Why I prefer stocks as an investment over anything else

Sometimes, you must be wondering why I am doing this. I love stocks and if possible I am interested into creating a platform for discussion especially for retail investors. I believe that as retail investors, one does not lose out to institutions if we follow a certain program and especially in a well-connected and informative world like today. (I remember my days of writing in to obtain Annual Report to company sec to buying the stocks investment guide by Dynaquest -:) - today is much easier with things online)

I have been into stocks for a long time - ever since I left secondary school. Believe me, I have made a lot of mistakes, something which I cherish today though as it makes me learn from those stupid mistakes such as putting my money into companies like Idris, Menang etc if you know what I mean. I am not into stocks alone. However overtime, I have much higher preference over stocks than anything else. Why?

1. There is no capital gains tax for stocks in Malaysia. Basically all your earnings from sale are kept by the individuals as compared to some countries like US, Australia, UK, Canada. For once, it is simple to measure as whatever we have sold as profit, it is kept in our books.
2. Dividend will be single tiered beginning from 2014. Hence, tax paid by companies will be the final tax and there will not be any tax deducted from payment to shareholders. In fact, if you notice, many companies today in Malaysia have already adopted single-tiered dividend. For a person who has other income, I will not be able to enjoy anything from the section 110 set off. Do check this out on Single Tier dividend in Malaysia.
3. Transactions are clean. I am sure to receive the proceeds from my sale after deduction of commissions and government related fees on the fifth day. As compared to properties, well property owners who have done transactions, you will know. The process of getting approval from DBKL, MBPJ, MPPJ, land office etc. with undertable paid or not it will still take more than a few months. There are certain element of trust as you would have to collect first 3% being the booking fee, then 7% etc. Well, property investments are worth it if you really have spent the effort, time and patience. I am not the type into the hassle of collecting rents etc. In properties however, your one mistake can be futile as it can be big as compared to stocks where we can start small, hence the mistake can be smaller.
4. Stocks are more liquid than most other investments types.
5. Of course, if you read some of my sample small portfolio, I am not pro Fixed Deposits. For some, these short term deposits however is needed as an emergency fund. In my sample portfolio, I have started with RM32,500 just to show that stocks investments can be worthwhile for those who would like to start small as including me, not many can start with a RM500,000. It is not advisable to start big anyway as there are mistakes to be made in any investments.
6. In stocks, you can do small investments as well as larger investments. If you have asked any person who is retiring, at age of 50 or above, they normally do not put money into properties except for those who have much higher extra savings - or those who trade in properties. As for stocks, you can put in RM5,000 or even RM50 million. Don't tell me you are only to start stocks investments when you only reach 50? - (although it is still better than don't do any investment at all.)
7. Investing into good companies is almost like having a good business. As long as you put your trust into companies that are well run, the management will work for the shareholders. A good business is a good hedge against inflation. For example, in my article where I have mentioned I like Nestle, with dominating brands such as Milo and Nescafe, their pricing and purchasing power (for a company its size) would be very powerful. These businesses are a good hedge against any unforeseen inflation. You would not walk into a supermart and be told that they are not selling Milo due to consumers complaint on price. Prices of cocoa or coffee can be sky high, but they would just pass the costs to consumers. If you put your money into the wrong companies though, your money would be doomed in these managers / directors hand. There are just too many examples to highlight, hence as an investor it is important for us to avoid those pitfalls.
8. Understanding how companies work is fun and an exhilarating process, for me. It will not work if I do not enjoy reading about companies, annual reports, studying the past records, understanding the industry and competitors etc.
9. By blogging, it is a process for me to understand how blogs and Facebook work as I am quite a novice at this...

Happy Investing!