Ultimate Singapore Guide: When to Buy US Stocks
APPLE (AAPL)
It was a no brainer. As I have mentioned that when there is Bad News for a Blue-Chip Stock, we must react VERY positively and Proactively
Steve Jobs passing in Oct 2011 had AAPL hovering at USD 55. It was an expensive price for a stock. However, it looks like it really worth every penny when it was bought when we look back.
A couple of years later, I continued to purchase until it average at USD 90. I still felt it was way too expensive for a stock and even more expensive for a phone or laptop. I still buy AAPL because Apple fans are ridiculously loyal.
AMAZON (AMZN)
This was on my watch list for 5 years and it was really way out of my financial capacity to buy.
But 2 events happened:
- 1. COVID Pandemic
It was still a high price but the Markets crash with a downturn of about 25%, it was definitely a time to buy in. Everyone will be home and very likely to shop online.
The big quesstion mark is that we do not know how far the market will drop. To mitigate this effect, Dollar Cost Average strategy was used. This means that I focus on purchasing a small quantity each week until the Budget for AMZN was used and i just hold the stock.
ALIBABA (BABA)
They have one of the largest online market customer base and billions of people will literally stay home and surf the net. They have the virtual retail infrastructure ecosystem well establish and we can predict a sales boost during this pandemic #covid19
BP
This was bought in 2017 when I notice shifts in the energy industry. Traditional energy companies are shifting some focus on clean and renewable energy in the Oil and Gas sector. IMO #imo draw up plans to reduce carbon emission for the maritime industry by April 2020.
This target to reduce carbon emissions force O&G companies to review their existing vessels and future newbuilds.
My focus was on well-known O&G companies Shell, BP, Total and Exxonmobil. They have been on my watchlist for a few years. With my limited budget, I had to choose one O&G and BP looks the part to go big on renewable energy and place emphasis on reducing carbo emissions.
Unfortunately, BP didn't perform much to my expectations but i kept it and continue to buy more because their dividend yields seems decent. The current economic climate, Covid-19 #covid19 and the recent shocking drop in oil prices was not ideal.
Buy and hold. I hope this will work well in the next 20 years.
CHINA MOBILE (CHL)
There were rumors CHL was launching their service in US to rival Verizon and AT&T. But nothing happened after I bought the stock. It didn't fare well because it was bought at a overvalued price. I was too excited to buy and didn't stop to think and observe for 3 months.
When you are excited to buy a stock when everyone else is rushing to buy, it is not a good sign. This happened for CHL. There was too much fanfare and rumors going on to entice investors to rush in.
When you are nervous to buy in a bear market, it is likely to be a stock worth buying.
It is really hard to buy in a bear market when everyone is selling. It takes mental strength and deep pockets to follow the plan.
DISNEY (DIS)
It's a fairy tale ending!
2 Events made me sit up and notice Disney:
- 1. Disney buying Marvel in 2009 and then Lucasfilm in 2012
- 2. Avengers Civil War in 2016
As you can see they were on my watch list for nearly 10 years! What we are witnessing is Disney aims to be become a Google, Facebook, Instagram Mash-up Tech Giant equivalent in the movie entertainment industry. A freaking huge giant MONOPOLY.
But i wasn't entirely convinced about DIS when they went about acquiring film studios. It was after i watched Civil War, i realised these superhero characters were going to have spin offs and the Marvel Universe #marvelcinematicuniverse #MCU were going to stay at least for the next 10 years. They actually have Phase 1 to Phase 4 movies planned out over the next 10 years!
It is unheard of in the movie industry. The longest running movie sequels were probably Star Wars or Star Trek but not on Marvel kind of scale. This was massive!
When they announce Disney+ in March 2018, that was the trigger. They wanted to monopolise both the cinemas and online streaming! That was ambitious and I believe they have the financial clout to drive the plan forward.
With Bob Iger still an influential role in Disney, we could expect Bob to help steady the ship in the foreseeable future.
ERICSSON (ERIC)
The 5G war started and US wanted Huawei out. Without Huawei in US or most European countries to start preparing 5G network infrastructure, who else are in the game?
There was ZTE, Ericsson and Nokia.
The watchlist started on Ericsson and Nokia in Dec 2018. I was keeping tabs on their news and strategies. As Nokia shares are more affordable, I consistently purchase some.
That was a bad move because the market hype both companies to overvalued prices. I realise i bought with a herd mentality. I stopped buying and just kept tabs.
Then this happened.
It became exciting and scary. I bought ERIC like i was in a supermarket looking for a fantastic deal.
Profit made when you buy, NOT when you sell!
FACEBOOK (FB)
FB was bought at USD48 in Aug 2013. It was a long time coming. I was using and scrolling FB almost every 30 mins of my waking life. This is something you don't realise but you touch your phone more than your face!
I had to get it and i got more when Mark Zuckerberg had to meet Congress to la kopi in early 2017. I got it at USD 150.
Since then i just waited for a chance to swoop in. March 2020 I didn't think FB was priced suitably to buy in. On the back of mind, my average unit price is USD 90 and it had to be priced so low that I knew it was worth to buy.
However, when it hit USD 149, I didn't have enough cash to buy in. I had to choose FB on new stocks for my portfolio to diversify.
ALPHABET (GOOG)
Practically everything you do Google is involved whether you know it or like it.
I had to get a small share of it before it broke the USD 1000 ceiling.
KEPPEL CORPORATION (KPELY)
It is a stable blue chip company in Singapore. It pays dividend well. Times are bad and I am hoping for a Rights Offering exercise if they are trying to raise cash.
NOKIA (NOK)
This is connected to the way I bought ERIC. The competition to get 5G infrastructure without Huawei competing gave Nokia a chance.
One thing that is hard to take note is buying stocks in a hype. I admit it would be prudent to study and analyse the financial statements.
So this is a gentle reminder to myself that this was a terrible decision to buy in too early.
SEA LTD (SE)
When COVID-19 started, a few things would happen.
People staying home will surf the net more. They will shop online more. They game online more.
The few companies that are was on my mind were:
- 1. AMAZON
- 2. ALIBABA
- 3. SEA LTD
SEA LTD is a Singapore based tech company listed in NYSE. Garena and Shopee are its subsidiaries. Gaming and online shopping. Perfect combination in a lockdown. It got onto my watchlist in Dec 2019 and I was skeptical about the company.
When March 2020 Stock Crash came about, it was a perfect opportunity to swoop in for the deal. It was hovering between USD 45 to USD 50 before March. And when it hit USD 38, I believe it was a good time to go for it. But I waited a week to see if it would stabilise before buying it.
Summary
Here shows how I exercise the 3 Simple Ways to buy stocks. You just have to look around you and find products and service you would use and keep track of their shares and pounce when the timing is there and just keep it as long as forever!
The timing is what feels scary and exciting because you are unsure if you buy now, will it continue to drop. It did happen to me in 2008 and when i invested in foreign stocks that I am unable to assess on the ground level.
There are big differences between Wall Street and Main Street. It gets worse when you invest in countries you never step foot on. I will explain more in the next post.
Tschuss~
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