SMRT

[d.o.g.]

That's why once you are in the stock markets for some years, it's very hard for most of us to sell everything and start from scratch again. Start a brand new portfolio that is. Anyone has done it?

I have done it, but it was because I was going into the fund management business. I wanted to start on the same basis as my clients i.e. 100% cash so I sold almost everything (some things had no liquidity) and started from zero. I took some heavy losses but decided there was no turning back. The portfolio I built was very different from the old one. The mental baggage we carry with our current portfolio is amazing. It's like moving house - you don't see how much is accumulated until you move it all.

[NTL]

Thank you very much for the kind feedbacks.

After listening to all the inputs and some thinking on my part, I have sold off all my holdings. That is because it does not serve my initial purpose of purchase anymore. I'm looking for something that pays better than CPF and maybe if luck allows, some capital gain. Unfortunately, it got from bad to worse after I purchased them during the early 2011.

I understand that SMRT is still a profitable company and may recover a few years down the road. If that do happens, maybe I might consider it once again.

As for now, I will just stem the losses by cutting it away than to bleed a slow death. Of course if its share price jumps back up (my stocks often do...) after I cut, I can only congratulate those who are still holding or jump in at a low price.

Lesson from this experience... If one stock do not serve your purpose of buying anymore, cut if must. Do not hesitate. This hesitation cost me around 2k. Guess good lessons don't come cheap.

Lastly, let me thank you guys again for your valuable inputs. I really appreciated them.

This hesitation cost me around 2k. Guess good lessons don't come cheap.

To tell you the truth, (may it be a consolation to you) though everything is relatively speaking, one day you will realize losing 2K is very cheap as a tuition fee, if you can manage to invest in the stock market for the rest of your life, you will definitely prosper.
Shalom.

NB:-
My balance portfolio shows i am losing about 15K. Because i have of course made some mistakes and not willing to cut losses. i am still trying slowly to sell off some of my "profitable stocks". One of the reason, i am not cutting loss is i have bought some highly cyclical companies too "early". And i have the financial capability to wait if i want to. Hope you keep your faith in your investing journey.
Amen.

Hi Pubster,

To comfort you further, my "education fee" is even larger. Easily twice or more than that of Temperament. But hey! I learnt my lesson, and is doing much better in the past 2 years! I even recoup my losses and make at net profit!

Sorry, i think i have let you mistaken me somehow or somewhere. Though my remainder portfolio is losing money i have over-all realised portfolio gain UTD from 2008 till now.
What is most important to note is you will make mistakes in individual stock purchase but despite of it you should still make money over all your portfolio.

Hi Uncle Temperament,

Very likely I mistaken you as you are talking about "balance of your portfolio". For my first 4years (2007-2010), my portfolio is fully taken down by the GFC, then in 09-10, while the market rally, I found that the stocks that I was holding were not moving as much, though some do recover, but never to the level I bought in. And most of these are big names. Slowly, I decided to give up on some of my "darlings" and take the remaining to invest in other companies, including REITs, that emphasize on sustainable dividend. After I see some results in my "re-allocation" exercise, I did more re-allocation and invested more money into the market.

[Temperament]

Thank you very much for the kind feedbacks.

After listening to all the inputs and some thinking on my part, I have sold off all my holdings. That is because it does not serve my initial purpose of purchase anymore. I'm looking for something that pays better than CPF and maybe if luck allows, some capital gain. Unfortunately, it got from bad to worse after I purchased them during the early 2011.

I understand that SMRT is still a profitable company and may recover a few years down the road. If that do happens, maybe I might consider it once again.

As for now, I will just stem the losses by cutting it away than to bleed a slow death. Of course if its share price jumps back up (my stocks often do...) after I cut, I can only congratulate those who are still holding or jump in at a low price.

Lesson from this experience... If one stock do not serve your purpose of buying anymore, cut if must. Do not hesitate. This hesitation cost me around 2k. Guess good lessons don't come cheap.

Lastly, let me thank you guys again for your valuable inputs. I really appreciated them.

This hesitation cost me around 2k. Guess good lessons don't come cheap.

To tell you the truth, (may it be a consolation to you) though everything is relatively speaking, one day you will realize losing 2K is very cheap as a tuition fee, if you can manage to invest in the stock market for the rest of your life, you will definitely prosper.
Shalom.

NB:-
My balance portfolio shows i am losing about 15K. Because i have of course made some mistakes and not willing to cut losses. i am still trying slowly to sell off some of my "profitable stocks". One of the reason, i am not cutting loss is i have bought some highly cyclical companies too "early". And i have the financial capability to wait if i want to. Hope you keep your faith in your investing journey.
Amen.

Hi Pubster,

To comfort you further, my "education fee" is even larger. Easily twice or more than that of Temperament. But hey! I learnt my lesson, and is doing much better in the past 2 years! I even recoup my losses and make at net profit!

Sorry, i think i have let you mistaken me somehow or somewhere. Though my remainder portfolio is losing money i have over-all realised portfolio gain UTD from 2008 till now.
What is most important to note is you will make mistakes in individual stock purchase but despite of it you should still make money over all your portfolio.

Hi Uncle Temperament,

Very likely I mistaken you as you are talking about "balance of your portfolio". For my first 4years (2007-2010), my portfolio is fully taken down by the GFC, then in 09-10, while the market rally, I found that the stocks that I was holding were not moving as much, though some do recover, but never to the level I bought in. And most of these are big names. Slowly, I decided to give up on some of my "darlings" and take the remaining to invest in other companies, including REITs, that emphasize on sustainable dividend. After I see some results in my "re-allocation" exercise, I did more re-allocation and invested more money into the market.

For beginners, you have done very well indeed. Yes, you have the gumption not to run away from the market. You should do well going forward. Just remember to make it into your lifetime "hobby".
Congratulations again! i think you have got it.

---

That's why once you are in the stock markets for some years, it's very hard for most of us to sell everything and start from scratch again. Start a brand new portfolio that is. Anyone has done it?

I have done it, but it was because I was going into the fund management business. I wanted to start on the same basis as my clients i.e. 100% cash so I sold almost everything (some things had no liquidity) and started from zero. I took some heavy losses but decided there was no turning back. The portfolio I built was very different from the old one. The mental baggage we carry with our current portfolio is amazing. It's like moving house - you don't see how much is accumulated until you move it all.

The mental baggage we carry with our current portfolio is amazing. It's like moving house - you don't see how much is accumulated until you move it all.
Thanks for the sharing.
i have a choice now to sell all the remainder stocks and only to lose about 15 K. But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

[smallcaps]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

Dry bulk? If so, you may want to compare against Diana Shipping (DSX) which IMO is well run and looks like a survivor to me. Since it all depends on which shipping company is able to survive to see the upturn, right?

http://www.google.com/finance?q=dsx&ei=n...eiPwAPKngE

http://www.dianashippinginc.com/default....9&langid=1

[Temperament]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

Dry bulk? If so, you may want to compare against Diana Shipping (DSX) which IMO is well run and looks like a survivor to me. Since it all depends on which shipping company is able to survive to see the upturn, right?

http://www.google.com/finance?q=dsx&ei=n...eiPwAPKngE

http://www.dianashippinginc.com/default....9&langid=1

Right!
Now almost 99.99% of the time before i put my money down on any stock, i will gauge the "survivability" of the company. Will it be around at least 5 years time? Of course there is no sure thing. i say it is only my gauge. And your gauge may be more stringent.

[smallcaps]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

Dry bulk? If so, you may want to compare against Diana Shipping (DSX) which IMO is well run and looks like a survivor to me. Since it all depends on which shipping company is able to survive to see the upturn, right?

http://www.google.com/finance?q=dsx&ei=n...eiPwAPKngE

http://www.dianashippinginc.com/default....9&langid=1

Right!
Now almost 99.99% of the time before i put my money down on any stock, i will gauge the "survivability" of the company. Will it be around at least 5 years time? Of course there is no sure thing. i say it is only my gauge. And your gauge may be more stringent.

Well the beauty of DSX management is that they treat their charters like building a bond ladder. They pretty much don't try to predict where the market is going... The CEO is over 70 years old with more than 40 years experience in shipping, very consistent in applying the above strategy. Sometimes I feel that if only they could put someone like that in NOL.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/780931-d...transcript

Simeon Palios - Chief Executive Officer
It depends on the whole portfolio approach that we have. And you understand that we have to introduce with new vessels or the vessels that it is opening as regards the charter as such into the whole picture and see where we have another vessel opening or note opening at the same time in the cycle. And we are positioning the vessels in such a manner to always have a vessel to fix in every period. So when we fix for a year or two years, or three years, you should not take it as Diana taking a position what the market is going to do. This is the beauty of our strategy, hedging our risk, that we don’t have to call the market. We are happy with the average of the market and this is what we are going to continue be doing by physically hedging the charters of our vessel.

[Ben]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

We are in the same boat. I also have one dry bulk shipping stock in my portfolio that is in heavy loss situation. I am not prepare to sell not because I think the tide is turning, but because the price has dropped so much that if I liquidate now, I am not able to cash out a meaningful amount for other use. Sorry, I know my logic is flawed, but mental baggage is hard to explain....

[NTL]

[/b]
To tell you the truth, (may it be a consolation to you) though everything is relatively speaking, one day you will realize losing 2K is very cheap as a tuition fee, if you can manage to invest in the stock market for the rest of your life, you will definitely prosper.
Shalom.

NB:-
My balance portfolio shows i am losing about 15K. Because i have of course made some mistakes and not willing to cut losses. i am still trying slowly to sell off some of my "profitable stocks". One of the reason, i am not cutting loss is i have bought some highly cyclical companies too "early". And i have the financial capability to wait if i want to. Hope you keep your faith in your investing journey.
Amen.

Hi Pubster,

To comfort you further, my "education fee" is even larger. Easily twice or more than that of Temperament. But hey! I learnt my lesson, and is doing much better in the past 2 years! I even recoup my losses and make at net profit!

Sorry, i think i have let you mistaken me somehow or somewhere. Though my remainder portfolio is losing money i have over-all realised portfolio gain UTD from 2008 till now.
What is most important to note is you will make mistakes in individual stock purchase but despite of it you should still make money over all your portfolio.

Hi Uncle Temperament,

Very likely I mistaken you as you are talking about "balance of your portfolio". For my first 4years (2007-2010), my portfolio is fully taken down by the GFC, then in 09-10, while the market rally, I found that the stocks that I was holding were not moving as much, though some do recover, but never to the level I bought in. And most of these are big names. Slowly, I decided to give up on some of my "darlings" and take the remaining to invest in other companies, including REITs, that emphasize on sustainable dividend. After I see some results in my "re-allocation" exercise, I did more re-allocation and invested more money into the market.

For beginners, you have done very well indeed. Yes, you have the gumption not to run away from the market. You should do well going forward. Just remember to make it into your lifetime "hobby".
Congratulations again! i think you have got it.

---

Trying my best. Thanks.

[Temperament]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

We are in the same boat. I also have one dry bulk shipping stock in my portfolio that is in heavy loss situation. I am not prepare to sell not because I think the tide is turning, but because the price has dropped so much that if I liquidate now, I am not able to cash out a meaningful amount for other use. Sorry, I know my logic is flawed, but mental baggage is hard to explain....

No your logic is not flawed because our sentiments (feelings) are always stronger and overpowered our logic.
I have the same experience as you. Do you know "Rotary Engineering"? i have it since IPO time. When it suddenly shot up to $1+ i sold some. i should have sold all but i keep some till now. i am waiting for another turn-around or i may sell it even with a loss or minimum profit.

---

Hi Pubster,

To comfort you further, my "education fee" is even larger. Easily twice or more than that of Temperament. But hey! I learnt my lesson, and is doing much better in the past 2 years! I even recoup my losses and make at net profit!

Sorry, i think i have let you mistaken me somehow or somewhere. Though my remainder portfolio is losing money i have over-all realised portfolio gain UTD from 2008 till now.
What is most important to note is you will make mistakes in individual stock purchase but despite of it you should still make money over all your portfolio.

Hi Uncle Temperament,

Very likely I mistaken you as you are talking about "balance of your portfolio". For my first 4years (2007-2010), my portfolio is fully taken down by the GFC, then in 09-10, while the market rally, I found that the stocks that I was holding were not moving as much, though some do recover, but never to the level I bought in. And most of these are big names. Slowly, I decided to give up on some of my "darlings" and take the remaining to invest in other companies, including REITs, that emphasize on sustainable dividend. After I see some results in my "re-allocation" exercise, I did more re-allocation and invested more money into the market.

For beginners, you have done very well indeed. Yes, you have the gumption not to run away from the market. You should do well going forward. Just remember to make it into your lifetime "hobby".
Congratulations again! i think you have got it.

---

Trying my best. Thanks.

And please remember i am just a retail investor. Or some like to call me "POP & MUM" investor. Ha! Ha!
Cheers!

[KopiKat]

But the mental baggage of 2 highly cyclical stocks in the shipping sector is holding me back. Because IMHO shipping sector is about to turn maybe in a year or two.

We are in the same boat. I also have one dry bulk shipping stock in my portfolio that is in heavy loss situation. I am not prepare to sell not because I think the tide is turning, but because the price has dropped so much that if I liquidate now, I am not able to cash out a meaningful amount for other use. Sorry, I know my logic is flawed, but mental baggage is hard to explain....

Just for fun, I went to do an internet search on 'Mental Baggage' and found this,

Ridding Yourself of Emotional and Mental Baggage

A useful extract,

If we keep our minds and hearts free of clutter, we will be able to focus on all that is important. We will be able to deploy our time and energy effectively, towards achievement of goals and success.


Each time I go thro' a BEAR market, I'd looked at my Stocks Portfolio, mostly submerged in a sea of red and I'd tell myself what are the stocks that I ought to get rid of. These are the ones that'd dropped the most and rightfully so as they have the worst fundamentals (Poor stocks picking skills always comes to light during a bear run - what Warren Buffett meant when he says 'When the tide goes down, we'll know who's swimming naked').

But, somehow or rather, when the market recovery comes along, I'd drag my feet... Most of the past mistakes never recover. Dropping to 0.5ct may not be the end of my agony as they can still do a reverse split and then proceed to drop to 0.5ct...

After the last BEAR in 2011, when the market rebounded strongly, I finally plucked up the courage and strength to get rid of my junks which I'd accumulated over the past couple of decades. If you'd ever tried Bungee Jumping, it's like the moments before you jump.... Want to do, don't want to do, flip-flop between the two. When the rope is finally tied to the legs, there's a moment that seems like eternity....

But, yes, like Bungee Jumping, once you take the leap, you realise that it wasn't that difficult after all. In fact, it's actually quite fun!

So, last year, after overcoming the mental difficulties to sell off my first few junks, I continued spring cleaning and today, am cleared of almost all junks (left a couple where I'd need to top up the brokerage fee if I were to sell).

Yes, the amount I got back are mostly a couple of hundreds or a thousand plus. It also did severe damage to my Realised P&L - huge realised losses. But, fortunately, there was little impact on my Net Worth as I'd always been diligently marking my assets to market value.

But, like the above sentences I'd lifted from the article, clearing my Mental Garbage for stocks had freed me from all the past baggages (that I'd been lugging along) and I'm now a lot more focussed and decisive, when it comes to Stocks.

Hope the above helps all those with the same predicament..