The board lot in US is 1 share. So, technically, as long as u have around USD 358 which is apple current price, you can invest already. Open an account with a US based broker rather than a Malaysia one as the Malaysian-based charges will probably kill you. Google for discount brokers in US. Some transaction fees can be a low as 2-3USD. Interactive brokers can go as low as USD 1 but your capital is not sufficient to open an Interactive brokers account. Transferring money to and from US will set you back at another RM200-300. But, if you are there in the long term, this shouldn't be a problem. Only use cash that you can afford to invest, if the 10k is the cash that you can afford, meaning you have other money set aside, this should not be a problem as you don't need to withdraw and bank in money that often.

You can also gain exposure by buying options, which is much cheaper than buying the shares itself. For longer term, I think Apple should have LEAPS, so can buy that also. But, if you are inexperienced, start with plain vanilla equity first.

BTW, this is an opinion on how to buy shares, not the shares itself. Buy at your own risks and do the due diligence.

This post has been edited by the snowball: Feb 10 2011, 12:34 PM

Amazing holding power. You hold Apple longer than I am alive lol...I think most people would have sold it when Apple nearly get wiped out by microsoft in the 1990s before a capital injection by microsoft help save the day....again, congrats for your return


Go to google finance here : http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL, drag the chart and you will know roughly how much he made, my guess is at least 10000% but should be more than that.



This post has been edited by the snowball: Feb 10 2011, 09:54 PM

Actually, Apple stock is not as expensive as most people think it is. The reason that people think so is that it has move up a lot in the past few years. It is cheaper than google on PE terms. Most people do not value the cash on Apple balance sheet. Net off cash, the thing is selling at around 17x net cash TTM, not seriously expensive. Yup, it is dependent on coming up with new products, which probably make it a risky stock compare to your bread and butter Colgate Palmolive (18x TTM) etc. But, it is trading a a cheaper valuation than Google (19x net cash TTM)with a better historical growth trajectory. The key for Apple is that, whether the recently converted Apple cult will stay loyal to their product. If they manage to do so, they have retain a good loyal base with good cross selling opportunity. Apple will remain a seller of high margin niche product.

For Google, they are starting to face pressure of becoming a giant like Microsoft. They start to receive antitrust probe and criticism. The "Do No Evil" feel good factor is diminishing. Make no mistake, I think Google has done more to improve the internet than any other company. I think most of us have use at least two of their products- search, youtube, google reader, google docs, android and etc. All great stuff.They have a dominant position in search and with internet advertising still an under utilize platform, they will do well. But, still Google is still a one product wonder. Their financials has just one division-Search, meaning, other revenue stream is not meaningful and relevant. It is all about search advertising.

Google is slightly more expensive than Apple. Both are not that expensive if you take into account the reportedly crazy Facebook valuation of USD50b. Facebook is not as expensive as other tech out there - Netflix (77x TTM) and Open Table ( a stunning 105x TTM and 60+ Forward PE, I don't know what growth they are imputing, this thing is crazily overvalued. If it growth as expected, you will only get a decent return).

I do not own any of that two (GOOG and AAPL), just my 2 cents. But, lol, I do own their common competitor- the lumbering, slow and some says dying and IBM-like giant-Microsoft.

This post has been edited by the snowball: Feb 11 2011, 10:40 PM

Yup. They are talks about international expansion by the CEO. I think you have probably read this, it is an interesting exchange between a fund manager who short netflix and a very courteous reply by the CEO.

Fund manager short thesis: http://seekingalpha.com/article/242320-whi...e-short-netflix

CEO reply (includes some talk about expansion) : http://seekingalpha.com/article/242653-net...rt-position-now

It is a good exchange between the two. Hope more CEO will follow netflix CEO suit. Don't just scold investor that short their company. Counter them with facts rather than personal attack. But, I think the CEO never touch on the valuation issue, which is main contention by the fund manager.

Sorry for off topic, will keep discussion back to Apple after this. Just feel that it is a very nice thesis to share.

Haha. I don't really think there is any argument here let alone a heated one. It is a pretty decent discussion.

I think most of us actually take a look at these companies and decide not to buy it. Not buying, in itself is a decision, you don't need to look at a company and buy it all the time. Just like we look at and research a lot of companies, but the one we are buying is perhaps 1-2% of the population that we look at.