Hi, I’m Franklin Kuok (Linkedin / Twitter). I live in Chicago with my wife and two kids.
This blog will be mostly about investing, personal finance, and my journey to FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). I’m a big proponent of spreading financial literacy and hope that my blog can provide some insight on how to approach your personal finances.
I do a lot of investing, mostly in individual stocks where I invest in individual stocks based strictly on fundamental analysis. I have no idea how to do technical analysis works nor do I care to learn because I have learned the hard way that timing the market is not easy and is generally negative alpha. Here’s more information about how I invest and manage my money.
My portfolio returns vs. the S&P 500 are as follows:
| Year | My Portfolio | S&P 500 | Difference |
| 2016 | +0.74% | +11.96% | -11.22% |
| 2017 | +59.21% | +21.83% | +37.38% |
| 2018 | +8.31% | -4.38% | +12.69% |
| 2019 | +57.27% | +31.49% | +25.78% |
| 2020 | +215.92% | +18.40% | +197.52% |
| Total Return | +763.11% | +103.05% | +262.15% |
Updated through October 31, 2021:
I’ve been fairly private about my investing for a number of years now, but I’ve found that investing has really had a big impact on my family’s journey to FIRE and I’d like to share my philosophy, perspective and provide insight to those that are interested in learning more about investing, personal finance and FIRE.
My Background
- I’ve been managing my own individual portfolio for the past 6+ years
- Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
- Accounting Certificate from UCSD Extension
- MBA from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management with a Marketing & Finance focus
- Prior to business school, I worked in insurance & consulting
- After business school, I’ve spent the past 10+ years working in some form of performance marketing in both B2B or B2C companies
- Passed the Series 65 examination in June 2021 and may eventually get licensed to become a pro-bono Financial Advisor to lower-income families
- I currently work as the Vice President of Demand Generation at ShipBob, a global logistics platform that fulfills ecommerce orders.
Disclaimer
I am not a financial advisor nor have I taken your personal situation into consideration. Don’t blindly follow my moves since I make changes all the time. All content and information on this website is strictly educational or for entertainment purposes and should not be construed as personal financial advice or financial recommendations. Do your own due diligence or consult a financial advisor.
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