Table of Contents
Who Am I
Hi there. My name is Leigh and I’m the person and author behind the blog – Dividend Magic.
If you’re new here, welcome!
To get acquainted with me financially, you can have a look at my portfolios below:
- The Freedom Fund – My Malaysia stock portfolio, updated quarterly.
- Crypto portfolio – Mostly invested and held with Luno Malaysia
- US stock portfolio – This one is with eToro.
- P2P lending portfolio – Currently using CapBay for this.
- Property portfolio – I own 2 low-cost apartments, just collecting rentals for now.
Do Your Own Research (DYOR) and Due Diligence
I launched the blog back in 2015 to track my investments as well as to hold myself accountable for all my gains and losses.
Today, I aim to be a voice of reason and logic for Malaysians seeking to invest. You’ve likely been bombarded with ads from self-proclaimed investment gurus charging thousands of ringgit for classes on “the basics of investing,” “dividend investing,” or “passive income”—and the list goes on.
Before you sign up for any of these “courses”, take some time to read through my free blog posts. I maintain a transparent track record for you to review. Worst-case scenario, you might just spend a few hours and find the content isn’t for you.
A caveat: I’m not here to recommend stocks or tell you which ones to buy—I will never do that, and neither should anyone else. If someone recommends that you buy a certain stock, proceed with extreme caution. My goal is simply to share my investment journey, tracking my portfolio’s growth from RM10,000 to RM1 million and beyond over the coming decades.
I’m writing this post as a kind of permanent ”Hello!” for new readers who have recently hopped onboard the bandwagon. If you’re asking, “I want to invest, where can I start?” you’ve come to the right place.
For those new to stocks, start with my Stock Investment Guide.
Also, check out the drop-down menus above labelled “Start Here” and “Personal Finance – FI/RE & Savings“, where I’ve curated essential articles to help kickstart your journey. Take your time exploring the content, and enjoy your investing adventure!
My Goals – Why Do I Invest?
In short, I invest to achieve financial independence—so I can spend more time with loved ones and pursue my passions.
To achieve this, I need to generate enough passive income to cover all my annual expenses.
I aim to become financially independent by 40 years old. To be able to maintain my current lifestyle, I’d need roughly RM36,000 per annum. I will formally pronounce myself financially independent when that RM36,000 p.a. in passive income is achieved. For now, all of my efforts will be to build towards this goal.
How I Invest
Growth and Dividend Investing
A misconception readers have about my way of investing is due to my site’s name – Dividend Magic. To set the record straight, I am not a pure dividend investor.
My investing philosophy is to invest in growing, profitable companies. I particularly focus on companies that increase their profits year after year. In return, these companies should provide me with increasing dividends as passive income every year too. All these happen over the very, very long run. Think 20 years or more.
My Malaysian stock portfolio which I dubbed the Freedom Fund will mainly focus on growing and dividend-distributing companies. My US stock portfolio will be focused on growing companies, not so much on dividends.
Why? Because we as Malaysians are charged a 30% withholding tax by the US on dividends. So, it doesn’t make sense for me to invest in dividends in the US. Instead, I go for capital gains, which thankfully, Malaysians don’t get taxed on.
A portion of my portfolio will be placed in cryptocurrencies as well. I aim to have maybe 5% in crypto – mainly Bitcoins.
There you have it, I keep my goals and strategy simple and you should too.
How Did I Get Here
Reading books on investing and savings got me interested in Financial Independence. I started investing straight out of university. I didn’t have much then but I slowly built up my Freedom Fund as I started my first job.
Progress was gradual in the beginning but with the help of my newfound salary, success in a new business venture, and compound interest, I managed to grow my portfolio from RM10,000 to RM345,955.92 from 2013 to 2017. And then to RM545,778.21 in 2020. I must stress that a huge amount of that growth is from my own savings and capital injections. The portfolio itself grew at a CAGR of about 10%.
It wasn’t easy keeping my savings rate above 50% per month. I still live with my parents. And for the first few years since I started working, I didn’t splurge on food and lived well within my means. With a healthy portfolio and time on my side, I can now afford to ease up and enjoy life a little more. My portfolio was built on frugality.
FI/RE
I am also practising the Financial Independence and Retire Early movement – FI/RE.
FI/RE is where I aim to have my passive income cover all my expenses. And I see my dividends as passive income. You can read more about FI/RE hERE.
dividendmagic.com.my
The blog started out as a way for me to keep track of my investments. To keep myself accountable and to make sure I’m always on the right path. As you already know, I keep track of my gains as well as all my losses.
Fast forward to 2020, and the blog has grown. At this trajectory, we’re close to growing to a million views a year in 2021. This is huge for me and I’m always thankful and grateful for the readers and friends I’ve made through the blog.
We’ve also blossomed into a tight-knit community where I have meaningful discussions with readers. We also do small meetups to just chat and talk about investments. You can access our FIRE Group on Facebook hERE.
Right now, I see Dividend Magic slowly transitioning into a site where Malaysians can get access to information and resources on investing for free. Investment and stock market gurus have been sprouting up here and there offering dubious classes and doling out questionable advice. Be very wary of people who tell you to buy a certain stock or ”asset”. They always stand to gain one way or the other.
I will continue to update my investments and portfolios as I always have.
I will continue to provide recommendations and conflict-free advice to readers.
I will not, however, tell you what stock to buy or when to sell your stocks. Instead, I aim to provide you with information about the tools I use, the best platforms and brokerages, and everything else in between.
I provide you with the information and tools necessary, you do the rest.
Final Thoughts
I’m here to show you what real investing is really like, and that anyone can invest. There will be losses, there will be gains, I aim to be 100% transparent in my investment journey, documenting all aspects of it.
The more Malaysians we can get on the road to investing and to financial freedom, the better off we all will be. I hope I’m able to start cultivating diligent investing here at Dividend Magic.
Onwards and upwards!
On a side note, I am also a certified financial planner with the Financial Planning Association of Malaysia. I say this because if you ever need help with your finances, you can drop me a quick message and I’d be glad to help. Pro Bono style. To date, I’ve helped many who’ve reached out with their finances, so don’t be shy.
Next up, you can start with Part 1 of my Investing Series – A Guide to Stock Investment.
As always, follow my Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date!