I have been investing and trading ever since I was in university many years ago. I have always blended the two—investing and trading. What is the difference? That is for another blog. In the beginning, at least where I live in Singapore, buying and selling stocks was an expensive affair because of the high fees involved to complete each transaction. There were few brokers on the market, and most were somewhat linked to a bank—DBS Vickers, UOB Kay Hian, and Phillip Capital, just to name a few. The costs often included exorbitant fixed fees and variable fees. Coupled with the fact that I was a poor student and new to the job market, it was little wonder that I was not very active in the stock market. Gradually over the years, more products launched with lower fees—particularly those cash accounts where you lock in your money with the broker to enjoy lower fees. I remember I could trade with a US-based broker to enjoy really low fees, particularly on US stock transactions. I used TD Ameri...