Rogue One: Is Demo/Paper Trading a Mistake?
Imagine yourself being the manager of an airline company.
Would you allow a junior flight school student to fly a real plane for you, even though this student may have read and understood the theories on how to operate a plane?
By now, you may be thinking:
“Ridiculous, of course no!”
Hey, I figured the same too.
I’d throw this fella into multiple flight simulations and make sure that this flight school student is able to follow standards & procedures for a flight.
More importantly, I’d not want this soon-to-be pilot crashing my real planes if he/she can’t even handle landing the plane safely in a simulated environment.
Make sense, right?
I hope I have made my point of this article by now, but if not, here it goes:
Putting a junior flight school student into simulations is exactly the same as you going through the demo or paper trading phase when you first started investing or trading.
Essentially, you are doing yourself a HUGE favor by making sure that you can follow the rules and strategies consistently in a risk-free environment.
Here’s the thing:
At the beginning of your investing or trading journey, it’s not about making a lot of money. It’s not even about having a ‘feel’ with putting in real money into the market.
It’s about you having the discipline to follow the rules and processes and learn the foundation properly without additional emotional baggage.
Honestly, if you can’t land a plane safely in a simulated environment, what makes you think that you can land a real plane in reality – before crashing a few costly planes and hurting yourself (and others) badly in between?
I believe I’ve made my point clear.
p.s. Related Read: Here's What I’d Do if I Had to Start My Investing Journey All Over Again
Rogue One is a new weekly 1-min article series where I share my random thoughts and ideas.
StashAway Simple Review: The Fixed Deposit (FD) Killer?
After it’s launch in Singapore in late November last year (2019), StashAway has finally launched StashAway Simple to all Malaysian users today!
Now, if you have read my StashAway in-depth review earlier this year, you would know that my minor rant about the robo-advisor is not getting StashAway Simple readied to all Malaysian users back then.
So, what exactly is StashAway Simple?
Simply put, StashAway Simple is the company’s alternative to conventional financial vehicles like the Fixed Deposit (FD).
What Makes StashAway Simple so Special?
In my opinion, there are a few things that make StashAway Simple stands out among conventional financial vehicles like FD:
- Earn a projected return of 2.4% per year. (p.s. Maybank 12-month FD rate is at 2.10%)
- No minimum balance required – you can start using StashAway Simple at any amount, anytime you want (this is really StashAway’s trump card).
- No lock-in period like FD – deposit & withdraw anytime you want.
- Zero service + platform fee! The only cost involved is a (very) minimal fee of approximately 0.165% charged by the underlying unit trust manager.
p.s. the fee is already been taken account in the 2.4%/year projected return, so don’t worry about the fee affecting the return. :)
- Shariah Compliant.
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Where Does Your Money Go When You Invest Your Cash in StashAway Simple?
When you put your money into StashAway Simple, they are essentially invested in money market instruments that are extremely low risk.
If you are curious, the underlying money market fund of StashAway Simple is the Eastspring Investments Islamic Income Fund.
Is StashAway Simple Risky?
Every investment comes with its own risk.
That said, StashAway Simple is rated 1.8% under the StashAway Risk Index.
In other words, investing in StashAway Simple is just as risky as putting your money into FD – which is extremely low risk.
Should You Use StashAway Simple?
You should definitely consider using StashAway Simple if:
(1) You are looking for a better Fixed Deposit (FD) alternative for your savings.
Hate the high barrier of entry of FD? Dislike the long lock-in of FD?
I think you will love StashAway Simple.
(2) You are building up your emergency fund.
Looking to start building your emergency fund where you can have quick access to your money?
StashAway Simple is a great choice for you!
(3) You are looking for a place to park your cash while waiting for an investment opportunity.
If you are an investor that is currently parking your assets in cash, waiting for an investment opportunity, StashAway Simple is a solid place for you to place your cash.
Competitors
StashAway Simple solves a crucial headache of high-barrier of entry & long lock-down period of the conventional Fixed Deposit offered in the market.
To be honest, if StashAway Simple was to be released in Malaysia earlier this year, it would be a no-brainer for me to recommend this straightaway to people.
However, in the highly competitive space of financial technology and innovation, a 6-months period can change a lot of things.
A rise of new competitors in the space is one of them.
Introduced in April this year, BIMB’s Best Invest app allows investors to invest in its BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim money market fund from as low as RM10.
Since the underlying asset of both StashAway Simple and BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim fund are equally money market instruments AND both provide almost similar flexibility (low barrier of entry), they are without a doubt the closest and best solution for people looking for an FD alternative now.
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No Money Lah’s Verdict: Simple is the New Breakthrough
With the rise innovations in the financial solution space, it is refreshing to keep seeing new, innovative products from robo-advisor platforms like StashAway.
In many ways, in the financial services industry, simple is indeed the new breakthrough that the consumers need.
Personally, I have always enjoy using StashAway to complement my investment style and I have long waited for StashAway Simple to be introduced in Malaysia.
Now that it is finally here, I am super excited to give it a try and I highly suggest you to check it out too!
Related: Read my full review on StashAway HERE
This is What I’d Do if I Had to Start My Investing Journey All Over Again
I started to expose myself to the world of investing as a university student 5 to 6 years ago.
Well, my ultimate masterplan back then was to crush the market like peanuts and make hell lot of money with it.
(p.s. Obviously, that intention did not end up well for me.)
It took me a long, long time before I eventually discover my sweet spot and investing style (more on this in future articles).
Looking back, I always wonder if I could have been much better with investing (and with money) if I were to put every piece of the puzzle in the right place – one by one, step by step.
Depending on how you look at it, this article can be more like hindsight, or more of a reflection.
But my goal for this article is simple:
If you are totally new and are thinking about getting started, I hope this post will be of great guidance & insight for you.
With that, this is what I would do if I were to start over my investing journey from zero:
Step 1: First, I'd learn about personal finance & build a strong habit around money
New investors be like:
Harr… but I just want to find the best stocks to buy wor…
Yes, boring, I know.
But this is exactly what I would do FIRST if I were to start over my journey, because honestly:
Who cares if you can spot the best stocks to invest in when you have no savings to invest?
Who cares if you have attended the best investing course when you still struggle to pay off your credit card debt every month?
Looking back, instead of splurging on food & entertainment in university, I would start tracking my finances and have a more consistent savings habit (regardless of how little it could be).
I’d also build a stronger foundation & understanding around money (ie. Financial independence, compounding effect, asset & liability) by reading more personal finance (not purely investing) related books.
With all these financial knowledge and habits in place, I am sure that I’d be in a better position to start learning how to invest at the age 21 years old.
Step 2: Instead of asking “What Stocks to Buy?”, ask “What Skills Do I Need?”
“Which company should I invest during this crisis ah?”
“Is now the right time to buy into the shares of XXX yaa?”
These are without a doubt the most asked questions by investors on investing forums, telegram chat & FB groups.
Looking back, I wasted my fair share of time indulging in discussions like these.
If I were to start again, I’d definitely spend NONE of my time consuming any content like this.
Instead, after building a sound financial habit, the next thing I’d do is to learn the skills needed for me to build a solid foundation in investing – be it from books or a mentor/coach.
Some crucial fundamental skills include, but not limited to:
- How to extract important data and information from a financial report?
- How to develop a set of investment rules on when to buy & sell?
- How to construct a decision-making framework & thought process?
- How to make independent investment decisions without succumbing to headlines and unnecessary news & content?
Can you see how these skills above, once mastered, will be able to answer your ‘What stocks to buy’ question?
Nowadays, most new investors yearn for shortcuts and/or the easy way to make money from the ‘exciting’ stock market – all without considering putting effort into building their foundational skills.
But hey, I get it. That was me once upon a time too.
Just telling you that, if you are new, you might really wanna consider building a solid foundation first before risking your hard-earned money.
The only short cut in sustainable and successful investing is effort and hardwork.
Step 3: Setting my initial vision with investing
If I were to start my journey from zero again, I’d want to spend some time constructing a vision for my investing journey: a sort of picture-like vision of the outcome of investing in my life.
This is the stage where I would learn more about different financial stages in life (eg. financial independence, abundance) and set a vision to motivate me to keep honing my skills.
Now, you may disagree with me, but I would not set a fixed goal at this stage (eg. Financial independence by 30 years old).
Reason being, as a university student, there is simply no way for me to know what kind of circumstances I would be upon graduation. Hence, any form of fixed estimation is really inaccurate at best.
That said, as a start, having a conceptual understanding of what’s possible (eg. vision towards financial independence) is important and should not be overlooked.
However, it should also be noted that our lives will change as we move on to different stages in life – hence it is essential to be flexible with the vision and ultimately discovering our goal along the way.
Step 4: Hone my skills in a simulated environment
Learning the fundamental investment skills & knowledge is a thing, but it doesn’t mean that it is the end of the journey.
In fact, it is only the beginning of the journey.
So, what I would do is I will set up a simulated investing account via platforms like Bursa Marketplace so I can test what I’ve learned in a risk-free environment.
Now, this could be a very boring stage for many. I used to do it (and gave up) too back then as there is no fun at all buying stocks in a simulated environment.
But if I were to start again, I would spend at least 6 months to a year in a simulated environment so I am sure that I can follow my entry and exit rules consistently whenever needed.
No fun, I know. But I’d cut short a lot of my learning curve if I persisted with the practice 5 years ago.
Step 5: Opening a Live Account (Finally!)
Now’s the time to finally worry about which brokerage account to open!
Or better, time to make some big money! *wink* *wink*
But is it so?
In the hindsight, what I would do as a beginner (regardless of my initial capital) is to set my intention right when opening a live account.
Instead of treating my initial few hundred bucks account as my immediate runway to become a millionaire, I would work on my ability to execute my plan/rules consistently without worrying about the returns as much.
By doing so in a small live account, it would build a very solid psychology foundation for me to handle my live account as it grows in the future.
Simply put, I would take my initial years of live investing journey to make mistakes and gain experience – not so much on making huge gains.
Step 6: Continuous Reflection & Self-Discovery + Receive feedback
Remember that I talked about setting an initial vision in Step 3?
Now, with more experience in the market (and assuming I already graduated and started my career), I’d start to find a more solid goal and focus in investing.
This is because, by this stage, I would be more familiar with my financial commitment. Hence, it is easier to calculate and come out with a proper financial goal and action plan.
It is also time for me to start reflecting and discovering my own investing style to accommodate my other commitments in life.
At this stage, joining a community of like-minded investors (not a general Facebook/Telegram group) is hugely beneficial. It serves as a great & efficient way to leverage on great investors' insights and receive feedback to accelerate learning.
No Money Lah’s Verdict
As I write this article, I am fully aware of my own investing style – income investing (article coming soon).
That said, I honestly think that if I were to follow the above steps diligently when I first started investing, I’d be discovering my preferred style much sooner.
But the journey of investing doesn’t end at Step 6.
As both life and market are dynamic, it is a must for me to keep refining my skills and goals as I continue in my investing journey.
Anyone that says that they’ve known and learned everything is just another egomaniac with little time left in the market.
Ultimately, while I may not be able to time-travel to change my journey, there is one thing that I can do:
Focus on the right mindset, strive to keep improving, and most importantly, stay humble.
How to Build Your Emergency Fund?
An emergency fund is one of the least discussed topics in personal finance. Yet, it is the most crucial aspect of our financial life that will save us in times of unexpected crisis, if prepared well.
In spite of Covid-19, if you are still earning an income, you should really consider to start building the foundation of your financials via an emergency fund.
Typically, most people would opt for Fixed Deposit (FD) to build their emergency fund. That said, if there is a better alternative in town, would you be interested to learn more?
What is an Emergency Fund?
An emergency fund is essentially the money that you allocate on the side in case of unexpected financial emergencies like unemployment or a loss of income.
As a minimum, one should aim to build a 3 to 6 months’ worth of emergency fund (ie. 3 - 6x Your Monthly Expenses).
Now, it is crucial for us to understand the mechanism around an emergency fund:
It is not about growing the fund like what we do with investing. Rather, with an emergency fund, we are trying to preserve the value of your emergency fund so it doesn't lose its value with time.
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Where to Place Your Emergency Fund: Money Market Fund
Money Market Funds are funds that invest in low-risk assets such as government securities, treasury bills, commercial bonds, and other highly liquid securities.
This means that unlike stock market investments that are generally volatile, the low-risk assets in a Money Market Fund is relatively stable & consistent.
Reason being, most assets under a Money Market Fund have a maturity date where it almost always ensures a return.
Normally, most assets under a Money Market Fund matures in 1 year or less. This ensures the liquidity of funds that allow you to buy and sell relatively easily.
Money Market Fund vs Fixed Deposit (FD)
(1) Competitive Return
Money Market Funds generally pays a return of 3.0 – 3.5% annually. On the other hand, FD rates have been hovering in an average of 2%.
(2) Better Liquidity
Money Market Fund is generally more liquid than FD. This means that there is no lock-in period and you can deposit and withdraw whenever you want.
(3) Lower Barrier of Entry
Not only that, a Money Market Fund also has a relatively low barrier of entry compared to FD. This means that you can start investing in Money Market Funds from as low as RM10 and still enjoy the returns.
In comparison, there is a relatively high cap for FD deposits that ranges from RM10,000 to RM100,000.
What are the Risks of Investing in Money Market Funds?
Investing in a Money Market Fund is not without its risks, although it is quite minimal relative to the stock market.
(a) Interest Rate Risk
Interest rate risk refers to the impact of interest rate changes on the valuation of fixed income securities.
Essentially, when interest rates rise, fixed income asset prices generally decline. This may lower the market value of the Fund’s investment in fixed income securities, which will affect the net asset value (NAV) of the Fund.
The opposite may apply when interest rates fall.
(b) Credit/Default Risk
Credit/Default risk refers to the ability of issuers of fixed income assets (eg. a company’s bond) to make timely payment of interest or profit.
This means that if the issuer faces any challenges to make payment, it may impact the value as well as the liquidity of the fixed income assets of a Fund.
To manage the risks involved, a Money Market Fund will normally opt for high graded bonds and securities. This means that the chance of default will be relatively low and hence ensure peace of mind.
All in all, Money Market Fund’s investment in low-risk assets ensured it’s stability, making it a great FD alternative to build your emergency fund.
That said, please be reminded that it is NOT a capital and return guaranteed vehicle as there are still some risks involved in it.
3 Money Market Funds Options
There are many money market options out there, varying in fees and deposit amount. For the options below, I am going to share with you 3 options out there which is suitable for most people.
The first money market fund that I think is a great option for most people is the BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim (Money Market Fund) via BEST Investment App.
Its low barrier of entry of just RM10 is the reason why I would recommend this to most people that are looking to build their emergency fund via money market.
To start, just go ahead and install the BEST Investment app on your phone (select Do It Yourself --> BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim), and start contributing to your emergency fund.
Install BEST Investment app HERE.
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The reason why I feature Opus Money Plus Fund is due to its overall fee structure that is lower than other money market options out there.
Typically, most money market funds have a management fee of up to 0.5%/annum. In contrast, Opus Money Plus Fund features a maximum management fee of 0.35%/annum.
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The final option that I am featuring here is Phillip Capital Money Market Fund.
The reason for this feature is because I am personally having my emergency fund parked with them.
That said, when it comes to ease of access, Phillip Capital is the least friendly one as it requires applicants to still fill up physical forms to open an account.
4. StashAway Simple (Updated 15/6/2020)
Newly launched in June 2020, StashAway Simple comes into the scene as a reliable alternative to Fixed Deposit (FD).
For an in-depth review of StashAway Simple, click HERE.
Money Market Funds Comparison
No Money Lah's Verdict
Hopefully this article gave you a good idea on how to get started to build your emergency fund!
Do you have any other suggestions on where to place your money for an emergency? Share with me below! :)
p.s. Already have an emergency fund in place? Wanna kickstart your investing journey for a new (& consistent) income stream?
Scroll below for more info!
Rogue One: Why You'll Not Make Money From that Hot Headline Stock?
Excited about the latest & hottest stock in town that everyone is talking about on Facebook groups, investing forums, and live webinars?
“Argh! I could’ve made 15% if I bought into that stock a few weeks ago when it was at RM1.00!”
Then, you either have a good whole day of self-blaming for not buying into that stock ‘a few weeks ago’ OR you rush in to chase the price in hope that you can catch the remaining up move of the stock.
Isn’t this familiar, kind of like a Déjà vu?
Because you have likely experienced it last week, and even the previous month too – how did that turn out for you?
Stocks or news that make it to the headline & social media, well, takes time to appear on the headline.
By then:
Skilled day-traders that know how to read price action & order flow have taken advantage of the move.
Experienced investors with foresight about the value of the stock have already secured their positions months before this headline.
When everyone in town is crazy and talking about a stock, you are probably too late - timing, mindset and skill-wise - into the party.
Rogue One is a new weekly 1-min article series where I share my random thoughts and ideas.
2020 Massive Selldown: Hold or Cut Loss?
So we are here. This is indeed a massive sell-down.
In 3 weeks’ time, the massive sell-down managed to wipe out all 2019 gains of the Dow Jones Index. At home, our dear KLCI index has also dropped close to 20% since the start of the year.
To give you a perspective of how strong the magnitude of this sell-down is, picture this:
It just took 16 days of move in our current S&P 500 sell-down to reach what the 2008/09 Global Financial Crisis managed to achieve in 200+ days.
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The Key Question Now: To Hold on to Your Investments, or to Cut Your Loss?
Now, this is a tricky question to answer.
First of all, for the whole context of this article, I am assuming that you are facing a paper/unrealized loss from your current positions.
In my opinion, this question needs more than an irresponsible short ‘Hold lah the market will recover’ or ‘Just cut loss lah’ respond like most content and posts you are seeing out there on social media.
It is also extremely irresponsible to sugarcoat the question and be overoptimistic at this moment.
Instead, it deserves a more comprehensive writing that includes multiple perspectives of different investors’ contexts.
This is what this article is all about, and this is the least I can contribute to the investing community as a creator (and a developing investor & trader) at times like this.
A quick disclaimer beforehand: This is by no means an absolute Buy/Sell/Hold advice. This is just an article from a random dude so please seek a professional financial planner’s opinion before making any decision.
With that, let’s start.
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Which of these Descriptions Suit You Better?
Context 1: The Legit Long-Term Investor
It has already been part of your plan to hold your investment (single stocks/the whole portfolio) through this market climate from start – way before you enter this trade.
You feel minimal mental pressure and anxiety seeing your investments tumble more than 20-30%, or even 50% as it is in your game plan to hold through times like this.
These people are the group of legit long-term investors that really know what they are doing and have total confidence with their plan. If you are in this group of long-term investors, there is no reason at all for you to cut loss because holding through this market climate is part of the plan.
For the others though, it is common to think that you belong to this small group of legit long-term investors. If that’s the case, I want to challenge you to ask yourself:
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- Did you decide to go ‘long-term’ on this investment BEFORE you enter this trade, or AFTER you experience this crash?
- If this sell-down is not a sign for you to exit, then WHAT is your exit plan?
You SHOULD have an exit plan, and it should not take longer than a minute for you to figure this out because your exit plan is already been set before you enter a trade.
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- More importantly, can you sleep peacefully knowing you are down 20-30%, or even 50% on your investments?
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If you felt any sense of doubt or uncertainties in while answering my questions, you are NOT in this group of legit long-term investors.
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Context 2: The 99% That Need to Cut Loss
Now, if your ego is not in the way and you are humble enough to admit that you have never really thought about an EXIT PLAN for your current investments, stopping the bleeding and cut loss is the way to go.
Now, let me elaborate a little on this 99% of people that need to cut loss:
P
- Your Pre-set/Mental Stop Loss level memang Got Triggered Already from this Sell-Down.
- You DID NOT have an exit plan in place BEFORE you buy into this particular investment/share.
An exit plan could be something like ‘If the price drops below X, I will cut loss”, or “If fundamental shows a decline in profit for X quarters, I will exit.”.
- You got into this investment after watching or reading a video/post from a stock investment Facebook page.
Actually, you are kind of still waiting for these Facebook forums/pages to tell you whether to continue holding or to sell.
- You cannot handle the mental stress of a 20-30% move going against you.
Which is absolutely normal because we all are humans, and everyone has a very different risk tolerance.
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To be Clear, It Takes (a lot of) Courage to Cut Loss
You have my full respect already if you are still reading till this part as most people would have gone into a full denial mode after experiencing such paper loss – I salute your courage.
Remember, unlike what most content and posts are saying out there, there is nothing wrong at all to cut loss if your Stop Loss is long triggered AND/OR you realized that you have been doing this whole investment thingy wrong from the start.
Better to take in this lesson and start afresh with a more proper mindset, right?
Read: How to Recover from a Slump?
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Why Cut Loss/Sell?
Having been through the mental challenge to Cut Loss, I understand that “Just hold on lah the market will recover long term” is the most soothing sentence that one seeks to hear at times of paper/unrealized loss.
However, I feel there is a need for me to break the false hope and tell you why ‘Holding On’ may not be the best action for most everyday investors:
(1) Psychology and Mental Stress
If you never have proper prior experience with the market and never knew what you have been doing all this while, it will be very hard or you to hold through this downturn.
By now, it should be clear that this sell down is NOT a normal pullback/correction. The magnitude of this global sell down is at its historical record.
The downturn and sell down like what we are facing now challenge the mental state and psychology of even the most experienced and prepared players in the market.
It is easy to say ‘Hold through the downturn and wait for the recovery’ but how many people, especially those who’ve been in the market without prior knowledge and experience can handle the emotional and financial pain from holding a sharp falling knife?
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(2) ‘This Company is Too Big to Fail’ Myth
To clarify, most market (at least the index) does recover and trend higher after a recession, no doubt about that (just look at the S&P 500 and our very own KLCI).
However, it is foolish to say that any company will survive and recover from a massive selldown/recession.
If there is anything that the world has learned from the global financial crisis, it is that even giants fall.
And even if they do not fall, some may not be lucky enough to recover from the crisis (picture below).
(3) The Silver Lining: Cutting Loss is actually Preparing You for the Long Term (Opportunity Cost)
If you have been ‘investing’ without proper knowledge and processes, or via Facebook social media tips for the past years, you are not actually ‘investing’.
You have been gambling all these while.
“But man, I made money!”
Well, to be honest, anyone can easily make quick bucks in the longest bull run in history.
That said, a bearish sell-down requires a whole lot of psychology and different skillsets from an investor. Market movement and price action in a bear market are fundamentally different compared to a bull market.
Hence, in scenario like what we are facing right now, cutting loss might actually be a good thing for you in the long term. Consider this:
You are now holding a portfolio/share value worth RM50,000 with an RM20,000 unrealized loss – and you’ve built this portfolio up based on tips from some investing and Facebook forums, alongside some vague understanding towards the market.
Instead of holding on to a mistake, why not cut your loss then and there and make use of what’s left of your capital to learn the proper way to invest?
Invest a few hundred or thousand ringgit and equip yourself with proper investing knowledge and processes and store your remaining bullets (cash).
If you can survive this sell down and learn the proper method, you can (AND WILL) be able to live to fight (invest) another day.
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No Money Lah Verdict
To be clear, as the market develops, I am also learning and picking up new lessons and skills as well.
That said, as I am writing this, I have come across many close friends that have approached me for opinions and thoughts.
This made me realized that many people have, in fact, been ‘investing’ in the market without proper mindset, knowledge and fundamental skills, which motivated me to write this article:
There is nothing wrong to HOLD, IF that’s your game plan.
And unlike what most content and post are suggesting on social media, there is ALSO nothing wrong to CUT LOSS if your stop-loss levels are triggered. (or if you memang do not know what to do all these while and was just blindly following tips on social media)
The point is to protect your mental confidence and what’s left of your capital.
The market DOES NOT care about your EGO.
The market DOES NOT care about your need to be RIGHT.
Again, as long as you can protect your capital and confidence, you can always live to fight (invest) another day.
The Cheetah and How a Struggling Trader/Investor can Learn from It
Many people that traded and invested in the stock market (or any market, in this case) experienced great volatility for the past few weeks.
Some made a kill, nailing their yearly return goal in a week. For many, though, it was an overwhelming time filled with emotions and anxiousness.
You are (were) probably in the red. You are (were) probably underperforming. You are (were) probably beating up at yourself for this outcome.
The reality is, this is a path that every investor and trader MUST experience in his/her journey. The difference is how one handles this hurdle that makes up to an amateur and a consistent investor/trader.
How to Climb Back Up from a Slump?
To be clear, it is NOT EASY to recover from a slump. Mathematically, it is hard (eg. a 50% drawdown will take a 100% gain to breakeven). Emotionally, it is even tougher to get back on track.
In times like these, it is crucial for one to go back to the BASICS.
Stop looking around Facebook groups and investing/trading forums for tips for the NEXT big opportunity.
Quit those groups if needed – these are noises that hardly contribute to your recovery anyway.
The point is, stop making investing/trading so complicated and difficult.
Back to the Basics
What are the trades that work the best for you? Make a list and focus on only taking these trades for time being – with smaller size.
If you are a long-term investor that has just dumped your holdings due to panic and fear, look into your investing process – have you followed your entry & exit strategy? Do you have one? Work on them one by one.
The point is NOT to remake your losses immediately. Rather, it is for you to rebuild the mental confidence towards yourself FIRST.
The Cheetah
“The cheetah, while the fastest animal on the African plain and can outrun any of the prey it feasts upon, always chooses to go for the young, weak or sick.
Once identified, it attacks with laser-guided focus and effectiveness. It is only then that the kill is most likely. That is the epitome of a professional trader.”
This is one the of most resonating trading analogy that I’ve come across lately in an article by Mike Bellafiore of SMB Capital (one of my favorite role models in trading).
As extraordinary as a cheetah is, it still focuses on the most basic kills which are also the most effective ones.
Likewise, the goal for us as an investor/trader is not to try to be smart and predict whether the market is bottoming. Rather, it is to understand our strength and take the best opportunity with probability in our favor.
Know your strength. Go back to the basics. Be a cheetah.
Wahed 2020 Review: The First Halal-Investing Robo-Advisor in Malaysia with Huge Potential!
Late last year, I was introduced to Wahed, a robo-investing platform that prides itself on being the first halal investment robo-advisor in Malaysia.
Less than 4-months of launch in Malaysia (Wahed was started in New York), Wahed has been making an impression among fellow fintech and investment enthusiasts.
Being an enthusiast myself, I have also signed up for a Wahed portfolio to personally try it out myself, and got a $5 (RM20) FREE bonus while doing so (remember to apply my promo code “YIXCHI1” to get the bonus!).
In this article, let’s dive deep into Wahed, and see if this is a robo-advisor that you should invest in!
(1) First thing first: What is Wahed?
Wahed is a robo-advisor that helps invest your money into Shariah-compliant investments*.
What differentiates Wahed from other robo-advisors is that they are the first company that has received an Islamic Robo Advisory license from the Malaysian Securities Commission.
As such, Wahed also takes up an important role in fulfilling the Malaysian Muslim community that is looking for an investment platform that is aligned with their values of life.
*For readers who are unclear, Shariah-compliant investments are investments governed by the requirements of Shariah law and the principles of the Muslim religion.
(2) Who Certifies Wahed’s Shariah compliance?
Wahed’s Shariah review is done by their Shariah Advisor, Dr. Aznan Hasan.
Dr. Aznan is the President of the Association of Shariah Advisors in Islamic Finance & Deputy Chairman of Shariah Advisory Council of the Securities Commission (SC). He is also a former member of the Shariah Advisory Council of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Wahed also has Straightway Ethical Advisory LLC (a US-based Shariah financial advisory firm) to advise them on matters of Shariah compliance and Islamic financial ethics at the group level.
(3) How Wahed Invests Your Money?
Now, though positioning themselves as the forerunner of halal investing, Wahed is at its core a robo-advisor that invest on behalf of their users too, just like its competitor StashAway and Mytheo.
Hence, Wahed is definitely a robo-advisor that you should not overlook if you are looking to build your passive investing portfolio, regardless of your religion and background.
(a) Fund Management Methodology
Just like its robo-advisor competitors, Wahed’s fund management strategy is powered by its proprietary financial algorithms. This means that there is no way we can back-test the strategy ourselves aside from the information shown at Wahed’s official site.
Unlike StashAway’s ERAA methodology, there is very little mention of how exactly Wahed manages the users’ funds.
That said, Wahed does mention that its financial algorithms are derived from the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). Essentially, the idea behind MPT is to help an individual create optimal portfolios that are tailored to the needs of the user based on one’s risk tolerance.
Personally, it is a little bummer to see so few details about the investing methodology employed by Wahed on their website (Wahed, take note).
(b) Investment Instruments: 5 Major Asset Classes
The good thing, though, is Wahed does give us an idea of what they are using their users’ funds to invest in.
As per my experience**, there are 5 asset classes that Wahed will invest our funds in, namely:
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- US Stocks (MyETF Dow Jones US Titans 50)
- Malaysian Stocks (MyETF MSCI Malaysia Islamic Dividend)
- Sukuk (Islamic Bond) (RHB Islamic Bond Fund)
- Gold (TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker)
- Cash
There are 6 different risk profile that you can choose from. Depending on your risk profile, there will be a difference in the allocation of your funds across these assets.
**Information on assets and asset allocation is accurate is per my record when I signed up for a Wahed account. Unfortunately, unlike StashAway, Wahed does not reveal the total number of asset classes that they can invest in.
(4) Fees Comparison: Competitive, But Can Be Better
One big advantage that robo-investing services have over conventional mutual funds is its fees.
Generally, while typical mutual funds have an average fee of 3-5% per year, robo-investing services charge only a fraction of the fee (<1%).
This is important, as a few percentage differences in fee could mean a lot to your return. Here is a simple calculation to give you an idea:
RM100,000 at 5% fee per year = RM5,000 on fees.
RM100,000 at 1% fee per year = RM1,000 on fees (and no, robo-investing services offer lower fee than 1% at RM100,000).
The question now is, how are Wahed’s annual fees compared to the other presently available robo-investing platforms – StashAway and MyTheo?
Now, every robo-investing platform has its own tiers of pricing. Hence, to make my life (and yours) easier, I am comparing the fee in terms of the category of fund amount:
Now, as you can see, Wahed’s annual fees are competitive, and it gets even cheaper when your fund exceeds RM500,000 and above.
That said, in terms of versatility of fees, I think StashAway is still the robo-advisor to beat.
DON’T MISS THIS: Click HERE to Get an EXCLUSIVE $5 (RM20) BONUS When You Fund Your Wahed Portfolio today (REMEMBER to apply my promo code “YIXCHI1”)!
(5) Customer Service: Up Your Game, Wahed!
At this point in the article, I would like to say that while lower fees are important, it is not everything. A lower fee that compromises the overall customer experience is a NO-NO.
After all, what’s the point if a company has a low fee but no one is attending to customers’ issues properly?
To test out Wahed’s customer experience, I sent out inquiries to all 3 channels of customer support (as stated available in the Support section of the app): Email, Phone & WhatsApp, all during office hours.
Firstly, Wahed’s response time for email is decent. However, I failed to reach out to the support team via call and it is also disappointing to see that there is no WhatsApp chat support available yet.
As a whole, I think Wahed has to really up their game to stay competitive in customer experience when competitor like StashAway is already providing more support channels for users to reach out to them.
(6) How to Open an Account?
Opening a Wahed account is simple and can be done in less than 10 minutes (Click HERE to install the Wahed app on your phone). And while doing so, remember to apply my promo code “YIXCHI1” to get a $5 (RM20) FREE Bonus when you fund your Wahed portfolio!
The account opening process is also straightforward. You will be asked about your investing goals and your savings in order to identify your risk profile.
Then, you will be recommended with one of the 6 portfolios from very conservative to very aggressive. Of course, you can also choose your own portfolio if you have a personal preference.
Once you completed all the procedures, it will take a few days to get your account verified and you are good to start!
(7) What I Like About Wahed?
(a) Huge Market Potential
What Wahed is providing is truly one of its kind at the moment, and fits in well with the demographics of the majority Muslim community in Malaysia.
In short, Wahed is the to-go robo-advisor platform for people that are looking for Shariah-compliant investments.
(b) Help in Promoting Ethical Halal Investing in Malaysia
Given its unique positioning, Wahed is a great platform to promote halal investing to fellow Malaysian users regardless of religion and background – of which I like its core principles and concepts.
(8) What Could be Better?
(a) Customer Service needs Some Work
As discussed above, Wahed needs to put more effort to improve its customer service. That said, I do understand that Wahed has just launched in Malaysia (Oct 2019) and may need time to build up their Malaysian team.
On this matter, I will revisit Wahed’s customer service in my review next year and see if there’re any improvements.
(b) App UI needs Refurnishing
One thing that annoys me while using Wahed’s app is that the app interface seems to have issues showing the last letter and decimals of the word and numbers (eg. Overvie’X’ and RM100.’XX’). This may be something that Wahed will have to resolve with their backend team.
(c) Minimum Deposit of RM100
Unlike competitors like StashAway that has no minimum deposit, Wahed has a minimum deposit of RM100.
While this may not be a big issue, but it is definitely not as flexible as other robo-advisors around and I would love to see this minimum being lifted in the future.
(d) Only 1 Portfolio for each User (for Now)
As of the time of writing, there is no way for me to create another portfolio in Wahed other than the one I’ve created when I opened my account.
Meaning, I am not able to open a Moderate risk portfolio if I started off with an Aggressive risk Portfolio.
This is kind of a bummer because, in comparison, StashAway allows multiple portfolios of different risk profiles.
No Money Lah’s Verdict – A Robo-Advisor with Huge Potential
Is Wahed a good robo-investing platform?
Personally, I feel that Wahed has done a good job of positioning itself at the forefront of halal investing in the robo-advisor space.
Not only that, I’ve also heard good feedback from the Malaysian community, especially their awesome referral reward: Fund a minimum of RM100 and get $5 (RM20) FREE Bonus – Instant 20% Gain!.
If Wahed is able to enhance its customer service and user experience, I foresee that it will definitely give competitors like StashAway and Mytheo a good run of their money.
If you find this review on Wahed useful, my suggestion is to TAKE ACTION on your investments RIGHT NOW: Time wasted on inactions is more painful than money badly managed.
p
p.s. Which Robo-Advisor Should I Invest In?
Now, if you are wondering if you should go for one robo-advisor over another, why not try investing in these platforms and see which one fits you the best?
StashAway: Claim your EXCLUSIVE 50% off your fees for 6 months when you use my link HERE!
Mytheo: Enjoy FREE 3 months management fee when you use my link HERE!
Disclaimers:
- Past return is not indicative of future performance. (just like your mom may not be angry at you today doesn’t mean she will not get angry with you tomorrow)
- Now, one thing that I have yet to comment is Wahed’s return. As Wahed is still new in Malaysia (since Oct. 2019), I cannot comment on the return – and neither you should take others’ words as it is. I will keep monitoring the return and give my feedback in my 2021 review.
- This post may contain affiliate links that afford No Money Lah a small amount of commission should you sign up through the links.
StashAway 2020 Review: A Solid Robo-Advisor that You Can Depend On.
About a year ago, I was introduced to the term ‘robo-advisor’ and ‘robo-investing’ via an app called StashAway.
During that time, StashAway has just expanded to Malaysia (they are based in Singapore), and the idea of investing your money with an algorithm-run money management platform (instead of conventional mutual funds) was still very fresh among fellow Malaysians (and no worries, they are regulated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia).
Along the year, similar competitors like Wahed and MyTheo (reviews coming soon!) were also launched into this exciting space – offering more options to fellow Malaysians that are interested to invest passively.
Fast forward to 2020, let’s look into how StashAway has fared in 2019, and while it is the first robo-investing platform, does it still provide the best offerings to fellow Malaysians?
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Read: Introduction to StashAway – How Does it Work?
Quick Recap: What is a Robo-Advisor?
Essentially, robo-advisory platforms like StashAway, Wahed, and MyTheo help to invest your money according to your risk preferences and goals through algorithms instead of typical fund managers.
I like to think of these platforms as a mutual fund alternative that offers a cheaper and more affordable way to invest passively (more about fees below).
My StashAway Returns in 2019 & How I am using it in 2020?
One of the most fun ways to start a review about an investment solution is, of course, to talk about the returns.
To be honest, I’ve only funded my StashAway account once to really test out the platform in 2019, and totally put it behind my mind since then (that’s the whole point of passive investing, right?).
To my surprise, my StashAway portfolio has performed decently in 2019. Combined, both my aggressive portfolios (30% & 36% risk index) returned a very respectable ~11.6% return in 2019.
Looking back, this should not come as a surprise at all. This is because a majority of the fund allocation of the aggressive portfolios goes to U.S. sectoral equities – and the U.S. market has been crushing it in 2019. (Kudos to StashAway’s algorithms for catching the trend!)
As a whole, I am quite happy with how StashAway has been managing my money.
From 2020 onwards, I have started to save on StashAway via a recurring monthly deposit to 2 moderate-risk portfolios (10% & 14% risk index).
Fees Comparison: The most competitive & versatile fees across the Robo-Investing space
One huge advantage that robo-investing services have over conventional mutual funds is its fees.
In general, while typical mutual funds have an average fee of 3-5% per year, robo-investing services charge only a fraction of the fee (<1%).
This is significant, as a few percentage differences in fee could mean a lot to your return. Here is a simple calculation to give you an idea:
RM100,000 at 5% fee per year = RM5,000 on fees.
RM100,000 at 1% fee per year = RM1,000 on fees (and no, robo-investing services offer lower fee than 1% at RM100,000).
The question now is, how are StashAway’s annual fees compared to the other presently available robo-investing platforms – Wahed and MyTheo?
Now, every robo-investing platform has its own tiers of pricing. Hence, to make my life (and yours) easier, I am comparing the fee in terms of the category of fund amount.
As you can see, StashAway’s fee is highly competitive, and it gets even better as you invest more with them.
In terms of fees, StashAway definitely nailed it among all the competitors – a perfect representation of ‘the more you invest, the less you pay’.
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DON’T MISS THIS: Click HERE to Get an EXCLUSIVE 50% OFF Your (already low) StashAway Fees today!
Customer Service: Still Solid?
At this point in the article, I would like to point out that while lower fees are important, it is not everything. A lower fee that compromises the overall customer experience is a NO-NO.
What’s the point if a company has a low fee but no one is attending to customers’ issues properly?
If any, StashAway held pride in their customer service. In a 2019 year-end email to customers, StashAway boasted an 8-seconds average response time for calls during office hours.
To test out StashAway’s customer service in 2020, I sent out inquiries to all 3 channels of customer support available: Email, Phone & WhatsApp, all during office hours. Is StashAway’s claim about their customer service legit?
As you can see below, StashAway’s customer service is pretty solid. In short, they get the job done.
What I Like about StashAway (2020)
There is a lot to like about StashAway as an innovative solution for passive investing, and here are 5 things that I like about StashAway:
(1) Ideology/Investing Philosophy
Since the technology and strategies employed by robo-advisor platforms are proprietary, there is no way for us to backtest the strategies’ effectiveness on our own.
In this case, knowing the ideology behind the people that creates these proprietary strategies is crucial. This gives us a good idea about the approach and mindset of a robo-advisory platform towards the market.
As such, I like StashAway’s CIO Freddy Lim’s ideology in making risk a primary consideration while delivering returns and value to the users:
The ultimate goal is to deliver competitive returns at the appropriate level of risk and at a fraction of the cost incurred by traditional strategies.
(2) Competitive and versatile fees
As compared in the section above, StashAway stands out as the robo-investing platform that offers the most competitive and versatile fees for customers of all financial capabilities.
Big thumbs up on that.
(3) Customer service
In my first write-up about StashAway last year, I mentioned that I liked StashAway’s customer service and the point is still solid this year.
Also, do you know that StashAway is presently (at the time of writing), THE only robo-advisor that offers the convenience of funds transfer between your portfolios? (eg. You can transfer funds from your aggressive portfolio to moderate ones)
(4) Large range of asset classes
In August of 2019, StashAway introduced 13 new asset classes into their already huge asset selections, making up to 32 asset classes that StashAway can use to better optimize customers’ risk and returns.
In other words, this means that StashAway has more flexibility and versatility to best preserve and invest customers’ funds in the face of increasing market uncertainties.
(5) Community & Value Driven
Over the past year, one thing that I really respect the StashAway team is their effort in adding value to the community (while building their brand awareness, of course).
I like how StashAway has been actively organizing talks on the theme of financial planning and investing for the community. These are little things that add value to the people, but requires huge time and effort – kudos to the team again.
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Don’t Miss This: Click HERE to Get an EXCLUSIVE 50% OFF Your (already low) StashAway Fees today!
What Could be Better? (2020)
(1) Bring more innovative financial solutions to Malaysia
One of the things from StashAway that really made me excited last year was the release of StashAway Simple.
StashAway Simple is the company’s answer to Fixed Deposit (FD) and FD-alternatives like the conventional Money Market Fund – hence with a low-risk index of around 2.4% with no lock-up period (unlike FD).
I was excited about StashAway Simple, until I noticed that it was only available in Singapore.
What I would love to see from StashAway in 2020 is the release of StashAway Simple in Malaysia, as I am sick of the manual form-filling process of our local financial services already. (be fair to the Malaysian customers maaa…)
[Update 15/6/2020: After a long wait, StashAway Simple is finally launched in Malaysia! Click HERE to check out my review on StashAway Simple!]
(2) Bi-annual or Annual Portfolio Round-Up
As a user, there will be times where I wonder if there is any progress or changes made on my portfolio.
As a suggestion to help improve the overall user experience, it would be great if StashAway could do a bi-annual or annual portfolio round-up so I have an idea of what was going on with my portfolios. (refer: Spotify 2019 Year in Review).
No Money Lah’s Verdict – A Comfortable Recommendation for Passive Investing
One of the biggest conveniences that technologies have brought to us is the innovation in financial solutions & services, and robo-advisors are definitely one of them.
Given StashAway’s smart fund management, a diverse range of asset classes, competitive fees, and solid customer service, it is a no brainer for people that are looking to start investing and/or diversify their investment portfolio – while not burning a hole in their passive investments paying expensive yearly fees.
Personally, I am a happy customer, that’s for sure.
If you find this review on StashAway useful, my suggestion is to get on board right now: The best time to invest is 20 years ago, the second-best time is NOW.
Read:
- Wahed 2020 Review
- MyTheo 2020 Review (coming soon!)
Disclaimers:
- Past return is not indicative of future performance. (just like your mom may not be angry at you today doesn’t mean she will not get angry with you tomorrow)
- This post may contain affiliate links that afford No Money Lah a small amount of commission should you sign up through the links.
3 Ideas to Maximize the Return of Your Angpau Money (Tried & Tested)
Gong Xi Fa Cai! Gong Hey Fat Choy!
Happy Chinese New Year everyone – may this new year showers you with health and wealth!
If you are like me, you know that growing up, we do not get to keep our angpau money. Instead, our angpaus are being kept and managed by our parents.
The good thing? It prevented us (the child) from spending on unnecessary stuff. On the flip side, it made a lot of us pretty bad angpau money ‘managers’ upon growing up.
If that’s the case for you, here are some solid suggestions (which I personally do) on how to best make use of your angpau money!
#1 Invest them! (Starting from RM0)
Getting your angpau invested is definitely one of the best and most direct ways to start a prosperous new year!
If you are new to investing and/or have no extra time to manage your money, be sure to check out StashAway to help manage your investments, hassle-free!
Essentially, StashAway is a smart wealth management platform that helps you manage your investments via algorithms in accordance with your risk appetite and economic condition – think of it as an (often cheaper) alternative to mutual funds.
Personally, I have been using StashAway to manage my passive investment portfolio and have no problem recommending it to people due to its reliability (regulated by Securities Commission) & lower fees than typical mutual funds.
In terms of returns, StashAway managed to give a return of around 10% for my combined aggressive portfolios in 2019 – a very respectable return by all means. Check out StashAway’s 2-year performance in the photo below.
Alternatively, there are other similar wealth management services like Wahed (Promo Code to get FREE RM40 bonus when you deposit a min. of RM100: YIXCHI1) and MyTheo (Promo Code to get 3 months FREE management fee: CHINYXWD49) of which I will be covering in the future.
If you are keen to try out StashAway, be sure to click HERE to get an exclusive 50% OFF your StashAway fees – AND no worries on how much you get for your angpau as you can get started with any amount at all!
#2 Spend on Books for even Bigger Return!
Nothing pays more dividends than acquiring new skills and knowledge.
If there is one thing that I can comfortably recommend anyone to spend on, books will top the list without a doubt.
Now, if you’ve been following me on social media, you’ll know that I am a huge book lover.
I enjoy reading books on personal growth, habits and money & investment – and here are 3 books that you should not miss in 2020:
(a) Mindset by Carol Dweck (Personal Development)
Mindset by Carol Dweck is a great book on personal growth that I am personally reading at the moment.
This book emphasizes the importance of having a growth mindset in personal life, sustainable leadership and long-lasting relationship – and the approach that you can apply to build this mindset.
Definitely check out this book if you are looking to make a significant breakthrough in 2020.
“True self-confidence is “the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.” Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow.”
―
p
(b) Atomic Habits by James Clear (Habit-Building)
Atomic Habits by James Clear is hands down, the best book on habits that I’ve read in 2019.
Essentially, this book rips off myths on conventional habit-building methods and introduces us to simple & scientifically proven hacks to build a good habit that lasts.
If you have problem building habits that last, this is THE book to go for.
“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.”
―
p
(c) The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman (Money, Personal Finance & Business)
The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman will be my next read after I am done with Mindset.
The reason I am excited to read this book is that it covers a comprehensive aspect of personal finance and business – which I think would contain a whole lot of golden nuggets for me to discover.
Plus, you can now get this book at 41% OFF – which is really a great deal that I do not want you to miss out on.
“You can’t make positive discoveries that make your life better if you never try anything new.”
―
#3 Optimize Your Financial Goals with a Professional Personal Financial Planner (BONUS: Free Consultation Session using my link below)
If you are looking to have a prosperous new year in 2020, you will definitely need a solid money plan on how to grow your wealth (like seriously).
This is even more important especially if you have a goal in mind that would need a big sum of money to accomplish in this new decade:
Planning to get married? Buying your first house or car? Looking to retire soon?
How about the plan for a trip to Japan, or the idea of changing your 3-year old smartphone this year?
If you have all these big (and small) financial goals in mind, and are still clueless about how to achieve them, engaging a Personal Financial Planner is the way to go.
Personally, I have worked alongside my very first Personal Financial Planner to get my 2020 financials planned with effective action steps – and I’ve learned so much about my finances.
Now, I DO NOT want you to pay for a Personal Financial Planner if you do not find value in their services.
For that, I am throwing in a FREE financial consultation session for you to find out for yourself (Click HERE to register) – I promise that it will be a time well-spent with great insights!
Verdict: The Best Return of Investment in Money Spent is When Your Grow Alongside Them.
One of my biggest satisfaction when it comes to money spent is to feel or know that I’ve learned something from the transaction.
As of the case for angpau money, it is even more meaningful to use them in ways that could elevate your wealth and/or growth to kickstart the year.
For me, that’s the best return ever.
Take care and have a great festive season! 🙂
Yi Xuan
Disclaimers:
(1) This post may contain affiliate links, which afford No Money Lah a commission if you make a purchase.
(2) Any investment related sharing in this article is purely my personal opinion and should not be taken as a buy/sell call. Please seek financial advice from a professional financial planner for this matter.