The Truth About Investing - What I've Learnt Since Sep 2021.

Whilst I had dabbled in stocks/shares early, I only got into serious, formal investment in Sep 2021. For experienced investors and/or those with a keen eye, you'd have realized that my formal entry into the stock market happened around when the bull market was at its peak.

At that time, any and every other stock one had put money into would result in a positive return - it didn't matter if the stock was a solid one like Google or a dubious one (I won't name names but think along the lines of some of the meme stocks out there). Euphoria was everywhere and everyone was swept away by it, me included. As much as I thought I had done DD in the stocks I bought, what was green in my portfolio in late 2021 started to turn red as 2022 came. Buying into the idea of investing rather than trading, I held onto the stocks with conviction, only to go deeper into the red as 2022 wore on.

Now in 2023, my portfolio is worth only about 25-30% (depending on market fluctuations) of its original value. Previous "investment gurus" whom I referenced sold out - their "hold with conviction" mantra gave way to "sell when in profit". Essentially, they turned from investors into traders overnight - I was flabbergasted and disgusted, to say the least.

Trying to find a silver lining amidst all the disillusionment, this is what I learnt from my experience:

(1) Don't be married to any stock - it doesn't matter whether the stock is one from a "good" company or a "bad" one. Why? Cos:

(2) Nothing lasts forever so take profit when you can - it's better to earn a little and sell when the price has gone up rather than wait and try to earn more thinking that the price will rise further. Cos:

(3) Greed will ultimately lead you to lose in the long run since:

(4) The stock market is basically a casino, whether one wants to admit it or not. Investing, trading and gambling are all probability-based activities. You calculate correctly, you win; your calculate incorrectly, you lose. You try to increase the accuracy of your calculations by doing DD, but no amount of DD can be 100% cos:

(5) The stock market is more emotional than one would think - positive macroeconomic news can lead to red days and negative macroeconomic news can lead to green days. Totally bonkers, which made me realise that:

(6) There are some strong forces swaying, even controlling, market movements - all things being equal, a "good" company stock will be stuck in the basement if Wall Street doesn't like it and a "bad" company stock will go to the moon if Wall Street likes it enough. As retail investors, there's not a lot we can do about such BTS power unless we come together in a concerted effort to counter the Wall Street suits like what happened with meme stocks like GME. Problem with such Wall Street Bets type of scenario is that it's not sustainable. So in the long run, the Wall Street powers still win because they can sustain their power play whilst retail investors can't. So finally, I've come to realise that:

(7) Rich or poor, it's not something we have full, if any, control over. So we shouldn't get too hung up over it - we come into the world with nothing and we leave it with nothing. Ultimately,

(8) Health and family come first - as long as you're healthy and safe, and your family too, nothing else really matters.

The above are just my personal thoughts based on my investment journey thus far. It may not be the same for everyone although I hope my sharing can be useful to those who had faced the same or similar situation as me. All said, I wish all Tiger customers, investors and traders alike, good health...and fortune...for the rest of 2023 and beyond.