In investing, stick with the familiar while always learning

Investing is often painful and humbling, but it can also be rewarding. While managing one’s own investments may cause stress, it also keeps the mind sharp as one ages

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Leslie Yee

Published Tue, Jan 17, 2023 · 04:07 PM

While sticking with the familiar, such as Singapore-listed stocks, is sensible, it can be good to become knowledgeable about other markets. PHOTO: BT FILE

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INVEST in what you know is generally a good mantra to follow. I got burnt when I first started actively buying shares in the 1990s, by mainly speculating in Malaysian counters that traded here on the Central Limit Order Book (Clob) International.

Clob was an over-the-counter market set up to enable Singapore investors to continue trading Malaysian shares after the Kuala Lumpur and Singapore stock exchanges parted ways. Trading in some Clob counters was highly speculative – prices could quickly double, sometimes driven by rumours.

In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Malaysia banned the trading of Malaysian shares on Clob International as an unrecognised exchange. The de-recognition of Clob took place alongside harsh capital controls in Malaysia that prohibited the conversion of the ringgit outside of Malaysia.

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