Welcome to another episode! Today I will be having a special guest hailing from the quant trading space, an area I know little about which makes this conversation really interesting! My guest is Mike Tan, co-founder of VAI Analytics, and a full time quantitative trader himself based in the Philippines and here he shares his journey into finance and how he ultimately became a quant. Mike provides straightforward insights into the ins and outs of trading especially on risk management and handling your own psychology- a must not only for traders but investors alike. I really love this conversation and I'm sure you will too so listen on!

Timestamps of the episode:

-Mike Tan shares his bumpy journey into the finance industry especially dipping his toes first in cinematography. [03:22]

-How Mike executes and does his trades in the Philippine stock market. [09:45]

-What it means to be a quant trader? [11:05]

-Technical analysis trading is not all about indicators only. [15:49]

-Walking back a bit, why Mike ended up in quant trading when he dislikes math. [18:02]

-Finding your edge against the market as a quant trader. [23:05]

-How quants view risk as a whole. [26:21]

-Biggest misconceptions on doing trading. [27:51]

-Contrasting views between an investor and a trader on averaging down. [28:35]

-Technical analysis is human behavior and emotions quantified. [30:55]

-Mike Tan’s hero in the trading space. [33:02]

-What made him choose the local Ph stock market over the ones abroad. [35:51]

-The reason why Mike started his company, VAI Analytics, and why he is doing this to promote liquidity in the local market. [39:05]

-The kind of psyche one needs to become a successful quant trader. [44:18]

-Questions you need to ask yourself before trying to become a trader or a quant. [49:04]

-How to structure your personal finance as day trader or trading in general. [53:50]

-Where to connect and find more about Mike Tan. [56:04]

-What worries and excites Mike about the future. [56:35]

Books mentioned in the episode- Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager

Mike Tan's twitter account- https://twitter.com/VAIanalytics?s=20&t=Jo1aXzMoQ1pW_4vB7QzHFg

His Vini trading application available to PSE traders only- http://vini.ph

Reach out to me through my twitter account- https://twitter.com/TSFInvestor

and my email- [email protected]

Ahoy! Welcome to episode 30! In today's show, I will be having my first ever repeat guest and its none other than William Cabangon, CEO of AAA Equities! He was my guest in episode 19, "Macroeconomics in Ph, personal finance and investing" and I highly suggest you listen to it first to know how good of a speaker he is and why I have him back on the show. In this episode, we will be talking about the Philippine stock market in general- what composes it, drives its returns and more. And William is the best man to discuss about this with his usual contrarian view that is a gem to listen to. By the way, this episode was recorded last August 2022 but I believe the insights he gave are still timely regardless. Listen on!

Timestamps of the episode:

-William’s general thoughts on the Philippine stock market. [05:31]

-Having a home country bias and why he thinks it’s not a problem. [07:30]

-The Philippines’ long runway of growth and its economic identity crisis. [09:04]

-What will attract foreign investors in investing in the PH stock market? William gives a surprising yet practical answer. [12:38]

-On the other side of the coin, what will repel investors in the Ph stock market? William follows through on his contrarian take which leans on him running a stock brokerage business. [18:12]

-What drives the returns in the Ph stock market and a run through of the conglomerates consisting the Ph index. [23:41]

-Why as an individual investor you have a fighting chance against big equity research houses. [27:00]

-The inefficiency of the Ph stock market. [29:40]

-The key in unlocking liquidity in the local market. [31:12]

-Talking about the dangers of leverage. [32:39]

-How the PSE index encompasses the local economy and the underrepresentation of SME’s (Small and medium enterprises) [34:40]

-Areas the PSE index can improve and be better for all. [37:53]

-Industries that has the most upside in the Ph stock market. [41:36]

-William gives his thoughts about family owned public conglomerates in the Philippines. [49:42]

-Discussing about AC Energy $ACEN, it’s growth and valuation. [51:39]

-Where to reach out to William Cabangon and know more about his works/thoughts. [58:50]

-What worries and excites William about the future. [01:00:28]

William's twitter account- https://twitter.com/wmcabangon?s=20

Reach out to me through my twitter account- https://twitter.com/TSFInvestor

and my email- [email protected]

Happy new year! I'm back again in podcasting yay! The past few months has not been good to me but hey a new year signals a fresh start, am I right? So here I am starting the come back with a fantastic interview with not only one but two guests at the same time! I am having the dynamic duo based in the USA, Skippy and Doogles from the Skippy and Doogles talk about investing podcast. Our conversation about investing and personal finance was such a treat and fully charged with laughter and humor that I may warn is really contagious.

Timestamps:

-Who is Skippy and who is Doogles? which is which? (3:15)

-They talk how the podcast started and where it is now- the fun and authenticity in between. (4:30)

-How an investing podcast should be (07:20)

-They share about their individual investing styles and journeys. (10:54)

-Walking through the book Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham and why it isn't beginner friendly (15:37)

-Skippy and Doogles beginner books recommendations(19:31)

-Which type of people are best suited in investing in individual stocks? (22:09)

-Questions to ask yourself if investing in individual stocks are for you. Doogles gave an interesting take. (24:43)

-The dilemma in investing-not knowing whether you are good or not. (30:39)

-Skippy talks about the importance of process not outcomes in investing (34:41)

-How they approach portfolio allocation and weighing their bets (36:12)

-We talk a bit about Berkshire Hathaway (39:14)

-Skippy talks about his deep value investing style (43:48)

-Doogles now shares his own Long term momentum approach in investing (46:12)

-Doogles explains more about his Farfin model (49:35)

-Why Skippy loves Doogles' quantitative model even though it does not sound like it oftentimes (52:12)

-How Skippy avoids value traps (55:10)

-I asked Skippy and Doogles of their worst investing biases and how they cope with it (57:14)

-They both share how they handle their own personal finances in conjunction with their own investing styles (01:02:10)

-Skippy gives a great advice to young investors (01:05:54)

-Doogles shares about the simplex method in regards to making decisions. A powerful way to think about. (01:07:20)

-What keeps Skippy and Doogles awake at night and also hopeful in what the future will bring (01:11:04)

Skippy and Doogles talk about investing podcast- (https://open.spotify.com/show/7dLzzEleA0Ei9PpKfWqbT5?si=b969d889973b4c5d)

their substack- https://substack.com/profile/54967890-skippy-and-doogles

their twitter account- https://twitter.com/SkippyDoogles?s=20

Book recommendations mentioned in the episode:

Simple wealth, inevitable wealth by Nick Murray

Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

Good to great by Jim Collins

Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

Reach out to me through my twitter account- https://twitter.com/TSFInvestor

and my email- [email protected]

I'm excited for today's episode! I am having Dave Ahern of the Investing for Beginners podcast in the show as we talk about investing misconceptions, biases, valuations and more. My conversation with him is another treasure trove of insights and advices that will surely help you navigate the stock market. Give it a listen!

Timestamps of the episode:

-The worst investing advice Dave Ahern heard so far. [03:42]

-My thoughts on what's the worst investing/personal finance advice I've heard so far. [07:10]

-Dave shares his investing journey. [09:30]

-He talks about his memorable moments when he was just starting investing. [16:30]

-How Dave dealt with investment failures. [20:50]

-What he thinks about the dilemma in investing. [25:17]

-Why and how journaling his thoughts about investing helped him a lot. [27:55]

-Keeping expectations low and conservative is the key. [30:26]

-The biggest misconceptions of Dave's friends about the stock market. [31:56]

-How Dave invests and pick his individual stocks, does it differ on how his co-host, Andrew, do it? [40:06]

-Dave shares his starting process on going through stocks and his checklist. [45:46]

-Here he talks about the tale of two companies, Visa and Costco, and relate it to valuations. [48:32]

-Why Dave invests in Berkshire Hathaway. [53:36]

-How to value Berkshire Hathaway. [58:11]

-Dave shares his worst investing bias and how he deals with it. [01:04:16]

-Seeking the downsides of a what go wrong in your investment thesis is the best. [01:06:47]

-How Dave goes into convincing people to go into investing. [01:09:40]

-What worries and excites Dave about the future. [01:18:19]

Dave Ahern's podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/3sIN6k0aT6cCWP2AJRvHEK?si=4b682a957b2f445a

His website- https://einvestingforbeginners.com

His twitter account- https://twitter.com/IFB_podcast?s=20&t=ucUw3uLqalcbm0YyrrMsvA

Reach out to me through my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and thru my email - [email protected]

In today's short solo episode, I will be talking about Morgan Housel's article on the topic of saving and investing. This one is close to my heart as it affected how I deal with short term setbacks and how I view my emergency fund.

Timestamps:

-The story of Bill Gate's paranoia [01:35]

-The lack of emphasis on personal finance in the world of investing. [03:02]

-Why I doubled my emergency fund. [03:48]

-Morgan's interesting take on savings. [05:22]

-Why being a seafarer warrants more to save like a pessimist. [06:11]

-Investing like an optimist. [07:51]

-A healthy balance between optimism and pessimism. [09:06]

Reach out to me thru my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and thru my email - [email protected]

In today's episode I am having another awesome guest with no other than Braden Dennis of the Canadian Investor podcast. Braden and his co host, Simon Belanger, had been doing the podcast for many years that has helped a lot of beginner investor navigate the stock market. His podcast is one of the many favorite investing podcast that inspired me to make my own. Our conversation was such a treat not only for me but for those who will listen. His insights into finding great businesses, investing biases and overall mindset towards long term investing is really valuable. Enjoy the conversation!

Time stamps on the episode:

-The weirdest experience Braden is going through lately [04:18]

-Braden shares his journey in investing and how everyone starting should be indexing first before picking individual stocks. [06:00]

-What made Braden take the step from indexing to active investing. [09:15]

- In investing, less you do the better. [11:20]

- The dilemma in active investing and how Braden handles it. [13:08]

- Six green flags that Braden seeks in a great business. [19:07]

- Ways to gauge management quality. [27:10]

- Braden shares about Sidecar capital and how it partners with the best capital allocators out there. [30:14]

-How Braden approach valuations of a company and the reason why he does not talk about it in his podcast. [31:44]

-Braden shares the time when his investment failed and how he handled it well. Spoiler: Its Tencent. [39:50]

-His interesting take on worst investment biases and how he approaches them. [43:53]

-Why he hates the stock term "all time high" [47:18]

-The bias of over confidence and why every investor suffers this. [47:48]

-What Braden is doing at current market conditions. [50:16]

-How Braden handles his own personal finances. [54:37]

-Why he founded Stratosphere investing and gives a good advice on start up founders. [59:01]

-What worries and excites Braden on the future. [01:04:53]

Braden's podcast, The Canadian Investor - https://open.spotify.com/show/2NG24rv3Mv09EMsIc6rVfs?si=bcb162280f254c80

His twitter account- https://twitter.com/BradoCapital?s=20&t=SVngGNaNDOksq5iMOE-CQQ

His start up company, a powerful investment research platform for retail investors- https://www.stratosphere.io

Reach out to me through my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and thru my email - [email protected]

Welcome to episode 25! Today is a solo episode as I try to have one in between the interview episodes to give diversity to my content selection. Here I will be talking about simple yet not obvious at first reasons as to why you should not time the market. Enjoy!

Timestamps of the episode:

-What is market timing? [01:23]

-The stress is not worth it. [02:40]

-You have to be right not only once but a lot of times! [04:10]

-You don't have a crystal ball. [06:02]

-The solution for market timing. [08:24]

Reach out to me thru my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and thru my email - [email protected]

Welcome to episode 24! I have a special guest today! My guest is April Lee Tan, First Vice president, Corporate Strategy and Chief Investor Relations officer of the Philippines’ largest stock brokerage firm, COL Financial. She is well known as the host of the TV show “Insights with April Lee Tan” for the ANC channel where she interviews relevant people about the stock market and business. Ms. April also writes a weekly column named “Intelligent Investing” for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Aside from those, Ms. April is a Chartered Financial Analyst or CFA and has served as the president of the CFA Philippines and under her term CFA Philippines won the “Global CFA Institute Research Challenge” thrice, besting more than 1,000 teams from 98 countries around the world. However, we will not be talking most about stocks in our conversation but instead more on her journey into the finance industry and why she thinks that we need more women in the finance industry especially on fund managers. We also talked a lot about the financial literacy of Filipinos and how she manages her own money and personal finance.

Timestamps of the episode:

-What April Lee Tan do in the Philippine finance industry. [03:10]

-April Tan shares how she started her investing journey. [04:58]

-Why the low interest rate environment in the late 90's prompted April to go into equities. [06:34]

-The experience of being a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in times of financial crisis of '97 and dot com bubble of '01 [09:50]

-Why April Tan thinks there should be more women in the finance industry especially on fund managers. [10:53]

-The current trend of women in the finance industry as April observes. [12:59]

-April talks about the drive behind her passion in the finance industry especially on spreading financial literacy among Filipinos. [16:32]

-Biggest misconceptions of people about working in COL Financial or in the whole finance industry in the Philippines. [20:52]

- April shares her thoughts on the high management fees of mutual funds in the Philippines. [23:55]

-How April deals with investment failures and how she overcomes them. [27:27]

-April Tan's worst investment bias. [32:28]

-How April is dealing with her anchoring bias. [33:02]

-The problem in investing where past performance does not guarantee if you're really good or not. April shares her thoughts on this. [35:53]

-How April Tan handles her personal finance and invests her own money. [37:39]

-April gives a tip on setting aside money for your children. [38:57]

-What April wants her retirement fund would look like. [40:26]

-She talks about her allocation between stocks and real estate. [42:15]

-An important financial advocacy Filipinos lack and not only Pinoys are guilty of this according to April. [43:42]

-Passions and hobbies that April are pursuing outside of the finance industry. [47:19]

-April shares her beauty skin care tips on staying young. lol [49:46]

-Personal finance tips for my fellow millennial seafarers from April. [51:05]

-What excites and worries April Tan about the future. [56:49]

Her weekly column on the Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Intelligent Investing"-https://bit.ly/3PvQQbo

Her TV show with the ANC Channel available in Youtube- https://bit.ly/3zZK7Rm

April Tan's twitter account- https://bit.ly/3waTT1F

Reach out to me through my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and through my email- [email protected]

Today's episode will be a solo one as to have a change of pace between interviews. And also this time I will be talking about personal finance, a topic really dear to me. The episode will be about the methods on how, as a seafarer myself, I save more money even on vacations as I know how tempting it is to just spend. Everyone, not only seafarers, will benefit on this episode as personal finance is universal no matter what profession you're in.

Key Takeaways from this episode

-Plan, plan and plan is the key! Budgeting should not be taken for granted.

-Automate your savings, the best path to consistency.

-Paying yourself first is a mindset everyone must have.

-and much more!

Reach out to me thru my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and thru my email - [email protected]

Aye! We have another guest in this episode and this one is special as his podcast was instrumental in my journey in investing when I was just beginning to find my way. My guest for today is Andrew Sather, host of the Investing for Beginners podcast. He has always believed that average investors have so much potential to build wealth, through power of patience, a long term mindset, and compound interest. He hopes to translate finance for all which I share in my podcast also for my fellow millennial seafarers. Andrew, with his co-host Dave Ahern, also have a website (link below) that provides so much value other than their podcast. It contains a treasure trove of articles on personal finance, accounting, investing and more.

Our conversation involves such diverse topics that the title can't do any justice. We talked not only about investing in high inflation and best management qualities but also on investing biases, portfolio allocations, personal finance and more. The talk with him was such a treat. Give it a listen!

Andrew Sather's podcast - https://apple.co/3Jq3GGu

also his website- https://einvestingforbeginners.com

Reach out to me thru my Facebook page- https://fb.me/theseafarerinvestorpod

and by my email - [email protected]

Timestamps in the episode:

-What investing books Andrew is reading right now? [03:01]

-Andrew's way of reading a lot of books at the same time [04:20]

- One of the crucial mistakes made by investors in the 2008 Financial crisis [07:30]

-Andrew shares his journey as to why he chose active investing. [11:31]

-He talks about his own investing framework in picking stocks. [19:17]

-Why Andrew owns Berkshire Hathaway B shares and its not the reason you would think. [21:47]

-How is Andrew investing in these times of high inflation. [23:55]

-Inflation is temporary and normal in the economic cycle. [28:58]

-Andrew shares a time when an investment he made failed and how he learned from it. [31:32]

-Qualities in the management of a business Andrew is looking for to be in his portfolio. [36:43]

-He explains what is ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) and why it is a good metric also in checking management quality. [42:30]

-What Andrew thinks about how management is being compensation especially on Stock Based compensations or SBCs [44:43]

-Andrew shares his worst investment bias and how he is handling it. [47:38]

-How he does his portfolio allocations? How he sizes his bets? [53:12]

-Diversification is not sacrificing returns but a common misconception. [57:21]

-How Andrew handles his own personal finance? [01:03:35]

-Andrew promotes his show and where to connect with him. [01:06:27]

-What happiness mean to Andrew? [01:08:20]