Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

• Ticker: VIG
• Expense ratio: 0.10%
• Morningstar rating: 3 stars
• YTD performance: -1%
• Five-year performance: +74%

Fat dividends are at a premium in today's world of near-zero rates.

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) owns shares of companies with a proven track record for growing their dividends year after year. Large holdings include IBM (IBM), Coca-Cola (KO) and Procter & Gamble. (PG)

Millennials are also big fans of the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM), which gives investors exposure to stocks projected to pay out hefty dividend yields.

Vanguard Value ETF

• Ticker: VTV
• Expense ratio: 0.09%
• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• YTD performance: +1%
• Five-year performance: +80%

Everybody loves finding a great deal -- and that's what value investing is all about.

Warren Buffett is the best known value investor. He's crazy about finding stocks that look cheap and pay out healthy dividends. The Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) is chock full of stocks that pay out fat dividends, including ExxonMobil (XOM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Fittingly, its sixth-biggest holding is Berkshire Hathaway, (BRKA) Buffett's holding company.

Vanguard Growth ETF

• Ticker: VUG
• Expense ratio: 0.09%
• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• YTD performance: +4%
• Five-year performance: +110%

Growth stocks are focused on building their business for tomorrow, not paying out dividends today.

Thanks to impressive innovation and the rebounding economy, the Vanguard Growth ETF has more than doubled over the past five years. Its biggest holdings look like a who's who of household American tech and consumer stocks, including Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), Walt Disney (DIS) and Facebook (FB).

Vanguard REIT ETF

• Ticker: VNQ
• Expense ratio: 0.12%
• Morningstar rating: 3 stars
• YTD performance: -4%
• Five-year performance: +55%

Millennials may not be buying houses but they know the importance of real estate assets.

The Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) invests in stocks of real estate investment trusts, or REITS. These companies own office buildings, hotels, condominiums and other properties.

Because they pay out hefty dividends, REITs have been a popular way for investors to generate income in the historically low interest rate environment.

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

• Ticker: VEA
• Expense ratio: 0.09%
• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• YTD performance: +7%
• Five-year performance: +35%

If you were one of those Millennials who took a year off to traipse around the world's offbeat destinations, you might recognize this ETF's attempt to mirror just that.

The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) owns a basket of medium and large stocks in developed markets around the world -- except the U.S. and Canada.

It's one way for investors to make sure they aren't putting all their eggs in North America.

Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF

• Ticker: VWO
• Expense ratio: 0.15%
• Morningstar rating: 3 stars
• YTD performance: +3%
• Five-year performance: +6%

Young investors need to have a stomach for risk. That's exactly what they're getting with this ETF.

The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) carries a "high potential for growth, but also high risk," the fund's website says. That's because it gives investors exposure to more volatile and less mature markets like Brazil, South Africa and especially China.

Lately turbulence in these countries has dinged performance. The ETF is up just 6% over the past five years, making it the worst-performing equity fund on this list.

PowerShares QQQ ETF

• Ticker: QQQ
• Expense ratio: 0.20%
• Morningstar rating: 5 stars
• YTD performance: +6%
• Five-year performance: +140%

Tech stocks are sexy -- and so is the ETF that tracks their performance.

The PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ) is one of the most famous ETFs in the world. It mirrors the Nasdaq 100, the index that's home to big-name tech stocks like Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Google (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA).

Tech stocks have been at the heart of the bull market on Wall Street. Therefore it should be no surprise that this ETF is the easily the biggest winner over the past five years among the ones on this list.

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (series 2 of 10)

• Ticker: VTI
• Expense ratio: 0.05%
• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• YTD performance: +3%
• Five-year performance: +95%

Millennials are the most diverse generation ever, which makes them more inclusive than older generations. The attitude carries over to their ETF preferences.

Their second-favorite ETF is the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, (VTI) according to TD Ameritrade.

This super cheap fund mimics the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index, which represents almost 100% of the U.S. investable equity market. It includes nearly 4,000 large, small and micro cap stocks.

Millennials love these 10 ETF funds (Series I of 10)

Here is the article.

1. SPDR S&P 500 ETF

• Ticker: SPY
• Expense ratio: 0.09%
• Morningstar rating: 4 stars
• YTD performance: +2%
• Five-year performance: +92%

Millennials are getting to know exchange-traded funds and they love them.

ETFs are easy to understand. They trade just like stocks -- you can buy and sell them online -- but they can also be less risky. An ETF is made up of a basket of stocks, which means you're not betting on the fortunes of a single company.

Investors of all ages love how cheap they are, with fees that are far lower than mutual funds because they track relatively well-known indexes.

Millennials' favorite ETF is the world's largest and best known, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, according to TD Ameritrade data provided to CNNMoney.

Known simply as "SPY," this ETF tries to mirror the performance of the S&P 500, the benchmark index that is home to large American companies like Apple (AAPL), Nike (NKE) and Visa (V).

SPY's track record is stellar: It's beaten 80% of active mutual funds over the past five years, according to State Street.

Actionable Items

Billionaire Carl Icahn: Apple is worth a lot more

Here is the article.

In response to Icahn, Apple released a statement Thursday with an accompanying chart noting that the company has already bought back $51 billion worth of stock in recent years.

Stock buybacks serve as a way for companies to return cash through shareholders and often suggest that it believes its shares are worth more than their current price. Icahn said that to "preemptively diffuse any cynical criticism" that he just wants a short-term gain, he wouldn't sell any shares as part of a future buyback.

Apple stock is making regular Americans rich

Here is the article. I like to take down some facts together, and then I will review them carefully.

Facts 

Case study:
$4000 dollar shares in 2007, worth $50,000 in 2015. Ten time more value.

1,225 shares of Apple stock and has earned a net profit of around $45,000. 

Price comparison:

$5 a share in January 2005, $130 share in 2015.

21 things I've learned as an investor for 20 years

Sept. 17, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I started to invest from 1999, I invested on my USA 401K. Now it is 20 years. I like to look into the topic, one of ideas is to read the article.

21 things for 20 years

Here is the article.

React study notes

Sept. 17, 2019

Introduction

I spent one hour to study React framework today. I like to document my journey to learn and write some apps using React some day. It is hard for me to manage so many projects, I have so many ideas to try, and what I like to do is to write down what  I learn, and then try to evaluate later.

First two hours study

Here is the page I like to read and go through. Estimation study time will be around 5 hours.

Case study: two hours study of Facebook, Google managers, product managers

Sept. 16, 2019

Introduction

It is the first time I spent over one hour to search all Facebook managers and also Google managers Linkedin profile, and then I start to learn a few things from those linkedin profiles.

Case study

I like to list a few profiles and then I like to study how those managers work on their careers. Some of them had startup experience, left Google first, and then two or three years startup, and then joined Facebook.

The Unstoppable Surge in Negative Yields Reaches $17 Trillion

Here is the article.

INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS - Load Balancing, Autoscaling & Optimizing Your App Around the Globe

Here is the link.

How to Work with Everyone

Here is the article. I will read more carefully later.

Two ex-Googlers are using AI to guarantee interviews for tech job seekers

Here is the article.

The past year or so has seen AI deployed to tackle a broad range of issues, and with their startup Leap.ai, ex-Google engineers Richard Liu and Yunkai Zhou believe it can be used to crack the hiring conundrum in tech.

“Your ability to learn, collaborate or take initiative are strong characteristics, but it is hard to get a feel for them from an interview. Curiosity and drive, in an interview process you can’t do too much to gauge that,” he added.

Leap.ai, which was founded 18 months ago and currently has 10 staff, maps out a range of data, including obvious areas like employment history, qualifications and skills and personal interests, career motivation and more, to assemble a more complete picture of a candidate’s career aspirations. Part of that process includes mapping out their ‘dream’ employer and ideal role.

That’s because, Liu explained, companies really value candidates who can fit their culture and are motivated to join them beyond financial gains.

Building a Life - Howard H. Stevenson

Here is the link.

What Happens When Leaders Only Care About Money?

Here is the article. I like to read if I have 10 minutes break.

How Greed Works

I like to read the article called How greed works. Here is the link.

Count down 2 day vacation to Seattle - Google Lake Union GHC event

Sept. 16, 2019

Introduction

It is so surprising that I got an invitation email to attend the event. I am so frugal, so I sent an email to my Chinese friend, and asked if she likes to attend the event with me. Her husband works for Google Seattle, so she offered me to stay in their house one night. I signed up the event, and sent an email to my FAU friend Jenny as well.

2 day vacations 

I plan to take two days vacation to Seattle on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, I will drive my car to visit Seattle, and I really miss Seattle, and I walked to Lake Union to visit Jenny in June 2018. One of blogs is here. I wrote series of blog called Beauty of Seattle in June 2018. Here is the blog.

I like to explore the ideas to get some startup companies in Seattle area. And I like to see if I can some interview from the city of Seattle in 2019.

Seattle is my most favorite city. I like to visit the city every year starting from 2010.

Welcome Class of 2018: You are HBS

Here is a short video.

LEGENDS OF TRADING: THE STORY OF RAY DALIO

Here is the link.

17:53 -

Life is like a game where you seek to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving your goals. You get better at this game through practice. The game consists of a series of choices that have consequences. You can't stop the problems and choices from coming at you, so it's better to learn how to deal with them.

Facebook marketplace

Sept. 15, 2019

Introduction

It is my personal finance research. I like to look into Facebook market place. I like to figure out what I can purchase from marketplace.

Here is the link.

Bianca Andreescu | WTA Future Star

Here is the link.

Perfect 11-0 Record against Top 10 and/or Former World # 1 Players | Bianca Andreescu

Here is the video.

Bianca Andreescu says receiving key to city, street named after her is 'crazy'

Here is the link.

RANKED: The 10 biggest hedge funds in the US

Here is the article.

Google's Using People Data to Make Happier, More Effective Employees

Here is the link.

London business forum

Here is the link.

Laszlo Bock - Work Rules Highlights

Here is the link.

Working at Google as a Cloud Software Engineer

Here is the link.

Google Cloud software engineers are influencing the direction of cloud computing and building products at the forefront of a new era of technology. Meet Kelly Harrington and learn about what it's like to work at Google as a security and privacy software engineer at Google.

Bob Sutton - Stanford professor

Here is the linkedin profile.

'Good Boss, Bad Boss': Interview with Stanford Prof. Robert Sutton

Here is the link. 

Life at Google. Inside Google's lair - How google employees work

Here is the link.

How to find investment ideas?

Sept. 15, 2019

Introduction

It is time for me to look into ideas to invest. I need to get experience and learn to be a smart investor. I like to keep learning basics, and I believe that it is important for me to educate myself first, I will learn how to read the market, and learn how to be an intelligent investor.

Good investment ideas

2009 

I read the article about billionaire hedge fund manager, he chose to invest stock of Bank of America in 2009 with $3.00 dollars, and sold later in the year, he made billion dollars.

2012

If you invest $1000 dollars in 2012 on Facebook stock, in 2018, the value is over $4,000 dollars.

9 Things You Should Tell Your Boss At Your Next Performance Review

Here is the link.

Laszlo Bock on Breaking Work Rules—Measuring What Truly Matters In Great Workplaces Worldwide

Here is the link.

Laszlo Bock: "Education Lessons from Work Rules! That Will Transform How [...]" | Talks at Google

Here is the link.

22:00
Middle school redo the failed algorithm, get 50% credit. Learn from failure, learn resilience.

Google manager learns from the feedback, every six month, the manager learns from the feedback on weak feedback items.

Nudge

Lose weight -

Getting old, and then recovery time.

Open to learning, first nine months -

first two weeks, you can teach them everything.

Send an email - five things - more productive soon.

You should send managers those five things as well.

9 months -> 6 months, 2% for average. 100 people, there are two free people.

Google -> children in classroom

5 miles - more than 30% of children homeless - sleep in the car, or friend's home

Manager feedback - on average,

37:00

Performance rating - discuss rating among managers

recency bias -

Given you a list of biases, you should consider all those biases.

The Best Recruiter at Google | Talent Connect San Francisco 2014

Here is the link.


This talk suggests: > Never compromise on quality (it will kill culture and drive away the best) > Use science, structured interviews (to kill bias) > Give them a (bigger) reason to join (meaning) my further notes: 1) set a high standard (don't compromise, stay the course) 2) remove hiring managers from the hiring decisions (eliminate critical bias) 3) Use Assessment (Interviews aren't reliable ) 4) Job criteria: Cognitive Ability (problem solver, curious) , Leadership, Culture Fit, Role-related knowledge (a little confusing because he said "interviews are unreliable") 5) Structured interviews (same for everyone) -- hypotheticals/situational & behavioral 6) How you can Convince them to join: comes down to MEANING in Life (then the sales pitch for Google started and they almost lost me) 7) Find out how to meet your target market and creatively (around 28:00) <Job v. Career v. Calling> --> 1/3 see it as a calling <4X results if you can find a way to inspire meaning in people's work>


3 million applicants, 700 acceptance, is 1 admit to 4285 applications. Laszlo Bock says 1 admit to 428 applicants which is wrong.

Delay gratification, resilience of facing failure, self-regulation

Those attributes will stay with you the whole life.

I like to hear again from 55:00 - 1:02

To get into Google, you do here very well fast. You work here two years, second job another two years. The progression you made better.

How Google’s Rules Can Work In Your Office

Here is the link.

The snap judgement - 10 seconds
predict of performance
- How do you fix

Four criteria

The science of storytelling | Prasad Setty, Google People Analytics

Here is the link.

“We spend an inordinate amount of time doing hardcore science and analytics, but how do we ensure that it’s memorable? That we can communicate better so that our messages resonate and stick?” Prasad Setty, vice president of People Analytics and Compensation at Google, boils down good communication to three things that matter: what you want your audience to know, how you want them to feel, and what you want them to do. While data and science may lead the content, he reminds storytellers of the importance of using emotion in communication.

Facebook Resurrection: Why FB Stock Is Poised for a 25% Rally

Here is the article.

By CCN Markets: Facebook (FB) stock suffered a devastating 2018 amidst controversies that led to a mass investor exodus. In one particularly painful trading session, Facebook rewrote the history books with a $126 billion plunge.

The social media giant weathered the storm, and FB shares are up almost 38 percent this year amid a broad stock market recovery. And as major stock indices succumb to trade war panic, Facebook is poised to offer investors massive upside.

FB stock’s technical picture suggests that the company could be on the verge of rallying more than 25 percent, a move that would enable it to set a new all-time high.

Michelle McKinnon - CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

Here is the page.

https://paynecm.com/smart-women-invest/

Fed running out of time but not bullets, can see growth trends if rate cut: BNY's Young

Here is the link.

Michelle McKinnon of Payne Capital Management and Liz Young of BNY Mellon Investment Management join CNBC's "Closing Bell" to discuss the day's market action ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut decision next week.

Alicia Levine Chief Strategist at BNY Mellon Investment Management

Here is the linkedin profile with activity.

Charlie Bobrinskoy Vice Chairman, Head of Investment Group Portfolio Manager He was a Frugal Five-Year-Old

Here is the article.

As an MBA student at the University of Chicago and over the course of an illustrious career, Charlie translated his thoughtful disposition into a value-oriented investment strategy based on buying great companies at significant discounts. 

5 CNBC videos

Sept. 15, 2019

Introduction

It is my Sunday morning. I like to spend time to relax and learn something. One of ideas is to watch 5 CNBC videos and then write down how I learn from those videos.

5 CNBC videos

Here is the first one.

Fed is letting markets lead it to a rate cut, says strategist

Sept. 15, 2019

Introduction

It is my drill to learn how to invest. I like to watch a video and take some notes, and look into how I should follow up with some research, fully understand the topics in the talk.

4 minutes video

Here is the link.

Charles Bobrinskoy, vice chairman of Ariel Investments, and Alicia Levine of BNY Mellon Investment Management, joins CNBC's "The Exchange" team to discuss how markets are trading and whether the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates.

Charles Bobrinskov - Ariel investments vice chmn.


Bobrinskov  on markets

The general consensus on earnings & the global economy is too pessimistic
At this point, cyclical stock are much cheaper than "safe" ones

NASDAQ dipping in and out of negative territory

RUSSELL 2000 struggling to exit correction territory

Alicia Levine
BNY Mellon investment mgmt.

Levine on markets

The market is in a liquidity-fueled rally, but fundamentals need to stabilize to prevent bubbles.

Earnings estimates have trickled lower on trade tensions.

S&P tech sector hits new all-time high

How WeWork Works and Makes Money

Here is the article.

Every day I will pass by WeWork office near main st cross 6th Ave. I like to spend a few minutes to learn more about it.

11 Skills that Millionaires Master

Here is the link.

1. Persuasion
2. Read people
3. Sharing the wealth
4. Leverage -
5. Recruiting - medium, talent, good friends, social, mentor, partner, investing
6. Energy management
7
8
9
10. How to be aggressively patient
11. Learning

Why the Rich Get Richer

Here is the link.

1. Exponential growth
2. Positioning ( not 10 -> 20/ hour, use time to exchange money)
3. Long term thinking
4. Minimize regret
5. Specialized skills
6. Contacts
7. Leverage
8. Reinvest the money they work on
9. Family wealth transfer
10. Tax strategy

10 Signs You Won't Be Rich

Here is the link.

#1 You don't like rich people
#2 You think rich people are special
#3 You don't spend enough time to learn
#4 People easily make you feel guilty
#5 You worry too much other people think about you
#6 You worry about too little right people think about you
#7
#8 You are too royal to family tradition
#9 You are expert on making excuses
#10 Your attitude sucks

3 Steps on How to Be Wealthy

Here is the link.



1. Learn the skill set of sales
2. choose an industry
3. Choose the group of people you want to run with

10 Laws on How to Recreate Yourself

Here is the link.

I like to go back to my favorite youtube and find some good ideas to think about this weekend.

Who Is Jasmine Star - Photographer and Business Strategist

Here is the video.

Why skyrocketing federal debt will mean the next recession is harder to overcome

Here is the link.

Google Interview and Hiring Process | Questions and Answers

Here is the link.



4. Conscientiousness/ Googliness
"We" - I
People
Owners vs employees

Inside Google's policy to 'pay unfairly' — why 2 people in the same role can earn dramatically different amounts

Here is the article. I like to learn "pay unfaily" principle.

10 times more than average people - how to understand the principle?

Bock admits that a policy to "pay unfairly" is provocative, and that it might be better characterized as "pay unequally." In his view, it is actually more fair to pay a top performer significantly more than an employee with the same job title who produces less value.

How Google Thinks About Hiring, Management and Culture

Here is the link.


16:00 -
Pay unfairly

THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR SUMMARY (BY BENJAMIN GRAHAM)

Here is the link.

Top 5 takeaways from The Intelligent Investor: 0:48 1. Meet Mr. Market 2:59 2. How to invest as a defensive investor 5:25 3. How to invest as an enterprising investor 8:10 4. Insist on a margin of safety 9:54 5. Risk and reward are not always correlated - Firstly, the market tends to be overoptimistic and too pessimistic from time to time. Don’t let this influence what you think that the true value of your assets are. Instead, see it as a business opportunity, where you get to deal with a person who has no idea of what he’s doing. - Secondly, the defensive investor should go for a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds, where the stock-category consists of primarily low-priced issues. - Thirdly, the enterprising investor should also aim for stocks that show lower price tendencies. If he can find a company that is trading below its net working capital, he might have found his El Dorado. -The forth takeaway is that the intelligent investor should insist on a margin of safety when acquiring an asset. - And finally, takeaway number 5 is that risk and reward aren’t necessarily correlated. My goal with this channel is to help you make more money and improve your personal finances. How to become a millionaire? There are many ways to get there – investing in the stock market, becoming a stock trader, doing real estate investing, or why not becoming an entrepreneur? But whether you are interested in how to invest in stocks or investing strategies for creating passive income with rental properties – I hope to be able to provide you with a solution (or at least an idea) here. Warren Buffett - the greatest investor of our time - says that you should fill your mind with competing ideas and then see what makes sense to you. This channel is about filling your mind with those ideas. And in the process – upgrading your money-making toolbox.

3:57 -

For stocks

1. Diversify
2. Large companies
3. Conservatively financed 
4. Dividend
5. No earnings deficit
6. Earnings growth
7. Cheap assets

8. cheap earning P/E

Ideas to check
1. Diversify 10-30 companies is enough - no single industry
2. Large companies sales: $700 million
3. Conservatively financed
current ratio of 200%
4. Dividend no missed dividend in the last 20 years!
5. No earnings deficit
- in the last 10 years
6. Earnings growth - at least 2.9% annually for 10 years
7. Cheap assets
market cap < (Assets - liabilities) x 15
8. cheap earning P/E

Karen May on how Googlers teach and learn

Here is the link.

Karen May, Vice President of People Development at Google, moderated a panel of leaders who shared the innovative and unconventional people practices they are testing and studying to make work better. May explained Google’s approach and commitment to learning and development. Google’s philosophy on learning has four tenets: -Learning is a process, not an event – that requires motivation, opportunities to practice, and continuous feedback. -Learning happens in real life – especially during transitions or challenging moments. -Learning is personal – everyone has different learning styles and different levels of challenge within which they can work. -Learning is social – Google supports an environment for Googlers to connect with peers for advice and support.

Writers' rooms, improv, and lessons from Tim Burton | Wendy Calhoun, Edgewood Place Entertainment

Here is the link.

Wendy Calhoun, Hollywood producer and writer, shares how to get everyone in a room to thrive and create a collective idea that’s better than any individual one. From Nashville to Justified to Empire, Calhoun has worked with with many teams to make different storylines come alive. Where does she start? With a warm-up. Calhoun recommends starting any creative process with a warm-up that has no right or wrong answers, one that gets everyone to participate so no one dominates the conversation and no voice goes unheard. She also builds on the improvisation tactic of “yes, and…” and introduces “yes, or…”, allowing participants to acknowledge the validity of a previous idea and provide an alternative. These tactics allow bolder creativity to blossom and provide the group with diverse options. Next time you’re writing an award-winning project, make sure to: engage everyone, respect the speaker, go beyond the first ideas, check your biases at the door, and actively listen.


Warmup -
anticipate the discussion

writer room - express themselves early
safe place to share - leave the room - do not let every one dominate the conversation.

She pitched the idea - ...

The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of process | Kristen Gil, Google

Here is the link.

Kristen Gil, vice president of Google’s internal consulting group, talks about finding the balance between process that supports innovation and process that hurts innovation. She recognizes that processes can encourage collaboration, enable rapid evaluation, and foster conversation, but also that processes can be so rigid and stale that they prevent teams from achieving their purpose. Drawing examples from Google’s early hiring processes, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, X, and Google’s workspace design, Gil encourages you to think about when your processes are working and when they’re becoming a roadblock.