Rich Dad Poor Dad eBook Giveaway

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is one of the most read books on Personal Finance & Investing. It has sold millions as New York Times Bestseller. Despite its popularity, there are still people out there who have not read it or who had read it but has not practiced the concepts presented in the books (including me!).

Anyone stuck in the rat-race of living paycheck to paycheck, enslaved by the house mortgage and bills, will appreciate this breath of fresh air.Learn about the methods that have created more than a few millionaires.

Currently the ebook version can be downloaded for free. Readers can go to this link http://ow.ly/vwWFV.  However registration is needed to download this free ebook. 

For readers of this blog, you can save your trouble by downloading the eBook here. Enjoy reading and may everyone benefit from it!

How to Buy Dollar Bills for 50 Cents - Mark Boyar

Barrons did an interview with Mark Boyar in August last year. Mark Boyar runs a mutual fund, Boyar Value, that has beaten the S&P500 over the last 5 years. He approaches investing with mentality of buying dollar bills for 50 cents. Besides running a mutual fund, Mark also publishes investment research called Boyar Intrinsic Value which include an annual list of undervalued stocks called the Forgotten Forty. Stocks included in Forgotten Forty include Hannesbrands (HBI) and Liberty Media (LMCA). In the interview, Mark lists his current favourite stocks ideas that include Weight Watchers (WTW) that has decline 75% from its high to $21, Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG) and Bank of America (BAC) which he thinks is worth $28.

To read the interview, click here

What Investment Books Investor bought in March 2014

As part of investor education, we need to constantly upgrade our knowledge by either reading blog posts, famed value investors's valuation of their stock picks or books on investing. This is a post of the top 20 investment and business books bought in Amazon by readers worldwide the last month. At the top is Michael Lewis’ newbook Flash Boys which made  a splash at the top of leaderboard.

1. Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
2. Global Value: How to Spot Bubbles, Avoid Market Crashes, and Earn Big Returns in the Stock Market byMebane Faber
3. The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lessons from the Greatest Traders by Jack Schwager
4. Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
5. The Investor’s Paradox: The Power of Simplicity in a World of Overwhelming Choice by Brian Portnoy
6. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
7. The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success by Megan McArdle
8. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
9. Trading Options: Using Technical Analysis to Design Winning Trades by Greg Harmon
10. Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere by Tadas Viskanta
11. Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind byJocelyn Gleil
12. The Investment Checklist: The Art of In-Depth Research by Michael Shearn
    Click here for a talk given by Michael Shearn
13. The Manual of Ideas: The Proven Framework for Finding the Best Value Investments by John Mihaljevic
14. Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street’s Post-Crash Recruits by Kevin Roose
15. Skating Where the Puck Was: The Correlation Game in a Flat World  by William J. Bernstein
16. Investing Demystified: How to Invest Without Speculation and Sleepless Nights by Lars Kroijer
17. Keynes’s Way to Wealth: Timeless Investment Lessons from The Great Economist by John Wasik
18. Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America by Andrew Yang
19. The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike  - Recommended by Warren Buffett
20. The Safe Investor: How to Make Your Money Grow in a Volatile Global Economy by Tim McCarthy

Singapore Stocks - Bargain Hunting

After a dramatic plunge below 3,000 points in February, the benchmark Straits Times Index has since recovered to close above. Yet a good many stocks remain undervalued or underowned. In this post, we will highlight 2 stocks – CWT and CSE Global.

CWT

CWT has 2 main business segments, logistics and Commodity SCM business. CWT is trading at 6.4x FY14F PER, representing a steep discount to its peers (average 16.7x). CWT has traded down from its 52 week high of $1.83 due to over-estimation of risks in Commodity SCM and lack of clarity on earnings growth ahead. The volatility in earnings due to its commodity related business has caused investors to reduced ownership of the stock. However the Commodity SCM business is less risky than perceived as CWT fully hedges prices in its Commodity SCM business, rendering the trades back-to-back and eliminating risk of losses through adverse price movements. Also, its main logistics business is expected to grow at 16% with the addition of redeveloped Jurong East Logistics Centre, Cold Hub 2 and Pandan Logistics Centre.

CSE Global

CSE Global is another stock that has underperformed the STI but have paid dividends over the last 12 months. CSE’s FY13 bottomline took a hit as it made provisions for project cost overruns amounting to S$8.1m. Following the successful divestment of CSE Global’s entire shareholding interest in Servelec Group in Dec last year, the company can now focus on driving its growth largely from the oil and gas sector. CSE has significant exposure to the Gulf of Mexico and the company is expected to benefit from the on-going recovery following the ill-fated Macondo oil spill incident and the imminent liberalisation of the Mexican oil and gas market.

Beside these 2 stocks, investors can also screen stocks that are undervalued by a few parameters such as positive free cash flow, a high dividend yield, low debt to equity ratio. The Edge Magazine in a February article did a screening of Singapore stocks that have underperformed the STI. pay a dividend, generate free cash flow and are in a net cash position. The screen produces stocks such as Chosen Holdings, Civmec, Keong Hong Holdings, F&N, Smartflex Holdings and TTJ Holdings

Michael Shearn - The Investment Checklist

I recently watched this lecture given by Michael Shearn. Michael Shearn is the Managing Partner of the Time Value of Money Fund based in Austin, Texas. He is also the author of The Investment Checklist: The Art of In-Depth Research. In the video, he shared secrets on the investment checklist as well as things to look out for when analysing an investment opportunity. His research prowess commands an audience with the likes of Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and top hedge fund managers.