Imposter: Commentary

At the lower unprotected chatbox at investssmart (http://investssmart.blogspot.com/), an imposter, on Aug 5, 12.01 PM, who called himself "newbie" made the following remark:

"newbie: ha ha, seng called for buy on dip, dow down 281 points, still buy on dip ? ha ha hold & die ?now we see how good this tai chek kong seng is"

I would like to take the opportunity to mention a few cautionary remarks:

1. Don't automatically buy just because market has dipped.

It may be counter-intuitive, but the market is not the same thing as the stock. One comprises of thousands of stocks, the other a single stock. A good investor is a discerning investor, and will not buy every Tom, Dick and Harry. There are also many other reasons why (e.g. are you trying to catch a falling knife?), and it is definitely outside the scope of this article.

2. A market dip doesn't guarantee buying.

It can present buying opportunities, and it's just that. There is no guarantee that for the specific stock you are eyeing, it will reach your target buy price. It should also be obvious that there are some stocks that goes up when market goes down, and vice versa.

3. Other things equal, I prefer to buy superior businesess than the stock market.

It's easier to sleep at night, owning sound businesses, than, worrying every day what the index is going to do. You can also choose when to do short-term trading and when not to do so, as your long-term investment does the job for you. In general, I prefer not to do shorter-term trading during uncertain periods.

4. Never blindly buy even if I said I am buying.

Why? Because you are a unique individual. Your investment goals, your risk tolerance, your own personal circumstances and investment capital, your investing experience, your investing skills, your ability to monitor the market, your own financial needs are very likely (if not almost certain) to be materially different than mine.

For example, I have mentioned before that I am very satisfied if my long-term portfolio can earn double F.D. rates especially over the rest of my investing lifetime. Why? Because I am retired, I have done my analysis and calculations and have thought through my own circumstances over a very long period of time before and after I retired and have decided that achieving that goal would satisfy me very well. But 7.4% p.a. might be too low (or too high) and unsuitable for you. That's okay - we are all unique.

Others also said my investing + trading style is probably unique, and impossible to replicate. Maybe true. E.g. you may be aware recently, I followed kiddy's recommendation to buy COMMERZ-CB at 0.275 on 16 July (2+ weeks ago). COMMERZ-CB just expired last Friday, at 25.8 sen. If you had blindly followed me or kiddy, you may have lost money. In the chatbox, I mentioned it is close to gambling (and not investing).

My point in mentioning COMMERZ-CB is to illustrate the point that we are all unique individuals, with different abilities, experience, risk tolerance, objectives, etc. that blindly following a Buy / Sell call can give different results ... In my case, I very luckily made money. Why? Because between 16 to 27 July, I had done a further 7 transactions, to lower my average cost down from 27.5 sen to 24.5 sen (or 24.7 sen with brokerage). But it was pure luck and that is another story.

My point is that if you had followed kiddy or me blindly when I mentioned that I am buying, and left it at that, there's always the chance that you could lose money. Instead, whenever I mention that I am buying, always use your own judgement and assess for yourself whether to follow me or not. Treat this as merely an idea for your own individual follow-up research. And make your own decisions. Don't blindly follow me. (and I certainly didn't blindly follow kiddy, and would never consider blaming him if I had lost money because I know at the end of the day, it's my decision).

5. Don't believe others when they say Seng said Buy (or Buy on Dip tomorrow).

Hopefully, after you've read 1 to 4, you can see how the imposter misrepresented me. You may ask why he/she would want to misrepresent me.

6. Please don't call me "sifu" or "xifu" or "tai chek kong" or "Ah Seng Kor" :-)

Just Seng will be fine. Thanks! :-)

7. I only chat at the upper chatbox in investssmart where it requires registration.

For the record, I have yet to chat at the lower box, although I have noticed from time to time that a chatter pretending to be me appearing there...

8. For the record, I am not the slightest interested in proving how good (or how bad) I am!

That is not the purpose I blog and chat at investssmart chatbox, and nowhere near the list of priorities in my life. Definitely not my mission in life :-)

9. My advice to the imposter

First, thank-you for your comment. It has given me an opportunity to clarify my thoughts on the above topic, and hopefully to the readers here.

Second, consider using your own unique name, instead of pretending to be "newbie". It is unfair to newbie and everyone else who read the blog. Everyone who chats there regularly can see that you are an imposter.

Thirdly, reflect on Albert Einstein's quote below:

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value"

If you don't have your own investment blog, why don't you create one? IF your life mission is to show the world how good you are, then, use the blog as that vehicle. Hopefully, this is not your life mission.

On the other hand, if you do already have a successful blog and it is your life mission, then, why not promote your blog constructively?. No need to misrepresent someone or cause destructiveness to another person's blog such as investssmart chatboxes. In the long run, everybody will be better off.

As Einstein says, aim to be a man of value.

Good luck in your future endeavours.

Disclaimer: As usual, always use your own judgement and invest (buy, hold, sell) at your own risks.