Top Stock Investors Singaporeans Follow

Successful stock investing isn't for the faint-hearted. The most followed investors have become respected legends who beat the market for many years. Singaporeans can learn much from their victories and see how to apply the lessons in their stock investing.

So, without further ado, let's learn about the top stock investors followed by Singaporeans and what makes them special.

Jesse Livermore: a Stock Investing Legend

Experts consider Jesse Livermore (1877–1940) one of the greatest stock investors ever. While a legend in the financial markets, Livermore is also a lesson about the dangers of leverage and living a reckless life.

Analysts consider the American a pioneer of day trading, investment psychology, and technical analysis. Livermore and the stock market were inseparable (trading since he was 14), contributing to his massive wealth during his lifetime. Interestingly, his stock investment bets came from crisis events, namely the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Panic of 1907, and the 1929 Wall Street Crash.

While times have changed drastically since Livermore's era, Singaporeans can learn much from his legend. This includes the importance of being self-taught, how history repeats itself, emotional discipline, and dealing with losses.

Benjamin Graham: the Father of Value Investing

Benjamin Graham (1894–1976) is an important figure in stock investing whose teachings influenced the wealthiest living investor, Warren Buffett (more on him soon). The former was a British-born American professor, financial analyst, and investor regarded as the "father of value investing."

Value investing refers to investing in a stock by looking at its intrinsic value (through fundamentals like assets and earnings) rather than the price. Ultimately, it's about finding undervalued shares that will perform well over time.

Graham authored two books, the most popular being 'The Intelligent Investor' in 1949, considered an "investing bible." While reportedly losing a huge portion of his investments, Graham used these setbacks to devise many investing theories that are still relevant today.

Warren Buffett: Wealthiest Investor in the World

93-year-old Warren Buffett is often considered the greatest investor of all time. Nicknamed the 'Oracle of Omaha,' Buffett is currently in the top 10 richest people worldwide. Buffett registered at the Columbia Business School in the late 40s, where he studied under Benjamin Graham.

This was when the young investor learned of value investing, setting the stage for an acclaimed career. Buffett had a successful business career in his early 20s before he made serious investments in stocks.

His breakthrough came in the early 60s by acquiring a then-ailing textile mill named Berkshire Hathaway with right-hand man Charlie Munger (1924–2023). He used his value investing principles to see the under-valuing of many companies and used the profits to buy other stocks with the same strategy. Now, Berkshire Hathaway is among the largest holding companies globally.

Aside from value investing, Buffett's investing philosophy includes focusing on the long-term (buy-and-hold), index funds, compounding, capital retention, and avoiding debt.

Cathie Wood: Disruption Innovation Stock Investor

Cathie Wood is one of the most popular female stock investors known as the founder and CEO of American investment management firm ARK Invest. Her skills in stock investing are such that Bloomberg named Wood the best stock picker in 2020.

It was this year when six ARK Invest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) returned over 100%, higher than the go-to stock index S&P 500, which netted 16%. According to numerous sources, ARK has about $8.8 billion in asset management across several managed ETFs, a few index ETFs, and a private equity fund.

Cathie Wood's investment attitude revolves around disruptive or high-impact innovation. While other investors focus on companies using modern technology, Wood favors futuristic areas like artificial intelligence, robotics, energy storage, DNA sequencing, and blockchain. While she always plays the long game, Wood prefers less 'safer' stocks with high-risk, high-reward potential.

Michael Burry: Subprime Mortgage Genius

While among the younger stock investors, Michael has left a notable mark. The American investor and hedge fund manager is best known for being among the first to predict and capitalize on the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. Actor Christian Bale portrayed Burry in the 2015 film 'The Big Short' based on the latter event.

Before focusing on the subprime market in 2005, Burry was widely successful in stocks from the 90s. He was a proponent of value investing like Buffett and Graham. Burry created his hedge fund Scion Capital in 2000, beating the market yearly since before 2005.

Despite being rooted in value investing, Burry is known for shorting overvalued stocks as he did with tech companies during the internet bubble. Other principles of his investing include patience, having a safety cushion, thinking differently from others, and investing in familiar investments.

Filtering Stocks with TradingView

The stock market is a mammoth financial environment with countless sectors. Understandably, navigating this range is overwhelming. This is where software like TradingView comes in. It's a supercharged charting platform covering many traded assets, including equities from continents like North America, Europe, and Asia.

A valuable feature of TradingView is its stock screener. This filters stocks according to sector, valuation, performance, technical indicators, country, and more categories. TradingView also provides a stocks heatmap for users to see much of the information from the screener more colorfully.

Enrich Your Investing Journey with Success

The most common thing about celebrated stock investors is their years of experience. This proves that being a successful stock picker takes time and dedication. Another takeaway is that principles used by Jesse Livermore and Benjamin Graham still apply in today's markets. Fortunately, modern users have the luxury of technology with platforms like TradingView that make navigating the convoluted world of stocks easier.