Investment and Life Lessons - Part 20

Here's the PART 20 of our Investment and Life Lessons series. 

These are the ideas we've gathered from our various readings on business, stocks, economy, money, war, love and life. Our list is getting too long again hence we're sharing it with the Filipino Investors out there for them to learn a thing or two. Cheers!

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1. Thus the master makes things change without interfering. She is probing yet causes no harm. Straightforward, yet does not impose her will. Radiant, and easy on the eye - Lao Tzu

2. Do not meddle with people’s livelihood; by respecting them they will in turn respect you - Lao Tzu

3. The living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry - Lao Tzu

4. Only he who is the lowest servant of the kingdom, is worthy of becoming its ruler. He who is willing to tackle the most unpleasant tasks, is the best ruler in the world. True sayings seem contradictory - Lao Tzu

5. The Tao of Heavens nourishes by not forcing. The Tao of the Wise Person acts by not competing - Lao Tzu

6. Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god  ― Aristotle

7. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease - Sun Tzu

8. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory - Sun Tzu

9. The helpful orientation of performance management is that “to rate” is not the end in view - but to enable the employees to realize the goals. - Prof. Rachel Consunji

10. Mahalaga ang pagpansin - Rachel Consunji

Nietzche's Higher Man

 “Nobody is more inferior than those who insist on being equal.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

1. Rejection of the Herd Mentality

• Nietzsche criticizes the conformity and mediocrity of "herd morality," which he associates with conventional societal norms and religious dogmas (especially Christianity).
• Herd morality suppresses individuality and fosters mediocrity by valuing humility, obedience, and equality over ambition, strength, and creativity.
• Higher men, by contrast, reject these imposed norms and carve their paths, setting their values and goals.

2. Self-Overcoming

• Central to Nietzsche’s philosophy is the idea of "Überwindung" (self-overcoming). Higher men constantly challenge themselves, aiming to surpass their previous achievements and limitations.
• Life, for Nietzsche, is a dynamic process of growth through struggle. Higher men embrace this struggle as a way to refine and elevate themselves.
• They embrace their instincts and passions but channel them creatively, rather than repressing or indulging them blindly.

3. Will to Power

• The "will to power" is the driving force of life, according to Nietzsche. It represents the desire to assert oneself, to grow, and to create.
• Higher men embody the will to power by striving not for domination over others but for mastery of themselves and their circumstances.
• Their greatness lies in their ability to impose their vision of life upon reality, shaping the world according to their unique perspective.

Even When My Hair Turns White - Rey Valera

(English Translation of "Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko")

When we grow old,

I hope we never change.
No matter when,
No matter where, this is my dream.
Would you still be able to,
Kiss me and hold me, oh,

Even as we age?
I’m just asking you—
Would you still love me,
Even when my hair turns white?

Vernian Capital on X: Bought FILRT as a Play on the BPO Sector with an Indicative Yield of 10%

Historical Chart, Weekly

Investment Rationale:

1. Assets comprising of 17 fully operational, Grade-A PEZA accredited Office Buildings in Alabang 

and 1 prime beach lot property in Boracay leased to Crimson hotels

2. Attractive dividend yield of 10% at current levels

3. "peak rates" outlook in 2023, policy rates projected to fall in 2024 onwards, making $FILRT yield more attractive

4. Strong BPO sector outlook projected to grow more than 10% per year in the next 5 years

5. Vacancy rate of ~20% is putting pressure on rental income but can be viewed as upside potential should office leasing picks up

6. Given point number 4, we think point 5 should be mitigated with almost 80% of tenants being largely multinational BPO companies

Vernian Capital on X: Bought GDXJ as a Bullish Play on Gold

November is one of gold's strongest month based on the 20-year historical average. If this plays out, we could be testing the multi-year resistance at 2050-2100 levels by then.

Macro backdrop of "flight to safety is also in play".

Technical Pattern: Falling broadening wedge, continuation pattern, bullish to the upside Long $GDXJ at 33.36

Holding Period: 1 to 4 months

Price Target: None, discretionary

Stop Loss: None, discretionary

#XAU #GOLD #GC

Traded Under (3) Special Situations

Source: Vernian Capital on X

1Y, Daily Chart

Effect of Interest Rate Hikes in the Stock Market (S&P 500) - A Historical Study

If you've been following the financial markets, the chatter in the current environment is the sell-off on global stock markets was driven by fears of an interest rate hike, particularly the 10-Year US treasury yield.

This raises the question: How did the stock market behave with the interest rate spikes in the past? And does a stock market sell-off necessarily follow when there is "spike" in treasury yields?

To answer this inquiry, we decided to check history since the current rate hike is not the first time it happened - in fact, looking at the data, we've visually identified 7 notable rate spikes in the last 40 years. We then checked how the bond prices and stock prices behaved during this "rate hike/spike" period to give us a flavor of what to potentially expect.

10-Year Treasury Yield from 1980 to Present

Top 25 Cheapest Stocks in the Philippines for Feb 2021

"Top 25 Cheapest Stocks in the Philippines" is a monthly publication by The Filipino Investor to give investors in the PSE a sense on what are the cheapest stocks at the current market prices.

This will be particularly useful to value investors a.k.a. those investors who like to buy companies whose current market price is selling cheap relative to quantifiable metrics such as earnings, sales, book value, dividend etc.

We would like to remind the readers of this website to do due diligence before investing specially on the more iliquid names. Cheers and enjoy!

Note:

1. P/E, P/B and P/S were arranged from lowest to highest (lower the numbers means they are cheaper)

2. Data as of 16-Feb-2021