My Personal Money interview in 2008.

In January 2008’s issue of Personal Money, I was asked about my investing sentiment for 2008, and my answers below might be of interest for review for the entire year of 2008.

Question 1: What is your investing sentiment for 2008. Are you optimism or more guarded? What are the main reasons for your sentiment?
My Answer : Frankly speaking, i don't have any investing sentiment for 2008. I make no attempt to predict how security markets will behave. Successfully forecasting short term price movements is something I think neither me or anyone else can do. However, it is clear that stocks cannot forever outperform their underlying businesses, as they have so dramatically done for some time.

Question 2: What will you be investing in 2008. For example, if staying in equities - will you be looking to acquire more defensive type stocks or buying property or investing outside the country?
My Answer : More than 99% of my assets are invested in these 3 categories (currently, and into the forseeable future) :
a) Bond Funds - For emergency needs, and temporary "parking" for my funds until i can deploy into equities at good price.
b) Equity Unit Trust - For long term capital growth, with minimum time needed to supervise.
c) Direct equity through shares - I consistently search for businesses that are sold below it's intrinsic value. Though it might not happen everytime, but when it does, I might invest up to 40% of my assets in a single security under conditions coupling an extremely high probability that my facts and reasoning are correct with a very low probability that anything could drastically change the underlying value of the investment. Personally, i am willing to trade the pains of substantial short term price variance in exchange for maximisation of long term performance. However, i am not willing to incur risk of substantial permanent capital loss in seeking to better long term performance.

My only foreign equity (excluding Equity Funds) is Berkshire Hathaway, a company which its' CEO and biggest shareholder is Warren Buffett.

Question 3: What other plans would you have for your investing portfolio (e.g. long term objectives or diversifications strategies)
My Answer : Besides what i shared above, i've also does a few things which helps me to achieve financial independence better, safer and faster:
a) Our family does not own any Fixed Deposits. Also, we keep our cash in Savings/ Current Account to a very minimum level. This is because every dollar there, would lose it's value after inflation.
b) At the low rate and the right terms, i'm willing to borrow to invest. But i clear off my credit card balance every month, as i know my investment limitations.
c) We don't focus on how much we earn but on how much we save every month.