When we invest for the long term and to build wealth, half the battle of being successful comes down to our mental fortitude.
Funnily enough, the same can be said when supporting our favourite football team. Like markets, supporting a team has its highs (winning trophies or qualifying for the UEFA Champions League) and lows (losing cup finals or getting relegated).
It’s never a straight line to success when investing and passionately supporting a football team can also be a roller-coaster of emotions for us. And in terms of popular football teams, nothing beats the English Premier League for its truly global appeal and fast-paced, end-to-end action.
With that in mind, we can also glean a fair amount of information about what type of investor we are from our favourite football team.
Read Also: Anyone Can Be An Investor: What Type Of Everyday Investor Are You?
Back To The Glory Years
In Singapore, one of the most well-supported EPL clubs is Liverpool and that has been the case for many years. However, Liverpool was not always so dominant and fans from the older generation will remember that the club had to deal with many years of not coming close to winning the EPL title.
Before that, Liverpool dominated English football’s top tier in the 1980s and early 1990s, winning multiple league titles.
In that sense, being a fan of Liverpool over the past few decades has seen the high, punctuated by lows, but coming back with new highs – having recently clinched the EPL title for the second time in six years.
Similarly, being a Liverpool fan could be compared to being a long-term shareholder of local telco Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SGX: Z74), or simply known as Singtel, which was an investor darling back in the 1990s when it first became public.
However, it encountered some challenges from 2017 onwards and fell to a decade-low just after the pandemic. Yet Singtel is now on the road to recovery and feels like a winning stock for investors in the past year – with rising dividends and a share price that is up nearly 63% in the past 13 months.
Singtel investors, and Liverpool fans alike, will be hoping that this success can continue this year and next.
Broken And In The Dumps
For investors who used to be on a high but just can’t bring themselves to invest now, and are too depressed by the thought of it given the recent traumatic experiences, then you could be a Manchester United fan.
The gilded age of Manchester United came in the 1990s and 2000s, when the Sir Alex Ferguson-led team dominated the EPL and spearheaded the team as it amassed 13 league titles by the time the manager departed in 2013.
Of course, more recently, Manchester United has become a team that is flirting with relegation and going through managers like there’s no tomorrow. Having seen its past glories fade, if you’re a Manchester United fan then you could be the type of investor who has held DFI Retail Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01).
While the Jardines-owned retailer, and owner of supermarkets across Asia, was an investor darling in the 2000s and early 2010s, it has seen its fortunes turn south – much like Manchester United.
Even more coincidentally, DFI shares hit an all-time high of US$13.70 in February 2013 (during the season when Manchester United last won the EPL) and, since then, have fallen by 80% to around US$2.73 today.
A lack of imagination in its growth strategy and a difficulty to adapt to shifting conditions, similar to the lack of new talent coming in at Manchester United, has resulted in below-par performance.
Near The Top And Reliable
Finally, if you follow a team like Manchester City then you’re likely used to more recent success under the revolutionary manager Pep Guardiola.
Winning trophies and completing the venerable “Treble” two seasons ago (league, domestic cup, and the UEFA Champions League), Guardiola has taken City to new heights.
However, the past season has been one of underperformance (at least by the team’s high standards). Yet Manchester City is always reliably near the top of the Premier League table come the end of the season.
Similarly, in terms of heavyweight investments in Singapore, local bank DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), has had a post-pandemic rally to remember – mainly on the back of a robust global economy and rising interest rates that have benefitted its bottom line.
More recently, though, sentiment has cooled off for Singapore’s big banks – like DBS – but they remain an investor favourite and ones that are often relied on by investors in their Singapore-focused portfolios.
Join Our EverydayInvestor Event: How To Manage Your Portfolio Like A Winning Football Team
Learning investment concepts doesn’t always have to be complicated. It can be an enjoyable experience as well like using football analogies. If you want to learn more about investing, come join our Flagship EverydayInvestor event on 19 July 2025, Saturday, from 10am to 3pm, at the SGX Auditorium.
During the event, you will hear from the DollarsAndSense team as they discuss investment concepts with the incorporation of football analogies. In addition, the event will also feature other prominent speakers:
Loo Cheng Chuan, founder of the 1M65 movement, will be speaking on “Are You A Fair-Weathered Investor?”
Dawn Cher, better known as SGBudgetBabe, will be launching her first book at the event! She will be talking about “How To Take Back Control Of Your Money”
Bringing the topic closer to home, we can also hear Former professional footballers, who will share their experiences about “Beyond the Game: Financial Lessons From Being A Professional Athlete”
Registration for this event is $5, which comes with lunch, refreshments, a goodie bag packed with treats, and a shot at winning exciting prizes – either at our interactive booths or in our lucky draw.
EveryDayInvestor (join the movement here on Telegram!) is an initiative by DollarsAndSense to make investing a daily habit.
Our vision is simple: everyone can be an investor, and not just those who studied finance or work in the industry. Just as staying healthy is a life skill that anyone can adopt, building good investing habits is also a valuable skill.
The Everyday Investor event – Manage Your Portfolio Like a Winning Football Team, is proudly organised by DollarsAndSense, with the generous support of our event sponsors, SGX and Tiger Brokers.
Seats are limited, and registration will close once all slots are filled. Be sure to secure your spot early. Register here.
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