Aloysius Chan's Blog

Review: Most things in existence can be calculated through mathematics but it is a tool and not a master. This book covers some aspect of data science and how data have brought major milestones to the world. Rated: 8/10 Think of market like a vending machine, you put your coin in today and take it out later. You have to predict the demand and supply of the coin, if many people put in you will have more profit and if too many people take out it the value will be reduced AI can never learn the pattern like a human where a young person touches the flame, get burned and will never touch any hot surface with bare hand again. AI processes differently, instead of relating to pattern, it can test a huge amount of scenario at a single time Write your resume like an AI and you will have higher chance of being picked up but it Cleopening: the staff closes the shop very late for a few hours and reopen it again in the morning Telemarketing employees who are more social is actually more prod...

Review: it covers a very extensive and somewhat related topic that encompass human pattern, easy to read as it segmentise into many small sections. Time to get your hands dirty! Rated: 8.5 / 10 Those who talk should do and only those who do should talk The most intolerant wins - renormalisation group: (e.g.) one fellow in the intransigent group only eat GMO food, her family have to accomodate and in a bbq the other families have to follow to Someone who has been employed for a while is giving you strong evidence of submission The best slave is someone you overpay and who knows it, terrified of losing his status Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium modeling (DSGE) is a method in macroeconomics that attempts to explain economic phenomena, such as economic growth and business cycles, and the effects of economic policy, through econometric models based on applied general equilibrium theory and microeconomic principles Traders, when they make profits, have short communications; w...

Review: Easy read with small sections, not the beginner to finance though. Good strategic asset allocation execution at that time, some fundamentals will never change. Rate: 7.5/10 “We would rather lose half of our clients during a raging bull market than half of our clients’ money during a vicious bear market” Risk is measured as the probability that you won’t meet your financial goal, investing should have the exclusive objective of minimising this risk Expert deliver better forecast by flipping coins The whole is greater than the sum of its parts Plan for the worst but hope for the best Strong early return and weak late return vs. weak early return and strong late return Optimal portfolio parameters: expected volatility, expected correlation, expected returns (Allocation of stocks) x (volatility of stocks) = (allocation to bonds) x (volatility of bonds) Optimisation methods: equal weight, naive risk parity, robust risk parity, mean variance Tactical Alpha is often defin...

Review: this is more of a self-improvement book that covers a huge area on human resource management. Learn from this book on the various factors to scale up when you know you are ready. Rated: 8/10 Scaling mantras Spread a mindset, not just a footprint Engage all senses Link short-term realities to long-term dreams Accelerate accountability Fear the clusterfug (illusion, impatience, incompetence) Scaling requires both addition and subtraction Slow down to scale faster - and better - down the road Create a template in everything you do, it is a little more time but in case you need to do it again, there is already a prototype Stoking the virtuous circle (boosting): name the problem > name the enemy > do it where all can see > breath assumption > create gateway experience and on-ramps > new rituals, better rituals > lean on people who can’t leave well enough alone Cut cognitive load: subtraction as a way of life (e.g. Apple), make people squirm (if you ...

Review: Don’t be mistaken by its title - it is actually a book on venture capitalise. Good flow and thorough information with good example, to be a good VC or know what a VC want, you must read this book. Rated: 9/10 Different strategy to apply to companies that are way too ahead of their time Typical VC returns: 50% lose money, 20%-30% make a bit to a few fold, 10% - 20% make hundreds of times VC look out for: people and team, product, market size LP: limited partner (funder); GP: general partner (manager) LP can come from university endowments, foundations, corporate and state pension funds, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, funds of funds LP invest in growth assets, inflation hedges, deflationary hedges Valuation marks: last round valuation/waterfall (equity %). comparable company analysis (benchmark other companies), option pricing model (Black-Scholes option; different listing price) GP-LP relationship basis: investment domain, best ideas, I w...

Review: detailed and identified many interesting angles of persuasion. A little unorganised though. Rated: 8.5/10 Queueing example: too little money = unattractive, just nice = give you overtake, too much people will show empathy and give up automatically You can sound sweet and still push your way through  Sex sells, but selectively and shouldn’t be done blindly Sexual and threatening stimuli are often compelling Winner images incite winning People with common points leads to heightened co-operations Roads to change: reciprocation, meaningful and unexpected, (e.g. tipping the waitress), liking, compliments, social proofs, feasibility, authority, trustworthiness, scarcity, consistency Bossification You: boss you have a great idea to… Boss: don’t remember You: Need budget for approval but not a problem for you Boss: Obviously will fund my idea You: Delay my other projects and put them to lower priority Boss: Don’t remember You: But is was wise of you Malfeasanc...