Hazelle
in Memos & Musings · 2 min read
I met up with an old primary friend recently and got to know by chance that he has been investing for quite some time. He was sharing with me the challenges he has been facing when it comes to investing and I immediately picked something up which with his permission, to share with the bigger community here.
He was under the impression that to be a great investor, it is about being able to find stocks that have been beaten down and are at their bottom. (Either at their all time lows or 52-week lows.) Sometimes, it is also about finding the most obscure stock or unheard ones which he considers hidden treasures at the deep ends of the market. By doing so, he is being greedy while everyone is fearful. To be contrarian by buying when everyone wants to sell…
Given this train of thought, that was why it is not surprising that he bought into companies like Singpost and Singtel at the end of 2018 (which used to be a 5-year low back then) and some other penny stocks.
The thing is that in the stock markets, things happen for a reason. If a stock has remained at the bottom or made lower lows over a long period of time, it means there is no interest or sustained new buyers. Investing is not a game of treasure hunting to look for something that no one else can find.
Investing, if anything, is a game of buying something now, so that in the future, there are more people like yourself who are willing to pay an even higher price than you paid for it now. The stocks in your hands are only as valuable as the next person who is willing to pay for it.
You would want to pay a good (low) price, for a great stock that everyone wants in the future. Some investors have missed the second part of this sentence which resulted in many regretful purchases.
While many stocks may be at or near their 52-week lows, not every one is a worthwhile purchase. Instead of merely looking for the bottom, it is more important to be able to identify good performing stocks which I will share in a future article.
About Hazelle
Chief trainer of The Moneyball Investors Playbook program and founder of The Joyful Investors, a financial education firm that seeks to help avid investors learn to invest better and make the journey a joyful one. I graduated with a first class honors in Bachelor of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and started my auditing career in one of the Big Four. I believe that once we know how to build our wealth sustainably, we can then live our best lives ever.
Important Information
This document is for information only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation nor be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any of the investments mentioned. Neither The Joyful Investors Pte. Ltd. (“The Joyful Investors”) nor any of its officers or employees accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from any use of this publication or its contents. The views expressed are solely the opinions of the author as of the date of this document and are subject to change based on market and other conditions.
The information provided regarding any individual securities is not intended to be used to form any basis upon which an investment decision is to be made. The information contained in this document, including any data, projections and underlying assumptions are based upon certain assumptions and analysis of information available as at the date of this document and reflects prevailing conditions, all of which are accordingly subject to change at any time without notice and The Joyful Investors is under no obligation to notify you of any of these changes.
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