, which relieved investors who feared that continued logjam could have sent global stock markets spinning.

Read full article: here.

What a fantastic start to the new year! Happy New Year!

Related post:
President Obama wins! What next?