Coffee with FFN and Robert Miles

Robert P. Miles is an internationally acclaimed keynote presenter, author and distinguished authority on Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. Pursued by journalists and media moguls on just about each and every move that Mr. Buffett makes, Robert is a long-term shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway. He also has had the great honor of getting to know Warren Buffett, the man and the remarkable wealth-building strategist. 

FFN: In which year did you start divulging into the world of Warren Buffett and what got you started in the first place?

Robert Miles (RM): I first became interested in investing with Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway [NYSE: BRK/a] [NYSE: BRK/b] at the end of 1995. After reading Roger Lowenstein’s book Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, I knew that I wanted to invest alongside Warren Buffett. The company announced that it would be offering ‘b’ shares at 1/30th the ‘a’ share. The ‘a’ share was then $30,000 per share and so the ‘b’ share became available for $1,000. Subsequently the ‘b’ shares have been further split now trading at 1/1500 the ‘a’ share. I attended my first annual meeting, the first Saturday in May, in Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska and have returned every year.

FFN: If you could describe your workings with Warren Buffett in one word, what would it be?

RM: Teacher

FFN: What is your favourite quote from Warren Buffett? 

RM: Be greedy when everyone else is fearful and fearful when everyone is greedy.

FFN: Knowing about management by just reading the annual reports is difficult as most managers will say wonderful things about the company. How then can small retail investors know in-depth about the integrity of the management? Warren Buffett can just call up the management when he wants to invest in a particular company and size them up but retail investors don’t have such a luxury. 

RM: Believe it or not, Warren does not phone management. He does what every retail investor can and should do – he reads the annual report. Warren says you can tell a lot about management by the way they write. Are they taking credit for other people’s work? Is management compensating themselves richly? Is management increasing shareholder wealth or their own personal wealth?  Conversely, is management running the business for the benefit of the shareholders? Are they revealing their mistakes or blaming others?

FFN: You should be a value investor yourself following Warren Buffett’s tenets. What are some of the companies you have invested in and why? 

RM: I have invested in Berkshire Hathaway and recommend your readers consider the same when the stock is being purchased back by Warren Buffett. His goal is to buy back whenever the stock is less than 110% of book value. Current book value is around $100,000 per share, so he is a buyer whenever the ‘a’ shares dip before $110,000.

FFN: You have travelled to Singapore a number of times already. Have any Singapore-listed companies caught your attention? If yes, what are they and why do you like them? 

RM: Yes I have visited Singapore and presented here probably more than any other country outside the USA. I haven’t invested in Singapore because it is outside my circle of competence.

FFN: What psychology do people need to succeed in value investing?

RM: Investors need to be rational. Remember there is a difference between the price of a stock and its value. Only buy when the price is below its value.

FFN: What lessons have you learnt over the years as an investor?

RM: There are many methods towards investment success. My preference is to examine those investors that have far exceeded the overall market and follow their principles.

FFN: What advice would you give for beginners who want to start investing?

RM: Visit www.berkshirehathaway.com and begin reading Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders. Each one is packed with practical advice from the master.

FFN: What is your ultimate goal in life?

RM: To be happy.

FFN: Give us an “insider look” of a typical day in your life from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep

RM: No typical day for me. If I am home I read, write and talk on the phone most of the day. For exercise, I go for a daily walk. I also enjoy tennis and the theater.

FFN: If you could summarise your life in one word, what would it be?

RM: Charmed

FFN: A parting shot for the readers…

RM: Become the person you wish to be. Never stop dreaming. The act of creating is the secret to happiness.

Learn more about Robert Miles at http://www.robertpmiles.com. He also conducts a course (http://cba.unomaha.edu/execmgmt/buffettgenius/) on Warren Buffett and takes part in the Value Investor Conference (http://www.valueinvestorconference.com) as well.

Coffee with FFN and Clive Tan

Clive learnt his investing skills personally from Curtis Montgomery, an American value fund manager, who was the most successful audited value investor in Singapore. During a 5 year period, Clive applied what he learned in investing and accumulated enough investment returns with that short timeframe to successfully launch his first business Curious Minds Childcare Pte Ltd. Clive then went on to co-establish a private investment company, 8 Investment Pte Ltd.

FFN: At what age did you get started in investing? 

Clive: In 2004. I met Curtis Montgomery and he enlightened me about value investing. It made a lot of logical sense to me as there is actually a methodology to do it. I worked for Curtis for free for a short while, learnt more by reading books and attended workshops. Before 2004, I was just speculating on the prices.

FFN: How did you get interested in investing and who inspired you to get started?

Clive: Warren Buffett and Curtis.

FFN: How do you choose which stocks to invest in?

Clive: I started off as a quantitive person. I’m more of a bottom-up investor. If the numbers make sense, I look at business model, management, industry and then the valuation. At a personal level, I also have to look at how much money I have at the time of investing.

FFN: What are some of the stocks in your portfolio currently?

Clive: Boustead is one of the biggest holdings. My biggest share is in this company itself.

I was a school teacher before and I invested whatever I had when I was teaching. After quitting my job, my wife and I put in about $150,000 into a childcare business. I put in quite a big amount of my investment profit in it. Subsequently, I rebuilt my investment portfolio again.

FFN: Where and how do you look for companies to invest in?

Clive: From my interests. I will share with you some companies that have done well for me. There’s this company called Unisteel Technology that makes precision screws. The profitability was quite good even though they were a small company. There’s a niche market. They are small but big at the same time in their own pool.

Another one is Sincere Watch. At one stage I was into watches – mechanical watches, mechanism inside watches. After I bought my first Swiss watch, I became more interested in the retail scene. I remember an instance where this particular person paid for his watch in a thick pile of cash. I realized that there are people who are buying such watches even though most of the time we see these shops being empty. I then looked at the numbers and it made sense.

FFN: Is Unisteel still listed?

Clive: Unfortunately, the best companies I invest in are always privatized.

FFN: Reminds me of Thomson Medical Centre (TMC). Did u invest in TMC?

Clive: I was very keen. At the price I assessed them at, it was not a gleaming buy but the price went up so much. I even wrote about it but unfortunately, it was one of the things that got away.

FFN: What are the mistakes you have done pertaining to investing and what are the lessons learnt?

Clive: I have lost money in S-chips. The numbers looked good but I didn’t take into account the corporate governance and management. I no longer invest in S-chips but I’m not saying they are all bad. There are some undervalued ones but it will require more homework if the numbers are true. You need to do a lot of due diligence.

FFN: What lessons have you learnt over the years as an investor?

Clive: I’m still learning. I learn a lot every day. When I first started, I thought I knew very little. But I when talked to people, they said that I really know a lot of things. I was like “Is it?” Anyway, I realized the more I learn, the more I don’t know.

FFN: How about an advice for the youth who are looking to build up their future?

Clive: Start young. If they don’t have cash, build up on their knowledge first and invest when they have income. Have simple lifestyle so that you can have savings.

FFN: What does financial freedom mean to you?

Clive: Financial freedom is really about having choices. At the end of the day, it’s like “Can you choose to do this?” and “Is it a choice or is a duty?” A lot of people go to work as it’s their duty. They need to pay their bills. I don’t think in terms of that. In retrospect it’s easy to say but people in that situation have to make a conscious effort to get out of that thinking and to really plan for their own finances.

I’m not sounding arrogant here but I’m really grateful and proud that we have built up this company from nothing. What you see here is the result of what we started with three guys, two desks and nothing else. I wouldn’t say it’s big now but it’s still “Wah!” At this stage we are looking further out and we have bigger plans for the next two years.

FFN: Give us an “insider look” of a typical day in your life from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep

Clive: I wake up at around 6.30am. Go jogging and go gym. I leave house at around 7.30am and around 9am I will be in office. I stay in office till around 5.30pm but what time I finish work depends on what tasks I need to do. Like after this interview, I have to go for another meeting outside but that’s fine. I focus on what needs to be done rather on the time itself.  I go to sleep around 11.30pm. Before that, I always read.

FFN: If you could summarise your whole life in one word, what would it be?

Clive: Ah, that’s a very good question…. Legacy.

FFN: A parting shot for the readers…

Clive: From my experience, choose the life that you want for yourself and if you decide that’s the life that you want, go all out to create that.

FFN’s input – I conducted this interview on the same day but at different time as Ken Chee’s (featured last month). However, I decided to separate the interviews into two different posts. Combining the posts into one will make the post much longer, making it unpalatable. 

Coffee with FFN and Ken Chee

Ken is the CEO and Co Founder of a private investment company, 8 Investment Pte Ltd, which focuses on business, equity investments and education.

FFN: At what age did you get started in investing? 

Ken: I started investing in 2003 when SARS hit. First stock I bought was Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) but I was studying this stock since 2002.

FFN: How did you get interested in investing and who inspired you to get started?

Ken: The situation that “inspired” me was when my family went through the Pan Electric Crisis in 1985. My father lost a lot of money in the stock market during that period. The lesson learnt was very painful.

I took a diploma in Singapore Poly from 1982 – 1985. During that period, I was thought to be a trader instead of being an investor. In 1995, I met Nick Leeson, the guy who brought down Barings Bank, in SIMEX. Since then, I decided not to become a trader. I took a degree after my National Service and worked for the financial industry. During my interactions with industry veterans, someone told me about value investing.

FFN: How do you choose which stocks to invest in?

Ken: First I start with circle of competence. The reason why I bought SGX was that it was the only company I understood. I was working in a financial information company. Our customer and supplier was SGX. My ex-company took real-time information from SGX and processed the information and then we sold it to banks. Although I sell information to banks, I don’t understand banks. Even up to today, I still don’t understand how some banks operate. However, for SGX, I understand it. They have a monopoly, asset-light, low capital expenditure, among others.

FFN: So has your circle of competence become bigger over the years?

Ken: I hope so. I’m still learning everyday and we make mistakes. We still can make mistakes. Overall, I have made more gains than losses. It’s ok to be wrong but it’s not ok to stay wrong. Just admit the mistakes. From the mistakes, we start to learn more and more.

FFN: Warren Buffett didn’t go into technology stocks until very recently. Do you don’t like technology stocks too?

Ken: I think it depends on what kind of technology you are talking about. I like companies that supply certain parts to a technology company. For example, Corning makes the glass screen for smartphones. I rather look at the part suppliers than the technology company itself.

FFN: What are some of your strategies you use to buy stocks?

Ken: We use the 3R approach which is buy the right business model, with the right management and at the right undervalued price.

FFN: What are some of the stocks in your portfolio currently?

Ken: I bought SGX at $1.60 in 2003 when SARS hit and it was a great opportunity to buy this company. I sold it at around $7.50 – $8.

Another will be Vicom. I bought it at about $1.70 and I’m still holding it. The dividend yield I’m getting now is around 9%.

I also bought SATS. Not a fantastic business model but I bought at a low price at around $1.30-$1.40. Dividend yield is also around 8-9%.

FFN: Where and how do you look for companies to invest in?

Ken: By daily observation. I will be very curious and ask questions to unearth it.

FFN: What are the mistakes you have done pertaining to investing and what are the lessons learnt?

Ken: Plenty. Being overconfidence, making wrong assumptions, moving out of circle of competence without realizing it. Talking about the last one, 2-3 years ago, we were looking into the shipping industry as they were going through a rough patch. We bought into Courage Marine. Financially, they are stable and have prudent management but the industry mechanics itself is eroding and there’s oversupply of ships.

Some companies we bought into seem like a value buy at first but it turned out to be a value trap.

FFN: So, how do you know you have bought into a wrong company?

Ken: The business itself will reflect the results. Quarter to quarter, the revenue tanks, earnings keeps going down. Free cash flow becomes no free cash flow.

I feel it’s not really prudent to watch quarter-to-quarter results too closely as it’s being short-term biased whereas value investing is for the long-term. We should instead be looking at yearly results. What’s your take on this?

I think the key thing is not to buy at one shot. Watch the story unfold and buy bit-by-bit. Buy with the right margin of safety. We saw the net profit and revenue was coming down but we bought more. It was stupid of us. Not only that, after we realized our mistake, we didn’t cut loss, that’s even more stupid of us. Holding our view too strongly is sometimes our downfall. We need to accept that we have made the wrong judgment call and cut loss.

When we invest in a company, the questions we need to ask is “Will this company be still around 10 years’ down the road?” and “Will it be more valuable 10 years’ down the road?”. I think if you cannot answer these two questions, looking at quarter-to-quarter results is not going to help.

FFN: You said one needs to ask if the company will be around 10 years’ down the road. Taking Corning as an example, you wouldn’t know ten years’ down the road if the company will still provide to smartphones as technology is evolving so fast.

Ken: Corning is not only doing for smartphones. They can scale this business into other things into the future when technology picks up more. This is a small piece but in the future, they can make it into a big piece (size of a conference table). For example, the whole conference table can be made into a screen in the future and you wouldn’t even need a phone. All the communication can take place through the conference table. It’s the vision and how you imagine it into the future. It’s whether you can visualize and see the usage of the products in the future. Sustainability is important.

FFN: What psychology do people need to succeed in investing?

Ken: Emotional stability. You must be able to understand what you are investing in. There are four emotions that are deadly for value investors – excitement, fear, greed, envy.

FFN: So, how can investors be more emotionally stable?

Ken: Awareness leading to choices. Being aware emotionally will help you make better choices.

FFN: What lessons have you learnt over the years as an investor?

Ken: I’m still learning. In life, you never stop learning. The more I read, the more I realize I don’t know. Life is constant learning.

FFN: There are cases where you learn more and you get confused more. You get diluted by other people’s views of investing. How do you mitigate this?

Ken: When you are learning, you need to exercise independent thinking. We need to ask ourselves, “Whatever I’m learning, is it based on facts or opinions?”

FFN: How was it meeting Warren Buffett face-to-face?

Ken: I met him in 2009. It was cool meeting him. He’s a very nice guy. I bought his “Snowball” book and he autographed on it. Bill Gates, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett were in the room. It was fantastic and amazing. I encourage all shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway to go. It was a rock concert with 35,000 people.

FFN: How about an advice for the youth who are looking to build up their future?

Ken: Very good question. Develop a habit of saving. Get the right investing knowledge. The greatest resource they have is time as time allows compounding. Don’t ever get yourself into debt. Buy things they can afford. Understand the greatest things in life is not money and passion they have in their work. They must develop a sense of purpose in life and the money will have a meaning. Without a sense of purpose and they are only in the pursuit of money, life itself will become meaningless.

FFN: What kind of knowledge does one need to start investing?

Ken: The basic accounting knowledge must be there and must understand company from an investor’s point of view. Investing requires intellect. Investing is simple but not easy due to emotional stability.

FFN: How did your personal financial planning changed after a big change in your life eg. marriage, having kids, buying a house, buying a car?

Ken: I lived a very lean life when I started working. I cycled to work. During lunch, I went swimming without eating lunch. I only ate fruits during lunch.  There are certain periods where I don’t even use a single dollar. Sometimes people will buy me lunch or I cooked at home. I saved 70% of my income and started investing. This was from 2003 to 2007. I did all these to save money and invest.

My lifestyle changed after I got married in 2009. I got a HDB flat even though I could afford a condominium or landed property. My first car was a 9^th hand BMW. One year later, sold it away and bought a Mitsubishi when COE was $0 (undervalued). I got married, bought a house and bought a car all within 6 months.

FFN: Would your lifestyle change after having kids, for example?

Ken: I don’t think my lifestyle will change. Today, I pamper my wife a bit. We go for cruise. We no longer need to be very tight. I will spend money on things that give moments of happiness, like travelling and eating out.

FFN: What does financial freedom mean to you?

Ken: Having choices to do what you want.

FFN: Give us an “insider look” of a typical day in your life from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep

Ken: I wake up at 5am and go for exercise like running. I will come back and read. Reach office at around 9.30am. Work till 4-5pm. I will attend talks, meetings, spend time with family and friends for dinner. At night, continue to read. If possible, watch movie at home with my wife. Back to bed around 12am.

FFN: If you could summarise your whole life in one word, what would it be?

Ken: Integrity.

FFN: A parting shot for the readers…

Ken: Come and learn more about value investing at our Millionaire Investor Program Asia. To find out more, go to http://millionaireinvestor.asia.

Coffee with FFN and Andrew Hallam

Andrew Hallam is an English teacher at Singapore American School. He built a million dollar portfolio on a teacher’s salary, while still in his 30s. His book, Millionaire Teacher, is an international bestseller.

FFN: At what age did you get started in investing?

AH: I started to invest when I was nineteen.

FFN: How did you get interested in investing and who inspired you to get started?

AH: I met a mechanic who was raising two kids on a single salary.  He was 47 years old, and he was already a self-made millionaire.  He was frugal, and a great investor.  He inspired me to believe that I could do whatever I wanted to do in life, whatever my passion was, and still end up financially strong, if I was smart with my money.

FFN: What was your life like before investing and how is it now?

AH: Before I started to invest I was in high school, and today I’m still in high school.  The difference is that before, I was the student, and now I’m the teacher.

But seriously, I didn’t have much money.  My dad was also a mechanic, and my mom stayed at home to raise us (there were four kids in our family)

Having said that, money hasn’t really changed me much.  I still enjoy being active, physically, and spending time with friends.  I’m an odd duck, not really getting pleasure from material things.  But I do love to travel, and I can afford to do a lot more of that now.

FFN: What are some of the stocks in your portfolio currently?

AH: I own three index funds, but no stocks:  an international index, a U.S. index, and a short term Canadian government bond index.

FFN: You advocate index investing instead of stock picking. Why is that so? Don’t stock picking give higher returns?

AH: If I could earn higher returns as a stock picker over my lifetime, I would do that.  But that would be a rare feat.  If I were to beat a rebalanced, diversified portfolio of indexes over 35 years as a stockpicker, I would quickly find myself (if I could prove it) on all the major television channels pertaining to the stock market.  Beating the market with stocks is doable over a year, three years, maybe even fifteen years.  But over a lifetime, the statistical odds are far higher with diversified, low cost indexes.  Most professional investors lose to the market over their lifetime.  So I like to invest where my long term odds are highest.

FFN: What are the mistakes you have done pertaining to investing and what are the lessons learnt?

AH: I once got involved in a loans company that paid 54 percent interest each year.  A friend of mine had received 54 percent from the company for eight years.  I know that he wasn’t lying, because he tried to get me involved when he first invested.  But each year, I kept saying no.  Anyway, eventually, after he had made more than $300,000 in interest, I got involved.  But it was a Ponzi scheme that eventually collapsed.  I talk about this in my book.  It was definitely a crazy thing for me to get involved in.  I learned that if something sounds too good to be true, it is.  There’s no way that we thought it was a Ponzi.  But I guess Madoff’s investors were caught with their pants down too.

FFN: What psychology do people need to succeed in investing?

AH: Good investors have to be a little odd.  They have to be comfortable ignoring the news, and avoiding herd mentality.  As Warren Buffett says, they have to be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.  That makes sense, but it’s tough to do.

FFN: What lessons have you learnt over the years as an investor?

AH: I’ve learned not to listen to analysts.  That was one of my first lessons.  If you do choose to buy individual stocks, do your own research, order at least 5 years worth of annual reports, read every word and then try to figure out where the company is lying.  Most companies fudge.  If you can’t see where they’re fudging, then you don’t want to buy shares in the business.  That might sound paradoxical, but if you can’t find where the company is fudging a little bit, then you aren’t understanding the annual report fully.

I’ve also  learned that stock picking itself is difficult.  I was a good stock picker, but I learned that the odds of going with an indexed approach will give me a statistically higher chance of making more money.

Also, I have learned never to focus on the results of a single year.  In fact, as a relatively young investor, it’s very important to be happy about seeing markets fall, and unhappy when markets rise.  Think of yourself as a collector.  If you’re a collector of stocks or indexes, you shouldn’t want to see those prices rising while you’re collecting them.  You should only want to see rising prices once you’re retired (because you’re no longer buying, but selling).

FFN: How has the investor in you evolved over the years?

AH: I have become more and more dispassionate—unaffected by market swings.  When markets fall, I absolutely love it.  The best times to invest is when there’s blood in the streets.

FFN: What advice would you give for beginners who want to start investing?

AH: Don’t listen to investment tips.  Read A Random Walk Down Wall Street, The Intelligent Investor, and of course, Millionaire Teacher.  Read each of these books more than once.  Then you’ll know more than 99 percent of financial advisors.  And you’ll be ready to invest on your own.

FFN: How about an advice for the youth who are looking to build up their future?

AH: Try not to fall into the consumption trap.  You’ll see people around you who becomes slaves to the latest tech gadgets, the expensive cars etc.  Try your best to ignore that stuff.  Focus on building assets, not liabilities.  Anything that decreases in value over time is a liability.

When you become wealthy, you’ll be able to buy more of life’s finer things, and you won’t have to go into debt to do it.

FFN: What do you thing is the biggest misconception people have about money?

AH: They think that those who drive flashy cars and have big salaries are rich.  Some of them are, there’s no doubt about that.  But most people with high salaries have high debts.  They try showing off with their “5 Cs” and it adds a lot of stress to their lives.

FFN: What is the one thing, in your opinion, do people need to succeed in investing?

AH: They definitely need the right temperament.  They have to be happy to see falling stock markets.  It’s the same with housing markets.  If you were going to be buying a condo every year, would you prefer to see cheaper condo prices over the next five years, or higher condo prices?  The answer, of course, answers itself.  You should prefer sinking prices while you’re accumulating.  The same thing should be said of any asset, including stocks.

FFN: What are the habits one must follow to have a sound financial life?

AH: Live within your means, diversify your investments, don’t fall for the latest investment fad, and educate yourself.  Keep in mind, also, that stock market based television programs are there to make you excited, not to give you advice.  I don’t watch them, and I don’t recommend that you watch them either.

FFN: Would your finances and investing be different if u had a kid and were living all your life in another country like Singapore where living expenses are quite high?

AH: If I had children, there’s no doubt that I wouldn’t have as much money as I do.  That said, most millionaires in the U.S. are married with children.

Singapore, in my view, is as expensive as you want to make it.  For example, I find Canada (my home country) more expensive for me. My tax rate in Canada was 40 percent as a teacher there.  And we paid capital gains taxes on most of our invested money, unlike Singapore. With a great public transit option, a car in Singapore can be an option, not a necessity.  This isn’t the case in most Canadian towns.

From what I understand, Singapore is considered quite a wealthy country overall and I certainly wouldn’t view it as a liability for wealth accumulation.

FFN: What is your ultimate goal in life?

AH: To live until I’m 90!  I’m already a really happy guy, so if I can live longer, I can enjoy more happiness!

FFN: What does financial freedom mean to you?

AH: It means that nobody owns me.  At 41 years old, I don’t have to work anymore if I don’t want to.  But I work because I love my job.  If I HAD to work, that would be different.  In one way, I would be property to someone else, like some kind of commodity.  Early in life, I wanted to be in a position to choose to work, rather than be forced to work because I bought things I couldn’t afford, and had debts to pay off.

FFN: A parting shot for the readers…

AH: Your health and your relationships are worth more than all the money in the world.  Cherish them.

Click here to get Andrew Hallam’s book on Amazon.

Coffee with FFN and Cayden Chang

Cayden Chang is the Director and Founder of Mind Kinesis Management International LLP.  His company runs Singapore’s First Value Investing Programme Recommended by Mary Buffett.

FFN: At what age did you get started in investing?

CC: I started at age 23. I wished it would be earlier.

FFN: How did you get interested in investing?

CC: It all started when I was working as an employee and I met up with a financial advisor. After going through a review with him, it seems like with my previous salary, it was impossible to retire by 45 which was my goal at that time. That’s when I realised that just by saving on the salary is not going to work simply because the inflation is going to wipe off all the interest generated through the bank as well as the annual increment. Thus, one of the option is to invest where the returns must meet my personal financial target.

FFN: What was your life like before investing and how is it now?

CC: Before investing, I was working very hard to make money. I can work 2 jobs at one time so that I can save up more money fort myself and my family. After learning how to invest, I am still working very hard, even harder than before. However, the difference is that I am financially free and I work hard because I simply love what I am doing.

FFN: How do you choose which stocks to invest in? What are some of your strategies?

CC: Good question. In short, view companies like a business, choose companies that have a competitive advantage, buy them when they are undervalue and sell them when they are overpriced. We have 2 main strategies: Value Investing and Value Investing Options Strategy (VIOs) where we generate passive income only using 15 mins per month.

FFN: What are some of the stocks in your portfolio currently?

CC: They are mainly in the banking and medical industry.

FFN: You started off as an NLP coach. How did you start a value investing training business?

CC: I started off as a NLP Trainer, not a NLP Coach. When I started NLP training, the intention is to provide a set of proven tools to help people reach their outcome. Through this journey, I realised that most of my participants have dreams to become financially free so that they have more time to do what they want to do. And if you look at our allocation of our time, almost everyone will spend one-third of their life working, the other one-third sleeping and the remaining one-third doing other things. If a person can be financially free, that will free up one-third of his life to do whatever he loves to do, not what others expect him to do. Thus, I started Mind Kinesis Value Investing Academy to support people in this journey.

FFN: What are the mistakes you have done pertaining to investing and what are the lessons learnt?

CC: The biggest mistake was that I was speculating on my entire savings previously thinking that I was investing. As a result, I lost all my savings in a few months in which I took years to save. I was trading at that time and was trying to speculate on market movements using technical analysis and a small portion of fundamental analysis. There were nice names given to trading methodologies but unfortunately as I looked back now, these methodologies are pure speculative in nature and don’t make logical sense for a simple reason – the price fluctuation of the shares are mostly emotional and not logical. In short term, price fluctuation do not reflect the performance of any business. Trying to make logic out of millions of emotional buying and selling is as good as coming out a methodology for buying lottery. Ask yourself this – how many people whom you know out there are speculating right now and are making money CONSISTENTLY and how much time are they spending each day? The key lesson is – Mr Market is there to serve you and not to instruct you!

FFN: What do you thing is the biggest misconception people have about money?

CC: Do people have misconception? I have unsure of that.

FFN: What is the one thing, in your opinion, do people need to succeed in investing?

CC: Invest, don’t speculate!

FFN: What are the habits one must follow to have a sound financial life?

CC: The habits are: (i) know your financial endpoint & review regularly, (ii) increase income & reduce expenses to have adequate money to invest, (iii) set aside money regularly to buy undervalue assets to generate passive income, (iv) repeat step (i) to (iii) and change accordingly until you reach your financial endpoint.

FFN: Give us an “insider look” of a day in your life from the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep

CC: I work very hard in my business, I spent time with my family, I read, I exercise, I spent time connecting with my friends who are mostly my trainees and I sleep.

FFN: A parting shot for the readers…

CC: Investment Rule No. 1: Don’t Lose Money. And stay away from speculation.

If you are serious about learning about how you CAN GENERATE PASSIVE INCOME using only 15 mins per month, join us for a Free Value Investing Workshop at http://www.investment-in-stocks.com/free-investing-workshop where we run the FIRST Singapore Value Investing Programme Recommended by Mary Buffett, Internationally Acclaimed Author and Speaker of “Buffettology”, “The Tao of Warren Buffett”, “Management Secrets of Warren Buffett”.

Coffee with FFN

Hello Readers,

For 2012, I have promised something huge that involves well-established investing bloggers, businessmen, authors, trainers or just anyone established in the investing and personal finance arena. What it will be is that I will be interviewing these people and posting those interviews right here in my blog! There will be one interview per month and it will be posted on every middle of the month (15th day of the month).

First off, it’s an interview with Cayden Chang, Director of Mind Kinesis Management International LLP and he also runs the FIRST Singapore Value Investing Programme Recommended by Mary Buffett, Internationally Acclaimed Author and Speaker of “Buffettology”, “The Tao of Warren Buffett”, “Management Secrets of Warren Buffett”. Do look out for that!

Cheers,
FFN