iao (Sisi) Xue

Here is the linkedin profile.

S姐日谈|好久不见，来和大家谈谈心 is her wechat public profile.

心理情绪：

为什么你经常焦虑失眠，容易发胖？也许是因为你还缺乏这项能力

为什么我总是管不住自己？｜也许你还没有真正了解人的意志力是如何运作的

S姐日谈|人生的意义究竟是什么？

高考全省第11，北大加耶鲁的学历，仍然无法阻止我觉得自己像个失败者

越骄傲越自卑|如何摆脱内心的自卑感？

S姐日谈|学会放手，也是成熟的一部分

职场干货：

S姐日谈|是什么造成了人与人的差距？

两年的管理咨询，带给了我什么？

为什么中国学生在集体讨论中总是最安静的那个？如何在会议中提高“存在感”

暑期实习后如何拿到return offer? 高盛、BCG 招聘主管告诉你这些惊人事实！

100个cold email, 50个coffee chat后，来说说如何在美国net working

把自己放在危险的境地，去探索所有让你好奇的事情吧｜耶鲁四十年校友送给学生们的25句箴言

11位各行各业北漂们的2017奋斗故事

留学教育：

在耶鲁管理学院读书是一种怎样的体验（上）

在耶鲁管理学院读书是一种怎样的体验（下）

S姐日谈|英语出国考试提分的终极秘笈

寒门真的再难出贵子吗？穷孩子和富孩子究竟有什么差别？

高考填报志愿如何选择？S姐姐给考生和家长们的建议

在家庭教育这件事上，家长榜样的力量永远比严厉管教更有用

大学四年应该怎么过才不后悔？（文末有福利）

申请耶鲁商学院，你必须知道的5件事情 | S带你看耶鲁

没有工作经验就想读MBA? 带你了解耶鲁商学院银质学者项目

平均年龄23岁，他们可能是世界上最年轻的MBA

S答读者问｜如何高情商表达不同意见？如何坚持高强度学习？

答读者问｜如何快速准备GMAT和MBA申请Essay？

好书推荐：

S姐日谈｜我是如何3个月读了30本书？成年人如何培养阅读习惯？

毫不夸张｜一本看了能改变命运的书

好书推荐|管理学必读经典《卓有成效的管理者》

S荐书｜《原创力：标新立异者如何推动世界》

关于S：

从文科插班生到耶鲁MBA - 一个有关选择、勇气和坚持的故事

分享会|长路漫漫，我们一起走

录制北京卫视《我是演说家》节目

Case study: Data scientist linkedin profile study

May 4, 2019

Introduction

It is time for me to educate myself more on personal finance. I like to case study one linkedin profile, and learn how to learn finance as a self-learner. I believe that I met the person on mock interview, and had discussion on one algorithm together at least 50 minutes.

Case study

Here is the linkedin profile.

First, I like to learn two master degree program, one is university of Southern California, master of science, and then one more is George Washington University, school of business, business analytics.

I like to check ranking of George Washington University. Ranking is 34th in United States.

I also like to study Lime.com and relationship with Uber.com, and a hiring manager used to work at Uber.

Investing Insights: Retiring Overseas, Robo-Advisors, Short-Term Bonds, and More

Here is the link.

Managed Payout Fund (VPGDX)

Here is the link.

How to consolidate your retirement accounts - Vanguard

Here is the link.

6:00 - 7:38/ 8:59


The first year
The setup
401(k) = $250,000
403(b) = $60,000
IRA = $200,000
Social Security = $975/ month
Pension = $445/ month
Possible freelance = $200/ month

6:18/8:59

Marsha consolidates her 401(k) and 403(b) into her IRA = $510,000.
Marsha invests her IRA savings in Vanguard Managed payout Growth and Distributed Fund = $1,926/ month (estimated initial payout in 2010).

$1,926 (Managed Payout Growth and Distributed Fund - estimated initial monthly payout in 2010)

$975 (social security)
+445 (pension)

----------------
$3,346 (estimated)

$486,888 remaining savings balance:

10 Ways Successful People Stay Calm

Here is the link.

16 Rich Habits

Here is the link.

17 Motivating Quotes About Becoming Rich

Here is the link.

1. “It’s simple arithmetic: Your income can grow only to the extent that you do.” —T. Harv Eker

2. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” —Jim Rohn

3. “The only difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they use their time.” —Robert Kiyosaki

4. “The more you learn, the more you earn.” ―Frank Clark

5. “Before you can become a millionaire, you must learn to think like one. You must learn how to motivate yourself to counter fear with courage.” —Thomas J. Stanley

6. “You can’t work three hours a week and make $100,000. Get rich quick doesn’t work. Crock pot mentality always defeats microwave mentality!” —Dave Ramsey

7. “An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends.” —Benjamin Franklin

8. “Fortune sides with him who dares.” —Virgil

9. “Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs.” —Zig Ziglar

10. “I have about concluded that wealth is a state of mind, and that anyone can acquire a wealthy state of mind by thinking rich thoughts.” —Edward Young

11. “All riches have their origin in mind. Wealth is in ideas—not money.” —Robert Collier

12. “Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.” —Norman Vincent Peale

13. “Every day is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we’ve got 24 hours each.” —Christopher Rice

14. “What’s keeping you from being rich? In most cases it’s simply a lack of belief. In order to become rich, you must believe you can do it, and you must take the actions necessary to achieve your goal.” —Suze Orman

15. “Wealth is largely the result of habit.” —John Jacob Astor

16. “All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.” —Napoleon Hill

17. “Today the greatest single source of wealth is between your ears.” —Brian Tracy

Bond Rating Agencies

Here is the link.

What are the biggest risks of fixed-income investing?

Here is the link.

The biggest risks of bonds and other fixed-income investments are interest rate risk, credit risk and inflation risk. There are other risks to bear in mind, such as the call risk, but they only apply in a limited number of situations.

Equity Definition

Here is the link.

• There are various types of equity, but equity typically refers to shareholder equity, which represents the amount of money that would be returned to a company’s shareholders if all of the assets were liquidated and all of the company's debt was paid off.
• We can think of equity as a degree of ownership in any asset after subtracting all debts associated with that asset.
• Equity represents the shareholders’ stake in the company. The calculation of equity is a company's total assets minus its total liabilities.

The Formula for Shareholder Equity Is

$Shareholders'~equity = Total~Assets - Total~Liabilities$

How to Calculate Shareholder Equity

The balance sheet holds the basis of the accounting equation, which is as follows:

$Assets = liabilities + shareholder~equity$

Asset Allocation

Here is the link.

What is Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is an investment strategy that aims to balance risk and reward by apportioning a portfolio's assets according to an individual's goals, risk toleranceand investment horizon. The three main asset classes - equities, fixed-income, and cash and equivalents - have different levels of risk and return, so each will behave differently over time.

Age-based Asset Allocation

In general, stocks are recommended for holding periods of five years or longer. Cash and money market accounts are appropriate for objectives less than a year away. Bonds fall somewhere in between. In the past, financial advisors have recommended subtracting an investor's age from 100 to determine how much should be invested in stocks. For example, a 40-year old would be 60% invested in stocks. Variations of the rule recommend subtracting age from 110 or 120 given that the average life expectancy continues to grow. As individuals approach retirement age, portfolios should generally move to a more conservative asset allocation so as to help protect assets that have already been accumulated.

The Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Fund would be an example of a target-date fund. As of 2018, the fund has a 12-year time horizon until the shareholder expects to reach retirement. As of January 31, 2018, the fund has an allocation of 71% stocks and 29% bonds. Up until 2030, the fund will gradually shift to a more conservative 50/50 mix, reflecting the individual's need for more capital preservation and less risk. In following years, the fund moves to 67% bonds and 33% stocks.

iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | QUAL | CBOE BZX prospectus

May 3, 2019

Introduction

It is the first time I read the prospectus. I like to spend at least 30 minutes to read the document and also take some notes. The prospectus is here to lookup.

My notes

iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

Here is the link.

Diversification

Here is the link. 


For example, as of March 2019, the iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF holds 125 large- and mid-cap U.S. stocks. By focusing on return on equity (ROE), debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio, and not solely market cap, the ETF has returned 90.49% cumulatively since its inception in July 2013. A similar investment in the S&P 500 Index grew by 66.33%.

Portfolio Management

Here is the link.

Portfolio management is the art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance. 

Portfolio management is all about determining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. international, growth vs. safety, and many other trade-offs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk.

The Key Elements of Portfolio Management

Asset Allocation: 

The key to effective portfolio management is the long-term mix of assets. Asset allocation is based on the understanding that different types of assets do not move in concert, and some are more volatile than others. Asset allocation seeks to optimize the risk/return profile of an investor by investing in a mix of assets that have low correlation to each other. Investors with a more aggressive profile can weight their portfolio toward more volatile investments. Investors with a more conservative profile can weight their portfolio toward more stable investments.

Diversification

The only certainty in investing is it is impossible to consistently predict the winners and losers, so the prudent approach is to create a basket of investments that provide broad exposure within an asset class. Diversification is the spreading of risk and reward within an asset class. Because it is difficult to know which particular subset of an asset class or sector is likely to outperform another, diversification seeks to capture the returns of all of the sectors over time but with less volatility at any one time. Proper diversification takes place across different classes of securities, sectors of the economy and geographical regions.

Rebalancing is a method used to return a portfolio to its original target allocation at annual intervals. It is important for retaining the asset mix that best reflects an investor’s risk/return profile. Otherwise, the movements of the markets could expose the portfolio to greater risk or reduced return opportunities. For example, a portfolio that starts out with a 70% equity and 30% fixed-income allocation could, through an extended market rally, shift to an 80/20 allocation that exposes the portfolio to more risk than the investor can tolerate. Rebalancing almost always entails the sale of high-priced/low-value securities and the redeployment of the proceeds into low-priced/high-value or out-of-favor securities. The annual iteration of rebalancing enables investors to capture gains and expand the opportunity for growth in high potential sectors while keeping the portfolio aligned with the investor’s risk/return profile.

Investment Strategy

Here is the link.

Some investment strategies seek rapid growth where an investor focuses on capital appreciation, or they can follow a low-risk strategy where the focus is on wealth protection. Many investors buy low-cost, diversified index funds, use dollar-cost averaging and reinvest dividends. Dollar-cost averaging is an investment strategy where a fixed dollar amount of stocks or a particular investment are acquired on a regular schedule regardless of the cost or share price. The investor purchases more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high. Over time, some investments will do better than others, and the return averages out over time.

Graham's Five Strategies

In 1949, Benjamin Graham identified five strategies for common stock investing in "The Intelligent Investor."

1.  General trading. The investor predicts and participates in the moves of the market similar to dollar-cost averaging.
2.  Selective trading. The investor picks stocks that they expect will do well in the market over the short term; a year, for example.
3.  Buying cheap and selling dear. The investor enters the market when prices low and sells stock when the prices are high.
4.  Long-pull selection. The investor selects stocks that they expect with grow quicker than other sticks over a period of years.
5.  Bargain purchases. The investor selects stocks that are priced below their true value as measured by some techniques.

Graham emphasized that every investor must decide how they want to manage their portfolio. Experienced investors may prefer and be comfortable with a buy low and sell high strategy, whereas investors who have less time to research and follow the market might benefit more from investing in funds that track the market and adopt a long-term view.

Rebalance Your Portfolio to Stay on Track

Here is the link.

Types of rebalancing strategies

Here is the article's link.

Why Rebalance?

Primarily, portfolio rebalancing safeguards the investor from being overly exposed to undesirable risks. Secondly, rebalancing ensures that the portfolio exposures remain within the manager's area of expertise.

Assume that a retiree has 75% of his portfolio invested in risk-free assets, with the remainder in equities. If the equity investments triple in value, 50% of the portfolio is now allocated to risky stocks. An individual portfolio manager who specializes in fixed income investments would no longer be qualified to manage the portfolio as the allocation has shifted outside his area of expertise. In order to avoid these unwanted shifts, the portfolio must be regularly rebalanced.

Also, the growing portfolio proportion allocated to equities increases the overall risk to levels beyond those which are normally desired by a retiree. (For more, see "Rebalance Your Portfolio to Stay on Track.")

Busting the myth of market timing

Here is the article to read.

Dalbar, a financial market research firm, examine returns investors received relative to the market. They find over the past 20 years, investors in equity funds have lagged the S&P 500 benchmark by an average of 4.66% per year, on average. Part of this outcome is due to poor timing decisions according to Dalbar's analysis.

Economic overview: Where we've been and where we're headed

Here is the link.

Look back 2013 and look ahead 2014. It is one hour video and I like to watch it.

Why you should care about the zero sum game

Here is the link.

Don't try to time rebalancing

Here is the link.

When is the right time to rebalance your portfolio? Catherine Gordon of Vanguard Investment Strategy Group and Chuck Riley of Vanguard Advice Services say consider two triggers when looking to rebalance. If your asset allocation has strayed 5 percent or more from your target allocation, or if your time horizon is significantly shorter since the last time you looked at your asset mix, it may be time to rebalance.

Don't try to buy on the dips

Here is the link.

regular rebalance, keep the ratio, enforce buy low and sell high.

2014-Sep-25

Given the equity market high, should I hold the fund to purchase until it dips?

It is hard to time the market. Regular invest, dollar cost average. Keep rebalance.

Remain calm despite the noise

Here is the link.

With financial news bombarding investors via the internet, print, and cable news it's harder than ever to keep your emotions in check, maintain a long-term perspective, and tune out the noise. Mary Ryan of Vanguard Advice Services and Justin Wagner of Vanguard Investment Strategy Group suggest investors formulate their financial plan based on time horizon and risk tolerance and do their best to avoid speculation on events that could move the markets. All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

How older investors can maintain their long-term perspective

Here is the link.

Maintaining a long-term investing perspective makes sense for younger investors with decades ahead of them before they reach retirement age. But what about investors who are either nearing retirement or already retired? Vanguard investing experts Don Bennyhoff and Kahlilah Dowe explain how older investors can still think long term and why the risk profile of their portfolios may change as investors get older.

64 years old -

You may still have 30 years to live and then you may recover.

Tips for tuning out the market noise and keeping your emotions in check.

Here is the link.

Emotions are often an investor's worst enemy. Standing firm in the face of market volatility can be difficult. Vanguard investing experts Kahlilah Dowe and Don Bennyhoff discuss tips for tuning out the market noise and keeping your emotions in check.

International investing: Why market timing doesn't work- Vanguard

Here is the link.

Without a crystal ball, timing the markets successfully is almost impossible—even for the professionals. Chris Philips of Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group and Beth Orford of Vanguard Flagship Services® explain why holding a long-term, broadly diversified investment portfolio can be a better option.


March 9, 2009 is lowest time in the market.

Next month, next year

First month 20%

Market timing is difficult.

It is extremely difficult to time the market.

The best approach to investing

Here is the link.

During periods of market volatility it can be difficult to stay disciplined and stick to your financial plan. Vanguard investing experts Kahlilah Dowe and Don Bennyhoff offer perspective on why ignoring short-term market events and continuing to focus on your long-term investing goals is the best approach.


Do not make decision based on the fear.

Average return

2:30/ 6:22

Negative return is normal. You do not do anything wrong. Keep it long term.

Should you increase your stock allocation in retirement?

Here is the link.

longevity risk
volatility risk

Is the stock market overheated? Or is it cooling off?

Here is the link.

Why acting on the impulse can have a negative impact on your portfolio

Here is the link.

Taking your money out of the market and putting it into cash can be tempting when the market takes a downturn. Vanguard investing experts Kahlilah Dowe and Don Bennyhoff explain why acting on the impulse to put all of your money in cash can have a negative impact on your portfolio.

It is not about knowledge.

Case study

I did sell everything in 2008 on my 401 K Par tech account and saved to money market fund. I did not do anything from 2010 to 2019. The company par tech used T. Row Price, and then it was changed to Charles Schwab.

The Barbell approach: Managing credit spread risk in pension plans

Here is the link.

Why we're lowering the cost of investing in ETFs

Here is the link.

Building a liability-hedging portfolio: Why good is better than perfect

Here is the link.

What to do when you’re behind on retirement savings

Here is the link.

Save more
Save longer - work a few more years
Save aggressively - asset allocation - invest more aggressively

How should you think about risk

Here is the link.

10/18/2018 Women and Investing: Unique situations, practical suggestions Is there any truth to the notion that women tend to be more risk-averse when it comes to investing? Jane Greenfield, CIMA®, of Vanguard Charitable and Kahlilah Dowe, CFP®, of Vanguard Personal Advisor Services, discuss the different ways people define risk in this context, and share some practical tips for investors who want to focus on aggressive growth while maintaining a well-diversified portfolio and avoiding excessive volatility.

Things to learn:

Taking risk is not to lose all.
Too conservative is also risk. Because of inflation.

Volatility is risk, inflation is also risk.

Speculation is different from risk.

Too conservation is also

time horizon

how much volatility you can stand up? It varies person by person

But where to look for in generic? Idea
- look for target date fund, by retirement age
- structured
- 90% equity fund for people in 20s
- starting place

How to take risk?

Aggressive growth in portfolio

Different from speculation

Invest in individual stock, sector fund - not necessary risk we are looking for

growth fund

Asset allocation -

Well diversified fund - every one defines differently.

986. Interval List Intersections

May 2, 2019

Introduction

It is my second time to practice this algorithm. I like to share my code as well.

91. Decode Ways

May 2, 2019

Introduction

It is my mock interview today. I had chance to practice the algorithm decode ways again. It is really good practice so that I learned a few things through the practice.

My practice

I wrote a post to share on Leetcode. Here is the link.

I also shared my practice in 2018, thirteen months ago.

Case study: 2010 first quarter Par tech 401 K statement study

May 5, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. Today it is the first time I looked into carefully the statement of my Par Tech 401 K 2010 first quarter statement. I like to do a quick case study.

Case study

2010 is the year to recover from 2008 recession. Based on the study I did last week, it should fully recover. I looked into my 2010 statement, I saw over 50% gain in 2010.

   Large company [S & P 500 TR]  49.77
   RGACX                                       45.56
   SWPPX                                        49.52
   PAFDX                                        57.76

I just could not believe that in 2010 I did not read carefully my statement, and did not take action to put back my asset back in equity fund as I did before 2008 crash.

Actionable Items

I have hard time to reveal the fact that I do not learn how to read my statements at all from 2007 to 2019. I do not have good financial habit to do book keeping, examine possible leak, major leaks in my personal finance. I totally abandon my 401 K and IRA in money market fund starting from 2008.

I have very hard time to deal with the stress, frustration and difficulty to transit from 2007 full time job H1-B laidoff, 2008 Canada immigration case denial because of not showing financial statement, 2009 appeal case in Canada Federal court, 2010 starting a full time job again in 44 years old.

I started from top paid software programmer from 1999 to 2001, and then one year break as a home maker, went back to Motorola as a research intern, computer science PH.D..

I do not push myself hard to learn the basics why I fail as a business woman. I just chose Christian belief and then ignored the hard work I should do.

Why I like US equity market bubble in 2019?

May 1, 2019

Introduction

It is a short research talk. Why I like US equity market bubble in 2019?

10 reasons I like US equity market bubble

I can be a very good researcher now. I like to learn finance by myself and start to invest again on equity market.

I like to learn the finance and investment. I can watch every day morningstar videos, and then I can start to build up my vocabulary and continue to work on a small topic every day.

I am over 50 years old right now. I definitely like to use more of my research experience, and work hard to build wealth and grow rich in financial market.

Case study: 687. Longest Univalue Path discussion post

May 1, 2019

Introduction

It is so interesting to write a short research blog to talk about my learning experience from 687 longest univalue path. I like to make it simple and talk about discussion posts I shared.

Discussion posts

I wrote a few discussion post. Here is the snapshot taken on May 1, 2019.

687. Longest univalue path optimal solution
687. Longest univalue path with design flaw, pass 43 out of 68 test cases
687. Longest univalue path copy the idea from most popular post
687. Longest univalue path learn from a mock interview
687. Longest univalue path C# post order - check with parent value with step by step illustration

I worked on the algorithm with over 20 interviews on interviewing.io from August 2018 to May 2019. I learn that there are so many solutions and it is hard for me to be an interviewer. The algorithm definitely is not an easy level. 

However, I still do not get any upvote from my sharing. One thing I can do is to revisit last post, and then put all diagrams into one diagram to illustrate the steps. 

Time lines

August 11, 2018
I took my ex-coach's advice, worked on easy level algorithms on leetcode.com. This is the first time I learn the algorithm and how hard it is for me to solve it.

I failed to submit a working solution. I wrote the code and also shared the solution. Just by luck, there is no down vote on this one.

August 11, 2018

What’s the right way to measure equity valuation?

Here is the link.

Personal finance research on equity market investment

May 1, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I like to start to explore new area called equity market investment. It is new and exciting for me to learn. I also like to continue to work on algorithm and data structure problem solving.

What can investors do before and during a pullback?

Here is the link.

Asset Allocation in Retirement

Here is the link.

What is the probability of a major market correction?

Here is the link.

12/6/2017 Webcast: The economic and market outlook for 2018 Historically, in any year, a stock market investor has roughly a 40% chance of experiencing a stock market correction, but that’s only part of the story. Find out why trying to time the market is a game no one wins and why maintaining a disciplined strategy for the long term is the smart move.