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08-08-2011, 08:31 PM
Ambitious young man, but investing is not as easy as it looks! 
Business Times - 08 Aug 2011
STARTING YOUNG
Aiming for financial freedom
By ENYA LIM
NUS undergraduate Sean Foo is not your typical chemistry engineering geek. He enrolled in the course as a natural progression - or so he thought - from doing chemical engineering in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. But that was before Sean began investing. Today, his initial investment of $15,000 has blossomed into a sum of about $100,000.
The younger of two boys in a family of four, the final-year student, who plays volleyball and fences at school, claims to spend 60 per cent of his time devouring finance-related material. Sean runs AssetTrend.com, a three-month old website that is aimed at being a financial investment and education portal accessible to both professionals and the layman, students in particular.
Sean's father is a retired insurance agent and his mother works at Barclays, while his elder brother owns an advertising firm.
Q: How did you handle money growing up?
A: Before realising the importance of saving during my secondary school days, I used to spend money while hanging out and shopping with friends. My mother imparted the concept of thrift to me - if you save money now, it could open doors for you in the future. Following that, I was rather frugal with my money, but of course not thrifty to the extent of being a miser.
Q: What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?
A: I am covered by some plans my mum bought some time back, and right now I'm also talking to a friend who sells insurance, and exploring the options. Apart from health insurance, I may consider buying property insurance next time.
Q: Do you spend more or save more?
A: I lean greatly towards being a saver; I only spend on quality things and am not much of a shopper in general. You could say I don't have the shopping gene.
Q: Do you use credit cards?
A: Yes, for the convenience, and for some of the perks they offer. I've had my current credit card for the past seven to eight months, and it gives me quite a few good discounts - I also regularly obtain deal coupons that can be used at various outlets.
One thing about credit cards though, is that you must be disciplined when it comes to paying the bills on time - for me it's like second nature, because I cultivated the habit from the start. It's also important to choose carefully and be familiar with the terms of your chosen credit card(s).
Q: When and how did you get started on investing?
A: It was during the time in the army that the interest to grow my money arose. After the army, I put all my savings into bank deposits, but realised they had paltry return rates of only between 0.1 and 0.5 per cent. So I withdrew it all and started seriously reading about investing.
My brother was the one who first piqued my interest in investing (in commodities). I remember he passed to me a gold coin and said that gold would soar in the coming years. At that time, I had only a rough idea of what investing entails, definitely not enough to make an informed decision.
Q: What do you currently invest in?
A: Right now, all my holdings are in physical gold and silver commodities - 70 per cent gold and 30 per cent silver. Gold forms the larger proportion because at the end of day it is more liquid. Also, the demand for gold is much higher, so it is easier to sell too.
I have a trading account, but it doesn't seem to be the right time for investing in stocks now - what with the US debt crisis and all the market instability, they won't give me the returns I want.
Q: How would you describe your risk appetite?
A: Low-moderate. I don't take stupid risks, but neither am I risk-averse. If you're too risk-averse, your profits won't be high, and if you're too reckless, your profits and capital will just evaporate - some sort of a compromise is necessary.
As you gain more though, the focus becomes about preserving what you already have, which is where I am now. I was more daring when I first started investing.
Q: What have been your best and worst investments so far?
A: Silver has been both the best and the worst. Best because it is more versatile - as an industrial metal, a source of value and it being more scarce than gold. It initially went at US$10-11 apiece and peaked to US$48 per piece within one year. I made a tidy profit from selling half of my silver commodities after that.
But my worst investment also lies in silver - from that near US$50 per piece peak, it plummeted to US$32. So it turned out that my combined profits and losses (from silver) cancelled each other out in the end.
Q: Any tips to share from your experience in investing?
A: It is most important to have sufficient capital in the first place, as you can't really invest without it, so aspiring investors should make the effort to save more. Also, try to go in informed, don't waste time fishing in the dark.
Commodities such as silver and gold are viable for the coming few years because they are safer assets for the time being - especially in view of the risk of US defaulting on its bank debts.
Q: What are your long-term investment goals?
A: I hope to achieve financial freedom by 30, and have my investments provide a nice monthly passive income. Maybe I'll even start my own company eventually.
If you're between 17 and 30 with investing experience to share, do get in touch. E-mail btyif@sph.com.sg with 'Starting Young' as the subject heading and include your name, contact details and a short write-up on your investing story
Business Times - 08 Aug 2011
STARTING YOUNG
Aiming for financial freedom
By ENYA LIM
NUS undergraduate Sean Foo is not your typical chemistry engineering geek. He enrolled in the course as a natural progression - or so he thought - from doing chemical engineering in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. But that was before Sean began investing. Today, his initial investment of $15,000 has blossomed into a sum of about $100,000.
The younger of two boys in a family of four, the final-year student, who plays volleyball and fences at school, claims to spend 60 per cent of his time devouring finance-related material. Sean runs AssetTrend.com, a three-month old website that is aimed at being a financial investment and education portal accessible to both professionals and the layman, students in particular.
Sean's father is a retired insurance agent and his mother works at Barclays, while his elder brother owns an advertising firm.
Q: How did you handle money growing up?
A: Before realising the importance of saving during my secondary school days, I used to spend money while hanging out and shopping with friends. My mother imparted the concept of thrift to me - if you save money now, it could open doors for you in the future. Following that, I was rather frugal with my money, but of course not thrifty to the extent of being a miser.
Q: What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?
A: I am covered by some plans my mum bought some time back, and right now I'm also talking to a friend who sells insurance, and exploring the options. Apart from health insurance, I may consider buying property insurance next time.
Q: Do you spend more or save more?
A: I lean greatly towards being a saver; I only spend on quality things and am not much of a shopper in general. You could say I don't have the shopping gene.
Q: Do you use credit cards?
A: Yes, for the convenience, and for some of the perks they offer. I've had my current credit card for the past seven to eight months, and it gives me quite a few good discounts - I also regularly obtain deal coupons that can be used at various outlets.
One thing about credit cards though, is that you must be disciplined when it comes to paying the bills on time - for me it's like second nature, because I cultivated the habit from the start. It's also important to choose carefully and be familiar with the terms of your chosen credit card(s).
Q: When and how did you get started on investing?
A: It was during the time in the army that the interest to grow my money arose. After the army, I put all my savings into bank deposits, but realised they had paltry return rates of only between 0.1 and 0.5 per cent. So I withdrew it all and started seriously reading about investing.
My brother was the one who first piqued my interest in investing (in commodities). I remember he passed to me a gold coin and said that gold would soar in the coming years. At that time, I had only a rough idea of what investing entails, definitely not enough to make an informed decision.
Q: What do you currently invest in?
A: Right now, all my holdings are in physical gold and silver commodities - 70 per cent gold and 30 per cent silver. Gold forms the larger proportion because at the end of day it is more liquid. Also, the demand for gold is much higher, so it is easier to sell too.
I have a trading account, but it doesn't seem to be the right time for investing in stocks now - what with the US debt crisis and all the market instability, they won't give me the returns I want.
Q: How would you describe your risk appetite?
A: Low-moderate. I don't take stupid risks, but neither am I risk-averse. If you're too risk-averse, your profits won't be high, and if you're too reckless, your profits and capital will just evaporate - some sort of a compromise is necessary.
As you gain more though, the focus becomes about preserving what you already have, which is where I am now. I was more daring when I first started investing.
Q: What have been your best and worst investments so far?
A: Silver has been both the best and the worst. Best because it is more versatile - as an industrial metal, a source of value and it being more scarce than gold. It initially went at US$10-11 apiece and peaked to US$48 per piece within one year. I made a tidy profit from selling half of my silver commodities after that.
But my worst investment also lies in silver - from that near US$50 per piece peak, it plummeted to US$32. So it turned out that my combined profits and losses (from silver) cancelled each other out in the end.
Q: Any tips to share from your experience in investing?
A: It is most important to have sufficient capital in the first place, as you can't really invest without it, so aspiring investors should make the effort to save more. Also, try to go in informed, don't waste time fishing in the dark.
Commodities such as silver and gold are viable for the coming few years because they are safer assets for the time being - especially in view of the risk of US defaulting on its bank debts.
Q: What are your long-term investment goals?
A: I hope to achieve financial freedom by 30, and have my investments provide a nice monthly passive income. Maybe I'll even start my own company eventually.
If you're between 17 and 30 with investing experience to share, do get in touch. E-mail btyif@sph.com.sg with 'Starting Young' as the subject heading and include your name, contact details and a short write-up on your investing story
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/