Investment principles that resonates

Earlier I told that I bought 2 taiwan books on investment.

The first book was on understanding financial news. The second book was on technical analysis.

I will touch on the 2nd book. I am biased about technical analysis mainly because Warren Buffett doesnt believe in it. He studied technical analysis but he realised that the charts were right even if it was upside down.

Because of this, i didnt want to waste my time studying something that was not going to be useful. So i turned to fundamental analysis.

A large part of the book is on technical analysis which i skipped.

But there were parts that resonate with me. The author advocates that

1) investment period - minimum 10 years to reap good results

2) divestification - with only a few hundred or thousand dollars, you cant divest by buying different stocks. Hence he advocated just buying one stock each time

3) buying only good stocks - for me, i buy sg long established companies

4) dont look at the stock price daily - this is not easy

One of the stories shared was of people who did not earn alot but they conscientiously accumulate stocks with the extra money saved each year. Over 10, 20 or even 30 years, the dividends can become substantial.

For me, the dividends from my investment is about a month of my takehome pay. This is akin to me receiving one more month of bonus every year.

Although it is still quite far from replacing my income, it is a goal that i continue to pursue coupled with capital appreciation.

Many people are afraid of investing in stocks. But they wouldnt think twice when it comes to property investment.

Indeed I heard stories from friends or colleagues of someone they knew whom have accumulated passive income from buying and renting out properties.

For me, buying an investment property involves coughing up huge cash outlays. It takes years to build up the cash. The risks of buying an overpriced property is similar to paying too much for a stock.

There is a chance that the stock company will go burst and one is left with worthless shares. Whereas for property, the property would still be worth something.

A question that I constantly ask myself, if given 1m to invest, what will I invest the monies in.

In the past, my answer would be to buy a 500-600k property and rent it out. And invest the remaining 400-500k in stocks.

But the above is just my wishful thinking. I didnt consider the reno costs, stamp duties and the hassle of finding a good tenant etc.

Considering that there is little hassle in buying stocks, my answer would be investing 70% in stocks. Remaining to settle my hdb loan.