In the American Revolutionary war, Colonel William Prescott commanded the American rebel forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill against the British forces.
Low on ammunition, William Prescott gave the below (now famous) order to his men:
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"
Remember, in the 18th century, they were using muskets - not rifles. Muskets are smooth bore firearms; the shorter the range its fired at an enemy, the more accurate and lethal the shot would be.
This is easier said than done.
Imagine the enemy marching towards you. You can see them clearly. You naturally instinct is to panic and fire.
If you miss, imagine the horror while you are furiously re-loading your firearm, the enemy has closed even nearer to you and is now taking aim at you... A volley before the bayonet charge. Mama!
By the way, once the ammunition ran out, the Americans retreated. Technically, it was a "victory" for the British, but the British sustained much heavier deaths and wounded than the American side.
Morale is higher on the American side.
Investing and Trading
Isn't this what we agonise and go through as investors and traders everyday?
Fire too early, we get stopped-out or suffer the gut-wrenching disgust with ourselves seeing red all over our portfolios.
Fire too late, we find ourselves standing at the platform looking like idiots as the train peals away without us...
Do we conserve our resources or throw everything (and the kitchen sink) at the first sign of an opportunity?
When low on resources, do we retreat to live and fight another day? Or do we stand our ground come what may? Ego versus objective?
For those of us who have been in the markets for sometime, we know how's it like to "win" the battle but lost the war...
And weren't there times we were glad and morale super high when we have "retreated" from the markets?
Today woke up late at 9am.
Teeth haven't brush, face never wash, first thing I did was to see if I can pick a "fight" with my nemesis. Or in K-pop or J-pop's England, my "rival".
(What? If aunties can watch K-drama I cannot meh? )
One thing led to another; I also don't know how it led to me thinking do I still want to be in equities in my 70s to 80s?
I've noticed in my investment/trading journey, I've morphed and adapted to changes in my investment life cycle - if there's such a thing.
For example, I started out (as with most newbies) playing penny stocks. Now I don't.
Equities and cash were once upon a time the only 2 asset class I dabbled in. Now it has expanded to different asset classes and even "instruments of mass destruction".
From paying in full with cash to margin accounts, to now using leverage of up to 10 to 1. (Don't try this at home without parental guidance.)
I was thinking, will I want to be messing with all these shebangs into my 70s and 80s?
OK, trading to achieve that I can keep with a small account. It's like mahjong; to keep my mind active and dementia away. Not to worry.
Is there an asset class that's less volatile and "exciting" to the heart?
Can you imagine me living off dividend stocks in my 80s going through 1997 and 2008 all over again??? OK, maybe you are more optimistic on your heart condition than me...
I think I'm leaning towards a 2nd investment/rental unit that's paid in full during my "happy years" (乐龄 - now that's a good euphemism!）
I mean it can be good exercise to walk every month to my tenant and bang on doors, "Collect rent! Pay up!"
Also, if I move on, I think it's a lot simpler and easier to inherit property - something that can see, feel and touch - than a portfolio of arcane asset classes?
Unless of course you are super confident the persons you bequest to have the same financial literacy and investment acumen as you.
I don't know.
Just saying...
