Why a million $$ goal?

Sumber:http://kclau.com/retirement/why-million/
by SAYEED 31.3.2010

Sayeed is a senior manager in a large MNC in Penang. Following his association with the world of investments focused in the past 5 years, both Sayeed and his wife are confidently leading to a financial successful lifestyle, his wife retired as an employee and today runs her own business, blessed with 2 kids, this couple have learnt through tough times about their financial literacy. Sayeed is currently focus in accumulating wealth and dreams of helping others achieve financial success. You can read his first post here.

Recently sitting in a restaurant, my buddy, commented on the few articles I have written before at KCLau.com; “Sayeed, why are you so materialistic. You wanna have big house, big car, million ringgit, various properties, just to show others, and how well you want to do!?” he continued, “Is this a satisfaction to you?, or show off to others of what you’ve got?”. Well, being a friend of mine, I didn’t really expect him to ask such a question, but to a certain extent he was really looking at the other side of coin that I have not seen yet. I knew that the reason I shared my story in earlier blog was to give hope and support to others that if I suffered, yet able to do it, so can you, and also put in a few strategies that may help others. Well, good, at least his question had me to share an interesting concept, on reasons why I want to have a Million.
Let’s go back to our current lifestyles, we live on an income, and we have expenses and tax that are unavoidable. Let say our household income is $10k a month, with expenses of house mortgage, car loan (some people got 2), child care, utilities bills (water, electric, phone, internet etc), credit cards, groceries, pocket money (inclusive of petrol money, food, drinks, movies); and finally let say we save $2000 a month, which means that our monthly living expenses would be $10 income – $2k saving = $8k expenses. While assuming all our months are same in terms of daily activities and expenses, which is not true, we need $8k to survive without savings. Now, I am not saying that all of us have $8k lifestyle, some people only live on $3k, $5k, while other may live on $15k, $20k depending on the lifestyles. So let’s take the example of $8k expenses monthly. Which means in a year, we need $8k x 12 to survive, which is $96k per annum. Do you agree so far? Now I am not putting in other expenses like holidays, festive season shopping etc with assumption we have had buffer in the $8k lifestyle.

The question would be, if we are not working after 55, or 60, our expenses remains the same and the source of income that stops for those employees and most employment in Malaysia are without pension schemes. So where is your source of income comes from ? Most people have a few options :

a. Live with their children, baby sit the grand children so that you get roof and food daily. – the lifestyle have changed, no free meals, even from our children in future. I know many may disagree with me but this is the truth.

b. Work part time while you can, but with the part time job, you may not earn as much as you were an employee, so re-size your lifestyle to what you can earn while keeping yourself fit for the job – better option would be not to retire anyway.

c. Have savings to earn up and replace your salary with similar returns as passive income, retire with a stagnant income as per your employment or even better.

I guess, you have already got the option right. (c.) Have savings to earn up and replace your salary……but there is an interesting twist to this. So I am very worried about my future now, what would happen to me when I pronounce retired!!, I wouldn’t want to be at (a.) or at (b.) that is a choice for now and the only way we can, while we can, change that is now to plan our future.

First of all, is the question of what type of passive income business is there with ROI for us to generate $96k lifestyle per annum ? Well, if we barely look into cash and savings accounts, at 3% interest, it would be $3.2M savings, if 5% then we need $2M and if 8%, we need $1.2M, finally with 10% returns, we still need $1M. So, if there is a savings or investment scheme (proven/legal/working) that gives us a 10% return per annum, year in year out, we need to have a saving of $1M!!.

The news is if you are 30 years old and plan to retire at 60, for the next 30 years every month you need savings of $2K to achieve that million (assuming all the compounding interest). Now that is if you have a place with 10% returns!! It doesn’t exist, what would be the best return rates that we have in market today – 5%?, 7%?, or 8%? The fix deposit is hardly at 3%, EPF 4%….so let say we got the best deal of 7% somewhere, Bank A; then we need to have savings of $1.4M !!, again if you are 30, and retiring at 60, so you need to start saving $3.5k a month, you can do the math.
So whether it is, fortunate or unfortunate, savings may be only one of the options here. But those already hitting at a million, you are save for now. I am not going to confuse all of us with the inflation rates and so on because your $8k lifestyle may not be the same in terms of buying power in next 10-15-20 years. But let’s assume, we are okay with that number and hope Malaysia will rule the world in terms of economy and the inflation doesn’t goes that high up. We have high hopes, Malaysia Boleh!!. What would be the other options ? That is part of the strategy that you ought to put into your plans, how are you going to achieve these retirement planning? Can the financial advisor and an insurance agent sit down with you to outline the retirement plan, if yes, then sit with them and have a plan, with a goal that when we say “RETIRED”, we want to retire in style.
I don’t see anything wrong, if we want to retire with a monthly steady income from our investments, with that income not only we are able to survive, but be able to provide to others, our spouse (that is a great time travelling and spending time together), our children (although earlier I said no free meals, but parents are always parents), our grand children (imagine them having to come to grandparents house to be pampered), and have our health taken care ( that should come from our insurance policy and not savings).
Do you have your plan ready ? Have you thought about it? Remember, procrastinating each day, you are losing the interest rates and days in mathematical calculations for your saving plan. We are still lucky to have started at 35. You?

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Why Traders Fail – Lesson 2

Sumber:http://www.conradalvinlim.com/
Posted by Conrad at March 29, 2010

Now we look at a controversial reason why most traders fail - The Attitude
It starts right at the start where most newcomers think that the market can be a get-rich-quick plan. This is akin to thinking that the market is like a casino. Consider this fact – the house ALWAYS wins. So if you treat the market like a casino, it will make you feel like most gamblers do. Gamblers always win a few but lose a lot.
Some trade like the market is a system to be beaten. Such traders ought to give themselves more credit. You’re insulting yourself if you have this attitude. To think that the market is a system is to include yourself in that system. Therefore, the system you are looking to beat includes you. Give yourself some respect and while you’re doing that, give the market the same respect – we’re not robots in the market and we’re definitely not part of a system. We’re humans that are driven by emotions. The market is an emotional place, not mathematical. You cannot have a system to beat an emotion because there is no math that can factor emotional irrationality.
Then we have those that don’t realize how unscrupulous the market is. Their ignorance is evident when they correctly assume the market is not that clear cut but will still buy into the hype. What is obvious is that the market is made up of all kinds of people especially those who will do anything to get an edge, even through illegal and criminal means. It is also full of experts who have spent years in Harvard and Princeton and then more years with established institutions such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the like. They have hugely experienced mentors to guide them to become the next generation of world class traders. These people have so much leverage and influence on market sentiment and to make their advantage more unfair, they collude with their competitive counterparts in order to corner the larger market for their own gains. With such power, how is a three-day workshop graduate expected to beat the odds? Yet more and more look past the obvious and end up throwing their hard earned money to the power-brokers.
These are also those who buy into the idea that the market can be analyzed fundamentally with valuations. Such valuations do help to reduce risk. But that is an investment-styled strategy and not suited for trading. Trading is way faster and seldom allows the security time to flex its fundamental muscles before the next gyration takes out the profits. Read the previous lesson to know the difference between the investor and the trader and you’ll have a clearer understanding of this.
Others rely purely on technical analysis. I can’t deny that I base a lot of my analysis on technicals. But that is not the end all. All it takes is one bit of macroeconomic news and all that technical analysis is out the window faster than you can say “Cut loss!” TA is great as long as there is no news to upset the prevailing sentiment and as long as volumes don’t dip. But the market is never so generous. So in the end, TA is only a “best guess” … and contrary to common belief, TA is not the best guess of when to buy or sell – rather it is most reliable when used to guess the best potential against the least risk or the most risk against unfavorable potential.
Then there are those who believe that a good tip from a trader is the key to easy money without putting in any effort. For this, I have only one analogy; Would you take a heap of hard-earned money out of your wallet and give it to someone you hardly know and expect to get it all back after a few weeks? And if that person was trustworthy, would you still do it? And do you really believe that it will come back with more than you gave him? If in life we don’t make such practices, then the same principles should be applied in the financial world and most of all, in the market. The desire to get-rich-quick-and-easy makes simple people do really silly things with their money. And it is always only after getting burned that you hear those famous last words, “ … if only I knew …“. Yes, you’ve heard the horror stories time and again and so has everyone else. Yet people continue to write new chapters into this horror story ever so frequently … all in the name of greed, gluttony and sloth.
The financial markets are like an office block in a busy business district. The people who go to work there are serious professionals who take what they do very seriously. They are highly experienced, very influential and extremely powerful. It is also like a hospital where the surgeons, doctors and nurses are highly qualified and trained professionals. People put their life in their hands everyday.
Then one day, some over-zealous graduate with three days of workshop knowledge comes into this office block and expects to beat everyone out of their jobs. Or this hyped-up graduate with only three days of experience comes into the hospital and expects everyone to trust him with their lives.
Okay, maybe that is a bit of a stretch but the implications are no different. Every professional takes years to study his craft and then spends more years honing the skills with hours and hours of practice and hard work. They also have a mentor to constantly guide them till the day they are ready to go solo. There is no easy path to success and there will be failures along the way. The financial market is to be respected and feared. There is no other attitude except humility that will help a trader survive it.
It is said that more than 80% of the market is made up of those who lose and less than 20% are winners. The truth is that those statistics apply to any profession – how many top rated lawyers, engineers, surgeons, etc are there compared to the many also-rans?
The big money is always at the top where there are few who have it while the small money is at the bottom where most have to fight for it. And there are only two ways to be at the top – either you are already there or work hard to get there.

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Decision

Sumber:http://financial-planning-diy.blogspot.com/2010/03/decision.html#more
After reading Chapter 8 of "Think and Grow Rich" which is talking about “Decision”, I totally agree with Napoleon about what he has emphasized.

You may recall in my previous post entitled “Investment: Do you know what you want?”, I stress that we should learn continuously in order to improve our confidence on investment as our investment knowledge grow. In other words, knowledge will allow us to make effective decision.

Napoleon concludes his finding that the riches are making decisions promptly and chancing these decisions slowly. People who do not have definite decision will allow opinions from the gossiping neighbors and newspaper to do the “thinking” for them. If this is the case, they have no DESIRE of their own.

I must point up that you are unique. You, and only you, know what you DESIRE. You should send a strong signal of your DESIRE to your subconscious mind and it will generate action plan for you to attain your result. Of course, as what Napoleon suggests, to ensure your DECISION remains unchallenged, you should keep it for yourself only. That’s right, keep your mouth shut while keep your eyes and ears open.

I totally agree with this strategy as I have similar experience. I do have friends who want to get something from nothing. Meaning, they ask you for investment tips without doing their homework. This is classified as NO DESIRE by Napoleon. Definitely, I have my own investment strategy and make my own investment decision. However, these are mine but not theirs. I will not share my DECISIONS with them as these DECISIONS are totally mine. That is the reason why I request them to ask themselves what they actually want. They will make their own investment decision if they able to answer this question to themselves.

So, make your own decision now.

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The Rich continue to favour property

Sumber:http://investkk.com/rich-continue-favour-property/
World’s wealthiest investors see property as key to growth

By Max Koh of theedgeproperty.com
Friday, 26 March 2010 10:09
KUALA LUMPUR: The world’s wealthiest investors see property as a key long-term growth in their investment portfolios, while they remain cautious about their investment’s prospects this year. In the Wealth Report 2010 Attitudes Survey by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank launched on March 23, the wealthy clients say capital growth is more important than yields. “Although equity and property markets have bounced back sharply, the survey responses suggest wealthy investors remain concerned about the state of the global economy,” said Citi Private Bank Asia Pacific chief executive officer Aamir Rahim in a statement on March 25.Only 5% of the Citi Private Bank high-net-worth respondents expect their fortunes to increase significantly this year while 4% expect to see their net-worth diminish and about 90% expect it to remain steady or increase slightly.”Property accounted for 30% of the investment portfolios of those surveyed, while equity was the next most popular investment with 24%,” said Citi Private Bank in a statement released on March 25. In the property sector, half the respondents said residential investments would offer the strongest performance this year, while 30% reckoned commercial property would lead the market.
Capital growth and investment stability were also considered more important than yields when investing in properties. The wealthy investors also rely most on their own expertise when making investment decisions, it said.

“Although relatively few respondents were planning to purchase a new primary residence this year, a significant proportion do see buying opportunities in the current market. Almost 40% says they are planning to purchase an extra secondary residence this year,” said Aamir.

“Evidently, the wealthy still see property as a vital part of their investment portfolios.”

The survey was conducted online on a global cross-section of Citi Private Bank’s clients and was analysed by global property consultant Knight Frank. Respondents were asked to consider their attitudes towards property and other investment classes.

The fact is the rich continue to have property under their portoflio. They trusted property will continue to strenghten their long term investment portoflio. What about you? Do you have any property in your portfolio? Please do so as the power of growth under property was tremendous. It will be your main income contributor in the near future. Just like one of my business associates, he was in business for the past 30 years but last few year he reduce his business activity as he believe property is easiest way to built his wealth. I better name him Mr Y. Mr Y are at his 60’s now and he is busy collecting rental almost everyday. His rental collection reaching above RM2M per year. This excluding gain from the property appreciation. I strongly believe he networth easily exceeding RM20M. By the way, he is in KK. So never look down as KK property market. There is plenty of opporturnity everyway. Happy Investing.

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When You are 40’s

Sumber:http://investkk.com/when-you-are-40s/
Life is tougher when you are reaching 40th!! Why? Assuming your life ended 80 years olds; you have walked half of your life? What achievement have you done for yourself and people surrounding you? At this stage normally you will be having stable career path. Or I would rather say, you have not much choice but to continue working for your current company knowing your loyalty towards current company might be well rewarded when you retire. I remember my current company is giving away RADO watch worth more than RM2K in returns of their entire most productive working life.


Rewards after 20 years
Yes this is the rewards that they will get after 20 years of works. Frankly, RM2K divided by 20 years = RM100 per annum which equivalent to RM 0.30 per day!! What a jokes. Looking at your career rewards sometimes will make you vomits blood so better focus on more interesting part.



Around this age, most of the people will start to have bigger expenses mainly on their own personal status and their child education especially pre school, primary, secondary and university levels expenses. Upgrading of personal status especially from smaller homes to bigger homes will be common for man after 40’s. I know there is a lot of people are upgrading their terrace house to semi-d and from semi-d to detached house.


Bigger Home means Bigger Expenses
Every time they upgrade it will be a disaster financial years for them.If you can afford it, why not? The worst is alot of people really can’t afford it. They are trying to have it with borrowed money to impress the rest. Don’t you think its too costly? Personally I totally disagree with this move. If you can recall, the world 3rd richest man still stay in his own house that he stayed 30 years ago and still driving his old car till today even tough his total assets easily exceeding RM 50B which equivalent to our Maybank Bhd market capitalization. Just to share with you one of my good friend who is 40’s years old still live in his 2 ½ storey terrace house he bought 8 years ago and still driving same car for the past 15 years. Today total asset under his management easily exceeding RM10M!! The best part is he still growing!! What about you? Are you still managing asset less than RM0.5M with the intention want to buy another bigger house for your family comfort? Or you want to be like my friend who spend his entire holiday last year at Europe Cruise for 21 days costing him RM200K and yet he still getting his paid together with property appreciation!!



When you reach 40’s, I assume your kids are attending schools either primary or secondary level or even better maybe at final years of university. By questions is, can you afford to send your kids to overseas to finish her studies? Not many can afford it and those who can afford it also not very clever. Why I say so? Sometimes I don’t understand why some parents willingly send their kids overseas just to study simple course like business administrations, marketing, accounting and others businesses course which I think you can learn it better locally at much lower cost. Education in overseas is good but how many student will be above to “earn back” whatever they have spend during their studies at overseas? The answer is…NOT MANY!! Some even worst when they can’t even find a good job locally when they come back due to their pride. I finished my studies at local college with total expenses less than RM60K back in year 2000 and my friend who taking same course with me when to New Zealand. He spends more than RM250K @ 4 times more than me. Today he getting same paid like me or even slightly lower. So the moral behind this story is educating your kids overseas with high expenses not necessarily will bear fruits. Imaging if that time, the parents taking the extra RM190K buying 2 units of Api-Api Apartment with 50% loans facility, today he easily worth RM600K plus steady rental income of RM3200 per month for both units. DON’T ARGUE with me. THIS IS THE FACT!! of course, I don’t mean overseas education is not good but please send your kids overseas for special course like medical, engineering and etc. You don’t need send they so far because of simple course like business administration or marketing. That is really a waste. Street smart is much more important than school smarts. If you don’t believe me, ask you kids bring money and certificates to the counter then ask the cashier see whether the cashier want his money or certifcates!!



Who say adult above 40’s can’t have good reasons to reject wealth accumulation program? Sad to say, some even have better and more solid excuses to tell you. Good thing to laugh which I would like to share with all of you. Last week I met one of my colleagues which I try to encourage her to invest in properties. Do you know what reason she gives to me? She says she is too busy buying vegetables and taking care of her daughter. That why she can’t allocated any times even 5 minutes per day looking for good deals and this already happen for the past 15 years. Do you think it’s a good reason? Think it over… Happy Investing.

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10 Places NOT to Use Your Debit Card

Sumber:http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/109125/10-places-not-to-use-your-debit-card?mod=bb-checking_savings
by Dana Dratch
Friday, March 19, 2010
Debit cards have different protections and uses. Sometimes they're not the best choice.

Sometimes reaching for your wallet is like a multiple choice test: How do you really want to pay?

More from CreditCards.com:

• Debt-Free Plastic Payment Options

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• Debit Card Users Now More Protected From Fraud, Study Says

While credit cards and debit cards may look almost identical, not all plastic is the same.

"It's important that consumers understand the difference between a debit card and a credit card," says John Breyault, director of the Fraud Center for the National Consumers League, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "There's a difference in how the transactions are processed and the protections offered to consumers when they use them."

While debit cards and credit cards each have advantages, each is also better suited to certain situations. And since a debit card is a direct line to your bank account, there are places where it can be wise to avoid handing it over -- if for no other reason than complete peace of mind.

Here are 10 places and situations where it can pay to leave that debit card in your wallet:

1. Online

"You don't use a debit card online," says Susan Tiffany, director of consumer periodicals for the Credit Union National Association. Since the debit card links directly to a checking account, "you have potential vulnerability there," she says.

Her reasoning: If you have problems with a purchase or the card number gets hijacked, a debit card is "vulnerable because it happens to be linked to an account," says Linda Foley, founder of the Identity Theft Resource Center. She also includes phone orders in this category.

The Federal Reserve's Regulation E (commonly dubbed Reg E), covers debit card transfers. It sets a consumer's liability for fraudulent purchases at $50, provided they notify the bank within two days of discovering that their card or card number has been stolen.

Most banks have additional voluntary policies that set their own customers' liability with debit cards at $0, says Nessa Feddis, vice president and senior counsel for the American Bankers Association.

But the protections don't relieve consumers of hassle: The prospect of trying to get money put back into their bank account, and the problems that a lower-than-expected balance can cause in terms of fees and refused checks or payments, make some online shoppers reach first for credit cards.

2. Big-Ticket Items

With a big ticket item, a credit card is safer, says Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. A credit card offers dispute rights if something goes wrong with the merchandise or the purchase, she says.

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"With a debit card, you have fewer protections," she says.

In addition, some cards will also offer extended warrantees. And in some situations, such as buying electronics or renting a car, some credit cards also offer additional property insurance to cover the item.

Two caveats, says Wu. Don't carry a balance. Otherwise, you also risk paying some high-ticket interest. And "avoid store cards with deferred interest," Wu advises.

3. Deposit Required

When Peter Garuccio recently rented some home improvement equipment at a big-box store, it required a sizable deposit. "This is where you want to use a credit card instead of a debit," says Garuccio, spokesman for the national trade group American Bankers Association.

That way, the store has its security deposit, and you still have access to all of the money in your bank account. With any luck, you'll never actually have to part with a dollar.

4. Restaurants

"To me, it's dangerous," says Gary Foreman, editor of the frugality minded Web site The Dollar Stretcher. "You have so many people around."

Foreman bases his conclusions on what he hears from readers. "Anecdotally, the cases that I'm hearing of credit or debit information being stolen, as often as not, it's in a restaurant," he says.

The danger: Restaurants are one of the few places where you have to let cards leave your sight when you use them. But others think that avoiding such situations is not workable.

The "conventional advice of 'don't let the card out of your sight' -- that's just not practical," says Tiffany.

The other problem with using a debit card at restaurants: Some establishments will approve the card for more than your purchase amount because, presumably, you intend to leave a tip. So the amount of money frozen for the transaction could be quite a bit more than the amount of your tab. And it could be a few days before you get the cash back in your account.

5. You're a New Customer

Online or in the real world, if you're a first-time customer in a store, skip the debit card the first couple of times you buy, says Breyault.

That way, you get a feel for how the business is run, how you're treated and the quality of the merchandise before you hand over a card that links to your checking account.

6. Buy Now, Take Delivery Later

Buying now but taking delivery days or weeks from now? A credit card offers dispute rights that a debit card typically does not.

"It may be an outfit you're familiar with and trust, but something might go wrong," says Breyault, "and you need protection."

But be aware that some cards will limit the protection to a specific time period, says Feddis. So settle any problems as soon as possible.

7. Recurring Payments

We've all heard the urban legend about the gym that won't stop billing an ex-member's credit card. Now imagine the charges aren't going onto your card, but instead coming right out of your bank account.

Another reason not to use the debit card for recurring charges: your own memory and math skills. Forget to deduct that automatic bill payment from your checkbook one month, and you could either face fees or embarrassment (depending on whether you've opted to allow overdrafting or not). So if you don't keep a cash buffer in your account, "to protect yourself from over-limit fees, you may want to think about using a credit card" for recurring payments, says Breyault.

8. Future Travel

Book your travel with a check card, and "they debit it immediately," says Foley. So if you're buying travel that you won't use for six months or making a reservation for a few weeks from now, you'll be out the money immediately.

Another factor that bothers Foley: Hotels aren't immune to hackers and data breaches, and several name-brand establishments have suffered the problem recently. Do you want your debit card information "to sit in a system for four months, waiting for you to arrive?" she asks. "I would not."

9. Gas Stations and Hotels

This one depends on the individual business. Some gas stations and hotels will place holds to cover customers who may leave without settling the entire bill. That means that even though you only bought $10 in gas, you could have a temporary bank hold for $50 to $100, says Tiffany.

Ditto hotels, where there are sometimes holds or deposits in the hundreds to make sure you don't run up a long distance bill, empty the mini bar or trash the room. The practice is almost unnoticeable if you're using credit, but can be problematic if you're using a debit card and have just enough in the account to cover what you need.

At hotels, ask about deposits and holds before you present your card, says Feddis. At the pump, select the pin-number option, she says, which should debit only the amount you've actually spent.

10. Checkouts or ATMs That Look 'Off'

Criminals are getting better with skimmers and planting them in places you'd never suspect -- like ATM machines on bank property, says Foley.

So take a good look at the machine or card reader the next time you use an ATM or self-check lane, she advises. Does the machine fit together well or does something look off, different or like it doesn't quite belong? Says Foley, "Make sure it doesn't look like it's been tampered with."

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Our Own Worst Enemy

Sumber:http://www.bullsa.com/2010/03/our-own-worst-enemy.html
(A very helpful trading article from Mr.Joe Ross. He is a well known trading guru who changed my trading life. www.tradingeducators.com)

OUR OWN WORST ENEMY
As traders, we are often our own worst enemies. Although some people have an unconscious desire to fail, most of us want to succeed. Despite a strong desire for achievement, however, we often underestimate the difficulty of trading. We think it is easier to make profitable trades than it actually is, and we end up making unnecessary trading errors and thwarting our own efforts. But there's a simple solution. You can become aware of how you sabotage your efforts and make sure that you don't fall prey to these common ways of interfering with your own success.

First, try to hold realistic expectations. Many novice traders set expectations that are just too high. They set themselves up for failure by trying to trade beyond their skill level or expecting outcomes that are virtually impossible to achieve. When you push yourself beyond your comfort zone, or beyond your skill level, you tend to become so stressed that you feel anxious, ill at ease, and frustrated. You then start making trading errors that hamper even the best-laid plans.

Second, don't try to be superhuman. Indeed, you are merely human. The human mind and body has limited energy. Trading is physically, intellectually, and emotionally demanding. You wouldn't enter a triathlon without proper mental and physical preparation, so why trade when you are not physically and mentally prepared? You must be rested, relaxed, and ready for action. If you don't get enough sleep, for example, it will be difficult for you to control your emotions and to concentrate. Make sure that you get plenty of sleep, good nutrition, and exercise. In addition, don't overwork. It will eventually catch up with you. By pacing yourself as if you were running a marathon, you can meet the physical and mental challenges of trading.

Third, don't think you are bigger than the markets. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you have complete control of your destiny. Indeed, you are a slave to fate just like everyone else. Work around it. Don't try to control it. You don't need to be in complete control. You can manage risk to cope with uncertainty. If you know that relatively little is on the line, you'll trade more calmly and be ready to accept what the markets have to offer at any particular time. Just as you wouldn't try to fight nature, you must see what the "weather" is like out there and conform to market conditions. Be humble and accept what you can get. You're not as omnipotent as you wish you were.

Finally, don't trade by the seat of your pants.

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Why Traders Fail – Lesson 1

Sumber:http://www.conradalvinlim.com/
March 17, 2010
This is the first of a series of mini-lessons on why so many traders fail. These mini-lessons aim to pinpoint some of the common (but not so obvious) mistakes they make and how some of the most common-sense practices go out the window the moment they start trading.

In Lesson 1, we look at where the problems all begin – The Education.

Most people know that trading is a stressful and dangerous job. Most also know that it isn’t easy and takes a lot of work and learning. Of course, there are the few who believe that the market can be beaten with a system or with some high-tech software. Then there are those who cling on to the ignorant belief that the market is a place that can get them rich quick.

Let’s not waste time discussing the dreamers and ignoramuses. Rather, lets look at the fellow who knows what it takes and is ready to work for it. Let’s look at the fellow who sincerely wants to learn all there is to know about this business but is unable or unwilling to get a formal education for it. It has been argued that one is able to learn about trading by reading books and obtaining information through the internet.

So if it is that simple, why do so many still fail? The answer is just as simple; Learning the wrong thing without realizing it.

Most of the books available, either at bookshops or at the library are about INVESTING and very few are actually about TRADING. So what happens is that most people don’t realize the real difference between investing and trading and will assume the two to be the same with slight variances. That could not be farther from the truth.

Investing is much easier to learn – like learning to drive a Honda Jazz. It doesn’t take much to learn it and it is easily understood and put into practice without much difficulty. The trick thereafter is not to crash.

Trading, on the other hand, is a very different skill and mind set. It is akin to driving a Formula 1 car. Unlike the Honda where the manual version has the clutch on the left foot, the F1 car’s clutch is a very different mechanism and is controlled by the right hand. Unlike the Honda which packs less than 80bhp, the F1 car stacks up an earth-shattering 900+bhp which, in untrained and inexperienced hands, could end up killing the driver.

There is so much more to trading than investing. The skills involved are very different, the psychology is worlds apart, the knowledge needed requires way more weeks and even months to acquire and the amount of research needed to be a good investor is nothing compared to the daily research and monitoring the trader is required to do to survive the market day in and day out. Where investing requires little or no practice, trading demands hours and hours of practice time to hone the skill. The financial management skills are also extremely different in that the investor protects his capital by how much he invests while the trader requires a different skill set to manage his finances – its called “cutting loss” – something easier said than done.

So without realizing it, most beginners will pick up an investment book or visit sites hosted by investors or have contributing members who are investors and assume that all that knowledge gained will stand him in good stead as a trader.

And when things don’t work out, it gets confusing. The common query that follows is always, “Why is it others can make it but I can’t?“

You can’t blame the poor fellow because there isn’t much literature on this subject and even some so-called gurus don’t know the difference. But all you have to do to know that this is true is to just look at Wall Street – how come the investors don’t have to be on the floor of the exchange everyday while the ones on the floor everyday are known as traders?

Knowledge … a little of it can kill you quickly while the wrong kind will slowly bleed you to death.

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29th KL International Book Fair 2010

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Ready to learn how to ethically steal TONS of money from other stock market traders with this one indicator?

Sumber:http://financeandmoneyarticles.com/2009/08/24/millionaire-trader-shares-secret-to-reveal-best-indicator/
by Shawn Tilman

Ready to learn how to ethically steal TONS of money from other stock market traders with this one indicator?

Steve Cohen, a master trader, is known to use this indicator for his billion dollar hedge fund company. Mr. Cohen’s trading profits average over 50% a year!

He has some 60 traders working for him. He is a master of watching a stock’s volume.

Volume is one of the most overlooked indicators by amateur traders.

Even if you think you understand volume, you owe it to yourself to read this article to make sure you understand how to correctly interpret volume for massive profits.

The meeting of minds between bulls and bears are represented in each measured unit of volume. The volume is a still picture of the psychology of the crowd trading a particular stock or market. Rising volume confirms the trend while falling volume questions the trend and whether the dominant group can keep it going.

In a downtrend, rising volume shows that panic is setting in as people run for the exists. It also shows the foolish buyers stepping in to buy betting that the market is going to turn around. Remember, in order for a sell order to execute, there has to be a buyer somewhere. Buying into a downtrend is also known as trying to catch a falling knife. It is usually a bad idea to bet that the current trend is going to change. Don’t bet against the wisdom of the crowd. Let some other fool do that. When all the sellers get out, the volume on the downside falls as the downtrend runs out of steam.

In an uptrend, rising volume shows that greed is setting in as people dog pile into the stock. It also shows sellers dumping their position betting that the market is going to turn around. Remember, in order for a buy order to execute, there has to be a seller somewhere. Selling into an uptrend makes sense only if your original profit thesis (target) has been met. When all the buyers are done chasing the stock higher, the volume on the upside falls as the uptrend runs out of steam.

But volume tells more than just the conviction of the current trend. Volume gives traders several useful clues.

A spike in volume on 1 day often signals the beginning of a new trend when it occurs on a breakout from a trading range. A spike in volume like this can also signal the ending of a trend. Very high volume that is 300% or more of the average volume signals market hysteria. This is when fearful bulls finally decide that this uptrend is for real and rush in to buy or it is when fearful bears become convinced that a decline has no bottom and rush in to sell short.

A divergence between volume and price usually means that a stock is at a turning point.

If price rises while volume falls, it is a signal that the uptrend is not attracting very much interest. If price falls to a new low and volume falls at the same time, it is a signal that the downtrend is not attracting very much interest and an upside reversal is likely. Price is more important than volume but a master traders knows how to analyze volume in order to gauge the psychology of market participants.
About the Author:
By Shawn Tilman. May this lesson help you better your trading and make a lot of cash.

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When you are 30’s

Sumber:http://investkk.com/when-you-are-30s/
Life is totally different when you reach above 30. This is what I feel when I reach 30 last year. It’s like the whole responsibility is getting heavier and tougher. Life isn’t as easy as what a lot of people thought of. Our expenses are getting more; prices are getting higher and the worst our salaries are adjusted not to the level of our expenses growth. Are you experiencing the same? What are the major financial decisions that people will face at this stage which will create tremendous impact into your entire financial life? Let us explore and learn from the past as the past is of no value unless you learn from it.

Most of the young adult ended their bachelor life when they reach 30’s. Marriage expenses are considered 2nd biggest financial commitment that new couples have to “save” and spend after purchasing their first dream home. Nowadays wedding dinner per table are reaching easily RM800-RM1000 per table at 5 star hotels with condition not less than 30 tables per session. That means in order to fulfill your dream wedding, both of you need to save at least RM50K-RM80K – ALL IN which very likely this will wipe off your entire saving after so many years of hard work and savings. Is that worth it?
wedding 200x300 When you are 30s

Live in the dream!!

This reminds me that one of my friends who spend RM100K for his wedding dinner at 5 star hotels which he manages to settle his bills immediately after dinner with his credit cards. Yes, with one swipe all his “temporarily debts” is settled. I was so impress with his earning and spending capability at that time as I always admire people who can swipe their single bills amounted to RM100K with single card!! He seen very proud too and I’m also glad as he marrying his lovely wife with the cost of RM100K. The story not ended there as few weeks later he come and see me with the purpose of getting additional financing from his house equity. I was happy thinking he might get additional properties with the money. But too bad, I was wrong and I almost fainted when he told me his credit cards debts have reach RM100K and he can’t afford to repay as the interest is too high!! At last he settled his debts with additional facility from his house equity but the commitment is to be carried for the next 15 years and bear in mind this is excluding honey expenses. I think he is happily married man plus his monthly commitment of RM800. I don’t know whether his wife know about this or not. If I’m his wife I rather kill myself!! My question here is…Don’t you know this is too costly approach to get your “wife”? But why some people still did it? I think a lot of people trying to impress their surrounding people with the thing that they don’t have. By the way, my friend is UK educated professionals!!

At this stage most of the people are planning for their small family and if can it will be perfect to have one pair of kids. This will give the couple the best reasons to stop production and manufacturing line combine with other reasons like increasing costing of child cares, education expenses and the pressure of double income economy, it has force most couple to accept small family concept.
cutebaby031 375x375 300x300 When you are 30s

Life worth more when you have it!!

If you notice around, who is taking care of the kids nowadays? It’s not their own parent but it’s their grandparent or maid. One of my friends, Mr L has acquired one residential property near to schools to be occupied by his parent who is retired. The main purpose is to look after his kids who are studying nearby (walking distance). He is saving a lot of time and money by doing so. That why I foresee continuously rising prices for residential properties in Likas area especially Indah Court, Radiant Court Area and neighboring properties. It was a sudden rise for Indah Court which currently transacted not less than RM220K for 1st floor lately with steady rental yield of 7% per month depending on furnishing. Not only that, the numbers transacted and advertisement for sales in the news also decrease which strongly indicating this area is under going further appreciation due to good rental take up and higher number for owner occupied. I strongly believe a lot of people start to realize that Likas property is a MUST OWN area!!

There is nothing wrong if you got married at this stage but never carry long term debt just to get your spouse. I think your spouse will be happier if you could spend more time with her when your properties start to generate more passive income for her to spent. Like I always say, you are well educated by your parents but will your kids have the same chances like you? Yes they will…provided you do something for them that is save, invest and keep leveraging with calculated risks. Happy Investing

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Forbes 2010 World's Billionaires List

Sumber:http://fortunesense.blogspot.com/2010/03/forbes-2010-worlds-billionaires-list.html
This is the world's top 20 billionaires from the Forbes 2010 world's billionaires list.

RANK NAME CITIZENSHIP AGE NET WORTH ($BIL) RESIDENCE
1 Carlos Slim Helu & family Mexico 70 53.5 Mexico
2 William Gates III United States 54 53 United States
3 Warren Buffett United States 79 47 United States
4 Mukesh Ambani India 52 29 India
5 Lakshmi Mittal India 59 28.7 United Kingdom
6 Lawrence Ellison United States 65 28 United States
7 Bernard Arnault France 61 27.5 France
8 Eike Batista Brazil 53 27 Brazil
9 Amancio Ortega Spain 74 25 Spain
10 Karl Albrecht Germany 90 23.5 Germany
11 Ingvar Kamprad & family Sweden 83 23 Switzerland
12 Christy Walton & family United States 55 22.5 United States
13 Stefan Persson Sweden 62 22.4 Sweden
14 Li Ka-shing Hong Kong 81 21 Hong Kong
15 Jim Walton United States 62 20.7 United States
16 Alice Walton United States 60 20.6 United States
17 Liliane Bettencourt France 87 20 France
18 S. Robson Walton United States 66 19.8 United States
19 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud Saudi Arabia 55 19.4 Saudi Arabia
20 David Thomson & family Canada 52 19 Canada

This year, Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico becomes the world's richest person with the net worth of US $53.5 billion by replaced Bill Gates position.

Bill Gate is ranked number two with net worth of US $53 billion.

Investor Warren Buffett this year becomes the third richest man in the world with net worth of US $ 47 billion.

Mukesh Ambani from India is Asia richest man with the net worth of US $29 billion and is world number four richest man.

For Malaysia, there are 8 Malaysian being listed as having net worth of US $1 billion or around RM 3.4 billion.

The Malaysia's billionaires list is as below,

RANK NAME AGE NET WORTH ($BIL)
89 Ananda Krishnan 71 7.6
189 Lee Shin Cheng 70 4.4
277 Quek Leng Chan 69 3.4
277 Teh Hong Piow 80 3.4
421 Yeoh Tiong Lay & family 80 2.3
655 Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary 58 1.5
828 Vincent Tan NA 1.2
937 Tiong Hiew King 75 1

Ananda Krishnan is still Malaysia richest man with the net worth of US $7.6 billion. Compared to year 2009, Malaysia new billionaires are Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary, Vincent Tan and Tiong Hiew King.

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FCPO-Kisah uncle Dodi 3

Sumber:http://www.rumah.net/2010/01/28/fcpo-trading/#comment-623
Penulis:Dodi
Date:January 28th, 2010
Aku nak cerita sikit pasal investment portfolio yang aku tengah dok experiment sekarang. Actually bermula tahun lepas lagi aku dah main benda alah ni. Cuma tak serius sangat, sebab tak cukup pengetahuan dan pengalaman untuk trade.

Investment ni dipanggil Futures Crude Palm Oil (FCPO), pasaran hadapan minyak sawit mentah. Kalau korang refer posting aku pasal “Kisah Sawit Dulu dan Sekarang” ada aku cerita serba sikit camne aku boleh “terjebak” dalam investment ni. Investment FCPO ni adalah syariah compliance menurut Security Commission (SC) Malaysia. So, boleh trade tanpa was-was. Biasanya, kita yang beginner ni kena masuk kelas belajar tentang asas FCPO (atau disebut juga CPO). Dari situ, kita akan didedahkan dengan cara memahami simbol, indicator, graf, analisa teknikal dan fundamental, juga do’s and don’ts as a trader.

Aku fikir, kelas asas FCPO ni is a must! bagi yang nak berjinak-jinak dalam FCPO trading ni. Kalau tak, mungkin bahaya untuk anda yang masuk tanpa pengetahuan yang mencukupi. Bukan apa, FCPO ni antara high risk investment. Boleh untung, dah boleh juga rugi. Zero sum game. Tak menjanjikan keuntungan yang pasti, malah boleh meleburkan kesemua modal kita sekelip mata kalau silap hari bulan.

Dia bukan sama macam beli saham di stok market biasa, kita beli masa saham murah dan jual balik bila harga saham tu dah naik. Berbeza. Kalau yang suka main Forex, asas dia hampir sama. Tapi aku tak pernah main Forex, so aku takleh bagi ulasan lebih tentang persamaan dan perbezaan antara kedua-dua instrumen pelaburan ni.

Siapa yang anjur kelas asas belajar FCPO?. Kawan-kawan kita jugak. Antara yang aku sendiri rekemen ialah sifu Putra (Nazman). Dia yang ajar dan introduce aku pada FCPO ni dulu. Thanks a lot bro. Jasamu dikenang. Selain dari tu, ada lah lagi beberapa kawan-kawan lain yang dah lama main FCPO yang boleh ajar kita once dah ada asas.

Modal permulaan untuk 1 lot sekarang ni dalam RM5,500 (nilai ni berubah-rubah dan ditentukan oleh Bursa Derivatif Malaysia – MDEX). Lepas tu, elok juga kita top-up lebih sikit untuk prepare “buffer” for margin call, let say dalam RM1,500 gitu. Lepas tu bolehlah kita pilih Future Broker Representative (FBR) yang akan tradekan order kita nanti. Buat masa ni, kita takleh trade sendiri guna real-time software macam Bursa Malaysia, maybe in future kot. Software yang ada hanya untuk kita tengok graf dan indicators, so, setiap kali kita nak buat order, kena call FBR kita.

FCPO ni aku fikir sesuai kalau kita ada lebihan duit yang kita sanggup hilang (the money that you willing to lose). Bukan maksud dia kita tak sayang duit, tapi duit yang kita sanggup laburkan untuk belajar teknik-teknik trading sampai pandai dan cekap. Objektif ni penting untuk kita minimakan risiko kerugian bila kita ingin menambah lot-lot pegangan dalam trading akan datang. Seandainya kita kekurangan modal, lebih baik fokus pada portfolio pelaburan lain yang lebih kurang risiko dan boleh dijangka pergerakannya. Saham dan stock market ni untuk mereka yang ready dari mental dan kewangan sahaja.

Yang paling mencabar sekali bila trade FCPO ni masa kita nak park order. Kita tak boleh predict apa akan jadi dengan pasaran waktu kita nak masuk. Hanya petunjuk-petunjuk (indicators), fundamental news, dan analisa teknikal (TA) yang dapat membantu sedikit sebanyak untuk kita buat keputusan. Semua ni akan ambik masa untuk seseorang tu benar-benar mahir membaca indicators dan memasuki pasaran pada masa yang tepat. Proses ni juga dipanggil “back test” atau “paper trade”. Bila kita dah serasi dengan indicator-indicator yang dapat memberikan keputusan yang paling baik, barulah mudah untuk kita mengharungi cabaran investment FCPO.

Kemahiran membaca graf (chart), menggunakan indicators dan mengagak pergerakan pasaran dapat membantu kita dalam membuat order yang tepat. Disamping tu, jangan bersikap tamak haloba bila nak kaut untung. Just set berapa profit margin yang kita nak, once triggered, keluar dari market.yang paling kita takuti ialah market tidak seiring dengan petunjuk yang kita gunakan. Di sini kita kena set “cut loss” untuk minimakan risiko kerugian. Tak guna melawan trend pasaran, semata-mata “percaya” market akan kembali berubah mengikut prediction kita. Sebab tu orang sakit jantung, lemah semangat dan hypertension tak dinasihatkan main FCPO hehehehehe..

Disiplin trading ni kita kena develop seiring dengan emosi dan keupayaan berfikir secara waras. Kalau ada sifat geram, nak balas dendam dan tertekan, lebih baik kita tunggu sampai semua tu reda dulu sebelum masuk kembali membuat trade. Market bukan buka sehari je, tak best hari ni, esok masih ada. Yang penting modal kita yang diperuntukkan untuk trading masih ada. Kalau habis modal tu, maknanya kita kena masuk kelas balik atau bincang dengan kawan-kawan di mana silapnya teknik yang kita guna pakai. Jangan malas untuk belajar dan perbaiki kesilapan.

Bestnya pasal FCPO ni, kalau kita dah pandai dan cekap dengan teknik-teknik yang dipelajari, dengan 1 lot sahaja, kita mampu untuk jana pulangan yang memberangsangkan. 1 point dalam FCPO bersamaan RM25.00. Jika kita berjaya mendapat untung sebanyak 4 points sehari, bermaksud RM100 telah kita perolehi. Perlu diingat, komisen FBR perlu ditolak dari jumlah keuntungan tersebut (komisen berbeza-beza antara FBR, antara RM25~RM50, bergantung). Jadi anda boleh congak sendiri berapa target untuk dicapai sebulan dari portfolio pelaburan ini.

Cuba tengok graf kat bawah ni, inilah antara perkara-perkara yang kita kena perhatikan setiap kali sesi bermula. Bukan mudah seperti yang disangka. Semuanya memerlukan pengetahuan, pemerhatian, fikiran yang tajam dan gerak naluri (instinct) yang tepat. Pendek kata, kalau kail panjang sejengkal, lautan dalam jangan diduga. Takut nanti tenggelam tak jumpa kubur….eeeeiiiiii… mintak dijauhkanlah :)

So far, aku masih dalam posisi loss!. Untung sekali-sekala, loss berkali-kali kala…heheheh.. Tapi aku dah setkan 1 lot yang aku gunakan ialah “kos belajar”. Kalau nak dapat sesuatu yang “mahal”, kenalah melabur sikit. Kalau dapat gandakan untung jdi 1 lot lagi, aku dah happy. Kita tengoklah macam mana. Kot2 aku dah serik asyik loss saja, mau aku “puasa” dulu atau masuk sekolah FCPO semula untuk belajar lagi sekali hehehe..

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FCPO-Kisah uncle Dodi 2

Sumber:www.rumah.net
Penulis:Dodi

Komen 1:
July 8th, 2009 at 19:07

OK.. boleh mulakan berkenalan dengan CPO melalui blog Encik Kamarruzaman
http://malaysianfutures.blogspot.com/ (lama dah dia tak update tapi masih banyak info berguna dia share). Baca dari posting pertama sampai habis.
Lepas tu, boleh baca artikel2 lain dari web/blog berikut (ada juga cerita tentang FKLI):
http://www.popui.net/
http://motintin.blogspot.com/ (yang ni best..untuk tengok fundamental news & technical analysis)
http://www.mpoc.org.my/Palm_Oil_News.aspx
http://pasaransaham.blogspot.com/
http://www.palmoilhq.com/
http://www.analystpalmoil.com/
http://www.futures2118.blogspot.com/
http://futurestraders.blogspot.com/

Ni pulak nak tengok Live Quotes:
CPO Live quotes – http://www.geocities.com/f_cpo/
ECBOT (minyak soya) – http://data.tradingcharts.com/futures/quotes/ZL.html
NYMEX (minyak mentah) – http://data.tradingcharts.com/futures/quotes/CL_.html
CPO charting – http://futuresource.quote.com/charts/premium.jsp (klik je dekat premium link tu, register kalau dia suruh, nanti boleh pilih macam2)

Cukup tak?.. hahaha.. bagi khatam tu semua, nanti ada lagi..huhu

Komen 2:
July 8th, 2009 at 19:14

Saya petik kata-kata dari sifu Putra di forum PMC:
“cpo.. main dgn bdisiplin, ikut market, korg bleh dpt untung equal to unlimited dividen..
kalu just nk untung skit (x tamak) n nk play safe, stkat nk 2%-6% sbln tuh insyallah.. <— first year trade, kena aktif la tp, learn feel the market
kalu rase confident skit, bleh set 7%-14% sbln, insyallah.. <—- start second year n above
kalu dh betul2 expert dgn TA n FA n biasa dgn market, 15%-30%-60%-infitnity sbln, insyallah.. <—- ni mahu lebih 4 thn pengalaman aktif nih..

cth: xnak tamak, skadar untung, low risk low gain
modal rm10k (bleh main 1 lot).. shari amik untung rm20-rm70 shj.. sbln ade 18-23hari trade..
katakan average rm45 shari untung.. 15 hari untung, 5 hari rugi.. 15-5 = 10 hari untung
rm45×10 = rm450… wow rm450 sbln 4.5% dividen sbln, sama dgn sewa tratak muhibah.. modal rm10k jer tp..”

Komen 3:

free demo chart cpo :
ada yang free.. boleh tengok dekat
http://futuresource.quote.com/charts/premium.jsp

ada jugak yang broker firm sediakan, cuma kena register ID dengan mereka. contoh di http://www.itradecimb.com

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FCPO-Kisah uncle Dodi

Sumber:http://www.rumah.net/2009/07/06/kisah-sawit-dulu-dan-kini/#comment-618
Penulis:Dodi
Date:July 6th, 2009

Cerpen hari ni, aku nak cerita pasal kelapa sawit pulak hehehe..

Kelapa sawit ni memang ada kena-mengena rapat dengan aku. Lepas aku lahir je ke dunia ni, 6 bulan lepas tu ayah dan mak aku dapat offer masuk rancangan Felda di Bukit Kuantan, Pahang.


Memandangkan masa tu pun, ayah aku hidup susah kat kampung. Keje tak menentu, bak kata orang, kais pagi makan pagi. Musim bersawah, dia ambik upah kerjakan sawah, kadang tu sanggup naik keretapi dari Kelantan ke Kedah semata-mata nak ambik upah banting padi. Berapa sen sangatlah upah dia dapat, tapi dari pada poket kering, gagahkan jugaklah merantau cari rezeki.

Kalau takde keje sangat pun, dia akan bantu ayah dia jaga kerbau ngan lembu. Itu aje lah kerja di kampung untuk sara anak yang dah masuk 4 orang masa tu. Resmi orang susah, asyik kena sindir dan dihina sebab selalu mintak bantuan dan ihsan keluarga dan saudara mara.

Terdesak dengan kesempitan hidup, offer masuk Felda diterima walaupun terpaksa tinggalkan kampung halaman. Sanggup masuk hutan yang baru diteroka bagi tanaman kelapa sawit. Antara inisiatif Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak dulu.

Aku yang masih baby ni dikendong bersama-sama masa pindah dari Kelantan ke Pahang. Seriau gak dengar cerita masa awal-awal duduk Felda. Apa binatang buas yang takde, semua masih ada lagi merayau-rayau dekat hutan berdekatan. Malam-malam lagi la binatang2 tu merayau2 dekat tepi rumah. Tambah pulak ayah aku antara batch pertama ditempatkan kat situ, basically binatang buas lagi banyak dari orang. Kalau korang penah tengok filem Lurah Bilut, cenggitu la senario dia.

Fast forward. Hari ni, ayah aku masih lagi dengan sawitnya. Ada kebun 10 ekar, dah dapat geran atas nama dia dah, dan dapat lagi suku ekar tanah tapak rumah. Not bad kan, at least berbaloi jugaklah dengan penat lelah dia selama ni. Aku tak cerita lagi kat dia, camne dia boleh “buat duit” dan passive income dari semua tanah2 tu tanpa perlu jual pun. Nak cerita pun kena tengok time jugak, kang tak pasal2 dituduh nak exploit rete mak bapak hahaha…

Yang aku nak relate sekarang ialah hari ni aku pun dah mula berkecimpung dengan sawit.. hehehe.. tapi bukan usahakan kebun ayah aku atau kebun sawit sendiri, aku belajar trading minyak sawit mentah.

Pernah dengar kan, FCPO (future crude palm oil)? Kira macam main stock market biasa jugak, tapi yang ni produk dia minyak sawit. Shariah compliant, so tak perlu was-was pasal halal haram. Ada sikit perbezaan dengan stock market di Bursa Malaysia. Kita kena cekap buat Technical analysis (TA) dan Fundamental analysis (FA).

Penghujung tahun lepas (tak silap aku), sifu Putra dibantu sifu Hanan buat kelas FCPO untuk member2 PMC. Ekslusif kelas ni sebab hanya terbuka kepada mereka yang follow blog pie2020 aje. Aku kira antara yang bernasib baik masuk batch pertama kelas FCPO dengan sifu Putra. Sekarang ni dah beberapa sesi telah dijalankan. “Graduan” kelas tu pun dah start real trade FCPO.

Apa yang aku belajar dalam kelas tu memang banyak. Sampai ke hari ni, tak semua aku reti apply pun. Belajar nak tengok graf. Pahamkan candlestick, gunakan indicator, analisis fundamental news dan macam-macam lagi. Tapi yang paling penting ialah macam mana nak park order bila semua indicator dah confirm ikut trend dan momentum semasa. hahaha.. yang ni lah paling susah nak apply.

Sifu putra cakap, kena “main” atau real trade baru dapat “feel” dia.

Lepas abis kelas tu, modal takde lagi, so setakat apply “paper trade” saja lah. Margin untuk 1 lot masa tu lebih kurang RM8,000. Margin tu boleh naik dan turun ikut keadaan. Biasa FBR (future broker representative) akan maklumkan kalau ada perubahan.

Nak main FCPO ni takleh main belasah aje. Kena paham hakikat “spend the money that you’re willing to lose”. Elok kalau kita guna lebihan duit (samada dari bonus ke, dividen ke, profit pelaburan lain ke, etc.) untuk jadikan modal FCPO. Kalau guna duit gaji, takut nangis je bila loss huhu..

April 2009, aku start bukak akaun FCPO dengan FBR Apex Securities Berhad. HQ dia kat Kajang, so senang la nak pegi situ. Aku letak modal untuk 1 lot je dulu plus sedikit “buffer” untuk margin call. Proses dia tak susah mana pun, isi borang, transfer duit masuk akaun, dapat trading ID, dah boleh trade dalam masa seminggu dua gitu.

Lepas account dah aktif, aku tak terus trade sebab tak berapa confident nak park order hahaha.. ye la, buatnya salah park selamba loss. 1 point = RM25.00, kasi kira sendiri la kalau hilang 50 points ka..heheh.. sapa yang tau, tentu paham kan perasaan loss berpuluh-puluh point dalam 1 trade session saja.

Ni contoh cara nak park order FCPO yang aku praktik hasil tunjuk ajar sifu putra lepas dah confirm dengan semua indicator yang kita guna pakai:

Aku: “Hallo this is . I want to place an order. Sell stop @2100 limit 2099. Buy back at @2090 (10 points profit). Cut loss @2110 (10 points)” — Ni kalau kita nak park Jual dulu, Beli kemudian kalau market trend tengah bearish (harga sedang jatuh).

FBR: “wait a moment. OK your order has been keyed-in.”

Aku: “Call me once my order triggered. TQ”

FBR:“OK, I’ll call you”.

Lepas je park order, bolehla buat kerja lain. Sekali-sekala boleh jenguk chart tengok trend dan indicator. Kot2 order tak trigger lagi, boleh cancel atau ubah order. Kalau order triggered, masa ni lah yang berdebar tunggu FBR call balik. Samada kita akan dapat profit or loss. FCPO ni zero-sum game, takde win-win situation. Either you win or lose. Sebab tu kena belajar dari yang mahir teknik dan disiplin masuk pasaran.

Sekarang ni, kalau ada masa dan sempat monitor chart, aku memang akan masuk pasaran bila confident dengan all indicators. Ambik profit pun kecik je, dalam 3~6 points. Target aku tahun pertama just nak maintain RM500~RM1000 sebulan melalui FCPO. Still dalam stage belajar.

So, kalau ayah aku jual buah sawit kat kampung, aku plak jual sawit virtual (pasaran hadapan). Kira bapak borek anak rintik lah ni..hehe..

Kepada yang masih blur ape kebende FCPO ni, nanti aku share website2 yang korang boleh get some idea on this thingie. Lepas tu boleh pujuk sifu Putra buat kelas special untuk korang. Biasa offer kelas sifu putra ni limited saja. Rajin-rajin la masuk forum PMC.

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What is the Latte Factor?

Sumber:kclau.com
What is the Latte Factor? This phrase is coined by David Bach, author of various financial books such as The Automatic Millionaire, Smart Women Finish Rich, Start Late, Finish Rich, Fight for Your Money and Smart Couples Finish Rich. Each and every one of us has our own Latte Factor. Each of us throw away or spend our money on “little” daily expenditures. These small daily expenditures will add up and actually have a significant impact on your financial well-being.

For example, forgoing the purchase of a pack of cigarettes (RM6 – RM10 per pack) and a cup of coffee a day can save a person about RM10 per day in Malaysia. In one month, it is a savings of RM300 (RM10 x 30). If that person saves RM300 every month and invest it at 7% annual return, the amount will accumulate as follows:

# Years………………………………………………………………….Money accumulated
1 year………………………………………………………………………….$3,905.5
2 years…………………………………………………………………………$8,084.4
10 years……………………………………………………………………….$53,960.1
20 years……………………………………………………………………….$160,107.9
30 years……………………………………………………………………….$368,916.6
40 years……………………………………………………………………….$779,674.9

Note: The above was calculated using the Latte Factor Calculator found at www.finishrich.com

Finding out what is your Latte Factor will enable you to save that extra amount which may not seem much at the time but will be a substantial amount years later. This is one idea that I will definitely be imparting to my children starting at a young age.

The times have changed now where temptations are all around us. Our children are bombarded with marketing campaigns to purchase items or material things based on the idea that they need it and deserve to own it. Hence, it is not surprising to hear our kids talk about the latest games, gadgets or other must haves.

During my younger days, it was easier to save money without all the temptations and enticements. It has become more urgent that parents educate their children on the pitfalls of the Latte Factor. It may only be a few dollars spent a day now but may accumulate to ten times more if it is not curbed soon enough. A dollar saved a day becomes $30 in a month. Invest the amount continuously compounding at 7% annually and the money will accumulate to $77,967.5 in 40 years. Double the amount to $2 daily and you will get $155,935. This shows that any small amount saved is still money in the bank compared to having nothing at all.

I wished that someone had taught me about this idea when I was still in high school. I would have loved to see the amount of money accumulated after compounding yearly. The money would have been great to have as a retirement fund or even education fund for my own kids. Hence, I would want my kids to have the choice now to decide how they want to spend their money. Time will be on their side to ensure their money will grow slowly but surely.

Do you think it will be beneficial to teach your children especially your teenage children about the Latte Factor?

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When you are 20’s

Sumber:http://investkk.com/when-you-are-20s/
Life isn’t same anymore after you leave your university. If you are lucky your parent might support you extra month for your holiday. But if you are unlucky like me, you will start finding the best job suited to your area of expertise to earn for a living the moment you get your education recognition. On average most of the young people are starting their career life at the age of 24. Some are earlier but some are late. I’m pretty lucky started at the age of 20. Yes…I have been working for 10 years. It’s like speed of light. Things happen too fast for me but at least I have something in my hand now. How about you? What you have done to yourself for the past 10 years? Did you getting wealthier? More experience and knowledgeable? Or you are getting worst financially and started blaming surrounding environment? Let me share my view on what have this group has done to themselves financially that might wipe off their entire lifetime earnings.

What is the feeling you have after receiving your first salary from your 30 days of hard work? Are you happy with it? Is that enough? In general, I believe it’s enough as most of your daily expenses are subsidies by your parents. But what is the mistake that people always make at this junction? Buying a car!! Yes this is the biggest mistake that most of the youngest make simply because it’s a ‘depreciating” asset. Have you ever heard people making money buying car? Of course yes especially limited edition like Ferrari, Lamborghini, 911, Bugatti and Classic car.
bugatti100 2 283x300 When you are 20s

"Costing few millions"

But have you heard any salon car, Ninja King, or Pajero Car when up in terms of the value after few years driving? NEVER!! You must remember car is only for “transport” and it will not make you richer the moment you drive it. You will only gain if you are buying buses or taxi for commercial purposes. Otherwise, you are losing money every day not counting on your monthly petrol and maintenances yet which easily reach RM500 per month. Including your monthly bank installment say RM600 plus another monthly seasons parking of RM100. Virtually you are spending more than 40% your monthly income just to settle your transport problem (if you are earning RM3000 per month). This is excluding your foods and your entertainment.

Most of the time I feel shy whenever people talk and share their happy holiday overseas. Frankly my passport was not renew since last year as I know I will not go for travelling the next 2 years. I know life is fun and enjoying when you visited other places and with the further help from Air Asia, I believe it does lower our travelling expenses.
"Everyone can fly now"

"Everyone can fly now"

But it’s still not significant enough to convince myself that why I should spend that much of money for enjoyment. For me at the end of the day, whatever you spend for pleasure is equal to “zero”. Of course some of you might say the experience is different. But frankly how many of you will learn and remember while you travel? I don’t think so. I’m not here to restrict you from travelling but please bear in mind, your hard earn money is getting tough to save day by day. If you don’t capitalize on your current resources for investment, do you think you will still have the resources when you reach above 30’s? Hoping for your boss to increase your paid and bonuses so that you can start your first property investment? Stop dreaming ok… Life is all about you yourself.

Another mistake that the youngster group always make is buying a wrong property for owner occupied. I came across a lot of youngest buying big house for owner occupied. Some even worst spending their entire saving to renovate the whole house and furnish it with furniture but only 2 persons stay inside. Not only that, the wife also taking part renovating the whole kitchen ending up only cooks simply foods like Maggie Mee!!
"Commonly cook at youngster kitchen"

"Commonly cook at youngster kitchen"

Am I correct? Maybe? But this is what I see from people surrounding me. To own double storey terrace house now in KK easily costing you upfront cash of not less than RM82K or more. Let us analyze below case:
Mr. AA and Mrs. AA are newly married couple and their would like to buy a unit of DSTH at Kingfisher for RM300K. The breakdown of the costing would be:
Down payment 10%: RM30K
Legal Fees + Stamp duty for SPA: RM8K (estimated)
Loan agreement + Stamp Duty: RM4K (estimated)
Minor renovation: RM 20K (some built in cabinet)
Furniture: RM20K (including kitchen and living room)
But there are some problems that this young couple needs to settled before they can own their dream home that is:
1. To earn combined monthly income of not less than RM5K
2. To have upfront cash of RM80K
3. To have extra monthly cash flow of RM300-RM500 for utility bills and general maintenance
4. To get bank approval for 90% financing
I’m not discouraging you all from buying property for owner occupied. But please bought house which is affordable with reasonable monthly commitments and cash outflow. At least this will help you in increasing for other asset acquisition.

My advice to the youngster is that please do not waste your resource especially when you are young. Your hard earn money should work harder than yourself. You are the CEO for yourself. But if you fail to plan for yourself, do you think you going to have enjoying life when more and more commitments comes when you reach above 30’s? For me I always believe in 2/60 rules. Yes this CK rules. Do you want to suffer first 2 years then enjoy the rest of 60 years or you want to enjoy the first 2 year then suffer the rest of 60 years? Make your choices.

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4 Tips to Beat the NEXT Crisis

Friday, March 5, 2010
4 Tips to Beat the NEXT Crisis
by Sean Brodrick

The politicians in Washington tell us the economy is recovering. Well, maybe so ... as long as you don't need a job. The problems facing this country — in debt, energy, lost jobs, unbalanced budgets and more — continue to mount. In short, I think we're headed for a head-on collision with hard times. Are you going to be ready? I've got 4 tips to help you do just that.

Economic dark clouds are gathering over the country like mile-high thunderheads ...

Jobs Depression. Sure, sure, GDP is rising ... on a tide of government spending. U.S. manufacturing is growing too, as long as you don't mind that a growing slice of the parts used in "U.S." manufacturing are made in China. Meanwhile, jobs are vanishing. Twenty-nine million Americans either can't find jobs or can't find full-time work. Do you think that's going to improve as long as companies can ship American jobs overseas where someone will work for $3 a day? Heck, no. It's going to get worse!

Budget Implosion. Yes, the national debt of the U.S. has doubled in less than eight years, but I'm sick of talking about the ballooning U.S. budget gap. For a different dose of awful, let's talk about the states. Across America, states are running deep in the red, and together, face a shortfall of $156 billion in fiscal 2010, according to The Economic Policy Institute.

Florida, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York are all facing severe funding crises, and they're just the tip of the iceberg. And the head of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Diamond, says California's $20 billion budget deficit is worse than anything facing Greece or other financially troubled countries in Europe. Since California is the world's eighth-largest economy, that should set off alarm bells!

State budget deficits will likely be resolved with layoffs and budget cuts, which will hammer local economies and worsen the downward spiral.

Energy Crisis Dead Ahead. After over 18 months of recession, world oil consumption is roaring back to its pre-crash peak. The International Energy Agency says oil demand will probably hit 86.5 million barrels a day this year. That is equal to a thousand barrels a second. The growth in demand isn't in the U.S. — we're using oil at 2005 levels. Instead, it's the growth in China, India and other emerging markets that is driving global demand now.

Meanwhile, on the supply side, new oil discoveries peaked decades ago, as this chart from the Association for the Study of Peak Oil shows ...
World oil discover over 10-years periods (source ASPO)

Starting in 2011, we'll see a drop of just over 4 million barrels per day from the fields that are currently producing about 85 million barrels a day. After 2014, world production will go into steeper and steeper decline.

The Road to Famine. World food demand is projected to increase 100% by 2050 due to a rapidly expanding population in countries such as China and India. And yet, 963 million people, 14% of the world's population, are already chronically hungry. Do you think you're immune? The food on your dinner table travels an average 1,500 miles to get to your plate. Think again!

I could go on, but a whole list of all the problems facing us can seem overwhelming, and it's probably too early for you to start drinking. I don't think these problems will hit next week, but they are growing, and time is a luxury we cannot afford to waste. Here's the good news: You don't have to sit there like a lump and wait for bad news to smack you in the face. You can stand up and fight back!

What am I doing? It all boils down to the Three P's — Plan, Prepare and be Proactive. In other words, I'm trying to take an honest assessment of the problems facing the country and me personally. I'm preparing both physically (storing food, water and more) and financially. And I'm trying to be proactive — spending a little now to save a lot of potential pain down the road.

I cover many of the basics of what "prepping," as it's called, in my new book, The Ultimate Suburban Survivalist Guide. And when it comes to finances, you should be using these good times to get ready. And if you don't think these are the good times, brother, you don't want to know about the potential bad times.

Let me give you some basic ideas on what you can do in your portfolio ...

#1) Move Your Money. Do you trust the big banks? I sure don't. I think they're so crooked they have to screw on their pants in the morning. The bailouts they've received by their bought-and-paid-for pals in Washington should be criminal. And the bad behavior was never punished, which increases the odds that the big banks are going to mess up big-time again. Do you think that Wall Street banks will get another bailout? I think that's unlikely — the American people are downright furious! So I don't want my money in their banks when the manure hits the fan AGAIN.

I'm happy to say that my family has joined the "Move Your Money" campaign. We've moved our money from a large, global bank to a couple of smaller, local credit unions and community banks. Community banks are typically more conservative about how they manage their money. I certainly don't have to worry about them using my taxpayer dollars to hand out billion-dollar bonuses.

I checked on Bankrate.com to find out which banks in my area are the most financially secure — a precaution I recommend for anyone thinking of making the same move. And you can google "Move Your Money" for more information on this movement.

It's not just individuals who are doing this. Cities as big as New York and Los Angeles are fed up and considering moving their money to local community banks as well.

#2) Buy Gold While It's Still Cheap. We're all used to gold going down when the dollar goes up. But a funny thing happened in February — gold and the dollar started going up at the same time. And this new trend is continuing.

I think this is because both gold and the dollar are seen as safe havens by Europeans who are worried about their currency, the euro. As I explained in a recent video, "Opportunity in Gold and the Dollar," we saw the same thing in 2005 ... when Europeans were worried about the euro.

The dollar's rally ended in 2006, when it slumped again. As for gold — in 2006, it continued to accelerate higher, helped along by a falling dollar.

You see, when the dollar was rising, it kept a leash on gold's gains. When the dollar started to slump, gold was able to bolt ahead.

So, if you think gold is pricey now ... just you wait!

I prefer to own physical gold for the long term, but you can always buy the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) or ETFS Gold Trust (SGOL) if you're just doing it for a trade.

#3) Buy Gold Miners While They're Still Cheap. You can play the coming rally with any gold ETF, but I think gold miners look cheaper right now. If you don't like buying individual miners, consider the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) or one of the other funds or ETFs that holds a basket of miners.

Now, why buy gold miners if I think hard times are coming? First, if the U.S. dollar slumps the way I think it will, stocks will probably head higher. That's because they're priced in dollars, so it takes more dollars to buy them.

Secondly, in the Great Depression, when many stocks weren't worth toilet paper, select gold miners did well. That's because the price of gold did well, and they were real companies producing a real asset.

And that brings me to my fourth recommendation ...

#4) Ride The Market Megatrends. Not all things financial are headed down the tubes. The commodity supercycle is real and we're seeing it play out as China, India and other emerging markets buy more and more metals, energy, and other commodities to feed their economic expansions. Commodities should continue to outperform going forward.
While other sectors are headed down the tubes, commodities should continue to outperform going forward.
While other sectors are headed down the tubes, commodities should continue to outperform going forward.

Meanwhile, America's baby boomers are aging. They're going to be looking for income, and with bonds paying piddly yields, they'll probably load up on dividend-paying stocks. And what are some stocks that pay some of the best dividends? Commodity stocks!

Put those two trends together and you should have some stocks that will outperform the market, pay you nice dividends and potentially rack up solid price appreciation, too.

You can find these stocks on your own. If you're looking for dividends, as a rule of thumb, you want stocks that pay at least a 3% dividend. Just be careful, and be aware that when it comes to stocks that pay dividends, it can be hard to tell the turkeys from the eagles.

The good news is I have a new publication, Crisis Profit Hunter, that has a bushel of recommendations in dividend-paying natural resource stocks — as well as non-dividend-paying recommendations that should protect your portfolio and even profit as crises hit in water, food, energy and more.

Crisis Profit Hunter recognizes that ...

A big commodity bull market is in place, and there are truly huge profits to be made there.

The U.S. dollar is in big trouble, as is our banking system. While there may be short-term rallies, you should use those to prepare for the next down-turn.

The torch of leadership in the global economy may be passing from America to the emerging markets — and there are profits to be made on that mega-trend as well.

America is at the intersection of multiple crises that we haven't seen in our lifetimes, if ever. And there are ways to invest to help protect and profit from those crises.

There are actions you can take as an individual to protect yourself, along the lines of my new book, The Ultimate Suburban Survivalist Guide.

You'll find all this and more, every month, in Crisis Profit Hunter. And now, for a very short time, I'm offering a special subscription price — just $89 for one year.

These ARE the good times. The hard times are coming. You can protect yourself, profit, and prepare, but you've got to start now. Sign up for Crisis Profit Hunter today — CLICK HERE.

Yours for trading profits,

Sean

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Life Insurance Mistakes To Avoid

Sumber:http://www.richdadwisdom.com/2010/02/life-insurance-mistakes-to-avoid/
Most of us know what life insurance is: you pay a monthly or annual premium and in return the insurance company pays your nominated beneficiary or estate a lump sum when you die. Over the years life insurance has grown, with a multitude of policies to suit nearly every kind of need.

1. Buying Life Insurance From Mortgage Lenders When Arranging A Loan

Another common mistake is buying life insurance from a mortgage lender or bank who is lending the individual money to buy a home. Banks like to cross sell a variety of products to their customers, and when individuals seek financing for the purchase of a home, they suddenly become a captive audience to the bank who is making the loan.

The financial institution will try and add on a variety of insurance products in addition to the mortgage or loan they are making, and the deals on offer may not always be the best deals that can be picked up were the individual to approach an insurance adviser or a specialist.

It is better to buy life insurance from a specialist financial adviser, largely because they have a better understanding of the products on offer, and how they compare to rival products and probably have a bigger offering.

Individuals should also not be afraid to make an adviser work for their money and feel no pressure to commit. Advisers may be commission driven and financial products such as life insurance provide remuneration to advisers through a commission structure.

2. Life Cover through superannuation fund providers

Life insurance through your superannuation fund may seem like an easy option, but just make sure you read the fine print.

A life insurance policy through your super fund may not cover you for the right amount. This means that if something does go wrong, you may be severely underinsured, leaving your loved ones with insufficient funds during an emotionally turbulent time.

3. Buying Life Insurance directly without underwriting

Life insurance products sold directly without underwriting, often sold aggressively via television advertising, may cost double compared to equivalent cover which is fully underwritten.

Another point to note is that non underwritten types of life insurance policies often have exclusions on previous medical history.

Speak to your trusted insurance adviser about your personal life insurance needs and compare different life insurance quotes.

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Silver is Real Money

One reason for silver's surging investment potential is simple: Silver is real money.

With government spending getting out of control, silver is where the smart money is going.
Remember that during the similar economic climate of the 1970's, silver went on an unprecedented rocket ride from $1.29 per ounce to just shy of $50... an increase of nearly 3,733%.

And while I can't guarantee that you'll see a 3,733% return over the next few years, I believe you could make a heck of a lot more money in silver over the next few years than you could holding ordinary stocks, bonds, or mutual funds... and even gold.
Take a look at these two charts showing the demand for silver coins — what I consider to be real money --taking off:

Fundamental changes in the market like these could send silver soaring to $50, $100 and even back to historical highs above $1,000/oz (in 2009 dollars).

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Silver to Gold Ratio

Sumber:The ratio gold and silver it is the number of Kilogrammes of silver which one can buy with one kilogramme of gold.


This ratio has varied greatly through history :
90 Was the ratio of silver to gold when the price of an ounce of silver was at a low in 1991. With one kilogram of gold one could buy 90 kilograms of silver.

51Was the average ratio of the price of gold to silver in 2007.

17 Was the gold / silver ratio at the time of the record gold and silver prices in 1980.

15 Was the official ratio of gold to silver during the great period of Bi metallism, 15 ½ for France (1803), 15.68 for the USA (1800), 14,29 for England (1806).

12 Was the gold/silver ratio in Antiquity in Rome.

12.5 Was the ratio in Greece at the time of the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

The ratio of production and reserves of gold and silver:



13 Is the ratio of world production from 1493 to 1931. For this 400 year period 13 times more silver than gold was produced.

8 Was the ratio of silver to gold production in the world in 2006. What is being said is that eight times more silver than gold was produced in 2006.

7.64 It the ratio of all production of gold and silver during one century (1900-2003). In the 103 year period, there was 7.64 times more silver than gold produced in the world.

6.4 Was the ratio of the ground reserves of silver to gold in 2000.

- It is astonishing to see that we produce 8 times more silver than gold, that the reserves are 6 times larger, but that the price of the silver is 50 times lower.




- Over the period of the history one kilo of gold was exchanged between 10 and 90 kilograms of silver, today it is exchanged at 51.

- During the raw materials bear market, silver suffered much more than gold. Silver has already caught up with part of the lag in its price, but there still is a way to go.

The price of an ounce of silver will continue to increase more quickly than that of gold. For example, if the gold price rises 100%, the price of silver can increase between 100 and 600% depending on the evolution of the ratio.

With gold at 2000 dollars, the price of an ounce of silver may be between 40 and 100 dollars. As more time passes it is more probable that the ratio will go lower, be patient.

Dr Thomas Chaize

The ratio gold and silver it is the number of Kilogrammes of silver which one can buy with one kilogramme of gold.


This ratio has varied greatly through history :
90 Was the ratio of silver to gold when the price of an ounce of silver was at a low in 1991. With one kilogram of gold one could buy 90 kilograms of silver.

51Was the average ratio of the price of gold to silver in 2007.

17 Was the gold / silver ratio at the time of the record gold and silver prices in 1980.

15 Was the official ratio of gold to silver during the great period of Bi metallism, 15 ½ for France (1803), 15.68 for the USA (1800), 14,29 for England (1806).

12 Was the gold/silver ratio in Antiquity in Rome.

12.5 Was the ratio in Greece at the time of the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

The ratio of production and reserves of gold and silver:



13 Is the ratio of world production from 1493 to 1931. For this 400 year period 13 times more silver than gold was produced.

8 Was the ratio of silver to gold production in the world in 2006. What is being said is that eight times more silver than gold was produced in 2006.

7.64 It the ratio of all production of gold and silver during one century (1900-2003). In the 103 year period, there was 7.64 times more silver than gold produced in the world.

6.4 Was the ratio of the ground reserves of silver to gold in 2000.

- It is astonishing to see that we produce 8 times more silver than gold, that the reserves are 6 times larger, but that the price of the silver is 50 times lower.




- Over the period of the history one kilo of gold was exchanged between 10 and 90 kilograms of silver, today it is exchanged at 51.

- During the raw materials bear market, silver suffered much more than gold. Silver has already caught up with part of the lag in its price, but there still is a way to go.

The price of an ounce of silver will continue to increase more quickly than that of gold. For example, if the gold price rises 100%, the price of silver can increase between 100 and 600% depending on the evolution of the ratio.

With gold at 2000 dollars, the price of an ounce of silver may be between 40 and 100 dollars. As more time passes it is more probable that the ratio will go lower, be patient.

Dr Thomas Chaize

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