Athena Trader

Once in a while say a year or two later, I will be very kaypoh and look at the past stocks that I’ve analysed before just to see how it’s doing. I may or may not have invested or traded in that stock but it just takes one second to click on the link and see the chart. I would have remembered it’s previous price so the current chart can either make me have 3 reactions. Oh chey, it’s the same or not much difference, Wow look at it go to heaven or Wah Kao this one die liao.  For the first reaction I usually just leave the stock be but for the other two reactions, I will go and take a look at my past analysis to see whether I’ve “predicted” it’s future. Two stocks caught my eye as one went to the sky and one straight to hell. Both were similar in the sense that they faced crises except that one managed to turnaround whereas the one in the depths of hell have a long way to go. Let’s start with the one in hell which is  Capita  which I did a sort of write up on in 2014. ...

We have all invested in something in our lifetimes. It could be stocks, bonds, mutual funds, unit trusts or relationships, friendships, career, hobby or even ourselves. Does it all give us some sort of positive returns? Do we know what we are investing in? We sure know when we act in a certain way due to our vested interests so maybe vaguely subconsciously we know we have invested and would like to see a positive return.  We read charts, oscillators, analyst reports, reviews or speak to people to get an insight on our investments. We have a certain mindset when we invest and our emotions are definitely charged if things don’t turn out well. Amongst all your investments, which ones are you most happy with? Which ones would you like to cut out from your portfolio or even your life?  Our times horizons vary depending on the type of investments and our own expectations. Some investment would only yield results in years to come whereas others could bring a smile to us in a...

Time is the most precious commodity on Earth. Or maybe it should be oxygen because without it we would just die! Assuming that our basic needs are met ensuring our survival, then time is more valuable than money although some may argue that money can be used to buy time. It's true in some situations and not in others. For example, money can help to relieve you of some mundane tasks so that you have more time to do things that you like. But money can't buy you time with your loved ones if their time is up. If you hate your job, you may feel like you are exchanging your time for money especially as you count down the minutes, days, weeks, months or even years to a new job or to a new endeavour that hopefully won't make you dread getting out of bed everyday. Sometimes I think we forget how precious time is and waste it like it is always there. In a way time is like oxygen, we breathe every second until we forget its very existence until it is taken away from us. The tim...

I recently took profit on 2 stocks which I invested in 2 years ago. The reason was because only now are they in the black therefore I quickly cut off ties! I still have a few investments from 2 years back which are still in the red despite dividends so it is frustrating and also shows that I definitely didn't buy at the right time. One of them was CDL which showed a spectacular run which I've no idea why and don't care why as it has been two long years with no dividends I think. However despite all the dividends, I'm still just barely breaking even for Suntec REIT which I also intend to sell off if only it would go up a bit more!   I guess the question should be why didn't I add to these stocks during those two years as it went lower or even as it was recovering. I was preoccupied with trading and stopped investing although I do monitor the price levels of existing investments. All available funds went into trading and investment took a backseat although re...

I've learnt to not say never because it seems the more I say never I end up doing it or it ends up happening. It's like the law of attraction...of sorts...the more certain you are about a certain thing..you attract it to you and ta da before you know it, it has occurred!  I saw some dips in REITS which I sold off and now it's at a price level which seems more palatable so I bought some lots two days ago and will look to buy more if the price is right. For the rest of my current SG stocks holdings, they are recovering but I'm not inclined to increase my holdings to average down or whatever you would like to call it. I'm still looking to dispose of them once the price is right which is like taking forever! I'm beginning to favour just holding a few REITS which I'm familiar with for my SG holdings. Most of my time has been spent on trading as my trading strategy seems to be a mish mash of multiple styles and timelines which so far has been working out we...

I sold off some of my investments in REITS once they broke even a few months ago and am still on the lookout to sell off more but it is really far from its cost price and with the pittance of dividends, I don't know when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Recently their prices have dropped so it was a good move to sell them earlier on.  On the other hand, my trading has improved in the last few months and I'm booking higher profits with no losing trades so that's great news in the sense that I'm slowly but surely getting better. I've yet to fully optimize each trade's profits as I'm still very much a novice but am learning along the way so that's an area I need to work on. Definitely need to work on exits more than entries it seems.  I think the greatest lesson so far for me would be the fact that I continue to trade even if my current positions are in a loss making position or if I cut loss. Previously, I would fret and be upset and ...

I absolutely love Christmas and would love to spend every Christmas and New Year in a different country, to soak in the lights, the atmosphere and the general happiness of it all. That has yet to happen so it's definitely on my bucket list! Last year around this time, I received the best gift of my life and since then Christmas takes on a different meaning for me.  The only awful part of December is the fact that it rains more often than usual which means our dog don't get to walk out much and too much rain does make everything look depressing. But there were a couple of wonderful sunny and windy days which ACCICB tells me is perfect CNY weather. Which means 2017 CNY weather would not be like that...it could probably end up being scorching hot!  There's also lesser trading volume in the market and so while it was tempting to execute trades, I chose not to. It seems to be the right call so far and with Christmas just 3 days away it is time to be merry and rejoice..s...

It has been a year since I started trading as I took a break on and off for a few months here and there due to personal circumstances and it is only in the past few weeks that I have managed to successfully know and close my positions before the trend reverses. Previously, I just hope and hold on which reduces profits and also destroys my self esteem as I start to question whether I can only short but can't long successfully. I was tempted to reverse my trade twice but didn't and I was spot on both times! Argh, I'm still second guessing myself!  I'm still way better at shorting although I only started shorting much later in my trading journey . Somehow my instinct for shorting is almost always spot on but since nothing goes down forever, I urgently need to work on knowing when to long. ACCICB told me that's because there's only panic selling and no panic buying due to human psychology which is why shorting seems to work better for  me. I seem to always miss...

I'm surprised that Brexit happened... I thought like most other people that they wouldn't have the guts to exit the EU. But then again, you gotta admit that Brexit sounds a whole lot sexier, trendy and catchy than Bremain which sounds like spoilt bread.  I think the ordinary Brits have spoken as they are probably displeased with the way their country has become. I read with interest and horror from a recent article in Cosmo UK that hutching is how young people are surviving the ridiculous rents in central London. I think immigration is also a hot button issue and perhaps that's why outside of London, there were many votes for Brexit. I was laughing my head off with some of the other names that were given for other EU nations should they choose to exit the EU and boy are these people creative or what! My personal faves are Czechout and Byegium although funnily they have yet to come out with suitable ones for France and Germany.  I wanted to buy some British stoc...

Recently I managed to get a part time cleaner to come once a fortnight and as I watched her clean I realized that I can never be as efficient and effective as her. It doesn't help that my attempts at cleaning have not been successful as evidenced by the awful water marks on the bathroom glass door or the floor is never as sparkling as hers even 2 days after she has done the cleaning!  Of course she's more experienced than me and I did pick up some tips from her which she kindly told me as well as from observing how she does chores for 3 hours. Even ACCICB is amazed by her and keeps telling me that he has never had such a clean house before depsite growing up with a helper since he was a child which also means I'm far from meeting the mark.  Cleaning may seem like it has nothing to do with trading and investing but I think there are some similarities. Firstly, cleaning is a chore that needs to be repeated as no home stays clean forever.  Till the day someone has i...

1. Paper trade successfully for a period of time (at least a few months) before diving in. Start by keeping your trades small because your focus is to get it right rather than make it big. By starting small, your stress levels are reduced and you can make better decisions. Be prepared to stop live trading for a while if your small live trades go bad and after closing your open positions, you need time to research and look through your trade diary/notes or make new notes to find out where you went wrong. The key is to observe, be patient, dedicate yourself and persevere for a period of time so no shortcuts to trading success unless you are one of the few trading geniuses out there. 
 2. Seed money would depend on type of trading instruments you trade, equities can be costly so your seed money has to be substantial. Depending on types of market and if daylight savings is a factor to be considered, your seed money has to be adjusted accordingly. Decide on your filters such as industrie...

For some people like ACCICB, the new year only begins after Lunar New Year. For me, I prefer 1st January but whichever approach you take doesn't matter as long as it signifies a fresh start for you.  Much like in investing or trading, there are many ways to be successful and what works for you may not work for others. It's good to read about what others do for reference but to try to emulate them may not necessarily be the best way to go about doing things.  Multiple factors are at play when we invest or trade and our response or avoidance brings about different results which may end up affecting our decisions in the future. However your investing or trading performance was for last year, this year could mean a tidal wave change or a small ripple in your portfolio.  If you have not already done so, it's time to set yourself free from the shackles of the past so that you can begin living in the present and perhaps even striving for the future. 

No, that person wasn't me! ACCICB told me he heard of somebody who lost that much last year in the stock market. Regardless of how much the person's net worth was, 10% is a huge amount to lose in a year! I was asked to guess the dollar value of the person's loss and even after 10 guesses, I still didn't hit the magic number!  Let's just say that it is impossible for most people to have that kind of money in a lifetime and the amount lost can feed 10 families comfortably throughout their existence on earth. That conversation triggered off this post as most people have probably already calculated their realised /& unrealised portfolio loss/ net worth loss now that we are in the early days of 2016. Since investing typically means waiting for the value of a stock to appreciate, in such economic doldrums, valuations get slashed and usually so does dividends. I can't help but wonder with the changing nature of the world, valuations would be calculated dif...

I don't blog much these days but December has always been an interesting month for me as I love X'mas save for the rain in Singapore. I'm usually in a good mood due to the festivity especially if I'm overseas soaking in the X'mas lights, enjoying the good food and happily shopping in the cold. I reflect on how I have spent the year and hope that next year would be better. Because no matter how good this year has been, you always want the next year to be better and that's human nature I guess. 2015 has been a particularly challenging year for me in all aspects of my life and I'm glad 2016 is almost here! While I think that trading in 2015 was really difficult for me as I made the transition from investor to trader, I can only work on myself such that 2016 would end on a positive note. Whatever Mr Market throws at me, I've gotta be ready to decide and then act upon it.  But I've not forgotten my investor roots and intend to park some money in ...

I wish Doctors will give positive and realistic advice...if not I rather get the realistic than the positive advice. At least that way I get to prepare myself mentally for what may happen. But I guess Doctors can't do that when they have never gone though the procedure themselves or gotten sick that way before. It's very much like trading and investing if you think about it. For a small time retail trader and investor, we have different resources and pain threshold so when we talk to the professionals, we think that they can give us positive and realistic advice. The truth is, unless they have gone through the path of being a small time retail trader and investor and come out tops, they could try to understand what you are going through but will never experience the pain that is hurting you everyday. Simply because your mind, body and soul reacts to the pain differently from others. They have been hardened by numerous battles, scars aplenty to show their time spent in war ...

I've not blogged for a while because I've been busy with other stuff and nothing came to mind and since this is not a job, I don't see why I've to push out articles for the sake of it. The year is coming to a close so I thought of reviewing how the stocks that I blogged about performed thus far and for simplicity, I'll just take the stock's closing price on the day that I wrote about them (as close as possible) and last Friday's price.                     Then             Now ASX BAL           A$2.80           A$12.64 IVC            A$13.26         A$11.80 SGX C09            S$10.21           S$7.16 C31            S$3.53             S$3.23 U14           ...

If you have read the news lately, you would have heard of Trikomsel restructuring their bonds and this post is to spread the word that they are looking for their fellow bondholders to contact them at trikomselbonds@yahoo.com as strength is in numbers for a case like this.  The bondholders are likely to be accredited investors such as private banking clients with the banks in Singapore or maybe fund houses or institutions etc thus it came as quite a shock initially as this is the first time in 6 years that a SGD denominated bond is seeking a restructure of its bonds which could mean a few things such as no more coupons till the maturity date, extension of maturity tenor, haircut and of course the dreaded loss of principal.  According to Tradehaven where I read this news, Trikomsel held a meeting with their bondholders today, which could mean the private banks who act as custodians of the bonds and maybe some individual retail bondholders who have this bond registered u...

I've been fiddling with my investment portfolio recently which saw me selling off some of my SG holdings. Some dough has been placed into SSB and we decided to give the Perennial Real Estate Holdings retail bond a miss since we have some exposure to them. I'm trying to figure out whether I can shorten my trading timeframe from a few days to just a day and maybe even intra-day which I target to do in a few years time.  I've also been testing out my new trading strategy and so far the picks have been right such that I can exit the next day with a nice profit. I think I'll continue to put this on trial before I officially start as "churning" my trades with just a one day time frame works nicely for me. It's not that swing trading doesn't work for me but sometimes I do get kinda caught in trying to short and long or long and short the same stock which usually takes more than the couple of days if I want to maximise my profits. It would require me ...

According to ACCICB, he only read 1 TA book and learnt the rest online and he told me that this book is the only book I will need to read. A reader left a comment long ago that he wanted to know what book it was, therefore this post is for that purpose and after this post I don't think I have any more posts I should write but haven't! That book seems to be rather hard to buy given that it's so old as it was passed down by ACCICB's dad. The book is  Martin Pring on Market Momentum  and I wouldn't say its a beginner's book since it does expect you to have some basic knowledge of TA. Although I'm a super fast reader, I took a long time to read this book. It's as if I want to digest it slowly, understand it, apply it to live charts of those companies on my watch list etc. I think it was also not a good first book to read if you are clueless about TA. For a beginner, I would recommend Steve Nison's Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques which is ...

I admire people who put themselves through tremendous odds as well as go through what outsiders view as hell to do what they love to do. Everytime I admire a painting or a sculpture or any piece of art, I can only think of how obsessive the creator was but really when you are doing it you don't think it's being obsessive but more of being in the moment and being fully absorbed. In fact, you don't even find it tiring or boring but instead you are energized and excited and just want to reach perfection. Which is why most masters paint the same famous artwork more than once before the final piece is selected. In trading, there's no visible end product to be shown and everyday is a test of many things...your emotions, your mind, your conviction, your capital and the list goes on. Although as time goes by, for me, the effect is lesser and I'm less affected by the changing numbers. Sometimes, you may find yourself thinking at the back of your head even when you are j...