We know so well that one cannot be truely happy nor free, if he cannot free himself from other's judgement. (One cannot be totally indifference to how others see him/herself, but at least free to the degree that they do not affect your major decisions)

Why do we live then? To do what we are interested in? to do a service to our kind?
To seek true? To seek happiness? Why? What's the place of achievement? Diligence? Knowledge? Love? Responsibility? and MONEY?

I know men and women smarter than me have tried to answer, and I have little to add to the discussion. But, we all have to find our own answer.

By Jeff Lam, PhD Candidate of University of Michigan, Graduate of LPCUWC, a great friend of mine

no not just the quant side

you won't find the 'winning' formula there

if those are winning formula, al lthe i-banking firms would have made perfect predictions

no use of computer and math

for those things (quant, computer and math): It's impt to leran

but you also need to understand that those won't get you the money in the long run

after all, who created the maths and computer? It's human being

so when you plug in a lot of numbers, it's all about assumptions

and assumptiosn come from humans

Investment, as I realixze now, is really very very easy

have good, SOLID reasons for all the decisions you make

don't be greedy

don't be excited by up

don't be disappointed by down

and you'll do very very well

it's a matter of short- vs. long-term

in short term, your skill is as good as your luck

it's those in long term who can earn consitently that are the REAL players

That's why Warren Buffet earns like 20% per annum and it's like crazy

but if you look at China now, there are many people who earn like more than 400% return

at the end of the day? They lose it all at once

like playing poker

you can go all in in one game, got lucky and your stake doubles, or tribles.

but if you have no idea about stats and pokers, forget it in the long run you are not going to win any major tournaments

that's why why some players are always on top, becuase they know the stats and they know how to read people etc. and they are consistent

same for investment.

Also don't be afraid to steal people's advice

it's completely ok to steal advice and put it as your own

if this person says 0005 is a buy, listen to why he says so then evaluate

if you think his reasons are darn good, take it

if not, you avoid it

the worst piece of advice is when someone tells yout hat stock 0005 is now in this so-and-so shape in technical analysis and you should buy

that's bullshit and won't gain you anything in the long run (at least according to me)

and it's a waste of energy and time to figure all these out

why don't just sit down, think about why, say, 0005 is a good stock and then buy and hold until the stock price truly reflects its value?

unfortunately

most people can't deal with the enthusiasm when the stocks raise

and even more people can't deal with the frustration when the stock drops

I remember buyuing 0005 at a price of $142; it sas like $112 a few month ago? But I wasn't worried. I would have been have I had less exp, but I trust that 0005 is still the biggest stock and people are blowing that subprime mortgage shit out of portion, just like people talking about beijing olympics and all the shit all the time

with a dividend rate of over 7% I really don't see any issues with 0005

this goes well, because most of the people don't see that, and that's how I can gain

if everyone see how to gain, then how do you gain?

just like research: if I say the obvious, then why say it? It's so obvious

if you are going to earn money from the stock market, just remember that most people lose, and you want to be on the winning side

becuase if you see whta most people see, you are about to lose

內 地 股 市 滬 指 昨 日 跌 破 3100 關 口 ， 股 民 怨 氣 天 。 有 專 家 擔 心 ， A 股 大 幅 持 續 下 跌 ， 可 能 引 發 社 會 動 盪 。 福 建 一 名 股 民 日 前 就 因 炒 股 虧 了 10 多 萬 而 淪 為 劫 匪 。 而 股 市 大 跌 ， 亦 導 致 內 地 證 券 行 要 裁 員 ， 減 少 開 支 。

因 炒 股 票 而 搶 劫 的 男 子 姓 王 ， 曾 是 福 州 一 名 證 券 經 紀 ， 他 因 看 到 大 牛 市 ， 於 是 辭 職 專 心 炒 股 。 不 料 股 市 近 期 連 番 大 跌 ， 他 從 去 年 以 來 ， 虧 損 了 10 多 萬 元 。 他 為 了 「 回 本 」 ， 竟 想 到 靠 打 劫 籌 集 資 本 。 本 月 11 日 至 14 日 凌 晨 ， 他 先 後 手 持 仿 真 槍 ， 在 五 一 廣 場 、 烏 山 路 附 近 ， 搶 劫 的 士 ， 用 槍 指 司 機 頭 部 說 ： 「 我 手 上 有 槍 ， 把 錢 交 出 來 。 」 其 間 他 共 搶 得 120 元 現 金 。

警 方 接 報 後 ， 發 現 三 宗 劫 案 疑 犯 都 是 一 名 20 多 歲 的 年 輕 人 ， 他 得 手 後 向 附 近 一 家 網 吧 方 向 逃 竄 。 警 方 最 終 在 網 吧 將 他 拘 捕 。 王 被 捕 後 供 稱 因 為 炒 股 虧 蝕 才 去 搶 劫 。

股 市 大 跌 ， 成 交 額 大 減 ， 令 靠 佣 金 吃 飯 的 證 券 經 紀 也 陷 入 困 境 。 浙 江 杭 州 部 份 證 券 行 要 裁 員 節 省 開 支 。 有 經 紀 稱 ， 現 找 新 股 民 開 戶 「 簡 直 像 大 海 撈 針 」 ； 有 證 券 行 經 常 組 織 投 資 報 告 會 等 活 動 「 聚 人 氣 」 ，

但 股 民 只 對 專 家 的 大 勢 分 析 感 興 趣 ， 「 一 到 新 基 金 推 介 時 ， 下 面 的 聽 眾 幾 乎 全 跑 了 。 」

That's why most people are stupid

專 家?! 大 勢 分 析?!

You want to be not only smarter than these people, but also smarter than people who recognize this. That's when you earn.

financial market is really not tough; well unfortunately Idon't have much interest in it

or no longer captures my interest

get started in investing and experience the ups and downs

get started in investing and thinking in a long-term way

because life is long

experiencing the ups and downs are critical too

don't get too excited when it goes up; don't get frustrated when it goes down

it's the way of the investment market

and it's the way of life

Saturday

Jeff (1)
CFA (2)
Mandarin(3)

Friday

Mandarin (2)
Research on Statistical Arbitrage(3)

All thursday plan is broken down, due to heavy workload.

Wednesday Plan

Volitility and Correlation, John Hull (1)
Changjie (1)

Looking for Quantitative Finance/Trading/Hedging books (1)

Mandarin (2)
Transfering Mandarin to MP3

Read CU reports (2)

John Hull, Estimating Volatility - 50% (1)

Reading Annual Report of CM and Research Report (2)
Some fundamental analysis revision, multiples (.5)
Typing 300 words in Chinese(1)
Building CU model - 10% (1.5)


Look for advanced text on option
Look for forum on equity valuation

Weekly to do:
Take a look at CN, CT as well,
“China: Telecom Services: Listcos restructuring:
CU/CNC minorities to benefit more than CT's”

Today
Mandarin(4)
Reading Timothy Moe & CM(3)
English(1)

Tomorrow:

John Hull, Estimating Volatility(1)

Reading Annual Report of CM(1)
Building model for CU(2)
Reading Timothy Moe(1)
Typing 300 words in Chinese(1)
Reading/listening Mandarin(1)

I) Utilize your ability, gain knowledge and experience, develop a professional capacity in Financial Market and Business

II) Gain solid experience in Financial Statement, Financial Modeling and China exposure

III) Equip myself with useful skills

Fluent Mandarin and English, including Changjie input

Financial Modeling

1. Model and analyze CM, CU, MBT, Bharti, RCOMM, Vodafone, Sprint etc with Mckinsey Model
2. Analyze China Banks, Two stages FCFE
3. Analyze Construction (1800) and Building Material Sector (3323)
   
4. Follow Timothy Moe and Christopher Wood's marco analysis, gain better understanding of India, Korea, Japan
   

Derivative Pricing, Trading and Hedging

1. VBA, financial modeling
   
2. Option pricing, John Hull