Be real about investing, but keep things simple. Simplicity is life’s greatest sophistication.

simplicity-leonardo-da-vinci

  1. The lower the risk, the higher the returns.
    Learn about building in a margin of safety into investments.
  2. Investing is not about making lots of money in the short period.
    That would be gambling. Investments, like businesses, take time to grow.
  3. You don’t have to be an accountant or math wiz to invest (no offense to accountants ;)).
    You only need knowledge to interpret & make sense of a company’s financial data (or get someone you trust willing to do it for you).
  4. You don’t need to keep track of share price movements on a daily basis.
    Stock prices (despite what the efficient theorists) say do not truly reflect the business it represents. Mr Market will show up everyday with a new offer. Avoid the herd mentality. Be patient when others are greedy. Take opportunity when people become fearful.
  5. You don’t need a lot of money to start investing.
    Aim for 10% & above of your take-home pay with these choices:-
    – Endowment investment with largely guaranteed returns are available from 200/mth with IRR of above 7%
    – PRS is available with incentives for youths below age 30 for investing 1,000 (<100/mth)
    – EPF 10% incentive for self-employed folks (no regular EPF deduction) below age 50 to put in 1200/yr (100/mth) into EPF