Responsible investing [2016/1/2]

Millennial generation is engaged in socially responsible investments.

This is good news but there are two caveats.

First, social responsible (SR) measures are noisy and still being developed. It is challenging to measure social responsible well and there is a high chance that firms may just dupe the investors by checking the box. Hence, it is important for the millennial generation to do their own due diligence. Millennials can start by looking at innovation.org and givewell.org. Of course, SR may not always coincide with charity work but it gives a good indication what problems are there and need to be solved.

Second, social responsible may not be optimal. It may seem following certain procedures may help society but may be ineffective. For instance, diversity for only diversity sake alone may not be so beneficially. Also, certain recycling procedures may be prohibitively expensive and inefficient and there may be better ways to offset the pollution.

Third, there are better ways to solve problems than investing. The best way is to not use a company's product that is really doing harm. If you think the product produces so much pollution, don't consume it and urge others not to buy as well. If you think certain retailers labor practices are bad then don't shop there. Vote with your feet.

Hence, it is great that Millennials are more conscious but they must be aware of the shortcoming of social responsible investments. This will allow them to make better decisions and improve the world.

Calling out Bill Gross?! [2015/7/9]

 Bill Gross has been called out for not following through his trade idea of shorting China.

It is highly likely that the people who called out Bill Gross either do not know how to

invest or trade, or they like to complain at everything.

First, institutional trading is quite complex because it is not easy to move massive

amounts of money at once and the institution has to ensure that proper risk

management is in place.

Second, many institutions have many investment thesis and they have their own

investment decision process.

It is likely that Janus decided not to follow the short China trade either due to risk

concerns or they had other perceived higher profitable trades.

People should really examine their track records before they call out Bill Gross. Yes, he

has messed up recently and got fired from PIMCO. But he is the best bond manager of

all times.

To learn about Bill Gross' amazing performance and career, please listen to Masters of Business podcast.



From Snapshot Serengeti

What I have learned today [2015/7/3]

1. Artist sculpted everything, he ate in a year. I like this type of creativity. Also, reminds that we should consume less and care more for others,

2, Writing daily posts is challenging. Need creativity and discipline.

3.  It takes time and effort to hire good freelancers at Upwork.

4. HR has lagged behind because it overemphasizes that issues that do not matter (things that are in the domain of the executives such as culture) and do not explain their actions well. Plus, big data is threatening HR practice.

5. Always look for catalysts, if there is no catalyst then firms can be undervalued for sometime.






From Snapshot Serengeti

What I have learned today [2015/5/6]

1. Iran is one of the largest pistachio producers.

2. You can avoid high credit card utilization rate by paying off the balance before the statement is due and always increasing credit.

3. When in doubt about administrative issues or situations, ask the senior people. They will tell you what needs to be done.

4. Commercial wines are usually clear. And usually with time, the wine will become darker.

5. Russia is large but almost considered landlocked given that most rivers do not lead to the sea.

6. In investing, be ruthless in self-assessment. See whether your original thesis worked and be brutally honest.

7. Griffith Park has an abandoned zoo.




*From Floating Forests

What I have learned today [2015/5/4]

1. For profit college, Corinthian college is going bankrupt. I thought of investing at one point, thinking that market solution could be more effective in reforming education. However, with distorted incentives caused by student loans, nope....But....I am sure some for profit colleges do bring value to the world. Need to do some due diligence.

2. Helvetica is preferred font for resumes.

3. Gold miners may be hitting bottom. Well, I hope so. I have been waiting for a while. But I will not move until I see more upward movement.

4. Stocks may be still cheap due to low interest rate....mmm...

5. Apparently, Korean meat is not processed in the most sanitary conditions...shame on the butchers...come on...we can't treat food like that. More reason to have more imported beef so there is more competition to raise quality.




*From Penguin Watch

What I have learned today [2015/5/2]

1. Littlebits provides blocks of hardware that by magnet which enables individuals to learn about engineering :D They look awesome. I will get one soooon [Need to save first]

 2. Many firms have weird names such as Blonder Tongue Laboratories and New Found Shrimp....Yup, one of the things, you learn when you clean the data a lot.

3. Really, wonder how to data base firms verify data...Yes, there is quite lot of mistakes...

4. Garage sales are quite interesting and if you have some time, you can really get things cheaply and even make a profit by reselling.

5. Net-net sort of works in international markets where there is some inefficiency.

6. You can speed up matching if you do it in chunks...Yeah...I knew this but always relied on brute power until my computer froze...

7. Tesla batteries could really make remote living quite more comfortable.





*From Penguin Watch

What I have learned today [2015/4/21]

1. You can clean dirty carpets with thick salt. Rub it hard and the dust will come off.

2. Coffee with butter may be good for you? The argument is that butter and caffeine work well together and makes you super energetic.Putting on my to do list :p

3. Mr. Womack was a rice farmer and hog raiser who never lost money in market for 40 years. He invested in undervalued solid companies when markets were crashing. The principle is solid but implementing is quite difficult. Now we face more competition from smarter investors and screaming undervalued firms are rare. Also, it is really hard to define what is a solid company. A company may seem great for one person but look quite risky to another. So in sum, Mr. Womack's lessons are important but hard to implement...

4. Very soon machines will replace a substantial number of  minimum wage workers...

5. Wow...did not know that restaurant profit margin was about 4%. According to a journalist estimate, 36% goes to labor, 30% for food, and 30% for other operational costs...

6. America's population is aging fast, meaning senior residential properties will be good investments. I also predict that adult diapers will be a good investment. You can already buy them in bulk in Costco.

7. Matching data is trickier than you think :p Randomly  looking data does not imply randomness....




*From Penguin Watch

What I have learned today [2015/4/17]

1. Crickets not the magic bullet for food safety. There are some tweaks needed for optimal production of crickets as protein sources. I am not so surprised because nothing is really perfect and requires constant improvement.


2. You can die from a broken heart. Rush of stress hormones can shock the heart. The immune system suffers. Wow...better guard my heart...


3, Music has different effect on different people when sleeping. Yup, nothing is a one size fits all solution. Need to experiment with yourself. I like listening to slow and low praise songs before sleeping.


4. Venezuela and Iran heavily subsidize oil prices to win political support. Excessive subsidies are never a good idea because it creates inefficient consumption (e.g. waste) and high opportunity costs (money that could be on education). Well, given the historical low oil prices, it does make sense to slowly decrease the subsidies for a better future.


5.  George Soros' investing styles include  investing in markets that there are disruptions and exploiting politics. Well, it makes sense but in market disruptions, you really don't know what is going on. Often even experts are wrong. Also, exploiting politics? Hmmm...not my cup of tea.



*From Snapshot Serengeti

Random Thoughts and Reactions [2015/4/17]

1. After playing Snapshot Serengeti, playing Chicago Wildlife Watch is quite boring...no exciting animals...and most of the times, I am just marking people and cars. But still documenting and studying urban ecology is still important.


*oh, a standing squirrel...
*From Chicago Wildlife Project

2. Quora is an awesome tool to ask and answer questions but often we see questions that are obviously written by too lazy people who cannot or refuses to use Google or Wikipedia.

3. Ideas sound good when you talk among friends but instantly face sudden death when we try to write it down and work out the details.....Oh why....does it only sound good in my head.


*This is how I feel like when my ideas are actually examined...
*From  Wikipedia entry

4. Do not fear because the Lord is with You :D

5. When investing always think of the downside, what could go wrong.

What I have Learned Today [2015/4/13]

1. In investing luck is very important. Things that should happen do not happen and things should happen do happen. Please listen to Howard Mark's insightful talk at Google.

2. Mushroom roots can be used to bind wood, decreasing the usage of formaldehyde.

3. YouTube has great praise songs :D

4. Marijuana is being marketed for old and sick dogs. Did you hear that Snoop?

5.Jesus obeyed his parents despite being Son of God. I realized that I should be more humble and wise. Jesus could have just made a lot miracles and proclaimed Himself as the Son of God yet He came to the lowest place to serve us and to die for our sins. We all really be more humble and serving, loving our neighbor with all our hearts :D


*From Floating Forest

What I have learned today [2015/4/10]

1. According to a new survey, Saudi's spend most time on social media. I am surprised at this finding but also can understand it. Saudi Arabia is still very repressive and yet people want to express and communicate. I really hope that SNS brings more positive change to Saudi Arabia instead of being a recruiting ground by extreme terrorist groups.

2. To be a good investor, one has to be truly open minded. Ray Dalio clearly shows that you should question everything and not fall in love with anything. I still have lot to learn because I often become attached to certain investment thesis :(  Still learning everyday :D

3. You can maximize returns by purchasing Amazon gift cards online when there are online purchase rewards for Discover Financial Card.

4. Kindle books are quite expensive considering that old books sell less than a dollar. hmmm.

5. Writing posts everyday really requires discipline :D


*From Floating Forests

What I have learned today [2015/3/28]

Another hectic day, and here are today's lessons

1. Conferences are mainly for networking and presenters benefit the most from feedback. The rest of us get back cramps, sleepy legs, and fat for sitting for so long. But the food was good :D

2. We still don't know much. Research has uncovered a lot in finance yet there are so many unanswered questions. Including...investor psychology, types of CEO compensations, and trade-marks.

3. I don't understand media companies....I missed out on a lot of media and cable companies, which were recommended by famous investors. I did not invest in them because I did not understand them and I still don't....Well, I am following Warren Buffet's advice on staying in the circle of competence. But I think I should try to at least understand those companies better.

4. You can create art using hydrophobic chemicals. Basically, create art using hydrophobic chemicals and then the art appears when the surface becomes wet. Pretty Clever! Check out rain.works.

5. I learned that there are a lot of pain in this world and many souls in dark. We must all push ourselves to be more loving as Jesus has commanded as to love one another ^^ Let us over flow with love.

PS
Many things I knew before but only with my head...not with my heart. Also, a lot of stuff, I had it in my head but never sank in deep. Thank You Jesus for Your wisdom.


*From Snapshot Serengeti

Why I am not investing in Russia right now...

Jim Rodgers, one of the best investors (plus, one of my heroes), is bullish about Russia.

I agree with  Jim Rodgers  but I am not going to invest in Russia right now for two reasons.

First, Putin...Yes, he has improved the Russian economy and brought back pride to Russia. But with his dictatorship style and corruption, I don't see a bright future in Russia in the near future. Bloomberg shows that many of those who oppose Putin were either incarcerated, kicked out, or killed. Now this is a big red flag!  Until Russia starts handling with its corruptions, establishes rule of law, and starts reforms, Russia will be crippled by corruption.


Second, Russia's economy is heavily dependent on energy. According to Wikipedia, Oil-and-Gas industry accounted for 16% of the GDP, 52% of the Federal Revenues, and 70% of exports. With the oil prices quite low, the Russian economy will not recover. Although the oil price ($50) is higher than the estimated Russian oil production cost ($40), the economy cannot grow and oil prices can stay low for quite sometime



Hence, although I remain optimistic about Russia (+10 year horizon), I will not invest in Russia until corruptions are somewhat addressed and oil price starts picking up.