Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

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This 27-year old China girl reminds me of what d.o.g. had mentioned back in 2003 - if you are earning a good enough salary then you may not even need to invest in order to retire financially free. This girl made $500,000 in commissions in one year alone - very impressive, so I think she can definitely save a significant amount to grow her wealth. From the interview, she is very risk-averse and considers "cash as king". The only problem is that she is in a sales-related job, and thus needs to continually earn "active income". Assuming she drops from the Million-$ RoundTable, she may not see that high a level of income and may see the need to rely on some sources of passive income, which are currently absent.

Frankly, I am surprised that a Financial Planner can be so conservative. Doesn't she know that cash rots in the bank while inflation at 4% eats it away? Her plan is also to buy a "Mickey Mouse" unit for her 88-year old grandmother. She says she can afford it comfortably without a loan but isn't 500 sq ft really a tight fit even for one person? Huh

I do applaud her intentions to help less fortunate children - not many have this kind of passion and zeal in life. Big Grin However, she does let slip in an indirect way that she buys a LOT of branded goods (also, ahem a BMW), but I guess that's because she can afford it! Tongue

(On a side note - her worst investment is a massage chair?? How does a massage chair qualify as an investment since it cannot bring in cash flows?)

May 1, 2011
me & my money
Top financial adviser plays it safe

Sole breadwinner learnt importance of insurance the hard way and avoids risks
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Prudential Assurance's top adviser Celene Chen learnt the importance of having proper insurance protection the hard way. She was 17 when her stepfather collapsed suddenly in the bathroom after a blood vessel burst in his brain. He underwent brain surgery and suffered a major stroke.

'The hospital bills came up to about $80,000. That my stepdad was bedridden was bad enough, but having to worry about the escalating medical bills over that one year added tremendous mental and emotional stress on my mum and I,' she recalled.

Ms Chen, 27, was born in Shanghai and came here when she was eight. Now a Singaporean, she joined Prudential as a financial consultant when she was in her final year at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) in 2006. She became the top rookie financial consultant at Prudential the next year and was one of its top 10 financial consultants from 2007 to 2009.

Last year, she became the insurer's top financial consultant, with commissions of about $500,000. She is also a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table in the last four years.

Ms Chen considers herself a very conservative investor. As she is the sole breadwinner in her family, she prefers to have plenty of cash in multiple joint accounts with her mother so that the latter has easy access to the money should anything untoward happen to her. She is well protected with a life cover of $3 million and three investment- linked insurance policies. Also, she has three properties in China.

Ms Chen completed her bachelor's in business at SIM in 2007. She is single.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

Other than shoes, I hardly splurge on myself. I'm thankful to be in a suitable career where I can save about half my income, with the balance going to family and work expenses. I work hard so that I can afford to buy luxurious gifts for my loved ones, including my parents, grandma, younger cousins and very close friends.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I have only one credit card and my mum is the supplementary cardholder. The monthly charges vary but they are usually about $5,000 on average and always fully paid, because I see credit card interest as wasted money. I withdraw about $500 weekly from the ATM.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I spend about $6,000 monthly on my mum's and my life insurance plans, including 10 term plans with critical illness cover inclusive of early stage illness, four whole life plans and three investment-linked plans and term plans which are mostly invested in Asian funds. I also have accident plans and medical plans. I'm extremely risk averse, so I don't venture into stocks.

My main priority is to make sure that I'll leave my mum with at least $3 million in cash payouts, with all assets fully paid for, should anything serious happen to me.

As I'm the sole breadwinner in my family, I must ensure that my stepdad and mum do not go hungry if I'm no longer around. I do not like risk as I realised while growing up that life is unpredictable. I park my money in fixed deposits and cash and my mum has access to multiple joint accounts.

Q: Money-wise, what were your growing-up years like?

I was born in Shanghai and I had my early education in Tokyo as my mum and her siblings had migrated there during their university days. I arrived in Singapore at the age of eight as my father insisted that I have exposure to both English and Chinese education.

My parents were born in Shanghai. My father was a businessman who made and sold lighting fixtures while my mum is a housewife. I am the only child and I was brought up to be very independent. For instance, the first time I flew alone I was seven. I washed and ironed my own uniform from Primary 2 onwards.

My parents and I lived in a three-bedroom unit at Spanish Village in Farrer Road till their divorce when I was 10. Thereafter, my mum and I rented a one-room Housing Board (HDB) flat in Holland Road. After she remarried two years later, we lived in a three-bedroom HDB flat, also in Holland Road. My stepdad was a renovation contractor who retired in 2002 after his stroke.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I'm a low-risk taker and I believe cash is king. I invest with what I can afford and in investments that don't have high volatility.

When it comes to properties, I don't consider myself an investor, because when I buy any property, it will be for the sake of my family members' needs, not for investment. Of course, I will consider factors like location and property characteristics to ensure potential monetary gains. But I've never been motivated by purely investment yields.

Q: What property do you own?

I co-own a 2,500 sq ft two-storey shophouse in Nan Jing West Road, Shanghai, with three other cousins. It was bequeathed to us in 2006 by my paternal grandfather. It is rented out and my share of the monthly rental is about $5,000. I'm not sure of its current value.

I bought a 1,600 sq ft 70-year leasehold condominium unit in Yan An West Road, Shanghai, in 2008, for about 2.2 million yuan (S$415,000). It's for my maternal grandma to stay in when she is in Shanghai, where she spends three months each year. She also spends time in Singapore, Tokyo and Shenzhen. The property has appreciated 11/2 times.

Last year, I bought an old 500 sq ft Shenzhen apartment from a relative at a discounted price of 1.5 million yuan for my grandma's use. I don't know its current worth.

My next investment is likely to be in Singapore, where I'm looking at a 500 sq ft one-bedroom apartment at Rangoon 88 in Rangoon Road as a gift for my grandma for her 88th birthday in 2013.

I chose it because of the auspicious name and address and I can finance it comfortably with my savings without the burden of a loan.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

It was a simple blow-dry service that I paid $60 for on Chinese New Year's Eve at a neighbourhood hair salon in Eunos. I consider it extravagant because it was not value for money.

I don't mind paying for quality goods such as brands like Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Tods and so on, because I can wear them for many years. I do not buy more than two pairs of brand-name shoes each year; they range from $600 to more than $2,000 a pair.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

To be a housewife who can contribute to the success of the family and be more engaged in social work. I always have a passion to help the needy. Over the next two years, I'm aiming to get a certificate in counselling so I can help less fortunate children.

Q: Home is now...

A rented condo in Tanjong Rhu.

Q: I drive...

A dark grey BMW 3 series.

lorna@sph.com.sg

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?


It was a massage chair that I bought three years ago for my mother on Mother's Day. It cost about $4,000. After one month, my mum concluded that human massage was still better so the chair became a white elephant in the living room for almost a year before she gave it away to her friend.

Q: And your best?

My faith in God, whom I believe is the ultimate provider of everything in our lives. My favourite scripture is: 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.'

I tithe 10 per cent of my income every month at Faith Community Baptist Church.

In financial terms, I consider my Shanghai apartment my best investment. This is a 1,600 sq ft condo which I bought for my maternal grandma's use in 2008 for about 2.2 million yuan (S$414,000). It has gone up about 1.5 times since then. The condo is registered under both our names.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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(01-05-2011, 07:33 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: For instance, the first time I flew alone I was seven. I washed and ironed my own uniform from Primary 2 onwards.

wah
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(01-05-2011, 07:33 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: Top financial adviser plays it safe
Sole breadwinner learnt importance of insurance the hard way and avoids risks

I find it pretty ironic that this financial adviser doesn't seem to do much financial planning for herself.

- She keeps cash which gets negative real returns.
- She doesn't do much investment (by her own admission)

All in, she's a perfect example of how a Financial Adviser is successful not because of their ability to identify superior returns but rather because of their ability to sell products.
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Nothing surprising, she is probably just an insurance agent, which sell a lot of life insurace policy. She also bought quite a fair bit for herself and her mum.



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Sorry for not posting this up earlier. I was out of town during the weekend. Smile

May 8, 2011
Bouncing back from bad times

After a set of personal and financial setbacks, it's smooth sailing now for entrepreneur
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Entrepreneur Daphne Fan has seen dark days in her life. After the death of her first child - due to a complicated heart problem - she quit her job as head of e-commerce and IT at former Translink Freight Forwarding in 2000 and took a one-year break. A year later, she lost $150,000 during the second Gulf War crisis.

In 2004, she was cheated of $8,000 when she invested her savings in a student care centre in Clementi. All the bad experiences led to a dwindling of her savings.

Then things began to look up. With just $20,000 of savings, Ms Fan paid the down payment of a 926 sq ft commercial unit that cost $250,000 at Golden Mile Complex in 2005. When the value rose threefold to more than $800,000 one year later, she refinanced the property to get additional funds for a property in New Zealand, followed by others abroad. Now, at 41, she has 11 properties, of which three are in Singapore.

Armed with the knowledge acquired from attending various investment seminars since 2004, she was inspired to teach and impart money management skills to young children. Training firm Kids Hub was set up in March 2009. At the same time, she runs LogizHub as its supply chain IT consultant. The latter was set up in February last year and was profitable from the first year.

Ms Fan graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in computer engineering in 1992. In 2002, she obtained her MBA from California State University, East Bay. For most of her career, she provided IT consulting services to logistics firms and their customers. Prior to setting up Kids Hub, she worked as DHL's head of customer integration and business IT consulting between 2004 and 2009. Her book Money Champ will be launched next month.

Ms Fan is married to product manager Koh Teck Kim, 42, and they have a daughter, Elaine, eight, and a son, Ee Shon, six.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I am a saver by nature. In the past, I used to be too 'stingy' to even buy myself a drink during meals, just so I could save more. Now, I'm more balanced. I still aim to save a minimum 30 per cent of my earnings and reward myself through controlled spending on luxury items.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I charge about $2,000 to $3,000 to my credit cards and withdraw $3,000 from the ATM each month.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I own a few insurance plans such as whole life and personal accident, and I have a life cover of $500,000. Half of the amount is tied to a local property. Should I die prematurely, the property will be fully paid off and my children will be able to survive with the rental income. In addition they can still enjoy any capital gains from the property through refinancing or sale in the future.

Most of my funds are invested in properties to earn rental income, with target yields of 6-10 per cent per annum. My rental income... is able to cover my monthly basic expenses. This is especially important to me now since I have to rely on rental income while I work on Kids Hub. I've invested about $100,000 in the design and patenting of my training methodology called Money Champ.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

I grew up in a lower-middle income family with six children and I was number four. My father, a shipping supervisor, was the main breadwinner earning an average of $2,000 to $3,000. We lived in a three-room HDB flat in Bukit Merah till I was 18 when we moved to an executive apartment in Choa Chu Kang.

When I was young, the family had to tighten its belt when my father lost his job twice... My mum took up additional baby-sitting jobs and my elder sisters, who were in their early teens, became part- time waitresses. These past incidents had an impact on my spending habits, so I became a 'stingy' spender.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I hated the feeling of having to work at a job for an income, fearful of offending anyone in case my rice bowl was broken. The feeling sucked. It was then that I was constantly reminded of the need to find alternative flows of income and gain early financial freedom.

Q: What property do you own?

I now own 11 properties, most of which are co-owned with my husband. They comprise three properties in Singapore, two residential apartments in Kuala Lumpur, one in apartment in Selangor, two apartments in Australia, two serviced apartments in New Zealand and one apartment in the United States.

In Singapore, we own an HDB executive apartment in Bukit Batok where we live and two commercial properties. The office unit at Golden Mile Complex is worth $600,000 and the rental yield is 9.6 per cent. In 2007, we bought a 960 sq ft office unit at Ubi Tech Park for $360,000. The rental yield is 9 per cent and it is worth about $450,000 now.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

The most extravagant expenditure is a lavish family trip to Hong Kong in 2008. We stayed in first-class hotels and spent more than $5,000 over five days for two adults and two kids.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I don't intend to retire. I consider myself financially free. I am now living my dream, spending most of my time on Money Champ, which I see as my personal life mission and passion towards building a strong financial foundation for our new generation, so that they don't have to go through what I did.

Q: Home is now...

The HDB executive apartment in Bukit Batok, my home since I got married in 1996. We bought it directly from the HDB for $360,000 and it is fully paid off. The current value is more than $500,000.

Q: I drive...

A silver Kia Carnival. But it is getting old and giving a lot of problems. I am considering changing it to a company van.

lorna@sph.com.sg

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?


In 2002, I lost $150,000 in stocks during the Gulf War crisis. I had parked this amount a year earlier with a close relative who traded US stocks on margin trading.

My other worst investment was when I invested $8,000 from a combination of my cash savings and a loan into a Student Care Centre at Clementi. It was an area that I had no experience in and I failed to exercise due diligence. Three weeks later, my partner was declared a bankrupt and I lost my investment.

Q: And your best?

My best investment was when I bought the office unit at Golden Mile Complex in 2005. I invested my cash savings of $20,000 in it. The property value rose threefold to more than $800,000. I refinanced the property to get additional funds to invest in an overseas property in New Zealand. This was followed by investments in other overseas properties that could provide potentially high rental returns. Since last year, my net passive rental income has been about $5,500. This is enough to cover my family's basic expenses of $3,500 with the balance $2,000 for myself.

My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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(11-05-2011, 12:46 AM)Musicwhiz Wrote: Sorry for not posting this up earlier. I was out of town during the weekend. Smile

Thanks Musicwhiz. The forum is a lot quiet without you Smile

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Quote:The office unit at Golden Mile Complex is worth $600,000 and the rental yield is 9.6 per cent. In 2007, we bought a 960 sq ft office unit at Ubi Tech Park for $360,000. The rental yield is 9 per cent and it is worth about $450,000 now.

This is really an area one can look into, commercial properties have the highest yield around.

Might even be comparable to some franchises. Minus much of the work. haha.

Salute to the lady though, I'm not sure how many can pick themselves up after losing 150k in the market.
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I don't really like what he said about "living it up". I guess it's another phrase for being "ostentatious". $330,000 for a BMW - he seems to feel it's "over the top". I do, too. Tongue

Not too sure about Walton and Land Banking in general. I'd rather stick to equities and bonds!

May 15, 2011
me & my money
Rich pickings from hot plots

Walton International Asia's chairman believes in putting his money into property
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Mr Gerald Foo, chairman of land-based investments firm Walton International Asia, puts his money where his mouth is.

Since he joined Walton in 2003, the 57-year-old has invested a total of US$150,000 (S$186,000) in his portfolio of 15 units of land in Canada and the United States, through the firm.

The firm identifies plots of pre-developed land and acquires them with the aim of generating potential returns when these plots become due for development. At that stage, the land value would have risen, which is also when Walton and its customers usually 'exit' from their land investments.

Based on the 38 'exits' that the firm has chalked up in its 31 years since it was set up in 1979, its clients have enjoyed an average annualised return of 28.2 per cent.

The shortest 'exit', or period that the clients had stayed invested before the land was sold and returns realised, was 2.3 years, while the longest was 19 years. This works out to an average investment period of 6.8 years, said Mr Foo.

In his case, he is still waiting to realise his returns as his 15 units of land have not been sold yet.

He joined Walton as a regional trainer in 2003 and after holding various positions in the firm, he was appointed Walton Asia's chairman at the beginning of last year.

Mr Foo obtained his A levels at St Joseph's Institution. He started working in the corporate sector after a six-year stint in the army. He held various jobs, including the position of managing director at the wines and spirits distribution arm of Inchcape.

He left in 1995 to be a corporate trainer and in 1997 he was an account director at Monsoon Advertising. Before joining Walton, he was an editor at Pan Pacific Media.

In 2009, he married businesswoman Heather Seow, who is now 54. It is the second marriage for both of them. They have five sons from their respective previous marriages and they are Alexander, 34, Alan, 32, Nigel, 25, Gareth, 22, and Alvin, 20. They also have two grandchildren, Eva and Ethan, both two years old.

Q Are you a spender or a saver?

I am generally a spender. However, I do set aside at least 10 per cent of my income each month as savings. This is after all my monthly expenses which include household expenses, insurance, car and mortgage payments.

Q How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I hold two credit cards: a Visa and an American Express. One is used for personal expenses and the other for company-related expenses.

I charge as much as $10,000 each month and pay off all outstanding balances at the end of the month. I withdraw up to $1,000 every fortnight from the ATM.

Q What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have a total of nine life insurance policies with a basic sum assured of $1.9 million. The plans include three endowment plans which are paid from my Central Provident Fund savings. Apart from that, my wife and I have a portfolio of land investments with Walton International.

I have also maintained a unit trust portfolio worth about $100,000 with a financial advisory firm since 2009. This helps to provide a modicum of diversity to my overall investment strategy. The unit trusts are mainly invested in global equities with a target return of 8 to 10 per cent per annum.

I also invested in private properties here and in Malaysia. I consider myself a long-term investor. I don't invest in stocks currently as I'm too busy at work to follow the market. I also park my cash in fixed deposits.

Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

I grew up in a big family with four brothers and four sisters. I am the third child. My father was an internal auditor in a petroleum firm. My mother worked as a stenographer in the British Army and became a housewife when I was 12.

We lived in a two-storey semi-detached house in Thomson but it caught fire in 1967 when the heater exploded. After that, we lived in rented apartments in the Novena area.

Money was certainly hard to come by. To save money, my brothers and I sported crew cuts. We shopped for shoes only once a year during Christmas and by then, the old shoes would have looked like open sandals. School books were hand-me-downs from friends or bought second-hand.

Q How did you get interested in investing?

I started to invest in the stock market back in the 1980s. I was quite successful but it was nothing to rave about. I read countless books on investing in the stock market but somehow, this form of investment just did not appeal to me. Eventually, I decided to put most of my investible funds into residential property and into pre-developed land via Walton International.

Q What property do you own?

In 2007, I bought a three-storey semi-detached house in the East Coast area for $1.4 million. The land size is 2,750 sq ft and the built-up area is about 4,000 sq ft. It is a 99-year leasehold property. I spent close to $250,000 renovating it and it is worth about $2 million today.

A year later, I bought a freehold semi-detached house in the Iskandar Development region in Johor for about RM900,000 (S$371,000). It is a two-storey, four-bedroom house with a built-up area of 4,200 sq ft on a land size of 4,000 sq ft. I spent close to RM200,000 renovating it. It is now worth about RM1.2 million. It is our family weekend home.

My wife owns a 1,700 sq ft three-bedroom condo unit in East Coast which she bought for $650,000 in 1994. The rental yield is 5.9 per cent and the property is worth about $1.2 million.

Q What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?

A grey BMW 7 series that I bought for $330,000 in January. A little over the top, but you only live once. I just don't want to regret in my old age for not having lived it up.

Q What's your retirement plan?

I believe 62 is a good age to retire. By then, there should be no more big-ticket items to manage and life would be a lot simpler.

I reckon I could get by on much less, but I am targeting a monthly retirement figure of about $15,000 for my wife and me to be able to do what we want, including travel and spending time with the grandkids. We have two grandchildren and we're hoping that there'll be more.

Q Home is now....

The three-storey semi-detached house in East Coast.

Q I drive....

The BMW.

lorna@sph.com.

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q My worst investment to date...


More than 10 years ago, I bought 100,000 shares of a penny stock at 45 cents apiece, with my Central Provident Fund savings. The investment cost me $45,000 but the shares are now worth only $6,500. I still own the stock but I have written off this investment. This is partly why I have an aversion to investing in the stock market. I got out of the stock market completely in 2008 except for this batch of shares.

Q My best investment to date...

My landed property in Iskandar, Malaysia, which is now worth about RM$1.2 million (S$496,000). I bought it for RM898,000.

My other best investment is Walton land projects where I'm looking at potentially doubling my initial investment.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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Land banking...my foot....the broker make the most than any1 else.
Whereas investors have to wait for at least a decade to see their fruits...this type of investment i will distant myself at least 5 foot away

as long as 7 yrs ago, old WS forum had enough argument on this.

Not invested.
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Quote:Mr Gerald Foo, chairman of land-based investments firm Walton International Asia, puts his money where his mouth is.

Since he joined Walton in 2003, the 57-year-old has invested a total of US$150,000 (S$186,000) in his portfolio of 15 units of land in Canada and the United States, through the firm.

S$186000 as compared with his investment in local and malaysia property. Obviously, he thought more highly of malaysia property than his walton investment.
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