To The Moon

We used to believe women investors are few in the financial circle. But a new survey shows that 48% of women currently invest in the stock market and they on average achieve positive returns.These brilliant women can perform well in the market because of their insights and powerful mind.

On this special day, we sincerely encourage female investors to be more confident in investing. And we invite 3 women investors@IcySilver @koolgal @Hazelle_TJI from Tiger Community to share their investing stories with us.

@IcySilver 

I'm Icysilver, an amateur trader in Tiger community. Apart from my work in healthcare information industry, one of new hobby since the pandemic is to learn reading charts. Currently based in Singapore, I spent some time in Melbourne and hometown is Kuala Lumpur.

Can you share with us your investment story? What are your investment preferences?

My investing journey started around 2008 or 2009. It started because I wanted to diversify income streams.

Being young and inexperienced then, I only did long-term investment or position trading, buying stocks in Malaysia Bursa and Singapore SGX. I would pick stocks with sound fundamental values, such as free cash flow, EPS. Although I can't comprehend financial statements well, I tried to keep an eye on earning reports. Of course, also relied a lot on reading up financial news to anticipate prospects of the companies.

I was lucky enough not to lose money in those earlier days.

In between, I tried some forex trading. But never very successful or consistently trade.

Fast forward to 2021, the pandemic came. It was a turning point in my investment journey. Suddenly I have more time. And more importantly Tiger broker started in Singapore. The convenience that Tiger platform provided is an eye-opening experience. I was able to quickly set up brokerage account and access US equity market. The US equity market is definitely a lot more attractive for short term trading. I have been doing swing trades both long and short positions. Tiger has a lot of shortable stocks and is really good for trading in this volatile market recently

Do you trade options?

I have yet to try out options as I feel I might need to be more familiar with the options strategy. Options moves very fast and I may not have the full attention to monitor the trades.

But I'm looking forward to take up the challenge on option trading soon.

Generally, women are less interested in numbers and finance compared to men, right? So why are you fond of dealing with numbers and stocks?

I actually think women are more sensitive to numbers! Just think of all the shopping!

Trading and investment is not gender specific, in fact, it is part of financial planning that all adults should embark on. I think Tiger is doing a great job by making trading a fun and engaging platform.

Do your families know and support you in trading stocks?

I'm grateful that my partner is also my teacher in my trading journey. It helps that someone close to me is so supportive.

Can you tell us your most unforgettable investing story?

All of my painful memories of investing are due to not managing my risks appropriately. There were few instances where I decided to hold onto the stocks despite prices tanked. Keep thinking, tomorrow will be better. But alas, market is generally merciless. When it's time to cut loss, it must be done, else there won't be any seed money left for next trades. I would like to believe I am now wiser, and manage my trades more carefully. Take profit when market is with you, cut losses when it's still not painful.

Do you have any insights on recent market fluctuations?

Well, the wide swings in US market recently is really exciting. It feels good to trade when market has a clear direction. For example, the down moves in late Nov 2021 until early Feb allow great short positions. However, the start of earning seasons with lots of crazy catalysts lately (the Fed tightening, inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict) is making trading very difficult. My take for now is, long the most bullish stocks you can find (e.g. oil and gas, mining, commodities). I've reduced my short positions for now, sitting on the fence to observe how the market will move.

If to put it shortly with several words or sentences, what changes do you think investing has brought to you?

I became more aware of how economy works and company operates. Investing also allows me to build up more confidence in managing my own finances. Definitely encourage everyone to start investing early. And Tiger community is an engaging place to start.

How did you know Tiger Brokers? What do you think of Tiger Trade App and do you have any suggestions for us?

I first learned of Tiger Brokers through my partner, and also saw many Tiger's advertisements around. I normally trade using Tiger desktop because I want to be able to see the charts clearer. But I enjoy reading news and accessing the Tiger community on the phone app. I also like the Market Overview and Sectors sections. This allows me to quickly identify related stocks (e.g. gold stocks for now). I'm currently satisfied with the platform.

What's your plan for IWD? Do you have any wishes for the IWD?

IWD is celebrating achievement of women. I hope to spend the day with celebrated female traders like Cathy Wood and Linda Raschke. Besides, it's a Tuesday, so let's hope it will be a great trading day to all!

What would you like to say to female Tiger friends in our community?

Investing is real fun, and Tiger is a great place to start your trading journey with. You can begin with small positions to practice your skills. Take a leap of faith, trust yourself and be the confident trader!

@koogal

I'm Koogal. My main goal of investing is FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early. So I aim to have passive income through my portfolio.

What are your investment preferences?

I like SReits, especially the big ones like Ascendas Reit, CICT, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust and Parkway Life Reit. I like the 3 local banks, STI ETF. I also have the US ETFs like SPLG which tracks the S&P500, SPYG and SPTM. My horizon is long term 10 to 20 years. So I am not too worried about the current volatility. I also like, quality shares like Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet.

Can you share with us your investment story?

I started about 5 years ago investing in Unit trusts through FSM. Then find that I need to pay the management fees. So decided to go directly into investing online through Tiger because of your attractive promotions and low commission fees about 1 year ago.

How do you do stock investment research in your every day life?

I learnt investing by taking up a course with Fifth Person. Dividend Machines and Investment Quadrant by them. I read a lot of investment news. Subscribe to The Edge, Wall Street Journal. I also like to read the excellent articles that Tiger put in the App too.

Do you have any research methods for newcomers?

For new investors, I would advise to constantly read the financial news and learn from experts like Fifth Person, The Smart Investor, Dr Wealth, Financial Horse, Value Invest Asia.

Investing is art and a science. You also need to diversify into other assets like property, crypto and gold.

And ETFs are good starting points for new investors starting small. Start small and slowly build up the portfolio.

I simply love to read financial news and share my knowledge with other Tiger Friends. I am not a trader as I tend to hold my stocks long term. For example, I bought DBS at 25.00 and held it till now around 36.

Generally, women are less interested in numbers and finance compared to men, right? So why are you fond of dealing with numbers and stocks every day?

I think the new breed of women, especially millennials, are very savvy. Financially savvy. They are well educated having gone to universities. So in the future you will have more young women trading too. Perhaps the older generation of women are not so financially savvy. Definitely not like the younger ones.

Do your families know and support you in trading stocks?

My family know and support my trading stocks. I got into trading because the bank interests are really very low and I want to develop a passive source of income. Inflation will also eat up the real value of money too.

Can you tell us your most unforgettable investing story？

My best investment experience is investing in the 3 local Singapore banks. They are gold mine. My worst is DiDi but so far it is a paper loss as I am still holding onto it waiting for the new IPO in HK.

Do you have any insights on recent market fluctuations?

I believe in investing in ETFs particularly SPLG which is mini SPY. It tracks the S&P500. Great for all weather investing especially in the current volatile market.

Even though it is currently like a roller coaster, this too will pass. In past history, the US markets are very resilient. Eg March 2020. Since then, the S&P500 has gone up 100%. So time in the market is more important than timing the market. There is a saying: Buy when the Cannons sound, Sell when the trumpets sound by Rothschild. That is my take on the current war in Ukraine. Need to stay calm and not panic sell.

So, if to put it shortly with several words or sentences, what changes do you think investing has brought to you?

Investing has been a very rewarding journey to me. It has taught me patience and Fortitude. It has its ups and downs but it adds an extra zip to my life. Volatility is the ticket to pay to reap long term rewards. That sums it up in a nutshell.

How did you know Tiger Brokers?

Through your online advertising and friends. I really like the Tiger App. It is so easy to use and seamless.

What's your plan for IWD?

I have no particular plans except to have a nice lunch with my best friend whom I have known since school days.

What would you like to say to female Tiger friends in our community?

I would like to wish all female Tiger Friends Happy IWD! May they celebrate life to the fullest and know that we are all very fortunate to be living in the present era when we are well educated. May all Female Tiger Friends have a wonderful day. May they have Good Health Happiness and Prosperity Now and Always.

May all my Female Tiger Friends Never Stop In Their Quest To Seek Knowledge and Make Learning A Lifelong Experience!

@Hazelle_TJI 

Hi, I’m Hazelle. I started my career in the financial field and from the course of my previous work, I gained many learning opportunities and exposure to analysing the financials of companies. This knowledge really aided me in my investing journey. 

And then I started a financial education firm, The Joyful Investors, together with my partner, to help more investors who may be struggling in their investing journey. We started to actively create content and document our investing journey to inspire and motivate others by sharing some of our investing principles. 

Can you share with us your own investment story? What are your investment preferences? 

The way I invest, which we termed it as Moneyball investing methodology, is built upon the idea of making the best return from our limited capital. You might be wondering what exactly Moneyball is! Our Moneyball investing approach originated from a true story of how Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, turned their fortune around to build a winning baseball team using statistics despite the constraint of a limited payroll. We have found that such principles can well be applied to portfolio management too. While Billy Beane was looking to buy runs, as investors we are looking to make a good return on our limited capital. 

How it works is that we employ simple statistical analysis on the stock charts to buy companies which are undervalued by other market participants and sell the ones that are overvalued to other market participants. The first step is to identify the right companies by analysing the fundamentals based on factors that are most significant for future outperformance. Then, the second step is to know when to buy or sell those companies by looking at specific setups on real time charts. In short, we exploit temporary market inefficiencies surrounding quality companies. And we do that through both stocks investing and options. 

Trading stocks or options, which do you like better? 

Well, it’s a really difficult choice to choose between whether I like investing in stocks or options more! It is akin to asking which is my favourite club to use when playing golf. But it is more about what do I need in what kind of situation or setup, not about which club or strategy I prefer, but picking the one that best fits the situation I am uniquely in. So I think what’s important is knowing when to be doing what. For example, when the market is heading a certain direction, and based on your current portfolio setup, which investment instrument would be more appropriate for you at that point in time. 

Generally, women are less interested in numbers and finance compared to men, right? So why are you fond of dealing with numbers and stocks? 

Indeed, there has been this longstanding conception that women are generally less interested in numbers and finance, but I would like to think that this is, and has been changing over the past decades. Sometimes, it could also be that the way women express themselves when it comes to money and finance matters are different from men. But increasingly, I do see that there are more women who are getting more vocal over finance and investment matters. In fact, I have many female friends who are interested in learning how to manage their money and investments, which is a good sight! 

For myself, since young, I like numbers and don’t find them daunting and naturally as I got myself into a degree and job that is finance-related, investments and stocks are just not things that seem too foreign to me. But the biggest factor is that I realised how important it is to start investing. 

Do your families know and support you in trading stocks? 

Yes they are aware and are supportive of it. I have also helped my mum to construct her retirement portfolio using dividend investing as well. 

Can you tell us some important lessons you've learnt when investing？ 

Initially when I just got started, I also had my fair share of mistakes, which include chasing after prices for stocks that I really want to invest in. But that landed me in situations where I was frequently in a drawdown position (and yeah that got me worried too because I didn’t understand the markets well enough at that time) because I ended up buying when the prices were overly high and they eventually go through some corrections. What I learnt is that patience is key to succeeding in the stock markets. Never try to force an investment and chase after the stock prices. This is especially so because dips and corrections on average, happen almost every year. That gives us a lot of opportunities to be buying the stocks we want to invest in. We all know Warren Buffett. He is one the best examples of investors who does not jump recklessly into the stock markets. He only buys stocks when they are selling at good discounts. 

Do you have any insights on recent market fluctuations? 

Inflation may not necessarily be bad for the stock markets. Why I say so is because inflation can also be an indication that the economy is now recovering well, and it is growing with a higher level of economic activity. So when consumers are buying more, businesses are going to be doing better. And if businesses are doing better, their earnings will increase, their cash flows increase, so will the valuation of the businesses and this can then translate to higher stock prices. 

There has also been historical statistics which shows that in the past when there were interest rate hikes, the S&P 500 still managed to do well and delivered a positive return. 

What investors have to recognise is that in the very short term, there’s going to be volatilities, there’s going to be fluctuations. Because the stock market is irrational. But don’t be scared off by what you see right now because based on what history has told us, the stock markets fared well even during rate hikes, and inflation over the mid and longer term. And if you learn to invest in the solid businesses which have strong pricing power, you will be fine. 

On the Russia and Ukraine conflict, I am of the opinion that if you are invested in companies or markets which do not have exposure to Russia or Ukraine, you do not have to be worried. The question always goes back to: “Does the event affect the fundamentals of the businesses that you are invested in?” We can ask ourselves, “Would the earnings of the companies we are invested in be significantly impacted from the Russia-Ukraine conflict?” 

In fact, on the day when Russia launched the attacks in Ukrainian regions, many investors thought that it will be a bearish day for the U.S. stock markets, but we saw how the U.S. S&P 500 managed to close that trading day with a bullish signal. And the day after on the Friday, the prices closed up higher than the previous trading day. So if we can learn to ignore the noises in the stock markets and continue to be invested in the good businesses, we will be able to do well in the stock markets. 

So, if to put it shortly with several words or sentences, what changes do you think investing has brought to you? 

Investing has thought me that once you know what you are doing it is important to stick to your guns and stay the course. But at the same time you need to be humble enough to plan in a way that you never say never to the markets. Anything can still happen although most of the time things may pan out according to your script. 

How did you know Tiger Brokers? 

I know of Tiger Brokers through its social media. The app interface is user friendly and has a wide range of content for investors. As one of the content creators on Tiger Brokers, I like how I can even post videos and not just limited to articles. I feel this can help investors who want to learn by providing them with contents in various forms. 

What's your plan for IWD? Do you have any wishes for the IWD? 

As boring as it may sound, I would probably be spending the day like any other typical day. Because the empowerment of women and the work towards women’s equality is a progressive milestone for us so I think the celebration of achievements would also be progressive in that way as each new milestone is met. 

What would you like to say to female Tiger friends in our community? 

To all the female Tiger friends, kudos for taking the first step to managing your own investments. Never let anyone put you down or doubt your ability to accomplish more in your finances and investments. Quoting Michelle Obama, “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” Happy International Women’s Day!

Let’s give thanks to these three ladies @IcySilver @koolgal @Hazelle_TJI and all the ladies in our community for their contributions! 

Wish you a happy International Women’s Day! ❤️❤️❤️