Seven Secret Skills of Highly Effective Bankers

1. Good/passable writer. This is usually not something that analysts are judged on, but do not underestimate how important writing becomes later on. If you can’t write, you’ll just be a quant jock.
2. Culturally and socially astute. Many of you have come from humble beginnings. But as you rise through the ranks and get richer, you need to step up your knowledge to learn about things like art and wine. It sounds like a stereotype, but it’s true.
3. Able to delegate. This doesn’t apply for analysts, of course.
4. Baller. If single, must be able to hit on members of the opposite sex. Benefit of having a gf/bf is that you can always pass on this type of thing. Related to this is the ability to be attractive and appealing even if you’re not.
5. Cannot be pee shy. Business takes place everywhere. You must be able to keep the conversation going from the dinner table to the urinal and to dinner again.
6. Alcohol tolerance. We’re not talking about shots here, but you should be able to handle a good amount and still stay on the ball.
7. Ability to look older than you are. Also important as you get more responsibility. Glasses, style of dress, briefcases … all help project a more mature you.

There you go.. dedicated to my good friend zhuo liujie, who always wanted to become a banker and probably will become one (and end up being my CFO next time...) (Quoted)

Everyday Pictures

Final Presentation

Just completed the FINAL presentation that I have to do in SMU! Counting down to graduation...

Kids are invincible

Seriously, kids are invincible. They can slide on the ground, knock into each other/walls/ground, they can roll on the floor--all with only one result: stand up again unscathed. Photos from our weekly kids club games time. Btw, there's a "no football" sign on the void-deck wall. Oh well.

Ipoh yang tercinta

Ipoh town hall, classic colonial architecture. This is where i performed my first concert with as 3rd violin in the ochestra. I was the yongest in the ochestra, 6 and still in kindergarden. I quite talented when i was young, what did the growing up process do to me?

I miss Ipoh, it's so beautiful.

Me, Ps Kelly, Sunny

Subjects: Me, Diva Kelly, Sunny boy
Location: Singapore Expo Hall 9

theory of attraction

"Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so are flaws a thorn on a rose." quoted

Take over

The Times predicted that 90% of traders will be axe-d by 2015 due to advances in technology in an article.

"The future of trading, it seems, is in the hands of technology. And instead of human traders earning the big bucks, it will be IT developers and programmers and software companies who will be earning the big money, enabling investment banks and other financial institutions to trade all manner of products electronically."

Fat hope man:

1. like the response say, all the machines will end up pricing things the same way, killing the volatility, making it not worthwhile to trade anymore, well regress to a straight line, better off buying index funds
   
2. machines bound to react based on templates, in unusual situations, it will crash
3. machines have no human 'sense', they can't predict what is happening at the other side of the table given that it is a human trading
4. you are possibly gaining because the other side is making mistakes, if machines cannot make mistakes, where is the gain?
5. all said and done, those people who develop algorithmic trading are traders aren't they? traders won't let this machine takeover happen. period.
   

Everyday Pictures

Greenpeace and iwaste

Greenpeace's site on Apple and its "i-waste". made exactly like apple's website.

Microsoft's Zune is coming out and expecting a loss, just like the XBOX, well why am I not surprised.

The resources that Microsoft owns, namely CASH, is being used to subsidize projects like this which are not efficient. Maybe greenpeace should go and hound on them instead, Microsoft creates lots of "waste" too.

Square

Told you square is the way to go.. Fujitsu's concept PCs..




http://akihabaranews.com/en/en/news-12523-CEATEC+-+Fujitsu+Concept+PC.html

Biology Course Parody

Today i was having a biology course, my professor says in example that one man that is technically very successful, and run the fastest, if he doesn't have balls, he is not comparable to the beach bums that have 25 offsprings with various woman that passed by the beach, because he poliferated and reproduction is all it matters in evolution, because no reproduction, no evolution.

birds that have beautiful feathers that attracts cats that will eat it might be in danger always, but if the bird's feathers can attract many other birds to fertilise the eggs and reproduce many enjoys darwinian success (before eaten by the cat) than the one that is next door that lived a very successful life but attracts no other birds. It's tricky, my professor says.

Darwinian fitness is reproduction success, not the capability of jumping higher or flying higher.
implication: We are doing it wrong, should marry early and have lots of decendents, the largest tribe rules the earth.

so in the end both that have bigger brains or bigger muscles are equally capable to survive, though the world glamorises big brains. They interbreed and come to a median anyway, so why matter?
implication: it doesn't matter whether your mate has big brains or muscles.

Plants have sex all the time, bees carry their sperm (pollum) to help them reproduce. Plants are the most obscene species because their reproduction organs (flowers) are the most outstanding and largest in size. So when you are smelling a flower, you are smelling...? Why is it that women like flowers so much again?
implication: hmmmmmm...

Someone asked then how do you determine a new species? When the species cannot interbreed with the old species anymore. Man, it's all about reproduction, and no the government did not pay me to say this.

Castle for sale

Fairy tales can come true. Have you ever dreamt of living in a castle? here your chance. Castles can be bought for just 1 million. check it out.

38 Steps

38 Steps to becoming a trader(quoted)

1. We accumulate information - buying books, going to seminars and researching.
2. We begin to trade with our 'new' knowledge.
3. We consistently 'donate' and then realise we may need more knowledge or information.
4. We accumulate more information.
5. We switch the commodities we are currently following.
6. We go back into the market and trade with our 'updated' knowledge.
7. We get 'beat up' again and begin to lose some of our confidence. Fear starts setting in.
8. We start to listen to 'outside news' and to other traders.
9. We go back into the market and continue to 'donate'.
10. We switch commodities again.
11. We search for more information.
12. We go back into the market and start to see a little progress.
13. We get 'over-confident' and the market humbles us.
14. We start to understand that trading successfully is going to take more time and more knowledge than we anticipated.

MOST PEOPLE WILL GIVE UP AT THIS POINT, AS THEY REALISE WORK IS INVOLVED.

15. We get serious and start concentrating on learning a 'real' methodology.
16. We trade our methodology with some success, but realise that something is missing.
17. We begin to understand the need for having rules to apply our methodology.
18. We take a sabbatical from trading to develop and research our trading rules.
19. We start trading again, this time with rules and find some success, but over all we still hesitate when it comes time to execute.
20. We add, subtract and modify rules as we see a need to be more proficient with our rules.
21. We feel we are very close to crossing that threshold of successful trading.
22. We start to take responsibility for our trading results as we understand that our success is in us, not the methodology.
23. We continue to trade and become more proficient with our methodology and our rules.
24. As we trade we still have a tendency to violate our rules and our results are still erratic.
25. We know we are close.
26. We go back and research our rules.
27. We build the confidence in our rules and go back into the market and trade.
28. Our trading results are getting better, but we are still hesitating in executing our rules.
29. We now see the importance of following our rules as we see the results of our trades when we don't follow the rules.
30. We begin to see that our lack of success is within us (a lack of discipline in following the rules because of some kind of fear) and we begin to work on knowing ourselves better.
31. We continue to trade and the market teaches us more and more about ourselves.
32. We master our methodology and our trading rules.
33. We begin to consistently make money.
34. We get a little over-confident and the market humbles us.
35. We continue to learn our lessons.
36. We stop thinking and allow our rules to trade for us (trading becomes boring, but successful) and our trading account continues to grow as we increase our contract size.
37. We are making more money than we ever dreamed possible.
38. We go on with our lives and accomplish many of the goals we had always dreamed of.

I like 37 and 38. Who is holding the 'Skip' card?

Icosystem

*not in order of importance

Seth and I

A photo taken during the Planet Shakers concert in the past month. With me in the photo is Seth, one of my cell members. When I first got to know him, he's sec 3.

Now he's in design school, confident and playing drums on stage, even have his own members already. (quite popular with girls too hehe)

So glad too have seen him grown.

霸王别姬

有美人名虞，常幸从；骏马名骓，常骑之。于是项王乃悲歌慷慨，自为诗曰：
“力拔山兮气盖世，
时不利兮骓不逝。
骓不逝兮可奈何，
虞兮虞兮奈若何!”
歌数阕，美人和之。项王泣数行下，左右皆泣，莫能仰视。(quoted)

《史记?项羽本纪》“霸王别姬”

于是项王乃欲东渡乌江。乌江亭长?船待，谓项王曰：“江东虽小，地方千里，众数十万人， 亦足王也。愿大王急渡。今独臣有船，汉军至，无以渡。”

可见项羽不是没有渡江生息的机会，只是项羽固执地认为“天之亡我”，不愿渡河，“乃自刎而 死”。虞姬为什么不等所有的机会都用尽，再无生路时殉情，就这么匆匆忙忙就判了项羽的死 刑呢？(quoted)

王者的殉落，是矛盾的。成功前屡有挫折，坚强是因为表露脆弱。

别谈一代枭雄,我们何尝不是在所有生机用尽后就擅自判了自己死刑？在给他人多一个机会，再奋斗，在尝试，在对待自己，在信，在望，在爱。

再信，再望，再爱吧！

NeXT up!

Was just doing some research on NeXT Computers, during that time, Steve Jobs was running both NeXT and Pixar, and I thought that these NeXTcubes are used mainly by these animation companies that needed high rendering power. But check this out, UBS, the financial powerhouse, uses the NeXTcube!

"Freeborn traces UBS' use of IM back to 1995, when Swiss Bank had a large installed base of NeXT Computer Inc. computers and developed its own chat program for them..." (quoted)

As the article reads, financial services are using IM (instant messaging) in communication because emails are deemed to be "too slow" (Bloomberg terminals already have IM services where you can communicate with the helpdesk -- press "help" button twice). Financial services seem to be in the forefront of technology, among the early adopters, from using NeXT computers to having proprietary databases, softwares and even languages written for their own analytical purposes, usually in the trading floors.

Would it be that financial services are the frontline in pushing the frontiers of technology in the commerce? Any entrepreneur out there coming out with a groundbreaking tech? Maybe the first customer to approach is a banker...

Walk On

So Mr Tham put this book in my hand, but was quite busy, plus there are a queue of books to be read at home, I didn't quite get to read it until today.

"If U2 had been in fellowship....., it would have been easy to get sucked into a Christian subculture. Many bands in similar situations are discouraged from playing in secular venues like bars or clubs because Christians shouldn't be in these places. The theory is that you shouldn't take Jesus into what are often called "dens of iniquity". The only acceptable reason for attending these places would be to evangelize the lost who go there.

As a result of this mindset, many talented musicians are steered into a fospel band scenario, going from church to church singing cliche-driven songs with limited content. The audience members are almost exclusively Christian, and, as the majority of them already have assented to the beliefs being preached from the stage, the cliches are wasted. A safe Christian industry ghetto is created with pop stars and record companies....."

Today's reading is until page 15. Really, how should a "Christian" band approach the industry? Or for that matter, a "christian" teacher, a "christian" engineer, a "christian" salesman, a "christian" ---------- is there any difference? There are "christian" books and media materials that may fit what is mentioned above "cliche-driven songs(or books or films) with limited content." Even to some of us, we have been conversing and thinking in such a state where we loose our relevance in the society?

Was just walking by a stall in a major shopping centre near an MRT station with T-shirts with "christian"' printings, and somebody in my group commented that it was quite highly priced. This circle of merchandizes have almost a exclusive audiance/customers that there is probably less need for improvement, when in lack of competition?

Economics of "christian" products...

Merdeka prayer @ Bukit Merah

Prayer for Malaysia on the 31st Aug at Ps Vic's office. Four main items we prayed for:

1. Corruption
2. States
3. Leaders
4. Churches
   

Was a good time to get to know our country and to pray. wonder how i can get Pak Lah's merdeka speech. Do they upload somewhere online?





Supper at Brinda's after the prayer...buzz of comparisons between singapore "mamak" food and Malaysia's...

The Kite Runner

You will know that it is a good novel, if you read it and think that it is the author's real life story, if you didn't read the author's bio at the backpage or the cover.

Friendship, commaradie, father and son, country, pride/dignity, survival, hopes and dreams, love...all the tools that is so well-used in film and books, all combined into one.

great read, for mature readers only.

Spiral Zone

Have been trying to recall this cartoon that i watched when i was young, all i can remember is this circular "motorcycle" thing.. today while discussing abt a due diligence on a animation company, i asked my supervisor about this and he told me that its Spiral Zone. Gosh i don't even remember the name anymore.. www.spiral-zone.com

Famous people from Ipoh

1. Michelle Yeoh, (James Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies, Memoirs of a Geisha. (She is an alumnus of Main Convent Ipoh, and was awarded the honorary title Dato' by the Sultan of Perak in recognition of her achievements.)
2. Cartoonist Mohammad Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, from Jalan Pasir Putih school and secondary education in Anderson School.
3. Angie Cheung Wai Yee, a Hong Kong based-actress who was born in Ipoh.
4. Michael Wong (光良), a Taiwan based-singer，was a student of Sam Tet school.
5. Badminton players Cheah Soon Kit (Atlanta Olympics Silver Medallist for men's doubles), and Koo Kien Kiet. The latter was a student of St. Michael's Institution, Ipoh.

adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipoh

My First Shepherd Pie

Just Before the baking...

Ready to go into the oven!

All ready to be eaten!
(it actually turns out to taste pretty ok...)

GCYC

Yeah! Just got some photos from my friend, for the GCYC, gonna upload a few more in a while.

Prayer tunnel: first time doing this, according to Pastor Vic, "its been a while since we've done this". So i presume he did it in M'sia. Quite a nice concept, walking under the prayer "covering" of others.

>>>>>

Welcome dinner at Hall 2....food was not bad, a little too much food for a table of..7
<<<<<

TC.. people from DUMC+ECF+(Sabah+Sarawak)+me(FCBC)

>>>>>

Demi Negara Yang Tercinta

One of my favourite songs that i remember from national TV. I missed these songs...

Setia

Demi negara yang tercinta,
 dicurahkan bakti penuh setia,
Demi raja yang disanjung tinggi,
 kesetiaan tak berbelah bagi.

Kepada pemimpin, kepada rakyat,
 khidmat diberi penuh taat,
Sama bekerja, sama berusaha,
 setia berkhidmat untuk semua,

Rela berkorban apa saja.
 Amanah bangsa tetap dijaga.
Kami berikrar penuh setia
 untuk agama bangsa, dan negara.

Beautiful singing by fish leong:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ammo74jMDo&search=tercinta

The original videos:
http://www.kempen.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=115&lang=ms

working life.....zzzzz

Going to march out into the workforce by the end of this year. Now it feels like the past what..16 years of school just finish in a blink of an eye. You know, sometimes cellgroup is like a "work-grumble" session, everybody's sharing is how bad work is, and i agree with what my friend say, it makes people like us that are going to work feel depressed. Its like passive smoking you know, this is passive depressant.

Anyway, quite inspired by today's 40 day prayer devotion. the title is called "blowing your cover", from Esther 4:10-14:

"Mordecai shattered Esther's sense of false security derived from living in the King's palace......Mordecai had a clear vision of who God is. He was confident that deliverance will come. Esther could choose to be a part of it, or miss it altogether......"

There is no coincidence in life? I believe so. Arguably, Queen Esther is made queen for that moment; and it is that moment, that was capture in the history. Be part of it or miss it. Hopefully my working life is not zzzzz... I think, I am excited for the strangest reasons. I am excited to go to work because performance in school is really not that great, and I am excited to see how He will lead me and let me see my purpose at work.

There's a very interesting term that hedge fund managers use to describe their fund management style or the unique area that they are trading in--its called "mandate". What is my mandate, and what is yours?

What kinda training is this? no wonder they win.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O8phFeXfN0&search=italy%20training

updates, updates...

Has been a very busy week for the past week. Started my internship for one week, besides that every other night, there were appointments, teachings, meeting up with people, encounter weekend...

ANYWAY, Pauleon just came back from US and guess how he quantify his absence in reading updates from blogs : "Even Yin Huan updated his blog!" okay....

I got update my blog ok!! hehe...

Running MONEY: Hedge Fund Honchos, Monster Markets and My Hunt for the Big Score

OK, I can't help it ok. I read another of Andy Kessler's book. This one talks about his experience running a hedge fund, searching for the next big thing in silicon valley. Some learning if you are interested in Tech stuff and also some arguements about the U.S. deficit. It's a quite good read, though not as interesting as "Wall Street Meat" i think. His friend at MS, Barton Biggs, wrote a book recently also, haven't got a chance to read it.

What is your childhood dream?

What is your childhood dream? Remember when you write your first essay in school about "my ambition" or "我的志愿", most of the kids in the class will be writing about wanting to be doctors or engineers (i fail to understand why is it engineer, maybe that's a after effect of the industrial revolution). What did you write?

I often try to recall what is my childhood dream. To be a superhero? But i don't remember who is my favourite super hero, though i liked a few of them. To be a doctor or engineer is unlikely. Since i was taking art lessons during that time, could it be an artist? No impression of that either. Maybe its police, or some sort of military sort.

One of the memories i remember of myself is to play "police and thief" kind of game in the house, where i will hold my gun (a replica of a pistol, transparent plastic kind. i still remember i longed at the gun for several months before my dad bought it for me RM3.50, great deal of money mind you). so i will have imaginary bad guys and my gun, ok this is the best part. Being young as i am, my gun is of state of the art technology. Cos it's suppose to be able to generate bullets using air ( i was thinking at that time, gosh, the movies all cheat people one, like the bullet never finish, My gun more real, can generate bullet using air, so it'll never run out).

there you go...

Lego

Lego, our beloved childhood toy (well, at least mine). I still remember i have this whole box of lego bricks, and its my daily dose of play time.

Two years ago, Lego broke. Its kinda sad isn't it, even Lego have to face up to the cruel reality. Just read an article in Fortune(June 19,2006: "One Brick at a Time") of how Lego is cutting cost and check this out: "to save on manufacturing costs, Lego has cut the number of pieces, or "elements," as they are known-for example, eliminating different versions of a little chef, some with a mustache, some without....."

Its the kind of feeling that when we grow up, the things of the childhood is taken away cruelly. I mean like Lego is part of my fond memories of growing up as a 4 to 5 year old. My solitude, creative moments, possibly the building blocks of any existence of creativity I possess now.

Well, yeah its the same thing like Tundercats or Saber Rider or He-man doesn't show anymore. But to read and understand it as a adult now is a very queer feeling.

FIASCO

Another good read, FIASCO, about a former's Morgan Stanley Sales trader's life. Half way through the book now, quite a page turner, like wall street meat and monkey business, provided that you know some of the jargons and financial stuff.

picked up and browse through another book that i read long quite some time ago: The Joseph Cycle. Quite interesting business cycle theory by former UBS technical analyst.

Hope work on Monday will be good..

what is at play...?

Think about this:
1. You are forced to queue and buy food from vendors that have bad food and bad services
2. The food are identical across foodcourts islandwide, priced at identical prices of $3.50, $4.00, $4.50, etc.
3. The places you live in are identical (HDBs), besides those of the rich (Resembling the bereaucrates of the old)
4. is voting secret?

what is at play?

Wall Street Meat

Another one of the wall street sensational books. Seem to be so amazing how people get into wall street jobs so "accidentally".

Picked up the book yesterday as i was browsing in library and finished it within one day. Good read, especially for those who are interested to become equity analysts.

Its similar to "Monkey Business" in the sense that the author is happy to get out of the business before it turned sour and the style of writing. My lecturer or those who are in the business before will say that it's sensationalized. Look at the following quote from the afterword:

"Would I do it again? If I were 25 years old, would I go through the struggle of gaining and keeping a reputation on Wall Street again, as an analyst or in any other role? Yes, in a hearbeat. There is no better vantage point to watch and participate in this thing call capitalism."

Books that i read recently...

The fortune sellers, one of the first books that i read from a list of books that i have gathered and reserved from the school library. (that's when i realized the school library has a good collection with excellent librarian service, nice librarians who always smile). This is about the prediction and forecasting which the author claimed to be one of the oldest business in history. Talks about technology prediction, economic forecasting, weather forecasting. it's quite a "bottom-line" kind of book, but i though the book didn't really give a solution to all the issues.

The new age nerd-to-afro thinker, made famous by "the tipping point" (which incidentally is next is my reading list). Just have to see what is this talk-a-bout, how great is his findings and ideas.

Blink, is mostly a pscyhology, sociology kind of book, though i find the most interesting parts of the book to be in the end, where examples are staged using real business world examples.

Freakonomics, also one of the books that is so much on the bestselling charts, i have to see what is it all about. read half of the book in one day, probably finishing before the weekend. I felt like i was devouring books. Interesting book to an extend, explaining phenomenon using stats and whacky associations.

Sometimes i feel that authors are trying too hard to write books that will sell. But genuine heart-felt thoughts sometimes are just the most easy and interesting to read.

next in the reading list: and bedtime readings:
and if everything can be learnt through books:Books I'm looking for: