Saturday, March 6, 2010

Some Questions (Q) and Answers (A) about investing

Q: Calculation of Intrinsic value depends on how accurate is business evaluation on projected income growth
A: I don't use that, because i don't forecast/ project. I don't see any difference in forecast vs speculate, which to me, both are gambling. Ask any person who does business/ in the sales line, and ask them to project their income growth "accurately" (some so-called analyst even project to 2 decimal point), which i find it amusing.

Q: What is the Risk free Rate for Malaysian stocks
A: There is no such thing as "risk-free rate for stocks". All stocks have Risk (and depending your definition of "risk", all financial instruments have risk, including FD which have one of the highest risk of inflation "depreciating" your money).

Academicians and Statisticians defines risk as "volatility (or fluctuation) of its price around their return". Based on such definition, Risk Free Rate in Malaysia (if you're asking that) is the FD rate. Depending on your definition again, it could be 1 month FD, 1 year FD, or even the FD rate that you're getting.


Q: Identify good companies
A: A good company is one which consistently generates high Return on Equity on its normalised earnings. A good company might not mean a good investment (if you're paying a high price for it), though it's a good place to start.