Martin Lee @ Sg
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Newbie in Stock Investing

Question from a reader:

I’m a newbie who have recently opened up an account with a trading company and now, I’m not quite sure where to begin.

I’ve heard from my broker, my friends and family to invest in some low risks stocks to start the ball rolling but I feel like taking a more diversified approach. Probably have a basket of low to high risks stocks. What sector do you think I should concentrate on? i’ve heard so many opinions but don’t know who to trust. They say banks are the sure way to go but bank stocks have been falling so rapidly. i was wondering if you can share with me what you think is the ideal basket or combination of sectors I should consider investing in.

Thanks so much!

Sylvia

My reply:

Hi Sylvia,

When you say high risk stocks, are you refering to stocks with high volatility, or are you refering to stocks with “risky” fundamentals?

Personally, I would avoid stocks with high gearing and weak cashflow at the present moment. I will also stay clear of financials.

Also, when you do invest in a stock, you need to have a strong conviction of why you are investing rather than just depending on the opinion of others (myself included).

Things change rapidly. A person could be correct in telling you that stock A is good at a certain point in time. But if it becomes “bad”, will that person still be around to tell you when to bail out? That is why it is important to form your own opinion, and monitor closely the stocks that you finally do decide to invest in.

If you find this difficult, you might be better off investing via collective investment schemes. The ETF market is growing and we now have close to 30 ETFs listed on SGX. You might want to have a look at those.

Leave a Comment:

4 comments
andy says 14 years ago

Hi there,

I have a question on reading a listed company’s anouncement where I come across this term: “Married” Trades.

A major shareholder acquired more shares of the company thru “Married” trades, what is this “Married” trades? Any idea what could possibly happen in the company and also with that major shareholder acquiring more shares by so called “Married” trades? Why do that? I mean the possibilities.

Hope get enlightened, thanks..

Reply
    lioninvestor says 14 years ago

    Hi Andy,

    A married deal is an off-market transaction.

    If you wish to buy a huge number of shares (can’t remember how min how many) and know of a willing seller, the transaction can be recorded as a married deal.

    Reply
Chokyi says 15 years ago

Martin, Thanks for your good stock investing advice. After doing analysis and monitoring the stocks closely for some time, we can make the decision whether to invest in based on our own confidence level.

Reply
La papillion says 15 years ago

I also think that without more active researching into your own psyche and the companies, it’ll be far better to put your money into a passive fund like etf and be content with the market returns.

Reply
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