MECHCalvin Fund Report Aug, 2014 - Dark Horse

Latest fund price: $1.5561 (-0.48%)

Total Market Value: $1,450,101.35 (-2500.66)

Total no. of Units: 931,900.3089 units (+2829.5494)

Dear Investors,

Sorry for the late coming report, the global market is heating up and the HK index have been up for 6.16% since 2014, at the same time it has broke the 6.5 years long term resistance at 25000, so i have high expectation it will go up to a new height in the next 1-3 years.

But few might question why my fund is only up for 2.41% since 2014, although it is also because of roughly 2% of dividend has been paid (or reinvested).

The key reason is that when a market is going up (bullish), all the major companies (blue chips) will lead the rise, most of these companies are actually part of the index, so rise of these companies results in the rise of the index, 

However i do not like to invest into large companies, mainly because they represent the index already, if i invest in them, my fund performance will only as good as the index, how is it possible to beat the index by investing in companies which are already part of the index?

Most of my investments goes to small to medium large companies, these "second & third rank" companies usually follow the rise of the large companies, but once they pickup the steam, they surge so much more than their big brothers, and at the end of a bull market, even those rubbish, companies that have no value will start skyrocketing because the market will become so irrational, that's the time when i will take the profit and leave, and of course, wait for it to collapse, this is the forever cycles of our modern economy :)

So be patient and i am expecting something big from Oct to Dec

regards,

Calvin

MECHCalvin Fund Report July, 2014 - Next 5 Years Plan

Latest Fund Price: HK$1.5635 (+0.69%)

Market Value: HK$1,452,602.01

Numbers of Units: 929071.4175 units

Dear Investors,

I still haven't delivered all my dividend, esp. few friends I have not seen for quite awhile, i will keep the dividend into reserve and will contact you individually, if no preference i will reinvest the dividend.

I saw some funny faces when i pay dividend to few colleagues at office, $2, $4, $6, so many coins and it's just too much fun! some said although little, still better than bank, damn right it is!

anyway 5 years have passed and i am looking forward to the next 5 years, i have stopped fund raising for 6 months when i have reached the 1 million mark, however people (who know the existence of this fund) have started to give me money into the fund, so i feel i have enough money to work so i have stopped asking people to join or fund raising.

In my next 5 years i set simple goals.

1. I have repeatedly said 90% so-called active fund managers cannot beat the market in long run, i have proven i belong to the 10% that can beat the market in the last 5 years, and i expect i will continue to do so in the next 5 years.

2. I want to expand my fund to 5 millions, my capability of wealth management have increased.

3. I will find way to lower the trading cost even more (so far is 1%), 1% seems little, 1% of 1 million is only 10k, 1% of 1 billion is 1 million, although 1 billion in the eye of modern financial world is like $1 in an average person's eye, nobody cares, however i want to be push the running cost even lower, better donate that 1% to people who needs it, do you know $100 a month can feed 5 children in Africa?

4. Fully transform it as a long term retirement fund, which represent long term steady growth.

5. Find options to legalize this fund, option can be private fund with legal rights, or public (mutual fund) for normal citizen to join.

Let's see how it goes after another 5 years, it will be year 2019 baby!!!

regards,

Calvin

MECHCalvin Fund Report June, 2014 - The 8th Wonder!

Latest fund price: $1.5527 (-2.09%)

Market Value: $1,434,594.17

No. of Units: 923,919.1289

*the drop is due to dividend pay result in lower cash

Dear Investors,

you should received my individual emails about your dividend to be paid, you will receive notice from me about how to transfer money to your bank account, or if you are my friends or colleagues, i will give you in cash when i see you at office or next gathering within this month.

some of you already reply you want to give your dividend back to me, some suggest i can buy ice-cream, go get some dim sum or sandwich, thanks for that! 

Some of you decide to reinvest back in this fund, not a bad choice! Albert Einstein once said “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

even your interest is as low as $1, we will see how much difference it will become after couple decades, say after 20-25 year :)

nothing much more to add, 

i have made one video last month, check it out when you have time, it is about some feel stock trading is nothing more than gambling, actually it isn't :)

Enjoy the summer around the world! *unless you are in Australia right now :D*

regards,

Calvin

MECHCalvin Fund Report May, 2014 - 5th Anniversary! My Performance, Comments and Vision!

Dear Investors,

Latest Fund Price: $1.5854 (+1.3%)

all the details about what i have been doing, profit & losses, current assets, what i am holding, value, breakdowns are all in the attached PDF, unless you have high interest in money management (highly double it, haha), have a look when you have trouble sleeping, the numbers surely can help! just a quick summary for you what i have achieved in the last 5 years in case you don't have the time

Fund performance: +58.54%

Annualized return: +9.65%

* hang seng index: +24.75%

investors joined: +108

investors left: -5

money subscribed: +$1.31 million

money withdrawn: -$53,451

market value: $1.453 million

units created: 917,047.4222 units

fund price: $1.5854

realized profit and loses:

HKD: +113,281.35

GBP: -165

USD: +14,949.63

CNY: N/A

Comments:

not super great result, there are funds (although very little) can achieved +100% in the last 5 years, however there are about 90% of the mutual funds were unable to outperform the market in the last 5 years, so i think i did alright as an amateur.

My Vision (the value of one dollar):

no doubt i start to run this fund as a retirement fund, first of all i find financial needs for my retired parents, as well as the needs of some of my family members and friends that are the major investors of this fund, also i am not hoping for super quick ultra rich, my desire for money is so little, in the beginning investment was more like a game to me (like play chess or computer games), i want to get high score not because i love the money, but i love the game. But now when i have become maturer, i start to understand the value of money and how it affects people's life.

over the years working in financial industry let me understand how fragile our financial system is, bigger the institution, less trustworthy, low interest rate, high inflation, normal citizen got scared and become extreme sensitive to the current highly volatile world, money is not secure, corruption in company, government money-printing involvement doesn't help but push the greed in wall street even further, in the end we can all foreseen the inevitable conclusion: each dollar worth less and less

Many people do not want to get ultra rich or have the most luxury life, they just want "sufficient amount of money" for the rest of their life, so i have set these goals for my fund, 

1. investment amount can be low enough for normal people ($1)

2. outrun the inflation (assume to be 5% annually)

3. low cost (friction-less finance)

i want to put an extra note on the 3rd point, low cost, in the last 5 years, my total trading cost is about $10,000 (1.08%), although it is quite low but i feel it is not low enough, usually a professional fund charge 5% initial fee, 1-3% commission for the salesman, 1.5%- 2.5% management fee depend on each fund, and extra 15% so called performance fee if the fund manager do well, it ate up at least 7-10% of the investors' profit (IF there is profit), how many fund can have 7% return in the first year just to break even? my approach to my fund will always find way to lower the cost, zero management fee, and more over, i hope some day i can buy a small broker firm, so i can offer completely free trading fee, all the cost except tax must be eliminated!

in these way hopefully i can keep the value of each dollar being invested here unchanged!

regards,

Calvin

p,s. PDF only disclose to investors only through email

5th Anniversary Special Dividend 五週年特別派息

Dear Investors,
4/6/2014 will be the 5th anniversary of mechcalvin fund, in order to celebrate i didn't loss all my friends and family's money, haha, there will be a special dividend, details as follow

Dividend: HK$0.02 (2 cents) per units
Occasion: 5th anniversary
Entitle Investors: total subscription = or > HK$100 (or currencies equivalent of this amount)
Payment method: cash closest to HK$1 (e.g. HK$1.42 will be paid HK$1, HK$101.85 will be paid HK$102)
Payout date: July - Aug, 2014

If i see you in HK, i will give you cash, if you are not living in HK, you can have 3 options
1. bank transfer in HKD
2. bank transfer in the currencies you subscribed with the exchange rate on the agreed payment date.
3. remain in my fund.

you will receive individual email in June regarding to the amount of dividend you will be paid.

regards,
Calvin

p.s. can't believe i have survived this long! 5 years she has grown from 100k to 1.45 million, i hope in the next 5 years i will be able to hit 5 million mark! once again thank you for your support! it has been fun to me!


親愛的投資者，
2014年6月4日將是麥加文基金五週年，為了慶祝我並沒有輸晒親朋好友的錢，哈哈，我安派了特別派股息，詳情如下

股息: 每單位0.02港元（2分）
原因：5週年
合資格的投資者：總認購額等於或大於100港元（或等值外幣）
付款方式：最接近1港元現金（如1.42元將支付1元，101.85元將支付$102）
派息日：2014年7至8月

如果我在香港會見你，會給你的現金，如果你不是生活在香港，你可以有3種選擇
1. 以港元轉帳
2. 以你投資的貨幣轉賬 (匯率以過數的日子為準)
3. 繼續留在我的基金。

您將在六月收到有關股息金額的個人電子郵件。

最好的問候，
Calvin

P.S.真不敢相信我可以生存這樣久！ 5年她已經從10萬增長到1百45萬，我希望在未來的5年中，可以增長到5百萬！再次感謝您的支持！她一直帶給我很多樂趣！

MECHCalvin Fund April, 2014 Report - South Korea Ferry Disaster

Latest fund price: HK$1.5651 (-0.0024, 0.153%)

Total Asset Value: HK$1,313,249.63

Total no. of units: 839,095.9750 units

Dear Investors,

I have couple new subscription with around 100k combine within the last few days of April, they are all from my current investors, quite happy about it with the trust and it boast my new record high to 1.3M in asset just a month before the end of my 5 years journey in June.

i am already getting all the data ready for a details report next months, also a more in depth writing about the stories I have been going through in the last 5 years of my "amateur investment career".

anyway, i would like to spend today talk about the South Korean ferry disaster, the ferry MV Sewol 「世越號」(前譯歲月號) , the numbers of casualties have not yet finalized, but we all know most of the students is not going to survive and at the moment result at least 292 death. the heartbreaking video of the final moment between students have been released when they call their parents to tell them they love them is just too much for the world to handle.

so many criticism, to the Korean government, esp. their implement to handle such disaster, it goes to hurt the security and morale of the nation, but what it really did is to expose the fragile of human nature and unawareness of the nation.

More importantly, the main reason for this massive numbers of casualties is due to the extremely selfish behavior of the captain, he ordered the students to stay in the room, yet he himself and others sailors were headed to the safe boats and left everyone on board sunk with the ship. further more, when the captain is picked up by the coaster guard, he want to conceal his identity to pretend as one of the normal passengers.

the reason why the ferry sunk is still under investigation, however it appear to be the ferry was overloaded with goods and do not have enough safe boats, otherwise even the selfish captain might allow the students get on board first knowing he will have a space in the safe boats. and i am pretty sure breaking the load limit regulation was a consistent acts rather than single time event.

this is one of those moments the ugliness of human nature truly show but many people (even those who judge in anger) might behave just the same as the captain when facing the same situation, in fact a research showing in the last 10 ship related disasters, most captain abandon the ships rather than put their passenger safety first.

Ironically the only exception was the Titanic event, claim for her "unsinkable" engineer, when the ship sunk, the captains and their crews actually did let the women and children get on board first, and in the movie famously shown a group of Christian band play violins to clam the passengers down end up sacrificing themselves was also true in history, unfortunately this beautiful yet sorrow pictures only happened for the first class rich passengers, for rest of the unseen second and third class poor passengers, 90% of them sunk with the ship and lost their lives.

the reason why i put this down as the tropic for my fund report this month is going back to the fundamental of investment - Risk, whether the most brilliant and honorable crews or the most selfish captain, whether it was created by the highest engineer standards or it is just a normal ferry, the bottom line is it doesn't matter how well you calculate or prepare, you always need to prepare for the worst, in ship case, enough safety boats, in investment case, enough insurance.

most people use ships as a metaphor to funds is because its risky nature, the captains and fund managers are responsible for the safety of the passengers' lives and investors' money, all these events told me, no captain should be arrogant enough to think his ability will overcome any situation, nor he should be coward enough to abandon rest of the people when disaster strikes, and if he is confident enough, he should be prepared for the worst scenario. 

a key concept of investment is known for "margin of safety", or i call it in a more negative way "room for errors" will be introduced in my next fund report, i just felt these life stories should be told and discussed before the journey in the next 5 years begins.

regards,

Calvin

MECHCalvin Fund Mar, 2014 Report - The future of my fund

Fund Price: HK$1.5675 (+0.0111, 0.71%)

Total Assets: HK$1,275,343.28

Total Units: 813,640.6621 units

YTD: 4.8%

since launch: 56.75%

Dear Investors,

The market have dropped more than 5%, while my fund is up 4.8%, crushing the street like this make me feel good once for awhile.

two more months my fund will be 5 years old, and i have some thoughts about the direction i would like to take for this fund. when i started i plan 5 years as a reasonable "time frame" for me to prove whether i am good enough to be a money managers, i didn't expect an amateur like myself can achieve super amazing results, yet i still have some "bottom line" keep to myself for my first 5 years.

1. i should be able to perform better than the market index, otherwise it is just pointless as we can all invest in market index.

2. i should be able to perform better than most of the so-called "professional fund managers" that i need to pay management fee and performance fee.

although running 1 million size fund is nothing like 1 billion size, i do not feel "proud" of able to beat the professional, because hey, it is very hard for an large size elephant to complete with a small size rabbit. however i think most of my asset allocation strategy will also work in large size fund, i am just practicing and testing whether my strategy works.

the result still have to wait, but i think i did alright unless i make some super big mistakes in the next 2 months.

also a shout out to most of my friends and family members that willing to give me part of their wealth (no matter how little) to make this fund what it is today, many of you told me: "when i gave you the money Calvin, i expect to lose it." i would like to take it as a compliment but it isn't, hahaha, yet frankly it really gives me less pressure to risk, and it turns out alright.

in 2014, i will slowly reduced my loan ratio, not there is almost 50% (540k) of this fund is on loan to different parties in order to collect interest, but in the future i would like more liquidity and flexibility, also as my confident is gained in stock market, i will slowly reduce loan for higher return.

there are also thoughts whether the legitimacy of the fund, that might give you guys (investors) a legit partnership and more protection, but i will need time to see how it actually works here in HK, because i will have concern when the fund size increase, you just can't run a real "private" fund when your fund size is up to several millions without having few people lurking at your back.

and ultimately i would like to combine my insurance, and all my side business with this fund.

I just shared my thoughts, let's see how it goes.

regards,

Calvin