• All blog entries
    • Calculators
    • Case studies
    • Cost of living
    • CPF Are You Ready?
    • CPF Matters
    • Credit Management
    • e-Learning
    • Estate Planning
    • Events
    • Financial advisers
    • High Networth
    • Insurance
    • Investments
    • Letters to the Press
    • Magazines
    • Others
    • Retirement Planning
    • Scams
    • Surveys
    • Tragic Stories
    • Unethical sales process
    • Videos
  • Legal
  • Testimonies
    • Individual testimonies
    • Gallery
  • My Account
Hi, looking for a fee-based financial planner in Singapore? Read this article now!
  • Home
  • About
    • About Wilfred Ling
    • Why do you run your own professional financial planning practice?
  • FAQs
    • FAQs on Wilfred Ling’s Financial Services
    • FAQs on Financial Planning
    • FAQs on Investments
    • FAQs on Insurance
    • FAQs on Estate Planning
  • Services
    • Overview
    • Create a financially secure plan for your young family (package details)
    • Retirement Planning
    • Investment Portfolio Management
    • Insurance Planning
  • Fees
  • Cool Tools
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / Investments / Why You Always BUY HIGH In Investments?

Why You Always BUY HIGH In Investments?

14, May 2022 by Wilfred Ling 1 Comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJomDKf-088

One of the most common feedback I hear is this, 

“Wilfred, I always lose money in investments. I have no luck.”  OR

“Wilfred, I have invested with many financial advisers and I always lose money.”

Sounds familiar?

What are the reasons why investors lose money?  Let me relate to you a story.

Mr Tan (not his real name), invested with me in 2007.  At that time, the Singapore economy and the region was growing rapidly.  The stock market has done extremely well for a few years since SARS in 2003. Mr Tan has a job and not just another job. It was his dream job.  Then came the global financial crisis in 2008.  His portfolio with me crashed to nearly 50%.  Every day he would text me asking me when the nightmare was going to end because everyday the stock market went down by a few percent.  There was no such thing as a rebound then. Unlike other investors, Mr Tan did not sell his investments at a loss. He trusted me and waited for recovery.  In 2013, his portfolio recovered to its original value.  That was 6 years of wait!  Unfortunately, he ran out of patience and decided to sell everything at the breakeven prices. Although i advised him it was unwise to liquidate everything, he still proceeded with it. We lost contact for many years since. 

A few weeks ago, we got reconnected back again.  He shared with me that over the last many years, he still did not make money from investments and he lamented that he has no luck.  However, I told him if he had stayed with me until now, he would have tripled his capital because what came after 2013 was nearly 10 years of bull run! 

So now, he is getting interested to invest with me after 10 years of bull run.  What do you think will be his return moving forward? 

If you think about it, was it really bad luck? I am not sure whether you see a pattern and whether you can relate. 

Most investors are keen to invest when they are happy.  They are happy with their job.  The economy is doing well.   Governments are stable and stock markets doing well.  Because they are optimistic and look forward to a bright future, they are keen to invest for the future.  However, that is actually the worst time to invest. 

You see, the stock market anticipates the future.  We call this the leading indicator.  That is to say that the happy rosy and the feel good factor of your job, economy, stability etc are already priced into the stock market.   That is why, you could be investing in the worst possible time because the market may have peaked.

Looking at this S&P 500 chart below, if you have invested in the US stock market in 2000 which is at its peak, you would have suffered losses for 13 years before you actually breakeven. 

S&P500 from 1989 to 2022 LOG

You see, the best time to invest is when everyone is pessimistic.  Pessimistic about the economy, worried over political instability, war and the loss of job.  The question is this, will you invest when you are depressed?  The likely answer is no….

Just as you are likely to tighten your belt during a recession or when you lose your job, it is highly likely you will not invest during bad times. Even if you did invest during bad times, how much will you invest?  If you have invested say $10,000 and made 200% in profit, you will have $30,000 which is too small to have a meaningful impact to your retirement expenses.   To invest, the end goal is to have a meaningful impact to your financial situation and this requires a substantial amount. 

During the past months when Russia invaded Ukraine,  I invested more than $100,000 into stocks and funds.  I should think this is meaningful amount. Do you think so?  

Although I have no idea how will it be like in the next few years, I do have the assurance that I will make money through such investments.  In fact, I always make money on the long-run because I do not do what everyone does, I always do the opposite of everyone else. 

Like this article? Subscribe to my newsletter below for more.

Get regular Tips on Financial Planning. Free subscription for 3 years. Covers all aspect of financial planning such as 'How much salary you should have?', 'How to avoid insurance that is not suitable?", 'What are the retirement planning methods?", etc

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Investments, Videos

Comments

  1. Sinkie says

    16, May 2022 at 2:50 am

    If he really re-invest with you, you should put his money into ARKK and BTC lol. Scary thing is that that has 1 in 3 chance of making him rich in 10 yrs.

    Reply

What do you think? Leave a comment. Cancel reply


WILFRED LING, CFA

WANT TO GET REGULAR TIPS ON FINANCIAL PLANNING?

JOIN with thousands of other subscribers in getting tips on all aspect of financial planning such as "What is the minimum salary required?", "How avoid insurance that is not suitable", etc.


WILFRED LING IN THE NEWS

Click HERE to find out more.


THE KIND OF CLIENTS I AM LOOKING FOR

NEW TO US?

Learn how you can fully benefit from this massive website: HERE

For Registered Users Only (free)

  • Webinar on Major change in cancer treatments in your integrated shield plans 3/9/2022
  • How and what to invest now? (Webinar) 28/7/2022
  • How to identify high performing unit trusts in 3 steps (Webinar) 3/9/2021
  • Financial Planning – Christian Perspective Part 2 (Webinar) 14/8/2021
  • How and what to invest now? (Webinar) 22/7/2021

View All

For Clients Only

  • Video Message to Clients 30/12/2021
  • Exclusive client-only Investment Update Webinar by Wilfred 26/11/2021
  • JPMorgan Guide to Market Q2 2020 15/4/2020
  • JPMorgan Perspective Q2 2020 15/4/2020
  • JPMorgan Guide to Market Q1 2020 5/2/2020

View All

Top Posts

  • Strange way of how CPF Interest is calculated & retirement planning CPF has a rather strange way of calculating interest. I...
  • AIA Pro Achiever 2.0 and my recommendations AIA Pro Achiever 2.0 was a product which someone recent...
  • CPF: How to Accumulate $1m in your CPF by 57? I read online that there are people who wants to achiev...
  • Access Information & Sign Up Page
  • Three Approaches to Investments Someone wrote to me the following comment: “I invested...

Recent comments

  • Sinkie on What Can You Invest If You Have $400k?
  • Sinkie on Why Vanguard Fund Investors Underperformed The Fund Significantly?
  • Sinkie on Why You Always BUY HIGH In Investments?
  • honest_me on Cancer patient ends up with $33,000 bill after insurer refuses to pay for drug & what you must do to avoid this situation
  • susan on Single Premium NTUC Income SAIL
  • susan on Single Premium NTUC Income SAIL

To be notified of new blog post, like this facebook page

To be notified of new blog post, like this facebook page

Read articles based on different categories

Investment Login

iFAST Central: Login

iFAST Prestige: Login

Navigator: Login

Chartered Financial Analyst

CFA

Chartered Financial Consultant

ChFC

Featured Blogger

IM$avvy

© Copyright 2006-2023 Wilfred Ling

This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore

hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty
hollow-nasty