Hi SFFians, Some readers have requested to see in details on how I grew my investment portfolio over last 17 years to my net worth today (from age 25 to 42). There is no hard science or magic behind this. Some background pointers on my source of funds:  I can't print money. I earn money the old fashioned way - work my rank up in a banking career.  I do not have a rich wife/ sugar mommy to fund me - every penny is earned through my own sweat. I do not have any side gigs, though I wish to sell my skills there to build a side business. However, time is limited as most of time is burnt at work ..read more

Dear SFFians, As I have promised my fans and thanks for all your unwavering support to read my blog, I shall pen down my thoughts based on my decade worth of experience dealing with PE funds like ESR and Warburg Pincus, and certainly my last trophy win on banging big on Viva Industrial Trust (which was eventually swallowed by Cambridge REIT and then rebranded as ESR-Reit today). I hope to strike another gold pot this round with ESR's similar move. For those who want to understand more on ESR, you can refer to their website to read up. In short, ESR is formed through a series of M&A of d ..read more

Dear SFFians, It's the time of the year where we start to ponder deeper on what we have achieved, what we have not and what we wish to do better in the next coming year. For me, I always think in terms of my blessings first (which are aplenty), developmental gaps and surely some practical resolutions to work. Loved ones around me My baby boy has grown healthily and happily, enjoying his near 2 years old and also his new childcare with lots of learning and positive changes happening now and then. I am more of the easy going type parent who is not so obsessed with his milestones and timings ..read more

Dear SFFians, Thanks for your great support on my previous post on Insights of Private Banking (click here), the readership on this post has been phenomenal (To me, a few thousand readership is a lot). I hope you really love to learn about some financial behaviors of the rich. With the millennials being the 2nd/ 3rd generation rich, things will pan out differently. They tend to be "informationally efficient" (or overloaded), highly connected to content (good + bad), confused about market and economics but willing to take excessive risks to prove their worth/ value as good stewards of their pa ..read more

Dear SFFians, Due to some great fans' requests to deep dive into my banking career like Private Banking (PB), I would love to share how it shaped and benefited my investment mindset alongside with some of the rich minds investing/"playing" with the market. Why should we learn from the rich in investing? Sounds very obvious - they are rich for a reason. They walked through the journey of ups and downs, therefore earned their stripe to be rich. Of course, different rich people gotten their wealth through different means - inheritance, lottery, divorce, business, scams, high obscene salaries ..read more

Dear SFFians, As the chinese saying goes "毕业等于失业", this proverb really stung me big time since I graduated from NTU in 2002. The dreadful job hunting began. Yes, very soon after when doing some temp/ part-time jobs, all job hunting opportunities were slam-dunked by 2003 SARS. Not a great time for banking jobs then, as people are fearful of getting out in public. The good part of it was that I was highly flexible and resilient, just applied any job (admin, sales, temp etc) and took whichever that came along. Beggars don't choose during bad times, I was desperate for any paying jobs. I still vi ..read more

Hi SFFians, Bet you have read the mega REIT merger news between Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) and Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT), and I just happen to be heavily vested in both REITs. To complicate the analysis, FLT is looking to acquire 50% interest in Farnborough business park using 100% debt and promise to be DPU accretive. Of course it will be accretive as long as debt is cheap. Well, being on both sides of the fence, does this deal make good sense to me or to either side of the shareholders? Let me walk through the key things of this deal without tackling too much finan ..read more

Hi SFFians When I opened my trading screen this morning and saw Accordia Golf jumped by 10% to $0.67, I quickly flipped through the news and found that the trust manager has received a non-binding bid to acquire all its golf courses. Accordia Golf is a business trust whereby its DPU is subjected to the swings of members and non-members' usage/ visitorships of its golf courses. This is highly seasonal and dependable on weather conditions and time of the year. You hardly see people swarming to golf courses during cold harsh winter, and surely you see more during summer time. Way before ..read more

Hi all, Some of you may be wondering about how long will this series end? Will it be like a long sitcom that runs for 100 episodes? Nope...I don't really plan for a finale yet, it may just end till the level of semi-FIRE days which is what I am currently enjoying my life now. The main reason to run this investment journey like a storybook is to chronologically detail my growing up stage and the development of my investment brain. I hope this will inspire some readers, in my little ways, to hone their investment brains and hearts as well in this often lonely, sometimes painful journey to its e ..read more

Dear SFFians, Good day to you, I hope the week has been good to you. If not, reset your mind, soul and body and recharge it with positive vibes with time spent with your loved ones. Fill your mind with happy memories every day to make each day worthy of its breath. One reader privately messaged me, "Since I am semi-FIRE already, how do you pass your time each day?" Certainly a very sober question to ask any retiree, be it semi or fully retired, there are days that go unplanned, some days routine, some days impromptu and some days for others. Bear in mind, there is no fixed schedule daily, w ..read more