Overreliance on or Ignoring the Experts Can Both Do Damage
My worst investment, in terms of stupidity, but not the biggest loss, was when I started acting on information I heard on a radio program about investing in stocks. Past performance is no guarantee of future success I had listened to this show and had been very lucky with my first investment; a…
Read Full PostMissed Opportunity Stems from Hasty Decision on a Stock
A few years ago, I bought a stock at 40,000 Vietnamese Dong (VND) per share (US1.71) after considering that the stock was undervalued. Then, the stock rallied to VND50,000 and dropped back to VND41,000/share. I sold all my stock at this price to protect the VND1,000/share gain! After my apparently overzealous reaction, the share price doubled over the ensuing six months. Lessons…
Read Full PostClassic Case of Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware)
My biggest mistake was the purchase of a presale condominium unit in the Philippines as an investment without doing sufficient due diligence on the developer and the process itself. Investor puts singular belief in property salesperson I just believed what the real estate broker told me and now I’m at risk of defaulting and losing all the down payments that I have made over the course of more than two…
Read Full PostAlways View Yesterday’s Successes Through Today’s Glasses
When I was younger and not so financially “sophisticated”, I used to work for one of the largest international general contractors in the world. In theory, it should have been a good idea to invest in the company I worked for As part of my 401(k) plan, I was given the choice of different…
Read Full PostHow a ‘Good Company’ Can Still Mean a Bad Investment
During my very early days as an equity investor, I invested in a high-quality coal miner that was the market’s darling at the time. It had survived the 2008 financial crisis unscathed and delivered stellar returns in a falling market.
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