Rules of Thumb for Investing in Vietnam

The question has been asked:

Where to invest my $ in Vietnam?

To which the quick and easy answer would be:

Don't you dare!

But this question deserves a better answer than that...

Rules of Thumb for Investing in Vietnam

1) Never, ever invest any more than you can safely afford to lose. Vietnam is NOT the place to bet your retirement savings.

2) Move fast and have a strong stomach for risk and volatility. (You are going to need it!)

3) Don't believe everything you hear or read. (News stories, financial reports, EPS and P/E ratios, rumors, none of these are really reliable.)

4) A good FUND may be your best choice, unless you are REALLY sure of yourself...

This list could go on for pages, but lets stop at 4.

First rule is pretty much self-explanatory. Your odds of getting burned and losing money here are very good. So don't bet your life savings. If you have some discretionary cash burning a hole in your pocket, then go ahead and try a little in Vietnam, just don't count on making it back.

Two, this is a speculators market driven by Fear and Greed. It is all about psychology and has virtually nothing to do with fundamentals. So if you are a buy-and-hold type of investor, beware, you are going to be sorely tested. If you are quick on your feet, best to get in and get out fast. Cut your losses short and take your gains where you can.

Three, trust no one. A nugget of real, good accurate information is worth more than gold in this market and probably harder to find. If you need to know why, just have a look at this: Transparency & Real Reporting

Four, If you don't have the mettle to day trade toe-to-toe with the local masses and you don't have time to spend your life searching for that nugget of solid information and you really want to be a long term investor in Vietnam, buy a good fund and save yourself a lot of trouble.

(Dragon Capital is the sole fund manager to have survived the last downturn and lived to tell the tale, so that might be a good place to start.)

There are a few rules to get started.

I am sure our members could add a few (dozen) more.

But what if, despite all these cautions, you still want to pick some stocks and play this dangerous game?

Shall we name some names and pick some stocks?

Until Next Time...