Are we spending too much time doing active investing?

The More Important Game of LifeWhile the evidence is overwhelming that passive investing is the winning investment strategy, it's also the winning strategy in the far more important game of life. Here's why.
As a passive investor, when I come home from my busy day, I get to sit down with a glass of wine and ask my wife about her day and how my kids and grandchildren are doing. Because I didn't spend my time trying to beat the market, I also got to coach my youngest daughter's softball, soccer and basketball teams. I also read 50 to 70 books each year, do community service, play tennis, and focus on the other really important things in my life.
Investors following an active management strategy spend much of their precious leisure time watching the latest business news, studying the latest charts, reading financial trade publications, and so on. Even if they are among the few who are successful at the active management game of generating alpha (performance above risk-adjusted benchmarks), the "price" of success may have been that they lost the far more important game of life.
The question for you to consider is what are the important things in your life? Is it trying to generate extra returns through active management strategies that require you to "invest" large amounts of your time? Or are the important things in your life time spent with your loved ones, on your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? If you don't already know the answer, perhaps this story will help you find it.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2009931-why-im-a-passive-investor-and-you-should-be-too?source=email_the_daily_dispatch&ifp=0

Millionaires reveal 6 Habits for a lifetime of wealth.

• “Read omnivorously. Use your money to create more money.” —
  Robert Smith
• “Stay agile, and provide investors with evidence and vision.” — Paul LeJoy
• “Buy used, not new.” — Marshall Brain
• “Take a risk in search of wealth.” — Wendy Robbins
• “Volunteer to help.” — Thomas J. Madden
• “You can always save money.” — Tyler Drew

http://www.moneynews.com/Personal-Finance/Franklin-Prosperity-Report-NMX/2014/01/31/id/550237

2014 Portfolio - ASX listed companies

For 2014, I would be continuing my focus on ASX listed companies which I've been buying in 2012. ASX-listed companies have been giving a good and stable growth rate if you had invested in the index. Find out from your broker how you can buy ASX listed companies, Australia has a lot of good companies with good investment moat.

Image taken off ASX.com

Some examples of them would be :-
1) Supermarket Monopolies : Woolworths & WesFarmers(more than supermarket actually)
2) The Four Pillars of Australia (NAB, CBA, WBC, ANZ)
3) The mining wonder : BHP & Rio Tinto
4) Telecom Duopoly : Telstra & Optus (have other telcos but these two are the most dominant)

 Do check them out for their delicious dividend yield and stable growth.

Also, if you are interested in bonds, their investment grade bonds actually are a good buy with great yields to boot! :) I'm vested in those too.

In terms of forex risk, I'm not too concerned as I do not believe AUSTRALIA will depreciate against SINGAPORE dollars much like what have been happening with Malaysia or US Dollars. Of course, that's just an opinion , not back up by facts. :)