There were several takeaways from the Value Investing Summit (VIS) 2016 which I attended on 23 and 24 January. As I am no investment guru, I would not be dispensing investment advice. Instead I would like to share the takeaways from the investment presentations that are also applicable in other areas of life. The first one I would like to share is: “It’s never too late to start.”
Dr Niwes Hemvachiravarakorn, the “Warrant Buffet of Thailand”, only started investing in his forties during the Asia financial crisis in 1997. He shared that when he was retrenched during the crisis, he discovered that with the US$300,000 savings he had, if he invested in stocks that would give him 10% dividend yield, he could get dividends of US$30,000 a year. This translated to about US$2500 per month which was sufficient for his family’s monthly needs. He started with a capital of US$300,000 and grew it to US$100 million. According to “The World’s 99 Greatest Investors: The Secret of Success” by Magnus Angenfelt, Dr Niwes annual yield was 38.4% for 15 years as of 2013.
Dr Niwes, in his presentation, shared about Anne Scheiber, an American who only started investing at the age of 51 with a capital of US$5000. After a 50-year investment journey, when Anne Scheiber passed away, her estate was worth US$22 million and she donated all this to a university to provide scholarships for women.
Read an article about Anne Scheiber in The New York Times to know more about her.
The stories of Dr Niwes and Anne Scheiber give hope to those who started investing late. This applies to what we want to do in life as well. For those who feel that they are too old to fulfil their dreams, remember, it’s never too late. I feel it’s better to be late than never. In life, it’s never too late unless you are dead. So, go ahead, take the first step towards fulfilling your dream today.
I’ll share with you my second takeaway from VIS 2016 in the coming post, so stay tuned.
