Rounding up top reads from around the web, including articles shared by fellow investors in the Financial Horse Facebook Group.
Are Smarter People Better Investors? (DollarsandData)
Warren Buffett: You don’t need a lot of brains in this business. I’ve always said if you got an IQ of 160, give away 30 points to somebody else, because you don’t need it in investments.
On average, smarter people have better investment performance because they make fewer behavioral mistakes and pay lower fees. The reason why smarter people are better investors has to do with their investment knowledge, not necessarily their brains’ raw processing power.
As Bill Gurley, the legendary VC, said in this incredible talk on career advice: I can’t make you smartest or the brightest, but it is quite doable to make you the most knowledgeable. It’s possible to gather more information than somebody else.
A Song of Ice and Fire (Epsilon Theory)
Money like water, is non-linear.
Because you think you can explain and predict human behaviors around money based on a macro theory of monetarism (the supply and price of money), and usually that’s true, but sometimes it’s not.
Because there is a more fundamental theory of money – an atomic structure theory of money based on human risk-taking and human social narratives – that subsumes and improves on your macro theory of monetarism.
Lucrative Side Hustles in 2019 (Lion Parents)
Side hustle your way to financial freedom.
Check out drop shipping, being a personal shopper, working from home and breaking into the wedding industry.
Singapore banks’ earnings growth, dividends attractive; Reits looking overpriced: UBS (The Business Times)
Ban bank stocks are starting to look more attractive at current levels while its Reits are beginning to look overpriced, the banking sector has underperformed while Reits have outperformed the benchmark index so far this year, said UBS.
SGX launches portfolio compression service for listed derivatives (The Business Times)
SGX has launched a portfolio compression service for listed derivatives that is aimed at helping traders reduce the risks and capital costs of maintaining their portfolios. The compression service allows for an efficient and more automated way for participants to consolidate their portfolios and reduce the amount of trades in it.
As China’s Banking System Freezes, SHIBOR Tumbles To Lowest In A Decade (ZeroHedge)
One trading day after we reported that China was “Hit By “Significant Banking Stress” as SHIBOR tumbled to recession levels, and less than a week after we warned that China’s interbank market was freezing up in the aftermath of the Baoshang Bank collapse and subsequent seizure, which led to a surge in interbank repo rates and a spike in Negotiable Certificates of Deposit (NCD) rates.
The Trades That Caused a $2 Billion Plunge in UOB’s Market Value Have Been Upheld (Bloomberg)
Shares in Singapore’s third-largest bank by assets slumped as much as 6.6% in early trading amid thin volume but quickly reversed that loss. Four traders said that they suspect the slump was due to a trading error. The stock rose 0.4% as of 3:20 p.m. in local time, adding to its yearly gain of about 4.6% as of Tuesday’s close.
Singtel confirms plans to ‘unlock value’ from loss-making digital businesses; CEO takes big pay cut (The Business Times)
Singtel is looking at monetising some of its loss-making digital investments, leadership confirmed in an annual report on Wednesday, after months of market chatter.
Board chairman Simon Israel pointed to cybersecurity business Trustwave, as well as digital marketing units Amobee and Videology, which are part of the digital life division.
Here’s Some Money Advice: Just Buy the Coffee (NY Times)
Maybe it’s just easier to blame people for overspending on coffee because it’s a lot more difficult to give advice on the many things they cannot control: wages not keeping pace with the cost of living, the high cost of health insurance, housing, child care, paying for college, etc. But … coffee! You can control the coffee!