sgwealthbuilder, Author at SG Wealth Builder

BullionStar’s opening ceremony

August 4, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1046 Views 0 Comments

BulllionStar officially opened its bullion retail, showroom and vault Friday 1 August 2014 with many industry representatives being present. Guest of Honor for the opening ceremony was the Swedish charge d’affaires to Singapore Ms. Karin Öhman also helping with the ribbon cutting ceremony.Below follows a transcript from Mr. Persson’s speech from the opening ceremony together with some pictures.

Ladies & Gentleman,
I would like to thank you for your precious time attending BullionStars opening ceremony.

We are honored here today by the presence of our Guest of Honor, Ms. Karin Öhman, chargé d’affaires of Sweden to Singapore.

A special thanks to the Singaporean government and IE Singapore for your presence here today and moreover for facilitating for the bullion industry in Singapore.
I found out about Singapore’s bid to create a trading hub for precious metals in the spring of 2012 after Singapore’s finance minister, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, had announced the GST exemption for investment precious metals coming into effect 1 October 2012.
With the Asian demand for gold currently standing at 60 % of total global demand, and growing quickly, Singapore´s drive to create a hub for precious metals is well timed.

On my first research trip to Singapore in July 2012, I received the contact information to IE Singapore from a supplier of ours.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

Survey revealed that married Singaporeans are more financially secured than singles

August 1, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 732 Views 0 Comments

According to a May 2014 survey done by Friends Provident International, 45% of married Singaporeans feel financially secure compared to 37% of Singaporean singles. The study also revealed that more than one third Singaporeans feel financial insecure as compared to last year. This could be attributed to rising cost of living as a result of high property prices and economic slowdowns in the western countries (USA and Europe). Not surprisingly, medical expenses had moved into the top three priority for saving needs. The survey was conducted on over 1000 affluent investors across Singapore and Hong Kong and highlighted interesting findings on their attitudes towards investments and savings.To be a successful wealth builder, we need to learn from the affluent people on how to invest and make money. The data showed that many married Singaporeans are in a financially stronger position than the singles. While I respect that one’s decision to get married is purely a personal decision and should not be based on financial factors, the survey has indicated that you might be financially better off if you are married. This finding may seem illogical because most people assume that having a family would set them back financially due to the increased in household expenses, child education, medical, etc.

Property investment;

(Sponsored Article) How to Finance an Overseas Property Investment

July 30, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 728 Views 0 Comments

The current investment property landscape is rich with opportunities. The big question many have is if they should use financial leverage, and if so what international mortgages are available to them?

There are many ripening property investment opportunities around the globe. In many ways markets are experiencing an incredible aligning of the stars which provide the ideal timing for new income property acquisitions. Whether restructuring and optimizing an existing portfolio, or launching into real estate investing for the first time it is an attractive time to seize opportunities, ramp up property holdings, and it is always wise to be diversified.

Scaling a portfolio requires capital. Even for those who sometimes feel that they are burdened with too much capital, there are many advantages of using leverage to acquire more investment properties. This is even true today as global interest rates prepare to swing upwards.

So what international mortgages are open to global property investors today?

There are four main strategies for financing overseas investment properties to choose from.

Leveraging Existing Home Equity

Accessing home equity from an existing residence in a property investor’s home country may be one of the simplest solutions. This affords investors a straightforward, and easy to navigate process, often with streamlined processing.

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

Why property agents are so important in your real estate investments

July 27, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 994 Views 0 Comments

In 2012, when my wife and I finally decided to downgrade to a smaller HDB flat, we started to search for a trustworthy property agent to sell our five-room flat. At that point of time, we didn’t approach our friends or relatives for referral because we wanted to be discreet about our plan. So when we saw a flyer from my property agent, we dropped him a call and arranged for a no-obligation meeting.The first meeting went well because my agent was really transparent about the whole process. He provided us an insight of the market dynamics, assessed our financial profiles, determined our needs and advised us on the various fees (legal, stamp duty and commission fee) and proceedings. He came across as a honest chap and did not brag about his past property transactions. We had a good vibe about him and decided to engage him to market our first home after a few phone calls.

One thing I liked about my agent was that he was able to provide a “one-stop” services such as recommending us a banker and a lawyer to process my home loan and CPF transaction. Our case was a bit complicated because we opted for a private loan instead of HDB loan.

Stocks

How to grow money

July 24, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 902 Views 11 Comments

Hi may I know if it would be wise to measure our portfolio including actual gains/losses? If so, is there any way to do it? Because the conventional investor would often tend to measure their gains or losses based on their current stock portfolio. Eg 8% growth for 2014. These are only paper gains/losses. However, it often neglects the ones that already have been sold for a profit or even receive dividends.

Thanks for your time and have a great day ahead!

I received the above email from one of my readers a couple of weeks ago. I fully agree with him that to be rich and successful in the stock market, investors should make the effort to note down the gains and losses made in their stock investments.

The principles behind such an endeavor is not really to track the actually amount of gains and losses, but rather, to serve as a form of discipline and instill a sense of purpose to your investments. Such a practice can help a newbie investor avoid many investment traps and empowers him to make better financial decisions in the long run.

When I started investing many years ago, I would record every single gain or loss of my shares investments in a little blue notebook.

Money management; personal finance

Are Singaporeans really intelligent?

July 22, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1174 Views 6 Comments

Her gullibility is not representative of intelligent Singaporeans – anonymous reader.The criticisms in response to my previous article reflected how shallow and ignorant most Singaporeans are when it comes to issues on money management. Make no mistake, it is perfectly okay to have different views on money but I expect more substance from my readers when they comment in my blog. After all, I have been promoting best practices on money management for several years already. So I am disappointed and at the same time, surprised that many Singaporeans choose to indulge in self-glorification and refuse to accept the hard truth that we are not genetically engineered to be financially smart. Singaporeans forgotten the fact that the majority of our Chinese forefathers hailed from one of the provinces of China, Fujian. Our ancestors were mostly uneducated farmers and hence, most of us are endowed with intelligence lower than Hong Kongers and Taiwanese. This is a historical fact which cannot be changed, no matter whether you like it or not.

Several readers had dismissed Madam Goh’s unfortunate ordeal as an isolated case and loathed to accept that Singaporeans are gullible and not good at managing money. Without even following my blog, they claimed that I generalize issues and linked different issues with no basis.

Gold

BullionStar opened new store in Singapore with a bang – free 1 gram PAMP gold bar!

July 20, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1046 Views 0 Comments

Dear all,

We are pleased to announce that our new bullion retail shop has opened. Yesterday, 14th July marked the opening day!BullionStar’s CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson, congratulated our first customers Mr. & Mrs. Lim at the new shop with
a surprise gift, a 2.5 PAMP Suisse Gold Bar!

The new venue is worldwide unique. Nowhere else can you view, buy, store, deposit, audit, value, sell and
physically withdraw bullion in a one-stop shop.

Address of the new retail shop:
45 New Bridge Road
Singapore 059398
The closest MRT station is Clarke Quay which is a 2 minute walk across the road.

Opening Hours:

Monday to Thursday: 11.00 am to 8.00 pm
Friday: 11 am to 5 pm
Saturday: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays
Walk-ins are welcome.

There is no longer any need to set appointments for picking up pre-paid bullion, selling bullion or making payment.
Promotion – FREE Gold Bar

To celebrate our big move, customers who purchase physical bullion for SGD 10,000 or more in a single order during the period from 14^th July to 13^th August, will get a PAMP 1 gram Gold Bar for FREE while stocks last.*

* Limited to one gold bar per customer and not valid for Vault Gram purchases.

Blog updates

How to establish a personal finance blog

July 17, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1503 Views 1 Comment

Over the past few years, there were a number of new personal finance bloggers joining the community. I appreciate their presence as they provide new ideas, thoughts and information for the readers. Such a development is good for Singapore because it helps to cultivate and strengthen Singaporeans’ personal finance literacy.

But I think one of the many blogs that stands out from the rest is The Finance.sg, a collection of local personal finance blogs in Singapore. The owner, Derek, believes that by consolidating quality sites and articles, the content can reach out to a larger audience and encourage like-minded people to share their views, thereby creating a vibrant community.

Sure, there are many other blog aggregators in Singapore but I think the success of The Finance.sg lies in its simplified presentation format. The articles are published in an uncluttered manner, with a short teaser related to the main content. So if the reader is interested in finding out more about an article, he can click on the “read more” function and will be directed to the guest blogger’s website. A lot of my blog’s traffic has been directed from The Finance.sg and henceforth, I appreciate the work of Derek. But beside giving credit to Derek, I would also like to contribute to the personal finance blogging scene by sharing with everyone on how to establish a high traffic website, or a blog for that matter.

Property investment; Singapore market;

Building a Win-Win Relationship with Your Property Agent Education Seminar

July 15, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 0 Views 3 Comments

Two years ago, my wife and myself engaged a property agent from Propnex to sell our five room HDB flat. At that point of time, HDB had already implemented a slew of cooling measures to tame the bullish real estate market, so we are aware that there was a need for us to engage the services of an experienced property agent to assist us to navigate through the myriad of HDB rules. We also did not want the hassle of spending too much time on researching the HDB rules as my wife just gave birth to our daughter. Fortunately, the property agent was very experienced and he helped to ensure that the whole process of selling and buying transactions were smooth sailing.Most Singaporeans far underestimate the role of property agents in their property transactions. A good property agent will do a proper financial planning before proceeding to market his services to you. This is important as there are many investors, down-graders, first-time sellers/buyers in the market and everyone’s financial situation is unique. In view of this, property agents cannot adopt a one-size-fits-all strategy in approaching would-be property sellers/buyers. Basically, a competent property agent must be able to assess and help you plan your finance at first-hand opportunity to ensure that the transaction can go through.

Money management; personal finance

My money portfolio mid-year report

July 14, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 960 Views 8 Comments

After reading fellow blogger B’s article on his “Mid Year Goals Review”, I was inspired to craft this post. I think it is a good practice to note down the progress made in our financial journey because it can help to crystallize our thoughts and at the same time, provides visibility of our financial status. I am not the type of person who will track my daily or monthly expenses. Neither do I make long term planning for my personal finances. But I believe setting financial goals can help to chart our progress and highlight areas to improve.Health Insurance
Earlier this year, I reviewed my NTUC Enhanced Incomeshield and felt the need to upgrade my current Basic Plan to Private Plan. This was after I read from the news that public hospitals in Singapore are overcrowded nowadays due to the mass influx of foreigners. In fact, Changi General Hospital had to even set up temporary tents outside the hospital in order to address the shortage of hospital beds. I was told that if the beds in the public hospital are fully occupied, the hospital staff would transfer you to a private hospital for treatment. When this happened, you have no choice but to pay the bills for the private hospital stay, which can be really expensive.

Stocks

The Meteoric Rise of OSIM

July 10, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1010 Views 2 Comments

In my previous post, return on equity (ROE) was highlighted as an important indicator to measure the management performance of a company. But one of my readers pointed out that earning per share (EPS) is also useful for investors to determine the value of a stock. I totally concur with him and would like to emphasize that both are needed to evaluate the value of a stock.Undeniably, valuing a stock is more difficult than assessing the financial health of a company because the former is a combination of art and science, while the latter can be found most of the time from the annual reports. In this article, I shall attempt to share with my readers how I value a stock, using the well-known OSIM as an example.

Firstly, P/E refers to the price earning ratio, It can be derived by dividing price-per-share over earning-per-share (EPS). For example, OSIM is currently trading at $2.71 a share. Based on the 2013 report, the EPS for 2012 was $0.12 and for 2013, it was $0.14. Given the latest quarterly report, the full year EPS should be about $0.16 for 2014. The P/E ratio had also been decreasing since 2011, from 30% to 20%.

Gold

BullionStar’s New Bullion Shop, Showroom & Vault at New Bridge Road, Singapore

July 9, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1267 Views 0 Comments

Below is an announcement from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. BullionStar was established in 2012 after Singapore government exempted investment grade precious metals from the goods and services tax (GST). I have interviewed the CEO, Mr Torgny before and found him to be an honest guy with a strong conviction in the prospect of bullion. His business expansion coincided with the slew of governmental policies to drive gold liquidity in Singapore (Metalor’s gold refinery and new vaults in Singapore Freeport), thus reflecting the growing demand for gold in Singapore.

We are pleased to share with you that we are moving to our new bullion shop, showroom and vault on 14^th July 2014.
In our new retail venue, you will be able to view, buy, store, deposit, audit, sell and physically withdraw bullion in a one-stop shop.

The address of the new location is:
45 New Bridge Road
Singapore 059398The closest MRT station is Clarke Quay which is a 2 minute walk across the road.
The new extended opening hours are:

Monday to Thursday: 11.00 pm to 8.00 pm
Friday: 11 pm to 5 pm
Saturday: 10.00 am to 2.00 pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

Our phone number +65 6284 4653 will remain the same for any queries.

Money management; personal finance

The case of Madam Goh Kah Keow vindicated the merits of CPF Minimum Sum

July 7, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 871 Views 14 Comments

‘I wish the banks had stopped me from withdrawing all my money!’ – lamented Madam Goh Kah Keow who lost $400,000 life savings to con artists from China.

I wish the banks had stopped me from withdrawing all my money. – See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/more-lifestyle-stories/story/400000-gone-day-20140629#2

In my previous post on the merits of CPF Minimum Sum, one of my readers Fred Khoo pointed out that the CPF Minimum Sum (MS) scheme is a national failure and that the government should not “lock up” Singaporeans’ CPF monies. Well, one thing for sure is that most Singaporeans would have strong opinions on the CPF scheme but it does not mean that the CPF MS scheme is a flop. Indeed, there are flaws and improvements that can be made to enhance the policy to better suit Singaporeans’ needs. However, it should be noted that the merits of CPF MS far out-weigh the flaws. The recent case of Madam Goh vindicated my point.

As a cleaner, Madam Goh lives alone in a studio flat. After working for 60 long years, she managed to scrimp and saved more than $400,000 of life savings. This is an amazing achievement as apparently, she is uneducated and does not possess any skill.

Career management

Singaporeans need reality check before asking for $6,000 salary

July 5, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 845 Views 7 Comments

According to a recent survey conducted by Jobstreet.com, it was revealed that 83% of Singaporeans were not happy with their income. The report also stated that Singaporean workers felt that their pay should be increased by 10 – 20 percent and that their ideal monthly salary should be at least $6,000 in order to sustain the current cost of living in Singapore.
No, I am not crazy but which company on earth would give you this kind of salary increment just because of rising inflation? Singaporeans seriously need to have their head checked and get a reality check.

Most Singaporeans do not understand the principle of ‘perception’ at work. In our workplaces, we tend to have an inflated ego of our own abilities and do not realize that how we perceive ourselves is different from what others perceive of us. We tend to overestimate our intelligence and manifest our contributions to the organization. These are general human fallacies, but I noticed that Singaporeans are never satisfied with their income, no matter how good it is. We always want higher pay as if it is our automatic rights, without linking the increment to performance. Come on, inflation is not a valid reason for pay hike.

Stocks

Investment insights: Return on Equity (ROE)

July 2, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 0 Views 8 Comments

According to an article in Dr Wealth’s blog, there were more than 68,000 new CDP accounts opened in the past 12 months. Apparently, the number of people who now hold securities is at an all time high of 844,000 people.While it is a fact that more and more Singaporeans are interested in making money from shares, I am not so sure whether these Singaporeans are really investors or merely speculators. Given that the Wall Street is now at record peak, many existing local stockholders’ portfolio have risen in value. I reckon this must have attracted people to open trading accounts and take part in the actions as well. After all, many Singaporeans want to make money and become rich quick. But before newbie traders get carried away, it is important to build the knowledge foundation first.

Last week, one of my readers, Dexter Choo wrote in to me asking why I use Return on Equity (ROE) instead of Earning Per Share (EPS) to measure the financial health of a company. This article is written to clarify some of the strategies I use for stock analysis and hopefully readers can benefit from this sharing and went on to build their wealth.

Basically ROE reveals how much profit the management can generate with the money shareholders invested.

Gold

BullionStar Review: Singapore takes major step to become gold trading hub

July 1, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 870 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article published with permission from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. To be a successful wealth builder, investors must always stay ahead of the the curve and keep abreast on the latest development in investment trends. For the past few years, the government has been trying to establish Singapore as a precious metal trading hub. Clearly, there is an investment demand to justify such policy shift. Investors should therefore consider accumulating gold bullion on a long term basis before it starts to get expensive again.

It was announced last week at the locally held London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) forum that the Singapore Exchange will introduce a wholesale kilobar gold contract from as early as September 2014. The introduction of the contract for 25kg of 99.99 per cent purity gold underscores Singapore’s ambition to become a major player in physical bullion trading at a time when global gold demand moves to the east.

It was also reported that Asia’s strong demand for gold was the key driver for the introduction of this contract. According to the World Gold Council, Asia accounted for 63 percent of total consumption of gold jewellery, bars and coins last year.

Insurance coverage; medical shield; financial planning; personal finance

Much Ado about Wealth-Building

June 27, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 804 Views 0 Comments

Dear Gerald,

I must first of all confess to you that even as I write, I’m filled with scepticism on how this correspondence will go. So am seeking advanced forgiveness for any sort of offence I may unwittingly create, and I also seek your patience in reading this email.

I am a 9-to-5 desk bound office worker. Through years of being with the same company, I’ve managed to earn my seniority and experience in dealing with international environmental agreements. I am happy with my wage – After all, I’m duly employed and these days in this unpredictable climate, it is a situation that I’m very grateful for, being gainfully employed, that is.

But everyday there is something nagging at me to do something to increase my resilience to the changing world where everything seems to get more costly and so quickly, and where, quite frankly, money helps to take the discomfort out of our lives where necessary. I’m not trained in any sort of financial discipline, nor have I ever had any mentor whom I could approach, but I see the need for me to start thinking seriously about embarking on building up my savings and eventually being able to call it wealth.

Gold; Bitcoins

BullionStar calls for a clear regulatory framework regarding Bitcoin

June 26, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 659 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article published with permission from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. SG Wealth Builder believes that no matter what assets you invested in, the only way to make money and become rich is to adopt a contrarian approach. Gold witnessed a major correction since last year and the price has become stagnant ever since. Investors should seize the opportunity to accumulate now before gold becomes expensive again.

BullionStar was set up in the fall of 2012 in the light of a GST exemption coming in to place in Singapore. Offering a wide range of precious metal products, and the ability to store the purchased products in one of the safest jurisdictions in the world, we have seen substantial growth in a very short period of time.We believe in making it as easy as possible for our customers to buy and store almost any amount of gold and silver whether your a small saver or large investor. We have achieved this by offering a one-stop end-to-end solution for purchasing and storing gold, silver and platinum at very competitive prices. We offer a wide assortment of physical bullion products including our unique Vault Gram® solution which offers a low threshold for anyone that wishes to start saving in physical precious metals.

Gold

Why Singaporeans should invest in gold bullion

June 20, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 962 Views 0 Comments

This week, an article by Reuters reported that gold jewellery exports by India is expected to grow by 25% in the year to March 2015. This is an impressive figure given that last year, the Indian government raised the import duty to a record 10 percent and also make it mandatory for merchants to export 20 per cent of the imported gold. In Asia, various data released by gold analysts indicated that China and India will continue to be the leading consumers for gold. The key reason for Asian’s fascination for gold is because the Chinese and Indians understand the value of gold as a means to preserve wealth.

Over in Singapore, the government is beginning to appreciate the role of gold bullion in the investment fraternity and has been implementing policies to develop Singapore as a metal trading hub for gold. In 2012, the government removed 7 percent GST from investment-grade precious metals, hoping to spur Singaporean’s demand for gold.

As a result of this policy shift, many gold dealers, such as BullionStar, has set up shop in Singapore. For many international and domestic investors seeking safe haven for their precious metals, Singapore is considered one of the best choices because of its reputation for being a safe country with low crime rate.

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

How to become rich through property auctions in Singapore

June 16, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 872 Views 6 Comments

Many Singaporeans want to make money and become rich quick but very few bother to acquire the investment knowledge needed to build wealth. Recently, there was an online article in Yahoo Singapore which illustrated how a Singaporean managed to afford a HDB flat despite having little investment knowledge and drawing an average salary. Apparently, he shared that the landed property was bought for a low price because it was a bank fire sale. He further shared that bank sales can be a good source of deals and revealed that he made a profit of $850,000 after selling it in 2011.

After reading the article, I was really impressed by how he built his wealth and was also heartened that he unselfishly shared his money secrets to Singaporeans . Unfortunately, there were many cynical and negative remarks given by readers in the Yahoo website. Many of them were jealous of his achievement and took the chance to throw brick bats at government policies that restricted them from becoming rich through property investments. Usually these naysayers are those people that would never ever become rich because they don’t appreciate good advices given to them for free.

Singaporeans must realize that to become rich, you must adopt the habits of rich people and arm yourself with knowledge.

salaries

Civil Service Mid Year Bonuses

June 13, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 912 Views 0 Comments

Mid-Year Annual Variable Component of 0.5-month for all civil servantsIn addition:

Division IV officers to receive a wage increase of $70 in monthly salary, and
Division III officers to receive a wage increase of $30 in monthly salary, over and above their annual increment in 2014.

The Singapore economy grew by 4.9% on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2014, unchanged from the growth recorded in the preceding quarter. Global economic growth is expected to improve in 2014, supported by continued recovery in the US and the Eurozone. The overall unemployment rate in Singapore remained low at 2.1% in March 2014.

Against this backdrop, the Government has decided to pay a mid-year Annual Variable Component (AVC) of 0.5-month.
The Government also supports the National Wages Council’s (NWC) recommendation to grant a built-in wage increase to raise the wages of low-wage workers. The Government will give a built-in wage increase to Division IV and III civil servants. This will be in addition to their annual increment in 2014.

Division IV civil servants will receive a built-in wage increase of $70 in their monthly salaries. This will benefit around 3,500 Division IV civil servants. Division III civil servants will receive a built-in wage increase of $30 in their monthly salaries.

Career management; investments

Why you should not quit without a job in Singapore

June 13, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 816 Views 4 Comments

Recently I read that one of the fellow bloggers has resigned without a job. When I saw his article, I immediately commented to him that doing so was a terrible career move. Obviously people resigned for various reasons. The push factors could be because of bad bosses, poor company culture, lack of motivation to work or being overlooked for promotion. Whatever the reason it might be, you should never quit without a job, unless you are cocksure that you are going to be your own boss. Ten years ago, I made this career mistake, so now, I am going to share my experiences to young folks who feel like quitting from their jobs. Read on before you take the plunge.

Ten years ago
I resigned from my first job almost ten years ago, after deciding that I had enough of the stressful manufacturing environment I was in. As a young engineer, I could not imagine spending the rest of my career doing the mundane stuff I was doing. The pay was not bad, but not good enough for me to do over-time every week. So after quitting, I was very relieved and ready to venture out to another new job. I went for a few job interviews and the first question that the hiring bosses asked would be why I resigned from my previous company without a job.

Money management; personal finance

Singaporeans’ misconceptions on the CPF System

June 11, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1463 Views 5 Comments

Last Saturday, there was a protest against the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, drawing almost 3,000 people at Hong Lim Park. During the protest, the speakers demanded amongst many things, a better CPF interest payout, the allowance to draw out their CPF savings at 55 years old and to be able to opt out of CPF Life. The protest highlighted certain misconceptions on the CPF System which I find worrying for fellow Singaporeans. Obviously most Singaporeans don’t understand how to manage their monies.

Higher returns, higher risks

According to the CPF website, an additional 1% interest will continue to be paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances, with up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account (OA). The additional interest received on the OA will go into the member’s Special Account or Retirement Account to enhance his retirement savings.

If a member is above 55 years old and participates in the CPF LIFE scheme, the additional 1% interest will still be earned on his combined balances, which includes the savings used for CPF LIFE. Savings in the Special and Medisave Account (SMA) currently earn either 4% or the 12-month average yield of 10-year Singapore Government Securities (10YSGS) plus 1%, whichever is the higher.

Book review; investment

The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lesson from the Greatest Traders

June 9, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 740 Views 0 Comments

Being a value investor, I buy shares of growth stocks at a price below or near it’s intrinsic value. Even though I am not a trader, I believe it is important to keep an open mind and understand the insights and strategies of traders. This is because whether you like it or not, there will always be speculators and traders in the markets. Their behaviors and actions will invariably affect market performances and impact the way you make money in the markets.

In The Little Book of Market Wizards: Lesson from the Greatest Traders by Jack Schwager, I realized that there are many relevant investment principles that are useful for investors and wealth builders. For example, to be a successful trader, you need to manage your ego and develop a set of trading methodology that best suits your character. The important thing to note is that losing money is part of process and you can never win all the times. This principle is applicable to investing as well. Most traders and investors lose money in the stock market because they try to avoid losing money. On the other hand, professional traders who become rich from stock market understand that they have to take losses in order to win the game.

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

How much are you saving on property by riding the North-South MRT?

June 6, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 694 Views 0 Comments

Yesterday, you moved into a 1,000 square foot condo in Novena.

Today, you board the North-South line for your office at Raffles Place. For every minute you are on the MRT, you have saved $81,479 on the purchase of your home compared to someone who has purchased a comparable unit within a kilometer of Raffles Place.

$81,479 a minute.

For the first time in your life, you wish you had a longer commute. In your case, Novena is 11 minutes from Raffles Place. You saved a total quantum of $896,269 by living within a kilometer of Novena MRT.

$896,269. Not bad for an 11 minute commute. And, think of how productive you were in those 11 minutes. You probably read the Today paper and answered your emails.

Or, perhaps, you listened to some music while you dreamed of how you’re going to spend the $896,269.

Money management; personal finance

How to get your CPF monies before you turn 55

June 1, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 883 Views 0 Comments

Recently, there are a lot of debates on the merits of CPF Minimum Sum (MS) Scheme. Many Singaporeans are upset that the CPF MS has increased yet again and there are certainly anxiety among Singaporeans who are concerned whether they are able to retire comfortably. This has prompted Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin to come out and defend the CPF system.Well, let us be clear what CPF MS is all about. According to the CPF website, “The CPF Minimum Sum (MS) Scheme provides members with a monthly income to support a basic standard of living during retirement. For members who are unable to set aside the full MS in cash, their property bought with their CPF savings will be automatically pledged, for up to half of their MS. Members may also join CPF LIFE with their MS so that they may have a stream of income for life. Alternatively, they may continue to keep their MS with the CPF Board to earn 4% interest per annum currently. The interest rate is revised yearly.”
The reason why many Singaporeans are disgruntled over the rising CPF MS is because they thought that their savings would be locked in their CPF account forever and their money could not be extracted early or prematurely.

Gold

BullionStar: The Chinese Gold Rush continues

May 29, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 647 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article published with permission from BullionStar, a Singapore online bullion company where you can buy gold and silver at competitive prices. SG Wealth Builder always believe that every wealth builder should have bullion in their portfolio. Over the long run, the outlook for gold is still bright, especially in Asia context.

While 2013 was an exceptional year for gold demand in Asia, with shortages of minted physical gold bullion products and gold itself, according to some, 2014 continues to show robust gold demand according to the World Gold Council’s Q1 report.At BullionStar, we can testify about the growth in gold demand that we have seen in the last year. Whereas investors in the Western economies have shunned gold because it carries no yield or return on investment, regional physical demand in South East Asia has been very strong and is spurred by other factors.

Asian Gold Mindset
The Asian mindset to gold is different from in West says Managing Director of the World Gold Council, Mr. Albert Cheng, at the presentation of the World Gold Council’s publication “Q1 Gold Demand Trends” to which BullionStar was grateful to be invited. Many Asians view gold as a conservative way of saving.

Career management

Important skill

May 27, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 902 Views 0 Comments

In my previous posting, I highlighted that the most important skill that every employee must acquire is the ability to sell. You can be a sales manager, engineer or accountant in your organization but no matter what your job scope is, it is important to know how to profile yourself and be seen as able to sell your ideas effectively to your colleagues.

But then again, to be successful in our careers, what other skill-sets are needed? Recently, BBC wrote to me and asked me to write an article on what is considered to be the most important skill. I thought hard about it and decided to blog down some of my thoughts with regard to the skill indispensable for people just entering into the workforce.

Many people claim that they understand the importance of prioritizing their work but not many know how to practice it effectively. For fresh graduates just entering the workforce, mastering the art of work prioritization is of utmost importance. This is especially so in Singapore context, where employees are expected to multi-task and take on additional assignments not related to their core duties. Those with positive mindset may treat such challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.

Career management; investments

Jobstreet.com: Singaporeans not ready for retirement

May 24, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 867 Views 0 Comments

The following article is published with permission from Jobstreet.com, a leading online job site presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam. The survey done by Jobstreet.com revealed that Singaporeans are financially not ready for retirement. I am not surprised by the results of the survey at all because in general, I find that Singaporeans tend to procrastinate or avoid planning for their retirement. Many Singaporeans don’t appreciate the importance of building wealth early on in their career journey and the worst thing is that many of them are lazy or cannot even be bothered to study the art of making money. Singaporeans have to wake up to their idea that if they chose to work for others, which is nothing inherently wrong, then they must learn how to invest to ensure that they can enjoy their retirement.

With the increase in life expectancy in Singapore, senior workers are considering to postpone their retirement beyond the country’s statutory minimum retirement age of 62 years old. JobStreet.com recently conducted a survey to find out if employers in Singapore are willing to accommodate them. Responses were gathered from 150 employers and 1,400 Singaporean workers aged 40 years and above .

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

Property Cooling Measures Freeze District 9

May 20, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 967 Views 0 Comments

SG Wealth Builder is pleased to form a partnership with SRX Singapore Property to bring you the latest information on how to build your wealth through property in Singapore. Below article is based on information provided by SRX Research and readers must not interpret it as a form of financial advice. Check out how to be a successful wealth builder in Singapore.The below data vindicated the principles that Property Soul has been trying to highlight in her book ““No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth through Properties”. Before you decide to buy a second property, ask yourself whether you want to live in it or rent it out for investment purposes. It is important that you are clear of the purpose because the consideration factors for buying a house for living and for investment purposes are very different. No B.S. Guide to Property Investment – Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets To Building Wealth Through Properties is available now in major bookstores such as Popular, Kinokuniya and Times.

If you want to see out how impactful the government’s cooling measures, look no further than District 9.

According to the Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX), the median Transactions-over-X Value (T-O-X) for District 9, which consists of Orchard, Cairnhill, and River Valley, was NEGATIVE $130,000.