6 Lessons I Learnt After 15 Years Of Reading Investment Moats

It has been almost 10 years since I started writing this blog.

However, I still identify stronger as just a reader of financial blogs. Maybe not so surprising, since I have spent way more time reading than writing. In fact, I started reading about Investment Moats almost 15 years ago, when I was still a bright-eyed undergraduate, taking first steps on my personal finance and investment journey.

In 2008, there was a dearth of localised financial content on the web. Since then, the space has evolved, matured and perhaps grown increasingly saturated. But I feel Investment Moats has still maintained its moat pretty well. There are many like me who are still reading Kyith’s articles, even after so many years.

So here are 6 lessons I have gleaned from reading Kyith’s writing.

Be Adaptable In The Markets

Let’s see how well my memory serves me.

• 10 years ago, Kyith was investing almost purely in Singapore stocks, especially dividend counters. Telcos and REITs come to mind and there were many articles explaining the fundamentals of these stocks.
• 5 years ago, with the Hong Kong markets appearing to be cheap, he diversified pretty heavily to Chinese and Hong Kong dividend-paying assets like toll-collectors, telcos and conglomerates.
• This past year or two, Kyith has almost totally pivoted from dividend stocks, and now holds a big part of his wealth in diversified ETFs like the JPM Global Equity Multi-Factor UCITS ETF, SPDR MSCI USA Small Cap Value Weighted UCITS ETF and Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (USD) Accumulating.

I know all these not because I am a friend who gets special insights but because I visit this page periodically.

Among the many investors I admire, I would say Kyith has done reasonably well in protecting his savings, capital and gains in this current bear market.

Kyith’s portfolio changes over the years can be considered a textbook for me. I now share similar sentiments with regards to picking individual stocks. As I approach my late 30s, neuroplasticity, or the lack of it, is fast becoming a concern.

I used to be so dismissive of annuities in my twenties. But who knows, maybe in two decades’ time, I might be inclined to purchase a private annuity.

Remain Frugal

I look forward to Investment Moats’ yearly expenses update and 2022’s should be around the corner. It is literally jaw-dropping to observe that his household expenditure has not exceeded $30,000 for so many years. Let’s see if high inflation puts a stop to it.

I have also had the honour of visiting Kyith and his flat is definitely spartan by my standards. He certainly has the wealth to spruce it up but clearly, he sees no need for it. Not a victim of mimetic desire, uh? Everybody’s house is so nice these days with 6 digits spent on it.

When your withdrawal rate is below 2%, even a severe bear market cannot jeopardise your FI status.

Continuously Read and Learn

In order to be able to write, reading is a prerequisite. Judging from the many references Kyith uses in his articles, it is likely that the number of podcasts and blogs he follows is staggering.

I believe his role researching Financial Planning solutions for Providend opened his horizons further. And almost definitely influenced his pivot to ETFs.

I guess the learning point is even after two decades absorbing personal finance and investment content, it is important to remain humble and continue to be open to new knowledge and perspectives.

Help Others and Add Value

Some years ago, as I became a bit jaded with this blog, I remarked to Kyith how hard it was to come up with fresh content. He gave me a simple reply that sometimes, based on our own experiences, we tend to overestimate what our readers expect of us. And that it was ok or even beneficial to repeat and emphasise our views.

Pretty sage advice indeed, since that is exactly what I do with my students in my classes as well.

The continuous Singapore Saving Bonds (SSB) and T-bill updates might appear tedious, but I know of at least one reader who values Investment Moat’s T-bill yield estimate and uses it as a strong guideline before making a non-competitive bid for the auction.

Commitment and Persistence

I think Kyith’s ikigai is being a wealth mentor/coach and leaving his job as an IT troubleshooter a few years ago to be with fee-based Providend is a good manifestation of that desire.

That role, coupled with one and a half decades of almost uninterrupted weekly posts is a powerful combination that illustrates Kyith’s commitment and persistence in this space.

10 years ago, financial blogging was probably a sunrise industry. Right now, it is a sunset industry. Organic traffic is stagnant at best, if not declining in this attention economy.

But when you realise that someone out there might still benefit from your writing, it is easier to continue your persistence.

Reputation Matters

I think very few or even none would ever accuse Kyith of being in it for the money.

All of us make some trade-offs when we attempt to monetise and it can be a difficult balancing act. Different strokes for different folks since we all value things differently. But what’s most important is that we should never knowingly benefit at the expense of readers. When that happens, we lose all credibility.

This is something that I want to bear in mind and heart on this blogging journey.

Thanks for reading. This article is not sponsored, in case you are wondering. (Although maybe I should have reached out to Kyith for something? Nah)

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