March 2012 - SG Wealth Builder

Make money from financial crisis

March 20, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 902 Views 0 Comments

During the 2008 – 2009, stock market crashed throughout the world and triggered the collapse of several big US banks. It was a period of chaos and great uncertainties. Back then, even the Singapore government had to make the unprecedented move of guaranteeing all bank deposits till end 2010 to prevent bank runs. There were mayhem and carnage during the financial crisis.

There were also opportunities. There was one point I was very tempted to purchase Citi’s shares, which was trading at USD1.00 through my Philips Securities POEMS account. Citi’s shares was trading at rock bottom and anything below USD1.00, chances of it being nationalised by the US government would be very high. I did not proceed ahead to buy the shares as I thought the risk would be too much for me to take. Of course Citi survived the crisis and its stock subsequently recovered.

The “Great Financial Crisis” presented many good opportunities to make big bucks in the stock market but I was unable to fully utilize my Opportunity Fund back then as I was saving up for my wedding. What a shame! The 2008-2009 financial crisis was a rare window of opportunity for smart investors to make their fortunes.

Uncategorized

How to be rich in Singapore

March 17, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 705 Views 0 Comments

While we may not have investment acumen like Warren Buffett, we can still become rich through buying distressed assets in Singapore. There are always bargain around us and its only a matter of patience for the right opportunity to come. As I mentioned in my previous posts, the best time to “strike” is when the economy takes its periodical dips.

Some of you might remember that during the mid-1980s when Singapore economy went through a very sharp downturn, some condominiums in the posh Balmoral areas were selling at $170 per square foot. In two years, the prices doubled and then in 2008, some units could command around $2000 psf. As the world financial market became so globalized, the sudden need for fund managers to sell institution’s assets created good opportunity for those with financial means and knowledge to purchase assets at good bargain.

Many of us often hear stories of colleagues or friends who manage to pick up such good buys but if we make the conscientious effort to keep ourselves well informed and have the money to pump in when bargains present themselves, we can just be as successful. As the saying goes, the time to buy is when blood is on the streets!

Money management; personal finance

Importance of Emergency Fund

March 12, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 924 Views 1 Comment

In my previous posts, I have written about the need for Opportunity Fund, which is meant for investing purposes. In life, we should also consider building up an Emergency Fund, which is a reasonable amount of money set aside for rainy days.

Many people live their lives as if nothing bad will ever happen to them. It is as if buying a car and not buying an insurance, expecting no incidents or accidents. Such a thinking is so unrealistic as we know that life has its share of downturns. Without an emergency fund, any setback might potentially spiral into serious financial problem for you and your family.

An Emergency Fund is considered more important than Opportunity Fund as the former is a safety net and is deemed as the shock absorber of life. Without Emergency Fund as your cash cushion, you are taking a gamble. I believe we should build up an emergency fund as soon as possible because the fund gives us time to adjust without drastically altering our lifestyles.

Although many people are convinced that an emergency fund is necessary, many still procrastinate building up such fund. Common complaint is that the money would be sitting in the bank and not fully utilized.

make money

Every crisis is an investment opportunity

March 11, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 1005 Views 0 Comments

Have you ever paused to wonder why Singapore has one of the highest concentration of millionaires in the world? There are so many cash-rich Singaporeans out there that even during the recent downturn. Many of them were seen snapping up private properties like hot cakes, despite the sky-high prices.

The reason is simple: many of them made big money from the stock market during previous financial crisis. It may sound odd, but every crisis is an opportunity for retail investors to make big money because that is the time when stock values dropped below their intrinsic values.

Most investors, especially the novice ones, tend to panic sell during stock market crashes because of the crisis in confidence. This is a typical “herd mentality” mistake that most investors tend to make and because of this, they tend to “buy high, sell low”, instead of “buy low, sell high”. The reason why most investors committed such mistake is because many of them are not fully aware of how the market works.

The stock market consist of three groups of players, namely Institutional Investors, Rich Investors and Retail Investors. Institutional Investors are players who invest on behalf of investment/insurance companies. They are the ones who usually flow huge amount of “hot money” in/out of the financial markets.

personal finance

Who will work for the rich?

March 9, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 703 Views 0 Comments

In my previous post, I advocated the teachings of financial, professional and general knowledge to our kids. One of my readers then questioned “who will work for the rich?”

I suppose there is a mistaken belief among Singaporeans that if we exposed our child to the financial world or encouraged them to be entrepreneurs when they are young, they will all become or aspire to become businessmen when they grew up. The truth is, not all of us have the attributes and aptitudes to be a successful entrepreneurs. Out of ten players, possibly only one will emerge as winner and went on to become successful entrepreneur. Its a cruel reality but then again this is the rule of the game. We have to accept the fact that entrepreneurship is a no-sure win venture and if you messed up royally, you could be financially defeated.

So the question now is whether is it right for us to instill financial, entrepreneurship and investment values in children when they are still kids. My answer is still yes. Why? Because financial ignorance is NOT bliss, it is a disaster. As Asian, when we were children, we were told we should not be involved in discussions about money and saving money is the most important thing you can do.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

The truth about money

March 5, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 1047 Views 1 Comment

Last month, our Education Minister commented that employers believe Singapore students lack drive and the willingness to try new things to succeed. After reading the article, I have mixed feelings because I think he missed the point on the truth about money.

Look, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that our education system has been result-driven and highly competitive for the past three decades. Everyone in Singapore knows for a long time that the education system is all about ranking, examination results and streaming. Obviously, to excel academically in such merciless system, one has to put in tremendous amount of effort and study real hard (unless of course if you are a genius). Henceforth, there is a lack of drive among our students to explore new ideas and new things. Much less to think about how to create money.

So what is the point of telling Singaporean an obvious fact that has been happening for the past decades? What is the Ministry of Education going to do? Just like many Singaporean in their thirties, I went through the education system and was taught to get a job, buy a house and save money for my retirement fund. At the end of the day, I have been asking myself, has the Singapore education provided me adequate knowledge to succeed in life?

Self improvement

Learn how to sell

March 4, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 685 Views 0 Comments

In life, we must always learn how to sell in order to achieve success. When I just started working as a manufacturing engineer in the aerospace sector, I always thought that my department (operations) was the most important department in my company. This was because I felt that without engineers solving problems in the production lines, the company would not be able to function as per normal.

It was only years later that I realized that my thinking was flawed. The most important department in every private organization has to be the sales department. Every profit-driven company exists because of sales. Without sales, there will be no company.

The problem with sales is that most people view it in a derogatory context, like a pushy insurance salesman or a telemarketer who interrupts your meetings. Most of us do not want to appear like those people, so we either sell passively (inform family members and hope they spread the word) or skip the selling exercise entirely. The result is half-baked effort and wasted time and money put toward building a business concept that will not come to fruition.

It is extremely hard for an inventor or entrepreneur to succeed if you do not change this mind-set because every type of business requires sales.

personal finance

The one million dollar question

March 3, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 781 Views 0 Comments

If you were given a choice between having one million dollar and gaining the ability to make multi-millions, which one would you choose? I suppose most of us would dream of getting rich quick.

Many people, including me, would normally choose having one million dollar. After all, its human nature to dream of being rich, not having to work and to indulge ourselves. But look, how long can the million dollar lasts? Especially in Singapore, where the cost of living is so high. With a million dollar, you can probably pay off your car loan, housing loan and afford not to work for about 5 years. The million dollar probably would not be able to last you a lifetime. At least not in Singapore.

Many years ago, when I was studying in NUS, one of my school mate confided in me how much hated his father, who had struck the lottery big time TWICE. I wondered why and he told me that his father quitted his job, spent all his prize money within a couple of years and became a drunkard. His mother, who used to be a housewife, ironically has to look for a job to support the family. This lesson made me realized that even if you are blessed with a lot of money, if you don’t have the financial discipline and knowledge, you will still be financially defeated at the end of the day.