sgwealthbuilder, Author at SG Wealth Builder

Singapore Exchange (SGX) launched a new research and company fundamentals portal on its website.

The portal, called SGX StockFacts, has several features, including:

A comprehensive research database, covering stock fundamentals for all SGX-listed companies
Customised search, giving investors flexibility to filter stocks across 20 screening criteria
New proprietary tools, including S&P Capital IQ Alpha Factor Composites, which ranks stocks based on eight investment style classifications
Ability to chart a company’s financials for the last five years
Downloading and printing of company snapshots for easy analysing

Mita Natarajan, Head of Corporate Services, Listings, SGX, said: “SGX has enhanced many aspects of the stock market in recent months. The SGX StockFacts portal, which presents vital research and stock fundamentals on all SGX-listed companies in a user-friendly way, is yet another improvement to add value to investors and companies. It will help investors make more informed investment decisions, raise the visibility of our companies and add vibrancy to the stock market.”

SGX StockFacts is collaboration between SGX and S&P Capital IQ, a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial and a provider of multi-asset class research, data and analytics.

It can be accessed through SGX’s corporate website at www.sgx.com/stockfacts. The url for the press release is http://www.sgx.com/wps/wcm/connect/sgx_en/home/higlights/news_releases/sgx-launches-stock-and-company-information-portal-stockfacts-for-investors.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

A little act of caring creates a seamless ripple

October 23, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1513 Views 3 Comments

The scene was at a supermarket where grandmother and her two grandchildren were shopping for groceries. Her granddaughter saw a lovely strawberry cake and wanted to buy it. However, when checking out the items at the cashier, grandmother realized that there was not enough money to buy the cake. So she promised her granddaughter that she would buy it another time. The little girl was very disappointed but nevertheless, left the shop reluctantly with her grandmother and brother.Just then, a gentleman was standing behind them and saw the situation. He paid for the cake and caught up with them. Gentleman gave the cake to the little girl but grandmother refused to accept it. At that point of time, the gentleman related his story to them.

He recounted that when he was young, his family was poor. On his seventh birthday, he and his mother went to a cake shop but had no money to buy a birthday cake. He was disappointed and refused to leave the shop. Then, a middle-age man who was standing behind them, saw the awkward situation and bought a birthday cake. He then offered the cake to him and wished him a happy birthday.

The mother was so grateful to the man and requested him to note down his address so that one day she could return the money to him.

Property investment; Singapore market;

Property Education Seminar: Smart Landlords Vs Smart Tenants

October 20, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1395 Views 0 Comments

This week, my mother is shortlisting new tenants after giving the marching orders to her current tenants. They are her fourth set of tenants in two years and all of them are Malaysians. Somehow, she always had issues with her tenants and all of them never last more than a year. Interestingly, the disputes were always on living habits and never on rental issues (all the tenants always paid the rental on time). As her children, we always advise our mother to give and take as there will definitely be frictions and misunderstandings when you live with strangers. Ultimately. it is better to develop harmonious relationships and create a win-win situation.Is there a good way to screen potential tenants? I wish I know because it is not possible to tell whether you can live in harmony with that person based just on a preliminary meeting. We all have bad habits and it takes time to adjust to your tenants or even family members’ bad habits. But of most importance is dealing with dishonest tenants and agents – how do landlords safeguard their interests against cheats? I have read articles of landlords being cheated of thousands of rental fees by tenants and agents.

Stocks

Haw Par Corp an ultra value stock?

October 9, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1609 Views 0 Comments

I was doing research on Haw Par Corp recently and was surprised to discover that the company hold large amount of shares in UOB (68 millions), UIC (67.5 millions) and UOL (41.4 millions).

According to Haw Par Corp’s website, their substantial investments consist “mainly of strategic holdings in United Overseas Bank Limited, UOL Group Limited and United Industrial Corporation Limited. They have been a stable source of funding – through recurring dividend income – and financial strength – at marked-to-market valuations – over the years.”

Based on the annual report, these shares contributed about 60.2% of the profits in 2013. This is a significant amount of income source from a non-core business segment. After all, Haw Par has always been regard by many investors as a healthcare company which manufactures the famous local brand, Tiger Balm ointment. Who would have guessed that it is actually an investment holding company with billion dollars worth of shares in blue chip companies? It seems that investors may not fully understood the true value of Haw Par Corp. Read on to find out more about my personal view on this often overlooked stock.

Before you become too excited about the stock, it is important to examine the concept of companies with investments in other companies.

Career management

Tactical Job Hunting

October 7, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1493 Views 0 Comments

In today’s context, maintaining a job portal presence is important for job seekers. This is especially so in Singapore, where competition in the employment landscape is very high due to the influx of foreign talents. If you are actively looking for greener pasture, make sure you have a clear strategy in mind. Below is a sharing by Randy Lim, a recruitment consultant at GSI Executive Search. Randy can be contacted at randylim1976@gmail.com or randy.lim@gsiconsultants.comJob hunting can be a chore, and it can be quite a tedious process as well, and you’ll be surprised how much time and energy taken up to find a decent job. Here are some practical action that can be taken to better manage the whole process and experience.

Email
Have a dedicated email account for the job hunt, this way you can channel all your information, interview details, contacts, job portal alerts here.

On a more psychological sense, it can help to channel your energy and motivation the moment you open this email account, tell yourself to focus on the job search, not distracted by emails from Facebook, Twitter and other social media alerts.
Of course, please have a professional email address, enough said.

Excel spreadsheet
Open an Excel Spreadsheet.The

Gold

Singapore Kilobar Gold Contract To Launch in October 2014

October 7, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1309 Views 0 Comments

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. As mentioned in my previous articles, in the past few years, the government has been trying to establish Singapore as a gold trading hub. Given the huge demand for gold from China and India, Singapore is strategically located to cater to the needs of Asian investors. Ultimately, the aim is to create more opportunities for retail investors and also to create higher value job opportunities.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the World Gold Council, today announced that the new exchange-traded Singapore Kilobar Gold Contract (“Contract”) will launch on Monday, 13 October 2014.

The Contract is the first wholesale 25 kilobar gold contract to be offered globally and is the result of a successful collaboration among the four parties. The Contract caters to the continuing strong demand for physical gold in Asia, which has increased significantly over the last decade. Its introduction underpins the creation of a centralised kilobar gold market, characterised by real-time transparent price discovery, daily expiration with physical delivery and robust verification of quality gold.

Property investment; Singapore market;

Why I would not encourage my mother to take up the Enhanced HDB Lease Buyback Scheme

October 4, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1692 Views 2 Comments

On 03 Sep 2014, the government announced four enhancements to the HDB Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) as follows:1) The scheme will be extended to 4-room HDB flats and to sweeten the deal, there will be a $10,000 cash bonus per household when the elderly participate in the scheme.

2) The income ceiling will be raised to $10,000 from $3,000 per month to allow elderly who are still working or still living with their family members to qualify for this scheme.

3) The requirements to top up their CPF Retirement Accounts with the LBS proceeds will be relaxed as reflected in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Change in CPF Top-Up Requirement* for Households with Two or More Owners

Owner’s Age	Current (Age-Adjusted MS)	New (0.5 x Age-Adjusted MS)
CPF Draw-Down Age (now 63) to 69	$155,000	$77,500
70 to 79	$145,000	$72,500
80 or older	$135,000	$67,500

* Based on prevailing CPF MS of $155,000

4) Elderly can choose the length of lease to retain instead of the standard 30 years lease. This is to cater to the need of those who are in the 70 years old and above age group.

By and large, the LBS is a good scheme that allows the elderly the additional option to monetize their property asset to fund their retirement needs.

Money management; personal finance

OCBC Open Account

October 1, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1384 Views 0 Comments

More than 8,000 OCBC 360 Accounts opened using OCBC Open Account mobile application, 15% of total number opened

Singapore, 29 September 2014 – OCBC Bank launched the first account opening application on smart phones in Singapore, on 2nd April 2014. As the first bank in Singapore to do so, OCBC Bank continues to make banking simple and convenient with innovative products and services. With this simple-to-use app available on both ios and Android, customers can apply for the popular OCBC 360 Account on their mobile phones or tablets, without the need to visit a branch. Within six months, more than 8,000 accounts were opened via the OCBC Open Account app. This makes up around 15% of the total number of more than 60,000 OCBC 360 Accounts opened in the same period of time.

Amongst customers who have used this application to open their accounts, more than 80% are new-to-bank. They are mostly PMETs (professionals, managers, engineers and technicians), aged between 23 and 35 years old.

The OCBC Open Account app fits perfectly into the busy and hectic lifestyles of the PMETs as it has been designed to be simple and intuitive. It offers customers a seamless online account opening experience. Customers are able to submit their NRIC by taking a photo of their NRIC using the smartphone’s camera and similarly submit their signature specimen by signing on the embedded sign pad within the app.

Money management; personal finance

8 Things You Should Know About Your CPF Nomination

September 30, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1658 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article published with permission from the CPF Board. Singaporeans should note the point that a Will does not cover the distribution of CPF savings after death. So please make your CPF nominations as soon as possible. You don’t want your loved ones to encounter complications over the distribution of your wealth after you are gone. What is the point of being rich but not able to transfer your wealth to your loved ones when you are not around?

A CPF nomination allows CPF members to specify who will receive their CPF savings, and how much each nominee should receive when they pass away. Here’s a list of FAQs to help you better understand it. Information on CPF nomination is also available at the CPF website.

Q1: What happens to my CPF monies if I pass away without making a CPF nomination?

Your entire savings in all your CPF accounts will be distributed by the Public Trustee to your family members according to the intestacy law or the Certificate of Inheritance (for Muslims). So, you need not worry about your CPF monies landing in the wrong hands even if you do not make a CPF nomination.

Career management

Career breaks

September 29, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1333 Views 1 Comment

This is simply a flawed analysis and a one-size-fits-all kind of advice. Many successful corporate leaders and entrepreneurs have taken career breaks and became even more successful after those breaks.

I have a junior associate who quit last year to tour around the world (using her savings not parents money in case you are wondering) and now ready to return to work. 3-4 firms are competing for her. Some MNCs like people who are well exposed.

Also, getting out without a job and getting in again, it’s all about how one articulates his/her decision to quit. Another perspective is what the person has done during the out-of-job period. Be it charity, helping out family, traveling, or learning a new skills. If there’s something that helped build the person’s strengths, it will only make him/her even more attractive in searching for a new job – Anonymous Reader

The above comment was made by one of my readers in response to my previous article “Why You Should Not Quit Without a Job In Singapore”. His perspective was that taking a career break is good because it helps one to recharge and make a better comeback in their job journey.

While I don’t dispute that taking career breaks are good for us, but I think what he didn’t realize is that most Singaporeans quit without a job because of “escapism mentality” and not because they wanted to pursue other interests or higher priorities in life.

Gold

BullionStar: India’s June Gold Import Highest in 12 Months

September 15, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1466 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article 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).

Despite the fact the new Indian government, led by Narandra Modi since May, hasn’t lowered the import duties on both gold and silver, Indians keep on buying precious metals. Despite the fact we already knew this, there was less gold being smuggled into the country and more imported through official channels last June; 77 tonnes were gross imported, which is up 48 % from a month earlier, and up 75 % from June last year. This was accompanied by falling premiums.Gross export in June accounted for 4 tonnes, according to India’s customs department DGCIS. One of the import restrictions the Indian government implied on gold in 2013 was the 80/20 rule; of every amount of gold imported 20 % has to be re-exported. The gross amount exported in June falls short of the required 15.4 tonnes (20 % of 77 tonnes is 15.4 tonnes), meaning importers have some overdue obligations to be met in coming months. The other restriction on gold (and silver) is an import duty of 10 %, and the Indian government can obstruct consignments.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

Plan for future?

September 13, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1258 Views 2 Comments

Should Singaporeans plan for their future? As a matter of personal policy, I feel it is not worth the effort and time to write an article to counter the work of other bloggers because I don’t wish to be seen as being cocky or aggressive.

But after reading one of the blog posts written by Teenage Investing, I am prompted to write this article. In his article on 12 September, the blogger felt indignant that one of his readers commented that his advice was a piece of joke and that he would rather not waste time planning for his future. The blogger went on to sign off his article and encouraged his readers to plan for his future.

Life is unpredictable and it is difficult to foresee what the future holds for us. If there are two things that I want to impart to my young daughter, they would be character resilience and the ability to learn transferable skills.

In today’s context, there are just too many obstacles that life would throw at you and having a plan would not help you to navigate through these challenges. I have seen people crumbled after failing to meet their targets and subsequently lost their self confidence to carry on with their lives.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

The reason why Singaporeans are unhappy

September 11, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1386 Views 5 Comments

As children, happiness was all about getting our desired toys or playing our favorite games. If we did not get what we want, we threw tantrums or cried. When we became working adults, being happy meant achieving our goals and dreams. If we did not meet our self expectations, we became unhappy, frustrated and indulged in the blame game.

As we matured and entered into our twilight years, happiness was about attaining a balanced state of mind. If we were unhealthy or sick-ridden, we could not have a peace of mind.

The above philosophy perhaps summed up what happiness represents in different phases of our lives. In recent years, there were a lot of articles on this topic and there were also much debate on how Singaporeans view the quality of their lives in the lion city.

This is a natural progression of our civic society and many Singaporeans have began to think beyond the pursuit of money.

Obviously, money is important and we should always respect money. But many of us begin to realize that life is not all about making more and more money. There are many things in life that money cannot buy – respect, love, kinship and friendship.

Property investment; Singapore market;

8 Things You Should Know When Using CPF for Property

September 10, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 2071 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article published with permission from the CPF Board. Singapore home owners should pay close attention to the policy on accrued interest for CPF monies.

Many members use CPF savings when buying a property. Before you decide on buying your dream home, we highly recommend reading “Things to look out for when buying a property using CPF” and watching “Buying a House” videos. Here’re 8 essentials you should be aware of. Please note that the information may be different if you are using CPF for multiple properties.

Q1. What CPF savings can I use to buy a property?

Only Ordinary Account (OA) savings can be used for property. You can use it to:

(i) Pay lumpsum/downpayment to HDB for the purchase of an HDB flat, or to a property developer or a seller for the purchase of a private property.

(ii) Repay the housing loan taken for the purchase of HDB flat or private property.

(iii) Pay legal fees, stamp duty, transfer fees and other related costs incurred in relation to the housing purchase.

(iv) Repay a housing loan taken for the purchase of land and/or for construction of a house on that land (for private property).

Insurance coverage; medical shield; financial planning; personal finance

(Sponsored article) Confused Now – a free-access forum to share and compare insurance plans

September 8, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1241 Views 0 Comments

I do have a bad experience with a few insurance agents. They are selling you plans which have a higher commission rather than a plan which you actually need. They attempt to hide some agenda and it is difficult to understand the plans through the web. I believe in asking people who have purchased similar insurance plans which you are looking for. Through questions and answers, you hold a better understanding which policy is right for you. Take those opinions and clear your doubts when meeting your insurance agent.

Because Confused Now is a collaboratively edited, free-access, free content community to share your experience of policies you have purchased. It is an open discussion platform, designed to make collaboration easy. It is a one stop portal where you are able to see all insurance plans in Singapore. Free free to add in any missing insurance plans in Confused Now.
I believe in honesty and simplicity. Collaborate and share your experience of buying insurance policies in a simpler way for free. Our tagline is “Making you smarter than your insurance agent.” Through Confused Now, you are able to be confident when meeting your insurance agent to discuss on purchasing a plan. You won’t be Confused anymore.

Gold

BullionStar introduces the 2015 Perth Mint Lunar Series coins

September 7, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1527 Views 0 Comments

Introducing the 2015 Perth Mint Lunar Series coins

The 2015 Australian Lunar Silver Goat is now available in stock for immediate delivery.

The Chinese Lunar Calandar
The ShengXiao, is known in English as the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is a system that relates each year to an animal according to a repeated 12-year cycle. It is based on the ancient 12-year Chinese Lunar Calendar, which dates back beyond 2,600 BC. The Shengxiao includes animals in the following order :
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Pig.

Each animal is associated with certain characteristics and in 2015, we will usher in the year of the Goat.

2015: Year of the Goat
The goat is the eighth of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac.

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

Singapore best investment blogger

September 4, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1391 Views 3 Comments

In the past, I’ve been thinking about how to achieve financial freedom and be a millionaire by 35 through property investment. But I have long passed this stage. I begin to think about my relationship with this society and how I can contribute and give it back – Property Soul, Founder of Property Club Singapore

The above are words of wisdom extracted from one of the email exchanges I had with Property Soul a few months ago when she approached me to do a book review on her new book “Dirty Truths and Profitable Secrets to Building Wealth Through Properties”. For the uninitiated, Property Soul is one of the local finance bloggers who specialize in real estate investments. She is quite well-known in the local finance blogging community and she shared a lot of useful tips on property investments in her blog. Many Singapore readers benefit from her sharing and obviously she has a lot of fans.

I believe there is no award for the best investment blogger in Singapore, but if there is, I would definitely nominate her. Why? Simply because of her passion and contributions to our society. Unlike other bloggers who are actually property agents trying to sell projects online, Property Soul is a thought leader who strive to drive the right principles among real estate investors, especially the novice ones.

Insurance coverage; medical shield; financial planning; personal finance

My late father’s experience with Eldershield

September 3, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1748 Views 14 Comments

One of the readers of AK71 solicited his views on Eldershield in his blog, “A Singapore Stock Market Investor”. In his post, the author wrote that he don’t need the Eldershield protection but nonetheless, had not opted out of the scheme due to his “friend’s persuasion” (Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) with Medisave accounts are automatically covered under ElderShield at the age of 40).

In his article, AK71 also downplayed the importance of Eldershield, stating that he don’t need disability insurance as he is a “Superman” with self-generating assets. After reading the article, I was unimpressed and thought it was ridiculous that a finance blogger could write such warped immature material on Eldershield without even having first-hand experience with the scheme. Such an article only serves to reinforce the ignorance among Singaporeans on insurance.

Make no mistake, I hope that none of my readers would ever suffer the ill fate of being eligible for Eldershield payouts. Neither am I trying to sell insurance policies from this article as I don’t work in the financial sector. But I feel that it is important that Singaporeans have the correct mindset on disability insurance. So today, I am going to share my late father’s experience with Eldershield.

Gold

BullionStar: New bullion products and job opportunities

September 1, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1319 Views 0 Comments

Below is newsletter 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, with the aim of creating good job opportunities for Singaporeans. The salaries offered by BullionStar is really attractive and competitive. So Singaporeans should have no valid reason to complain the lack of good paying job positions in Singapore. Read on to find out more.

Lunar Silver Goat 2015 in Stock!

As one of the first bullion dealers worldwide, BullionStar has stock available for all of the below sizes for the Lunar Silver Goat 2015!1/2 oz, 1 oz, 2 oz, 5 oz, 10 oz and 1 kg.

All coins are available for pick up in our bullion retail shop Monday 1 September 11 am and onwards. Available in limited quantity only. Get yours before we run out of stock. The coins are offered on a first ordered, first served basis.

Other New Products
We continue to steadily increase our range of different products and brands available.

Property investment; Singapore market; private housing prices

Property Financing

August 29, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1523 Views 0 Comments

In one of her articles, local blogger YP shared a real estate investment ordeal that she and her husband suffered many years ago. Like many Singaporeans, they had bought a private property because her husband’s colleague had bought a newly-launched project. Fearing that they would miss the boat, they also bought a unit.

But unfortunately, they had to sell the unit in the end and suffered a loss. In her article, she listed 6 lessons learned from her failed property investment. But in my humble opinion, both of them committed a few major mistakes made by Singaporeans when it comes to buying properties.Most Singapore investors have a misguided belief that property is a sure-win asset that they should possess in their investment portfolios. But they don’t realize that during economic downturns, that asset could become a toxic liability that might lead to their personal finance downfalls. This is especially so if the investors lost their jobs or if the rentals were not enough to cover the mortgage installments. Always remember that in good times, bankers will be your good friends because they want you to borrow money from them. But in bad times, they will not hesitate to repossess your property if you fail to pay the mortgage on time.

Money management; personal finance; Investment

Singaporeans lost money in another bogus investment opportunity

August 19, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1280 Views 0 Comments

According to the Channel News Asia, up to 1,500 investors in Singapore could lose a staggering $70 million after Brazil Embassy denied that property firm EcoHouse Group has any links with the Brazilian government. Apparently, EcoHouse had claimed to be working with the Brazilian government on a social programme and even promised fixed return of 20 per cent for a one-year investment contract. However, EcoHouse abruptly shut down its Suntec offices and many investors complained that they have not gotten their returns despite maturity of their contracts. In addition, some investors have begun legal actions against the company and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) had placed the company on the Investor Alert List.Whenever I come across such articles, I feel sad for fellow Singaporeans. This is not the first time that Singaporeans fell prey to a money scam. A few years ago, many Singaporeans also lost millions of dollars in several elaborated gold buy-back scams. Indeed, many Singaporeans hope to make their money work hard for them but ironically ended up losing all their hard-earned money in bogus investment projects. Their greed and ignorance prevail whenever they were told that there are better ways to make money than putting their savings in the banks.

Gold

Job opportunities & new products from BullionStar

August 17, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1230 Views 0 Comments

Only spot price of gold + 3.9 % regardless of quantity bought.

Valid until 31 August or as long as stocks last.
The Austrian Gold Philharmonics is Europe’s most popular bullion investment gold coin and is well known around the world.

Available in limited quantity only. Get yours today!

BullionStar is Hiring!

BullionStar’s new bullion retail shop has been very well received by customers and stakeholders.

In view of rapid business expansion, we are recruiting! We seek individuals who are interested to work in a dynamic team-oriented environment.

Book review; investment

17 Proven Currency Trading Strategies – How to Profit in the Forex Market

August 15, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1435 Views 0 Comments

What is leverage all about and how do investors take advantage of money-making opportunities in the forex market to earn high returns? These two questions had been bugging me for many years since I started my wealth building journey.Indeed, most people are aware that trading in forex is highly risky and is considered not suitable for amateur investors. But I think to be a good investor, it is important to equip myself with knowledge on various financial instruments. My guiding principle in life is that if you don’t learn anything new everyday, you have a bad day.

With an average of $4.3 trillion exchanged daily, the forex market is considered to be the largest market in the world. Given the sheer size of this market, it would be foolish to ignore the impact of forex, never mind whether you are finance or business professionals who are not currently involved in forex trading.

Always remember that capital flows into a country first before it flows into any financial assets. This is the reason why some local listed companies declared their earnings in foreign currencies in their annual reports instead of Singapore dollars. The exchange rates can have significant impact on the business impact and this is something that investors and business owners can ill afford to ignore.

Stocks

REITs

August 13, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1597 Views 7 Comments

Singaporeans’ obsession in property investments is well-known for many years. Since property prices are currently so sky-high in Singapore, the next best way of owning a property is through REITs.

Many Singaporeans typically invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with a view of diversifying their portfolios and for the dividend income. But what is exactly a REIT and do investors realize that REITs do carry market risks? Many investors assume that REITs are low risks and that dividend income is recurring. Is this true?

In this article, I would touch on the key aspects of REITs and what we should look out for before investing in REITs. I need to clarify that I have never invested in REITs before and do not believe in the merits of investing in REITs as well. This research on REITs is primarily for awareness sake and is not meant as a form of inducement to buy REITs.

According to SGX website, a listed REIT consists of multi-properties, such as office, shopping malls, hotels or serviced apartments. The revenues generated from the underlying assets are distributed to unit holders at regular intervals. Units of listed REITs are bought and sold like any other securities listed on exchanges at market-driven prices.

Gold; silver

CPF Investment Scheme for gold bullion

August 8, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 2259 Views 2 Comments

In my research on gold bullion investments in Singapore, I found out that Singaporeans can actually use their CPF Ordinary Account to invest in gold bullion. Interestingly, UOB is the only agent authorised by CPF to sell physical gold using CPF savings and if you wish to invest in gold, you need to set up an investment account with UOB.

There is a limit to the amount you can use for gold investment and it is capped at 10% of your investible saving for gold bullion (if you have more than $20,000). Now, a few questions had been bugging me.

What if I sold the gold bullion bought from UOB to another dealer? How is CPF going to make me return the proceeds back to my CPFIS or OA account? If the policy does not address this aspect, does this mean that this is a potential loophole for investors to liquidate their CPF monies before turning 55 years old (without giving up their citizenship or ending their lives)? Out of curiosity, I wrote in to the CPF Board to find out more details. If you are interested to know more, read on.

Dear Gerald,

I refer to your email of 2 August 2014.

Stocks

SGX announced major changes to share trading

August 7, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1803 Views 2 Comments

On 01 August 2014, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced major changes to the securities structure and practices. The rule changes are aimed at reducing highly speculative trading, in light of the penny stock rout in last year. Below are the four major changes quoted from MAS’ media release which may impact Singapore investors:(i) Minimum trading price. To introduce a minimum trading price of S$0.20 as a continuing listing requirement for issuers listed on the SGX Mainboard. This is to address risks of low-priced securities being more susceptible to excessive speculation and potential market manipulation. A transition period of 12 months will be given to affected issuers to undertake corporate actions to meet the new requirement. This proposal will, over time, improve the quality of issuers listed on the SGX Mainboard.
(ii) Collateral requirement for securities trading. To require securities intermediaries to collect minimum 5% of collateral from their customers for trading of listed securities to promote financial prudence. This will help mitigate the risk of excessive leverage assumed by investors. It will also reduce reliance on remisiers to manage the credit risk exposures of customers. Institutional investors, trades settled through delivery-versus-payment mode, and funds from the Central Provident Fund and Supplementary Retirement Schemes will be exempted from the collateral requirement.(iii)

Money management; personal finance; Investment

What does progressive income tax means to Singaporeans

August 5, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1202 Views 0 Comments

In one of her recent posts, fellow finance blogger, “Lady, You Can be Free” posted an article on her income tax payable. She was shocked that her tax payable was more than $10,000 for this year and so she tried to figure out how to save on her tax through Supplementary Retirement Scheme. $10,000! When I saw the amount, I was impressed by her income because compared to her, my annual income is much lower, so my tax payable is only a fraction of hers. Unless you are a rich man in Singapore, this is not a small sum to be sniffed at, so it is understandable that she felt the pinch.Now, if you faced the same predicament as the lady blogger, congratulation! This is because you belong to the higher income earner. Of course this would come across as cold comfort to you, but going forward, the government has declared that the income tax system is going to be “progressive”. Under this new income tax system, the rich will have to pay more income tax compared to the less well-off. In fact, from last year, the tax rates were adjusted for YA2012. If you look carefully at the rates below, taxpayers earning below $100,000 pay lesser tax in 2013 compared to 2011 and 2012.

Gold

BullionStar’s opening ceremony

August 4, 2014 sgwealthbuilder 1585 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 1259 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 1248 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.