Greed is bad, patience is good: Walter de Oude’s case for tuning out the noise

Oil past US$83 a barrel on the Strait of Hormuz uncertainty. Fed rate hike odds sitting at 54 per cent. Asian tech stocks pulling back even as gold climbs for four straight sessions. It would be easy to read this week’s headlines and conclude that markets are bracing for something significant. Walter de Oude has a different view entirely.

In this episode of Market Focus Weekly, a podcast from The Business Times, Howie Lim speaks with Walter de Oude, founder of Chocolate Finance, for a conversation that consistently pushes back against the instinct to react to geopolitical headlines and macro noise. As an actuary by training, his framework is built for the long game, and he is refreshingly blunt about what that actually means in practice.

Why listen

• Why the Hormuz peace trade is a distraction, not a signal  De Oude explains why markets pricing improved sentiment rather than certainty means investors trying to time diplomatic breakthroughs are essentially gambling, and why he refuses to build portfolios around political headlines.

• Why leverage is the single worst thing an investor can do to themselves  Drawing on what just happened in South Korea, de Oude lays out the brutal maths of drawdowns and makes the case that leverage turns long-term wealth building into short-term speculation.

• Why the AI trade’s momentum matters more than any single component’s wobble  Chips, data centres, models and applications all move independently, but de Oude explains why the combined story remains compelling even as individual pieces face pressure.

• Why strong bank earnings keep getting sold off anyway  OCBC and UOB posted stellar results only to see one drop the next day. De Oude explains why the market is worried less about today’s numbers and more about whether those margins survive the next decade.

Greed is bad. Patience is good. This conversation makes the case for exactly that. Listen now.

Discover more episodes at bt.sg/podcasts. Got feedback? Email us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.

---

Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@sph.com.sg)

With Walter de Oude, founder of Chocolate Finance

Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro

Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh

A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media

---

Follow Market Focus Weekly podcasts every Friday:

Channel: bt.sg/btmktfocus

Amazon: bt.sg/mfam

Apple Podcasts: bt.sg/mfap

Spotify: bt.sg/mfsp

YouTube Music: bt.sg/mfyt

Website: bt.sg/mktfocus

Do note: This podcast is meant to provide general information only. SPH Media accepts no liability for loss arising from any reliance on the podcast or use of third party’s products and services. Please consult professional advisors for independent advice.

Discover more BT podcast series:

BT Money Hacks at: bt.sg/btmoneyhacks

BT Correspondents: bt.sg/btcobt

BT Podcasts: bt.sg/pcOM

BT Lens On: bt.sg/btlenson