Investing in US vs China markets S&P 500SP:SPXdchua1969From a Singaporean who invest in both the US and China markets - SGDHKD - since Jan 2025 it is up almost 5% that means - your 1000 sgd is worth 5000HKD, you buy more units with the same capital So market up 34% plus 5% forex gain - you are up almost 40% ROI USDSGD - since Jan 2025, it is down almost 5%, you buy lesser units with the same capital So market up 14% less 5% forex risk , that leaves you with about 9% ROI Diversification matters and it is not to say stop investing in US market and transfer all funds to HK market or vice versa. There are companies with excellent growth opportunities like the magnificent 7 companies (less Tesla) that are fairly hard to replace globally. Likewise, in China, nobody uses any other apps more than Tencent which makes the latter a must have stock for its dominant position (plus China ban FB entry into China). Two very different markets that operates on its own unique dynamics so it is good to have positions in both companies (and many more) I have also indicated the 20% crash from peak for both markets if it does crash in 2026 as many gurus (usually at end of year) starts to predict market moves. Will it ever happens ? Nobody knows but rather than worrying , it is wiser to manage your own portfolio properly! A few simple rules - 1) Avoid being overly greedy - To not to be greedy requires tons of discipline and as humans , it can be hard sometimes. If you had to punt, make sure it is 1% of your investable capital ONLY. 2) Time in the market NOT Timing the market - I had tried the latter years ago hoping to ride the bandwagon of success faster only to fall down the hills miserably. 3) ALWAYS have a Stop loss in place - For me, currencies, commodities, crypto ,etc - I ensure position size is manageable and shift my profits to protect my gains and have a SL in place. 4) Frequency of trade - If you go LONG on crypto and you got stopped out, the tendency to take revenge is HIGH much like the gambler in the casino. So , this rule forbids you to enter another trade within the week if you are stopped out. This stoppage allows you to cool down and manage your roller coaster emotions better. More often than not, on hindsight, it is a smart move. 5)Take calculated risks - From my grandfather days to current , I have not seen much changes in the education system in terms of financial literacy. I am no scholar so I do not understand why. Churning out employees from the schools does not seems like a smart moves to me. Costs of living from houses to food to transport will inevitably increases year on year and your wages has to play catch up. It becomes extremely stressful for those who are not in the high income category like AI or machine learning, etc but choose to go to say, arts, humanities, hospitality,etc. No matter how small your income is, start investing early in your career. Never mind if it is 100 as base capital. And that is why I like ETFs and with fractional shares now, it is also possible to buy in smaller amounts of the company shares. Relying on bank interests will only erode your money with inflationary pressures. Part 2 coming ...........