To The Moon

It was once said that the road to investing is boring, so most investors need others' accompany.

A lucky tiger friend, Willie Keng says that both in life and when it comes to investing, his wife is a good companion for him.

This sounds interesting.Then let's welcome Willie Keng to share his wonderful investment story.

Willie Keng

I am 35 years old and the founder and CEO of Dividend Titan, a financial blog.

Q：How long have you been a user of Tiger Trade and what kind of trading do you normally do?

I started Tiger Trade in December 2021. I use Tiger Trade to invest for my son.

I dollar cost average (DCA) in the S&P 500 Index. When my son turns 21 years old, he will take over the assets from my Tiger Trade account.

Q：Why do you choose Tiger? Which aspects did you find most attractive?

Actually, it was my wife who opened Tiger Trade for me. She already has Tiger Trade.

One day, while we were on the train to dinner, she forced me to open an account. I was amazed at how fast the account opening process was (it took less than 15 min). I decided to explore why Tiger Trade was so much easier to use than my current brokers.

Q：How did you get started investing? Did anyone lead you in the right direction?

When I started, I read stuff like Japanese candle sticks and technical indicators. I was all over the place. There was no direction for me. Nobody guided me.

Then I met my university roommate who would change my investing journey forever. He lent me a book called “The Intelligent Investor”.

Soon, I was hooked.

Q：When it comes to investing, do you explore it on your own or do you get help from family or friends?Would your family support you in investing in stocks?

I explored investing by myself. The advice I got when I started was simple – buy quality companies, never overpay. But I was stubborn.

At first, I thought I could play it better by going after complex strategies popular hedge fund managers use -- “turnarounds” or “special situations”. It resulted in few huge gains, lots of volatility, and lots of churn. Many of my stocks went terribly wrong. It was tiring.

I realized my total returns weren’t worth the risk taking and huge amount of time spent. I gradually evolved into a strategy that’s more sustainable. That gives me a balance of time and profits.

Q：How did you feel when you started getting returns on your investment and what did you do with your returns?

When I started, one of my best returns was buying a penny stock called $Food Empire Holdings Ltd.(FEMPF)$ I made more than 60% in less than two years. I felt like I was at the top of my world.

I reinvested all my money into the portfolio.

Q：When the market becomes volatile and impacts your confidence, how do you stay the course?

Market volatility is nerve-wrecking. It happened during 2011, 2015/2016, 2019 and 2020. I reread books like The Intelligent Investor, Security Analysis and The Most Important Thing to keep me focused. These books constantly remind myself about my long-term approach to investing. And reminds me that stock market moves in a cycle -- what goes up must come down (and viceversa).

I also got support from my close network of friends who were also investing.

Q：Was there a person you know that’s also a Tiger Trade investor that has shown you support or has given you a sense of comfort when you experience any setbacks?

My wife’s been a big pillar of support. After I left my corporate job in 2018, she continues to support my dreams and passion. When I’m busy, she offers to look after the kids. When I’m busy, she helps me open a Tiger Trade account. When the stock market is down, she continues to believe in my stock ideas. She frequently shares articles I write. She’s always at the front row when I’m speaking on stage.

She gives me confidence and comfort as an investor, speaker and a financial blogger. My wife’s my best Tiger Trade investor-partner.

Q：Have you given any investment/trading advice or tips to someone who’s either trading with Tiger Trade or someone who’s trading through other brokers?

Please tell us about what you shared with them and why you shared advice/tips. Treat investing like a business operation. The portfolio is your shop. Stocks are your inventory. And you’re the boss. Each stock is an asset that produces cash flow. If a stock is not making money, sell to cut losses.

Q：What was the best lesson/tip you have received as you invest with Tiger Trade? Who gave you this advice?

The best lesson I received was from my ex-boss when I first started work in a boutique fund.

She said: “The key to the investment business is first to survive. Manage our risks. And never lose investors’ money.”

I learnt that investing is not just about maximizing profits. But also protecting our capital.

Q：What are the top tips you can give/have given to someone who’s also investing with Tiger Trade?

Stocks are not simply pieces of tradable certificates. They are part-ownership of a real business. To be successful investors, we need to collect great businesses with a durable competitive advantage at reasonable prices.

Q：If you were to share a piece of advice with anyone considering Tiger Trading, what would you suggest?

Always diversify. Own a variety of stocks across different countries and sectors. This reduces volatility and reduces the loss of money.

Q：Looking back at your experience with Tiger Trade, what would you say are the most important learnings you’ve realised for yourself?

Always do your own due diligence (DYODD). No matter how attractive a stock, IPO or any investment is;

No matter how persuasive your friend is, think about what can possibly go wrong, what are the chances of a stock going wrong.

Read, read, read. Get your hands on any investing materials -- annual reports, brokerage reports, industry reports and so on. Understand businesses, talk to analysts, talk to industry experts.

Study market cycles and human psychology. We learn so much from studying history

Thanks again to Willie Keng for the great content.

If you wish to be interviewed, please let me know in the comments.

​$Tiger Brokers(TIGR)$