The following video is dedicated to a friend who has found and lost something he treasures.
Well the first piece is roughly translated into love's sorrow, and the second piece means love's joy. You can't have one without the other.
I just can't help but smile when i hear the second piece.
Joshua Bell is one of the top violionist in the world today. Recorded critically acclaimed classical and crossover albums. He was also involved in a Washington Post experiment.
" Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? "
Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on the experiment
While rushing from point to point. We often miss the journey.
Sometimes its the journey that counts.
Sometimes its worth while to stop and stare.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Secret Millionaire's Club
Notes:
Characteristic of investment in 'durable competitive advantage'
1. People want to use your products
2. The business requires little upgrade (or upkeep)
3. You are free to re-invest profits
4. Best to re-invest profits into advertising, to create brandname and emotional attachement
5. Emotional attachment creates the competitive advantage
6. Business run by able and honest management
7. Purchased at a fair price
Think about Milo versus Ovaltine. These 2 similiar products have vastly different market share in Asia. Milo has a larger market share probably due to its strong advertisement and sponsorship of events. People associate sportsmanship and healthy young people running and jumping with Milo, but no such images are associated with Ovaltine.
Nestle Malaysia, which owns the Milo franchise in Asia, which in turn is owned by Nestle (Switzerland)has return on equity above 60% without undue leverage. Investors recognises the superiority of Nestle Malaysia, that is why the stock is trading at a PE of above 20x and PB of almost 14! That's why POINT 7 is important.
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On a seperate note, I met a director from TSMP law corporation today. Amazing lady. Super sharp and smart. Love the advice she gave me; remember to have integrity, this industry is small and everybody knows everybody. You may make some money and get away with it, but by losing your integrity you'll miss out a lot of big opportunities. Don't cut corner. There will be temptations, don't lose yourself if you want to be in this profession (i guess she meant finance/banking).
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Only Human
Reading through some annuity document and came across the mortality statistic for Singapore.
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/lifetable06-08.pdf
Looking at the 2008 figures, for Males at the age of 24, I have a 0.00055% chance of dying within the next year. And expectation of life at 24 is 54.9 => I'm expected to live till 78.9.
So long term compounding is in my favour.
Female on average lives 4.8 years longer than males. How to explain this? Due to genetic makeup, willingness of female to seek 'social living' post retirement, male not willing to seek medical help when suspecting illness and i've got a 4th theory of my own --> Because the wife is always right in most relationship, the husband '气死了'.
Of course the 'expected' is not to be expected. I shall aim to 'beat' the expectation. Haha.
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/lifetable06-08.pdf
Looking at the 2008 figures, for Males at the age of 24, I have a 0.00055% chance of dying within the next year. And expectation of life at 24 is 54.9 => I'm expected to live till 78.9.
So long term compounding is in my favour.
Female on average lives 4.8 years longer than males. How to explain this? Due to genetic makeup, willingness of female to seek 'social living' post retirement, male not willing to seek medical help when suspecting illness and i've got a 4th theory of my own --> Because the wife is always right in most relationship, the husband '气死了'.
Of course the 'expected' is not to be expected. I shall aim to 'beat' the expectation. Haha.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tact
tact
• noun adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.
— ORIGIN Latin tactus ‘touch, sense of touch’, from tangere ‘to touch’.
source:http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/tact?view=uk
I've had an amazing learning experience yesterday during a client visit to conduct due diligence. I brought away 3 main lessons from this 2 hours session,
1. Fruitfulness of discussion depends on preparedness
2. Do not assume that you are dumb because you don't understand the issue
3. Be tactful when asking and answering question, it is important to empathize with the other party
1. Level of preparedness
There is no reason the other party should provide you with more information other than on a "need to know" basis. However, they are often willing to share information when you've asked the right question.
Asking the 'right question' depends on the thoroughness of the background check that was conducted. "Stunning" the other party with the depth of your knowledge is a great way to gain an upper hand.
2. Dumb questions and answers
Don't be afraid to ask seemingly 'dumb questions' like "Why?" and if you don't understand the answer given, ask for further explanation..."Sorry, I still don't get this. Could you explain it again?"
Often, not understanding the complex and convoluted reply may not be fault at our part, but that the other party has something to hide. It was amazing how much information could be dug out from this type of innocent question. There could be nothing sinister afterall, but it is almost always good to know more.
3. Be tactful
The way my bosses probe for information is done in a gentleman manner. They first thank the other party for their time, accentuate the fact that the other party are people of high integrity, and get them to agree on harmless issues first.
After 'accepting' the praise that they are men of integrity and worth, it is hard for them to contradict themselves by blaming issues on people who are not at the table or lie thru their teeth. They co-operated in a friendly manner and many grey issues were laid out on the table and dealt with accordingly.
Last month I attended a briefing by a listed company. Looking through the financials I came across some weird accounts. I pointed this out to the CFO who was the presenter. She garbled some accounting standards and tried to avoid the question. I asked further question in a non-too-friendly manner. She gave some useless reply and moved on to the next question. For the rest Q&A I didn't get to ask any other questions cuz she don't want to pick my question.
I must conduct myself in a manner such that the others are willing to share more with me. Put down my pride and I'll be able to learn so much more.
• noun adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.
— ORIGIN Latin tactus ‘touch, sense of touch’, from tangere ‘to touch’.
source:http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/tact?view=uk
I've had an amazing learning experience yesterday during a client visit to conduct due diligence. I brought away 3 main lessons from this 2 hours session,
1. Fruitfulness of discussion depends on preparedness
2. Do not assume that you are dumb because you don't understand the issue
3. Be tactful when asking and answering question, it is important to empathize with the other party
1. Level of preparedness
There is no reason the other party should provide you with more information other than on a "need to know" basis. However, they are often willing to share information when you've asked the right question.
Asking the 'right question' depends on the thoroughness of the background check that was conducted. "Stunning" the other party with the depth of your knowledge is a great way to gain an upper hand.
2. Dumb questions and answers
Don't be afraid to ask seemingly 'dumb questions' like "Why?" and if you don't understand the answer given, ask for further explanation..."Sorry, I still don't get this. Could you explain it again?"
Often, not understanding the complex and convoluted reply may not be fault at our part, but that the other party has something to hide. It was amazing how much information could be dug out from this type of innocent question. There could be nothing sinister afterall, but it is almost always good to know more.
3. Be tactful
The way my bosses probe for information is done in a gentleman manner. They first thank the other party for their time, accentuate the fact that the other party are people of high integrity, and get them to agree on harmless issues first.
After 'accepting' the praise that they are men of integrity and worth, it is hard for them to contradict themselves by blaming issues on people who are not at the table or lie thru their teeth. They co-operated in a friendly manner and many grey issues were laid out on the table and dealt with accordingly.
Last month I attended a briefing by a listed company. Looking through the financials I came across some weird accounts. I pointed this out to the CFO who was the presenter. She garbled some accounting standards and tried to avoid the question. I asked further question in a non-too-friendly manner. She gave some useless reply and moved on to the next question. For the rest Q&A I didn't get to ask any other questions cuz she don't want to pick my question.
I must conduct myself in a manner such that the others are willing to share more with me. Put down my pride and I'll be able to learn so much more.
Monday, July 13, 2009
They cheat they steal they tell lies
I think that the cash register is a beautiful invention. It allows owner to 'trust' his employees with the revered task of collecting cash for sales.
Today I've witnessed an unhonourable person 'steal' from the cash register. Sadly i did not act against it and allowed my cowardice (or laziness) to rule over.
I paid for $1 pancake right after a lady who bought soyabean milk before me. The stall auntie didn't key in my sale and simply put my $1 into the cash register. At the end of the day, i'm quite sure the difference between the cash balance and receipt sales will form part of her take home pay.
If she steals $2 per hour, on a 8 hour workday 16 dollars will be stolen ($400 a month). Assuming a (honest) salary of 1600, the stolen money will amount to about 25% of her salary. No wonder she's motivated to steal as the probability and severity of being caught is low and reward is high.
I've witness the same thing at a fastfood joint at Raffles City. The MANAGER did not key in my order, and placed my order with their mike system. A tell tale sign of such dishonest act about to happen is that the cashier will NOT CLOSE THE CASH REGISTER COMPELETY after the previous customer leaves, and not issuing receipt.
The first time this happened, i didn't even realise what happened after i got my change. The second time it happened, i demanded a receipt. The manager actually started keying in the order AFTER giving my change and said there's something wrong with the machine. That smooth operator is full of shit, must have done it a billion times.
In this perverse system whereby the police (the customer) has no incentive to act and the thief has LOTS of incentive to act, it is easy for the honour system to break down. Imagine stealing a Whopper meal ($8) every hour. Given a 12 hour work day and 30 days a month, almost $3000 bucks is lost. That could be the total salary of the manager. Mangager...yeah right...managing his own bank account...super disgusting.
p.s. of course it is still way easier to steal with a pen than with knife or other arsenal. Knavery is especially prevalent if there is clear informational asymmetry, or there is high motivated seller or buyer. Haiz. We must equipped ourselves with these tools of trade, such that we will be less likely to fall victim to such unethical behaviors.
Today I've witnessed an unhonourable person 'steal' from the cash register. Sadly i did not act against it and allowed my cowardice (or laziness) to rule over.
I paid for $1 pancake right after a lady who bought soyabean milk before me. The stall auntie didn't key in my sale and simply put my $1 into the cash register. At the end of the day, i'm quite sure the difference between the cash balance and receipt sales will form part of her take home pay.
If she steals $2 per hour, on a 8 hour workday 16 dollars will be stolen ($400 a month). Assuming a (honest) salary of 1600, the stolen money will amount to about 25% of her salary. No wonder she's motivated to steal as the probability and severity of being caught is low and reward is high.
I've witness the same thing at a fastfood joint at Raffles City. The MANAGER did not key in my order, and placed my order with their mike system. A tell tale sign of such dishonest act about to happen is that the cashier will NOT CLOSE THE CASH REGISTER COMPELETY after the previous customer leaves, and not issuing receipt.
The first time this happened, i didn't even realise what happened after i got my change. The second time it happened, i demanded a receipt. The manager actually started keying in the order AFTER giving my change and said there's something wrong with the machine. That smooth operator is full of shit, must have done it a billion times.
In this perverse system whereby the police (the customer) has no incentive to act and the thief has LOTS of incentive to act, it is easy for the honour system to break down. Imagine stealing a Whopper meal ($8) every hour. Given a 12 hour work day and 30 days a month, almost $3000 bucks is lost. That could be the total salary of the manager. Mangager...yeah right...managing his own bank account...super disgusting.
p.s. of course it is still way easier to steal with a pen than with knife or other arsenal. Knavery is especially prevalent if there is clear informational asymmetry, or there is high motivated seller or buyer. Haiz. We must equipped ourselves with these tools of trade, such that we will be less likely to fall victim to such unethical behaviors.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Demetri Martin
I think Demetri Martin is brilliant. Way funnier than Dane Cook...dun even know why i'm comparing them. Cook is funny too, but in a more in your face way.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Asia Investment Banking Conference
Jointly organised by London School of Economics and Singapore Management University E.y.E Investment Interactive Club. Click on the poster to find out more!
free advertising for E.y.E organising committee :)
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