How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :)

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:08:08 GMT

starlight1968sg — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:08:08 GMT

Earn and save more by spending less. This is one of the safest ways to grow our nest egg.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:03:42 GMT

Fairy — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:03:42 GMT

worryfather:

Hi DesertWind,

I heard that (if I am not mistaken), when you reach certain age, if CPF assess and determine that you wont have enough minimum sum required by the time you retire, it will stop you from paying installment using CPF.

Not sure is it true or not. anyone can confirm?

Yes. It's true. It happend to a relative of mine. He is a taxi driver who has to support his sick wife and pay for her medical bills. He received notification that he could no longer use his CPF ordinary account to pay for his HDB mortgage loan even though he had more than $20k balance in the account then. He was told to service the loan by paying cash. He tried appealing to the CPF board and seek the help of his MP but both parties claimed they could not help as the Minimum sum thingy was a CPF Board's rule.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:38:20 GMT

ParentingChildren — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:38:20 GMT

daddy2007:
ya... glad that MoneySENSE Singapore is doing a good job for promoting awareness in this area

Agreed. I participated in a few of their talks and roadshows. It is a great way to get started.

Hopefully, with the importance of financial literacy increasing, schools and MOE can help our kids become more money savvy with more financial literacy courses, something which I believe some schools have already started.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:13:09 GMT

daddy2007 — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 04:13:09 GMT

ParentingChildren:
That means parents have to be more financial literate these days.

ya... glad that MoneySENSE Singapore is doing a good job for promoting awareness in this area

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:40:45 GMT

ParentingChildren — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:40:45 GMT

daddy2007:

One of the lessons that I learnt from the 2008/2009 crisis is to blend passive investment with active management. Know when to cut lost

Yes I agree with that. With the boom and bust cycles getting shorter and more erratic, a buy-and-hold strategy may not be so useful. It is better to adopt a buy-and-manage attitudes towards equity during these times. That means parents have to be more financial literate these days.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:12:24 GMT

daddy2007 — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:12:24 GMT

kingster:

ya index is an \"easier\" way to invest but then, investing in STI will have to be more patient compared to other indexes like HSI and Nikkei.

Should be ok if you have a 10-15 years horizon. Plus you get dividends of 2-3% yield annually.

But personally I don't like passive investment. If one invest in STI from 1999 till 2010, the annualised return is 0%

One of the lessons that I learnt from the 2008/2009 crisis is to blend passive investment with active management. Know when to cut lost

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:13:34 GMT

kingster — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:13:34 GMT

daddy2007:
INNOVATE:
Kingster

Your statement makes sense.

Easily more than 80% of players are traders than investors. Vast majority of traders fail to recognise that the road to be a successful one requires proper education/training in the areas of finance, economics, humanities, technical analysis and psychology. IN all, their standard must be like pro inorder to compete effectively. Mny times their opposites are highly trained including ther likes from ivy league, oxbridge and other top unis with seasoned mentors after their graduation.

For retail investors, the highest chance of a comfortable retirement is still thru equities. However, must be properly trained to survive in the market.
Those Big Boys (institutional players) are the market. They graduated from the Ivy League, have IQ higher than anyone of us here, have access to information faster than us, have better tools where retailer investors don't have. What is the chances of beating them?

Maybe investing in index might be a better choice. Just ride the market with them

ya index is an \"easier\" way to invest but then, investing in STI will have to be more patient compared to other indexes like HSI and Nikkei.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:46:20 GMT

daddy2007 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:46:20 GMT

INNOVATE:
Kingster

Your statement makes sense.

Easily more than 80% of players are traders than investors. Vast majority of traders fail to recognise that the road to be a successful one requires proper education/training in the areas of finance, economics, humanities, technical analysis and psychology. IN all, their standard must be like pro inorder to compete effectively. Mny times their opposites are highly trained including ther likes from ivy league, oxbridge and other top unis with seasoned mentors after their graduation.

For retail investors, the highest chance of a comfortable retirement is still thru equities. However, must be properly trained to survive in the market.

Those Big Boys (institutional players) are the market. They graduated from the Ivy League, have IQ higher than anyone of us here, have access to information faster than us, have better tools where retailer investors don't have. What is the chances of beating them?

Maybe investing in index might be a better choice. Just ride the market with them

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:42:20 GMT

INNOVATE — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:42:20 GMT

Kingster

Your statement makes sense.

Easily more than 80% of players are traders than investors. Vast majority of traders fail to recognise that the road to be a successful one requires proper education/training in the areas of finance, economics, humanities, technical analysis and psychology. IN all, their standard must be like pro inorder to compete effectively. Mny times their opposites are highly trained including ther likes from ivy league, oxbridge and other top unis with seasoned mentors after their graduation.

For retail investors, the highest chance of a comfortable retirement is still thru equities. However, must be properly trained to survive in the market.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:10:46 GMT

kingster — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:10:46 GMT

i believe alot of people who invest in stocks dont look at long term and neglect the power of dollar cost averaging…

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:30:52 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:30:52 GMT

INNOVATE:

1. Failure to understand that buying must be on the way up and selling on the way down.

One must not forget that the long term is inevitable. It is regression to the mean all over again.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:28:40 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:28:40 GMT

minnie2004:
I adopt a more passive strategy with a majority of holdings in high-yield stocks, with some paper gold and commodity ETFs as a hedge for a hyper-inflation scenario.

I also holding on to good-yielding stocks for my passive income. I don't really go for high-yield stocks as the dividend might not be sustainable.

Some of my criteria of good-yield stock are having a history of about 4% dividend yield & payout ratio of 40% to 60%.

minnie2004:
Reits are one of my favorite investment vehicles, although their yields are not as attractive as before. To me it's a hassel-free alternative to buying and managing physical properties. Also, we get to buy properties at a discount as many of them are still selling at a decent discount to NAV

Reits are also one of my favorite investment vehicles too. Imagine I am owning part of the properties (e.g those retail malls) without worry about liquidity and maintenance. Although one will argue that we can use leverage when buying properties

But I am rather selective on this. I constantly looking out for their gearing ratio as this is one of the red flag if we are unaware. One thing I don't like is that some REITS will keep raising capital through private placement or asking money from uniholders for new acquisitions. Our holdings might be diluted.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:50:11 GMT

INNOVATE — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:50:11 GMT

When I started investing, I knew how to pick stocks base on fundamentals and had no problem using all my available CPF funds for stock investment especially in depress times. Prior to this foray, I had been reading many books from successful investors and traders using different styles. With my FA knowledge and ability to manage my emotions, I was ready for Mr. Market.

Still many mistakes were made by me throughout my journey. I had my fair share of losses but these were not significant as back then, I had learnt to take minor losses before it turned bad. In short, I knew how to cut losses even at an earlier stage. On such occassions, the problems were not on timing but rather my assesment of ‘value’ was wrong!

To many traders and investors, their biggedt mistakes are due to wrong bets thus resulting in heavy losses. In my situation, it was fairlure to ride the winners due to:

1. Failure to understand that buying must be on the way up and selling on the way down.
2. Impatience-unable to sit tight.
3. Lack of self confidence due to inexperience
4. Poor technical analysis skills
5. Failure to understand the term "Institution Patronage"

My two biggest investing errors cab be summarised as follows:

1. GES International- An established contract mgfr.
On the day of its listing, I bought 100 lots at approx $0.31 as I was of
the opinion that at this price there was value to be found. My conviction
was further strengthen by the fact that our economy was just recovering and the general market was poised to move up. Not long after, NTUC Income came in as a substancial investor having bought from the open market at mean price of low 30plus cents. Following that, I liquaidated my position at small profits. To my surprise, the stock passed par and traded all the way above $3 driven by many instituition players.

2. HTL International- An established furniture Mgf
In 1999, after the Asian financial crisis, I had noticed this co its market cap was approx $48million. The co was then profitable with turnover in excess of $150million and nett profit of $7million. Dividends payout was 0.7cents/shr. The only setback was the co was experiencing negative cash flow as a results of fast expansion. I bought 70 lots using CPF funds and traded in and out with minor profits. Approx two years had past, the co was more transparent and occassionally gave shareholders update on their business thru SGX masnet. Immediately, I was on alert and started to accumulate up to 200 lots at price of $0.30 using CPF. Due to its success in Europe, the co started to expan its mgfr operations inChina as such, more funds were needed but the co did not ask for a right issue. Out came an instituitional investor, Morgan Stangley(if I recall correctly). the latter was willing to provide a loan of $20million in exchange for shares at 30plus cents. I still traded in and out and excited the stock at below $0.60. Eventually, the share price shot up to approx $1.4 before share split.

In all, I had left hundreds of thousands on the table due to my sheer ignorance. I knew how to pick stocks and was exactly right on the timing but the results were not impressive.

I began to learn and today, I am a wiser investor.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:47:57 GMT

sharon.030325tan — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:47:57 GMT

I will meet up with the person to share with them the work i do, find out what are their goals and objectives and their priorities before doing anything else.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:29:02 GMT

minnie2004 — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:29:02 GMT

daddy2007, looks like we have a lot in common in terms of investment philosophies, although I adopt a more passive strategy with a majority of holdings in high-yield stocks, with some paper gold and commodity ETFs as a hedge for a hyper-inflation scenario.

I also don't believe in mutual funds as costs are high and transparencies are low. I don't believe in those active fund managers who always seem to be chasing the market. Afterall, they're just managing OPM (other people's money). We can invest in index ETFs for diversification or sector ETF if we have a view on a particular sector.

Reits are one of my favorite investment vehicles, although their yields are not as attractive as before. To me it's a hassel-free alternative to buying and managing physical properties. Also, we get to buy properties at a discount as many of them are still selling at a decent discount to NAV :celebrate:

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:59:41 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:59:41 GMT

mwchua:

Will be great to see if fellow parents can share some of their strategies for growing their nest-egg, hopefully can steal some ideas :lol:

I have 2 portfolio... 1 for child education and another one for myself/spouse retirement

One of the objectives is that I will reach financial freedom when my daughter turned 21. That will save my daughter any burden of supporting both of us when we are old

For my child education portfolio, I am targeting a sum that is sufficient for local university. If she wants to go overseas, probably she will got to take a loan for the shortfall. My belief is that you can take loan for study, housing or car but not for retirement. So investment for retirement is utmost important to me. No point give all your money for your child education and you left with not much $ and the child got to support you. Anyway doesn't mean one must have high education to earn good money

I tried UTs but found that the returns are not good and there are alot of hidden cost. For my retirement investment, I am going for ETFs and stocks/REITs

Some of My Investment Philosophy
-\tInvest for the long term
-\tBlend passive with active management
-\tKnow your costs and keep them low

One of My Investment Principles
-\tDon’t invest to beat the markets, get rich, or earn the highest possible return. Invest to meet our goals, whether it’s buying a home, putting the kid through tertiary education, or paying for our own retirement

One of My Investment Strategy

-\tThe Core Portfolio is to fulfill my Wealth Preservation Objectives. The Satellite Portfolio is to fulfill my Wealth Appreciation objective and have investments that are more aggressive.

The Core Portfolio will consist of direct stock holdings and ETFs. The Satellite Portfolio will consist of actively managed mutual funds. The Core Portfolio will provide the beta and the Satellite Portfolio is to gain alpha.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:49:10 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:49:10 GMT

dark chocolate:
Hi, I believe in order to manage finances well, one will have to start off with some financial awareness in order to be financially savvy? How did you pick up your financial skills? If you had attended any workshops/seminars that were useful, can you please share some details?

Got disappointed with several financial advisors. They will promise heaven & earth before you sign on the dotted line, then after several months they will disappear. Finally realised that nobody is interested in your financial well-being except yourself

So far I don't think any workshops/seminars that are good. Rather through reading financial books (there are several good books from the lib) that I pick up & polish my financial skills

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:43:15 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:43:15 GMT

sharon.tan:
Hi all, im here to help each individual with their wealth management and planning. If you are interested to find out more you can private message me. will be more than willing to help.

How you can help?

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:42:03 GMT

daddy2007 — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:42:03 GMT

verykiasu2010:

for stock market, once it hits my target return, I let go, even if it goes up some more, no regret...because could have lost all. if we all know what is tomorrow....then no need work so hard now

For me, I just take care of the downside (having a trailing stop or buy below intrinsic value) and let the upside take care of itself

Else I will have to hammer myself if the stock/ETF keeps going up & I have already let go

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:26:20 GMT

worryfather — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:26:20 GMT

DesertWind:
mintcc:
got way to take $$$ out of CPF ? :scratchhead:

So far I can only think of the legit. way which is to use the funds and invest in property to the max! If can invest in a 2nd property, rent out get rental income, that is one way.... Assuming if one sells the property and return the funds to the CPF and did not reinvest in anything else, then the CPF would be subjected to the changes in the rules & regulations of withdrawal. So when building up CPF to enjoy interest rates, must think. Using the funds must also think...

Hi DesertWind,

I heard that (if I am not mistaken), when you reach certain age, if CPF assess and determine that you wont have enough minimum sum required by the time you retire, it will stop you from paying installment using CPF.

Not sure is it true or not. anyone can confirm?

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:30:06 GMT

dark chocolate — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:30:06 GMT

Hi, I believe in order to manage finances well, one will have to start off with some financial awareness in order to be financially savvy? How did you pick up your financial skills? If you had attended any workshops/seminars that were useful, can you please share some details?

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 03:18:06 GMT

mintcc — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 03:18:06 GMT

DesertWind:
mintcc:
got way to take $$$ out of CPF ? :scratchhead:

So far I can only think of the legit. way which is to use the funds and invest in property to the max! If can invest in a 2nd property, rent out get rental income, that is one way.... Assuming if one sells the property and return the funds to the CPF and did not reinvest in anything else, then the CPF would be subjected to the changes in the rules & regulations of withdrawal. So when building up CPF to enjoy interest rates, must think. Using the funds must also think...

hianz... so far only got enough $$$ to pay for my own house...

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 02:56:06 GMT

sharon.030325tan — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 02:56:06 GMT

Hi all, im here to help each individual with their wealth management and planning. If you are interested to find out more you can private message me. will be more than willing to help.

Reply to How do you plan to grow your nest egg ?? :) on Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:29:06 GMT

DesertWind — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:29:06 GMT

mintcc:
got way to take $$$ out of CPF ? :scratchhead:

So far I can only think of the legit. way which is to use the funds and invest in property to the max! If can invest in a 2nd property, rent out get rental income, that is one way.... Assuming if one sells the property and return the funds to the CPF and did not reinvest in anything else, then the CPF would be subjected to the changes in the rules & regulations of withdrawal. So when building up CPF to enjoy interest rates, must think. Using the funds must also think...