My next peer investor is Jerry of BfGf Money Blog, he is also an entrepreneur with his own business (Tuition School). He has a sleek and coolly designed blog focusing on couple finance (hence the blog title, BgGf which stands for Boyfriend, Girlfriend, I assumed).
Without further ado, let's check out Jerry's investing journey thus far below.
Enjoy!
Q1 : Can you give us a brief introduction about yourself?
A1 : I am a business owner. I run Intellicat Tuition School, a humble neighbourhood tuition centre. I am also a founder of Tutornauts, an online learning platform, (launching in late March 2015…fingers crossed!) In my free time, I will be hitting punching bags (Muay Thai) and grappling with sweaty guys (MMA) to de-stress. I also read and write a lot.
My Gf and I decided to start the BfGf Money Blog for fun like a kind of couple project.
Q2 : Are you a full-time or part-time investor at the moment?
A2 : Part-time.
Q3 : When (at what age) did you start investing in shares and who has influenced you the most?
A3 : I started investing at 26 years old, when I was working at my first job. I was inspired by Peter Lynch. I knew I wanted to start businesses so I needed to find other ways to grow my capital other than just relying on a monthly salary.
Q4 : Do you view yourself as long-term (holding shares in years), short-term investor (holding shares in days/months) or mixture?
A4 : Long term. When I started I am looking to hold 1-3 years. Now, I don’t have time to keep monitoring the companies I invest in. So I am restructuring my portfolio to stocks which I can hold for 10 years or more.
Q5 : What is your basis of selecting the shares to invest (e.g. basing on fundamental analysis, technical analysis or other methods/sources [share a little bit more details if it is the latter])?
A5 : My first few years were a mash up of FA and TA. Of course, my portfolio looked like crap then. Now my selection falls into 2 groups.
Dividend stocks – I look for resilient companies with sound finances that pay dividends every year. I look for dividends of >4%.
Growth/Value/’ Whatever you want to call it’ stocks – I look for businesses with strong finances, economic moats, and consistent earnings growth annually. I will read up on the management/founders to understand their business philosophy. I am looking for strong brands and dominant players in an industry where there is still plenty of room for growth and capturing of market share. Of course, if I could buy such business at a cheap price it would be better! If I don’t get a cheap price I will still buy it at a ‘fair’ price… and look to buy more of it later on if market presents opportunities.
Q6 : What is your targeted and achieved annual rate of returns (%) so far?
A6 : My targeted rate of returns : >17%! Dream Big! My achieved rate of returns : Fluctuating between 9-12% OUCH. Reality Hurts!
Q7 : What is your most recommended online investing resource (site or blog) to share with our readers?
A7 : I have 3:
1. The Fifth Person - http://fifthperson.com. The guys behind this blog explain investing very simply. They also go into technicalities to show you how to analyse a company. They break investing down into 4 quadrants, making it very easy for you to make stock-picking decisions.
2. The Motley Fool Sg and US sites: You get a wealth of information there. Reading these sites really helped to accelerate my learning curve!
3. Value Invest Asia - http://www.valueinvestasia.com/. Clean website, easy to read, and a wide coverage of Asian stocks
Q8 : Besides shares, what other investment are you involved in (e.g. Real Estates, Bonds or REITs etc)?
A8 : None
Q9 : What is your Portfolio Distribution like?
A9 : SGX (79%): Keppel Corp, Nam Cheong, Chip Eng Seng, Valuetronics
US Market (21%): Priceline, MasterCard
I am in the process of restructuring my portfolio. I became over confident early last year and invested heavily in high-risk companies like Chip Eng Seng and Nam Cheong. This year, upon reflection, I have decided to reallocate my holdings. Spread out my bets to mitigate the risk. As an entrepreneur, my risk-appetite is extremely high, so I have to reign myself in constantly and not overstep on my investments.
If all goes well, I will probably will achieve a 50%/50% SGX to US stocks ratio by end of this year.
Q10 : If the readers what to get in touch with you, how to get hold of you? (Sharing of your website/blog/social media profile etc..)
A10 : Read my blog, http://bfgfmoneyblog.com/, and if you like it, leave a comment. If you hate it, leave a comment too! At least I will know people are reading! Haha!
If you want to share your couple finance story, Email me at the bfgfmoneyblog@gmail.com
I would love to hear how other couples manage their finances
Last but not least, if you are a retail investor and would like to be featured in my "Interview With The Fellow Investors" blog series, please feel free to email me at investopenly@gmail.com.
Also, for the complete list of my interviewees and their posts, check it out here.
Cheers!
Great to see the interview series back!!!
ReplyDeleteB : Thanks for the support, as usual... Have a great weekend...
Delete:-)
ReplyDeleteCW8888 : When can I have the honor to have you in my interview series? lol
DeleteCool Series :)
ReplyDeleteInvesting wolf : thanks! Interested to join in the fun? Just email me ;-)
DeleteHuat ah , oh yah uncle rich , yr interviewee's tuition centre was one of my frnd's ;) small world , small world .
ReplyDeleteKen : indeed a small world, it also means that you know quite a lot of people in the tuition centre industry
DeleteBo la , ah boy don't know so many hahahaha
DeleteYou will get to know a lot more on this coming 23rd March ;-)
Delete