For many of us, watching football is more than just a pastime. Whether it’s the English Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, or our own Singapore Premier League, there are strategies that teams rely on to perform at the highest level.
Interestingly, some of these same principles also apply to investing. Here are three valuable investment lessons we can learn from the beautiful game.
#1 You Need a Balanced Team, Not Just Star Strikers
In football, a team made up of only attackers won’t win matches. You need defenders to hold the line, midfielders to control the pace, and strikers to finish the job. The best teams, like Liverpool, are well-balanced across all positions.
Likewise, in investing, a good portfolio isn’t made up of just high-risk, high-return assets. While growth stocks or cryptocurrencies may offer explosive returns, they need to be balanced with defensive assets, such as bonds, blue-chip dividend stocks, or even our CPF savings.
Just like a strong defence wins championships, having safer investments in your portfolio can help you weather market volatility and stay in the game for the long run.
#2 Don’t Chase Every Ball
If you’ve ever watched kids play football, you’ll notice they often swarm toward the ball. Professional players, however, maintain formation, understand their roles and wait for the right opportunity. They know when to pounce and when to hold their positions.
The same discipline is needed in investing. Chasing the latest trends, whether it’s meme stocks, tech IPOs, or whatever’s “hot”, can leave your portfolio vulnerable. A serious investor learns to stick to their strategy, stay diversified and not panic when others do.
Discipline, not hype, wins over the long term.
#3 Learn From Defeats & Keep Improving
Even the best teams lose matches. What separates champions from the rest is how they respond, by analysing their weaknesses, adjusting their tactics and coming back stronger than before.
Similarly, in investing, not every decision will go your way. You might buy a stock that underperforms or panic-sell during a downturn. What matters is that you reflect, learn, and improve your approach over time.
Just as footballers train between matches to get better, investors also need to build their knowledge through learning so they can make better decisions in the future.
Join Me At Our EverydayInvestor Event Where We Talk About Football And Investing
If you’ve ever thought managing your money feels a bit like managing a football team—balancing risks, staying disciplined, and playing the long game—you’re not alone. That’s precisely what we’ll be exploring at our upcoming EveryDayInvestor event – Manage Your Portfolio Like A Winning Football Team.
The event will take place on 19 July, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the SGX Centre. Registration fee is $5 and this includes lunch, refreshments, a goodie bag & a chance to win prizes
I will be speaking alongside some great guests:
- Loo Cheng Chuan, founder of the 1M65 movement, on what it means to be a Fair-Weathered Investor
- Dawn Cher (SGBudgetBabe), who’ll be launching her first book and speaking on how to Take Back Control Of Your Money
- A panel of former professional footballers and athletes, who will be sharing how they’ve planned for life beyond the game
If you’ve ever wanted to get better at investing or understand it in a more relatable way, this is the event for you.
We’ve kept tickets affordable at just $5, and I promise it’ll be both insightful and fun.
Hope to see you there. Seats are limited, and registration will close once all slots are filled. Be sure to secure your spot early. Register here.
Photo Credit: iStock/smontgom65
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