meek-investor

My main objective of visiting this Shareinvestor Fair at Suntec City was to see how Suntec City look like after the Asset Enhancement Program.  Couples of month ago, when I passed by Suntec City Convention Center, it was still all blocked up under the AEP development.  After the visit, I am quite impressed on how Suntec City has transformed itself.  I am seriously considering adding more units of Suntec Reit to my portfolio, especially if the stock price goes below my average cost for Suntec Reit. Secondary mission is to check out what type of investment options are available there. At the fair, there are the usual Stock Broking Houses - OCBC Securities, CIMB Securities, Lim & Tan Securities, Phillip Securities, Thinkorswim Singapore and E*Trade. The Contracts For Difference (CFD) and Forex providers  - CMC Market, City Index, IG and Onada. The Financial Educators : - Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group , students can achieve...

Just read from Channel NewsAsia that Detroit on Thursday has became the largest city in US history to file for bankruptcy protection after decades of decline and mismanagement rendered the home of the USA's auto industry insolvent. I think this is not a piece of good news for investors on Alternative Investment - Detroit Exit Strategy. For details, refer to article on Channel NewsAsia: Link to Detroit is bankrupted Another report from CBC News, with some photos of the houses in Detroit, looking so desolated and dismal. Link to Detroit is bankrupted

Last month I have a post discussing the alternative investments that I came across in the market place.  I have done further research and found that some of the companies selling these investments are on Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) Investor Alert List. The following companies are on that MAS Investor Alert List: 1. Solomon Alliance Management Pte Ltd   - Hong Kong Land Asset Acquisition   - German Government Listed Building Projects. 2. WealSol Pte Ltd  - Brazil Opportunity investment 3.    Infinity Treasures Pte Ltd  -  Detroit Exit Strategy  - Canada Crude oil The MAS Investor Alert List From time to time, MAS receives information on unregulated persons who have been mistaken as being licensed or authorised by MAS.  Consumers should exercise care when dealing with these persons or with other persons acting on their behalf.  Overseas consumers who receive solicitations by persons who claim to have an operation in ...

Last Sunday the Straits Times had an article showing that it is possible to save $100k with roughly 6 years of work. So, did I save $100K by age of 30? No, I did not as I have not met most of the  assumptions in my earlier post : 1. Starting pay $2,550 No.  My starting pay was below $2K. 2. 1.5 months bonus every year No.  I had only 1 month bonus for the first six years of my employment. 3. 4% pay increment every year Yes.  My increment was more than 4%. 4. Saving rate 50% of pay No.  I did not save 50% of my pay. 5. 60% of saving on investments with 4% returns   No.  I did not have investment strategy when I was young. Furthermore, I did not make other  sacrifices: 1. Work near your home, minimize transportation cost No.  I did not work near my home, so considerably more transportation costs incurred. 2. Absolutely "No-no" owning a car Yes. I did not have a car. 3. Pack your own lunch t...

Today the Straits Times has an article showing that it is possible to save $100k with roughly 6 years of work. The article showed that it is possible with a starting salary of $3,050, 15 months salary a year (3 months bonus), pay rise 4.5% a year and saving rate of 50% your annual pay. For curiosity's sake, I ran a calculation with the following assumptions: 1. Starting pay $2,550, 2. 1.5 months bonus every year, 3. 4% pay increment every year, 4. Saving rate 50% of pay, 5. 40% of saving at bank generating 1% interest, 6. 60% of saving on investments with 4% returns (e.g. dividends from stocks). Age Monthly Pay TakeHome Pay Annual Pay Save 50% 40% at bank 60% invest Total Savings 25 2550 2040 27540 13770 5563 8592 14156 26 2652 2122 28642 14321 11404 17872 29277 27 2758 2206 29787 14894 17535 27881 45416 28 2868 2295 30979 154...

The last two years, through my friends and cold calls from some sales agents, I came across some alternative investments that guaranteed or assured crazy returns.   Some of them are: - Hong Kong Land Asset Acquisition, 100 to 200% returns in 5-7 years - Brazil Opportunity investment, assured 64% return in 36 months - German Government Listed Building Projects, 24% return in 24 months - Brazil Global Forestry Investments,  Fixed 10%-12.5% yearly returns with assured 5% capital appreciation on exit in 36 months - Detroit Exit Strategy (house flipping), Fixed 15% in 12 months - Canada Crude oil, assured 3% continual payout every 3 months for 24 months - Phuket Nikki Beach  (Buy-to-let hotel investment) - 5% Fixed returns annually I have attended one of the seminars and I have serious doubts on these investments: - most of the companies offering these investments are new and have no proven track record - why these Brazilian, US, German, Canadian, etc, come all...

1. If we need the money next year, it should be in Cash. Well, we do not want our down payment for our house or other important commitment to evaporate or stuck in the stock market, in the event of a crash.  We need to find a high interest fixed deposit for temporary storage for that money. 2. If we need the money in the next one to five years, or are approaching retirement; it should be in relatively safe investments. Whether we need to pay for the kid's university fees or the retirement income that we need for the not so distant future, we need to reduce exposure to stocks and invest into safer investments, such as treasury bills, fixed deposits,  government or corporate bonds.  Here, T-bills have the lowest yield, while corporate bonds have the highest yield.  However, the returns and risks also go hand in hand, and corporate bonds correspondingly have the highest risk. If possible, it is better to invest into individual bonds rather than bond funds....

My friend avoids egg yolk like poison.  He said yolk has high cholesterol and deliberately digs out the yolks from foods, be it high boiled eggs or from moon cakes.   However, after having done that, he still smokes one pack of cigarettes per day. This friend of mine is also vested in the stock market and looking for other passive income streams.  While I have nothing against smokers, I feel that smoking is like burning money.  I have worked out the mathematics (cost of smoking) for him. 1. Cost of cigarettes Like the high housing cost, Singapore is also one of the most expensive place for smokers.  One pack of cigarettes costs between $8 to $15, depending on brands.  For simplicity's sake, I use $10 for calculation: $10 a day becomes a massive $3,650 a year! If $3,650 is the dividend payouts from stock investment, how much is the investment amount required? Taking Starhub as an example because the company pays the same di...