Your top picks for 2014?

Thank you Lotus. I agree on Bonvest but feel that Straco (43 c) & Riverstone (72 c) are probably close to being fairly valued (based on earnings visibility for the next 6 months). Q&M (32 c) is expensive but could see some interest as it works towards listing its China biz.

Talking about IPO, Sino Grandness (74 c) is significantly undervalued. A lot of investors will be shell-shocked if this stock doesn't rise substantially in the next 6 months as Sino Grandness makes progress on listing its Garden Fresh subsi.

Thanks BNN.

I have been staying away from China based companies for past 2 years. I was lucky that I was not affected when I was investing in HKSE from 2009 to 2011. Some stocks, I had some positions, which were affected by corporate governance issues came to mind - Realgold, Dynasty Wines, Bawang etc.

I'd like to share a yarn: There was an amazing winning stock -- let's call it L.A.

It achieved new highs year after year, as its earnings soared and its business performance cracked record after record.

Only a handful of insiders knew the cheating that went on .... Word did get around a bit but not enough to do real damage. But it was only a matter of time and today L.A. has totally collapsed. It's zilch. Zero.

L.A. is a good allegory for what could be going on in any of the hot stocks or any of your dream stocks.

L.A. stands for Lance Armstrong. There is no end to the no. of stories coming out on how Armstrong cheated. The latest story:

msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/lance-arm...-cyclist-says-121413

Accounting cheats and corporate mismanagement are the biggest forms of betrayal against investors. If the results produced by the listed companies are too good to be true, I will stay away.

Just be careful and only invest in stocks where the quality of the management can be assured.

Lotus, which stocks have you stayed away from even tho the results were dazzling?

Hi Del,

Not proper for me to mention names. As I have said before I stay clear of red chips based from my past experience. Just wish to sleep well.

I moved from HKSE to SGX in 2010 and from hindsight my timing was good. There are many great stocks listed in sgx and there are plays which can have dividend yield of more than 6%, great growth stocks and deep asset values.

So just stay with what you know and comfortable with. Avoid chasing favorites and hot themes. Likely they will end in tears.

Good luck.