Monday 10 August 2015

Freshly Brewed


I think Yeo's must be happy.

Their packaged soya bean milk drink "tastes" like freshly brewed. Well, at least to those consumers who relied more on labels than their taste buds.

Recent events have an interesting The Man Who Wants To Buy New Shoes feel to it.


I'm not a coffee afficionado, but as a regular coffee drinker, I can tell the difference between instant and freshly brewed coffee; good and bad coffee. For example, KFC coffee is simply undrinkable...

If you are a sushi lover, one bite you can tell between those cheap supermarket kind and those prepared by specialist sushi restaurants. 

I'm sure you have similar experiences when it comes to your area of expertise or interest.


Now bring it home to this arena of trading and investing. 

Are you looking out for the "freshly brewed" labels others attach for your trading setups or investing ideas?

Or are you relying on your taste buds?



 

20 comments:

  1. I think packaged food products have the element of convenience and economy and may taste pretty good...but for trading and investment products...it may be convenient, economy is a maybe and whether it taste good I wouldn't know since I've always been a DIY trading + investment person

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joyce,

      Your doing is the proof of the pudding ;)

      Some of the companies you blogged about I've never even heard of them!?

      Very few retail investors/traders would venture out to overseas equities markets; at most maybe trade the equity indexes, but definitely not the individual stock picks at overseas markets!

      1) Very few bloggers and fellow investors talk about them at forums - no ready made "labels" to rely on...

      2) Brewing your own soya bean milk is a lot of bloody work!

      LOL!

      Delete
    2. Not really difficult to brew your own soya bean milk.
      You,me, anyone can diy it.
      Not rocket science as it is only a few simple steps :-

      http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Homemade-Soy-Milk/?ALLSTEPS

      You may even skip the steps on re-processing the leftover soyabean pulp if you think the first straining already enough for your consumption; it's a personal choice. Bloody hard work; no lah; easy peasy.

      Delete
    3. Thanks Money Honey!

      The only food I can "cook" are instant noodles and can foods.

      I think I'll have a long life... Going by the amount of preservatives in my body...

      LOL!

      Delete
  2. ETF & mutual funds are like Instant Coffee & supermarket sushi/pizza . it works & does what it is supposed to do & one size fits all. you dont like it , well thats bad. most of the people can tahan it

    picking individual stocks is like picking from a restaurant menu. it may turn out to be delicious or leave a bad after taste.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GP Blogger,

      And that's why most people are terrified of ordering on behalf of dinner guests.

      But when have a dinner host that has the conviction and confidence to order on behalf of us - especially when we are overseas guests - that's the making of a memorable evening ;)


      I learned the hard way never to invite a first date to a restaurant I've never there countless times before!

      Young single guys reading here, that's how you impress the panties off your first date. Know the signature dishes, manager and waiters address you by name, and they'll give you a good table ;)

      Young single girls reading this, those smarter ones of you will know immediately this guy has brought other girls here before!

      LOL!

      God is me, devil also me!!!

      Delete
  3. Hi SMOL,

    Relying on taste bud is an insurance. confidence is Another layer of insurance. Have u experinced this: you said something taste a bit weird. Your friends and family taste it and says no lei, taste ok. You would usually doubt your own taste then the rest of family & friends taste bud.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sillyinvestor,

      Countless times!

      With family and close friends, I'll spit it out and eat something else. Where got care whether they agree with me or not? If they want to continue eating, that's their own business. And they can't be bothered with what I think - own time; own target.

      But when I'm with acquaintances or business associates, even if the food tastes weird or bad, I'll not even breath a word of it.

      I'll come up with some excuse that I not feeling well or I've just had a heavy lunch or other "diplomatic" excuses for not eating much...

      EQ.

      Delete
  4. Hi SMOL

    I was relying on my taste bud but it seems like being a professional and proficient investors, we need accreditation and public recognised methodology, which is the labels/award/track records/words of mouths/bloggers endorsements

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frugal Daddy,

      I had a good laugh when they bring out the ex-daughter-in-law of Warren Buffet as "endorsement"...

      Might as well bring out "I am the barber of Warren Buffet - so I know the secrets to Warren's value investing"! You know, the things Warren told me while I cut his hair.

      Like that also can?

      Of course can!

      Just ask those who believed in listening to Warren's pearls of wisdom through "3rd party summaries" over "listening" first hand to Warren by reading Warren's annual letters directly.

      Yup, where got time!

      But that didn't stop people from quoting Warren all the time ;)

      Delete
  5. Hi SMOL,

    Nice story on the shoes. I will not bring strings, but bring my own socks to buy shoes! Haha...

    I am a coffee lover like you. "kopi o kosong" or Espresso! Must be black and no sugar. KFC and air plane coffees undrinkable! Macdonald conventional coffee "yucks" too. McCafe is good for me! At least Macdonald realized their coffee of before sucks and started McCafe.

    Admit, learn and improve! Sounds easy, but not so easy for many.

    Now, about soya beans or stocks, it's the word "convenient". In other words, put in least effort but dream big returns.

    Now where to find Fresh? Do it yourself Loh!!! hahaha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rolf,

      McCafe not too bad for the price we pay. Can give Starbucks a run for their money ;)

      If all we do is read blogs and sell-side analyst reports for "inspiration", I think its a bit of a stretch to call ourselves "fundamental" investor.

      Might be better to call ourselves "technical" investor since voodoo is well - VOODOO!

      At least we are more honest. So is going to Kwan Im Ma temple to pray that the market will go up!

      LOL!

      Delete
    2. I have attended one Coffee Appreciation lunch talk, McCafe is value for money coffee hor.

      Delete
    3. CW,

      Welcome back from vacation!

      That makes 3 of us who know our coffee ;)

      Unscripted, spontaneous, and definitely not because we were "paid" to an advertorial.

      This is hobbyist blogging! No vested interest or hidden agenda.

      Just shooting our mouths.

      Ha ha.

      Delete
    4. Still got stamps. collect and get free coffee. Some Mcafe still give u a pot of hot water if u prefer more dilute.

      Delete
  6. SMOL,

    My taste bud very suay. Only like cheap stuff - cheap food court steak, cheap kopitiam chicken rice, cheap hotel and air travel.
    Anyway, talking about coffee, some larger 7-11 have those brand new WMF machine that brews a decent cup... its cheap too. You should try it, I bet its better than KFC (setting low standards here, aren't we?)
    Unfortunately with investments sometimes its hard to know cheap and good vs cheap and horrible. Sometimes, what tastes 'good' to you actually tastes like ___ (insert something bad) to others. And while you are waiting for others to appreciate your supreme taste bud, Mr Market decides that he just gonna whack everything and leave nothing behind :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ckw-I99,

      Thanks for the heads-up! I'll give it a try ;)

      At 7-11, I mostly buy the can type ice coffee from Nescafe or Pokka.

      It's not about "cheap vs good" per se.

      It's more about relying on a "freshly brewed" label to determine our perception on how we see the world.

      That's the power and illusion of "brands and labelling".

      I were a purchaser.

      Let's just say the same business shirt sewn with different "labels" will command different retail prices but it's still the same EXACT shirt - same material, same production workers, same same everything! Except the label and packaging.

      Those into photography will know we can buy the same zoom lens from the OEM supplier's house brand at a lower cost versus the bigger Japanese brands.

      OK, some may argue the quality standards are different. If you say so. What do I know? I only have been to more than 50 factories or more?

      Just like those who buy SGX stocks assuming you can't be conned or scammed because... well.... it's Singapore?

      And we got the cheek to laugh at China farmers buying stocks!?

      Delete
  7. Hi SMOL,

    I like how you made this issue "relevant" to our community.

    Everybody was looking at this issue from one angle, but you managed to see the "positive" publicity to Yeos. Kudos!

    I have never drank Breadtalk's soya bean milk before but when I first heard about this issue, I was wondering how "bad" the tastebuds of these consumers were.

    I have drank Yeo's soya's bean milk before and I know how different it tastes from Selegie's or Rochor's. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 15 HWW,

      Thank you ;)

      If we can't tell the difference between Yeo's and Rochor's, we should seriously think about outsourcing to active investment managers or take the low cost passive indexing route.

      Why pretend?

      People are interesting...

      Delete

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