Getting Started in Finance and Investment . . .

How do we usually start learning about finance and investment?

Most people start learning about them by watching television, reading newspapers and surfing finance related websites.  A friend told me that one was spending about an hour every day in reading financial news and stock recommendation.  My mother turns on her radio and television every weekday to track financial news, stock indices and share prices.  Indeed, there is an abundant supply of "financial advisors" and "investment analysts" in this world.  The key challenge is to identify the advices that you can actually trust, because most of these advices are contradictory to each other.

Some people start learning about finance and investment by talking to their stock brokers and relationship managers in the banks.  If these people follow the advices of their stock brokers and relationship managers, sooner or later, they will either buy and sell stocks more frequently, or they will put more of their wealth in unit trust and pension funds.  These are repeatedly proven to be bad investment tactics and approaches, due to their high transaction costs and management fees.  I always wonder how these stock brokers and relationship managers invest their OWN money.

For me, I was serious enough to study a master's degree in finance quite a number of years ago.  I was able to learn hundreds of financial and economic theories in the course.  The problem came immediately when I had to invest my own money: which of these financial and economic theories are genuinely useful in the real world?

This blog is created to share with other people about some of the lessons I have learned in finance and investment, and my journey in pursuing financial freedom.

Financial News . . .