PFA ASIA - WISE MONEY PLANNING

#MH370 Incident and its impact to Malaysia

2014-03-16T18:49:00.003+08:00

For the past 9 days, the 5-star rated Malaysia Airlines(MAS) and Malaysia government has become the world focus because of a flight bound from KL-Beijing vanished and lost contact. (at the time of writing, the latest report suggested the flight could be hijacked and search still carries on)

While there have been numerous theories or conspiracies towards the MH370, which we feel it is only appropriate left it to the capable hands of investigators. This article is written with the objective to discuss or evaluate the impact of this incident to the economy or a country as a whole.

With more than 200+ passengers on board of the Boeing 777-200, the impact is huge and it can be categorised as intangible or tangible impact.

Intangible impact (qualitative aspect)

1. Undue psychological and emotional stress imposed on the :

relatives and family members who are worrying on the safety of the passengers
ground crew and air line staff in handling the media, questions fired by the relatives
search & rescue crews who are restlessly looking for the clues
media and press personnels who are competing for the 1st hand news

2. The multiple press conferences answered by different heads from military, Dept of Civil

Aviation(DCA) and Ministry of transport have lead to contradicting statements.

Furthermore, 2 stolen passports were used to board the air plane. This security breach,

coupled with the capability to handle Major Crisis has tarnished Malaysia reputation.

3. MAS has a solid in flight service & safety record and is awarded 5 star airline by

Skytrax. Will this incident affect MAS brand in passenger safety ?

Tangible impact (quantifiable economic value)

1. Search and operation cost for the past 7 days, involving 43 ships, 58 air crafts, sea,

air personnels from 14 countries,all over the regions.

Courtesy Star online Malaysia

2. Economic output of the passengers who are elite, professionals, business people that

would contribute to the economic human capital of the countries concerned.

3. Potential claim provisions by the insurance companies. Life insurance and General

insurance companies are likely to be hit with the claims from plane, cargo, travel cover,

group term, individual life and personal accident insurance.

4. Since Malaysia is a signatory to Montreal Convention in 2008, which controls ticketed

international travel.This means MAS being the airline are subjected to the automatic

compensation scheme as well. (Montreal Convention provide 2 tier claims by airline :

155,000 International Monetary Standard per passenger and 25,000 advance to

each family members after 15 days of the incident)

5. Potential lawsuits claims brought forward by the relatives or family members of

passengers against Malaysia government due to security breach as the plane is

potentially hijacked. And likely this claims will have to be compensated by the tax payers

money.

In this time of need, it is touching to realise Malaysia have many friends near and far in the regions and around the globe like US, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Phillippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh who have extend help and support of the search operations. The only words can be expressed now is THANK YOU.

While it is premature to fully quantify the impact to the country as a whole, let take this incident as a learning and improve from here. It is still our hope the MH370 passengers and crew are safe and landed. The lost of money can be recovered but not the lost of lives. #Pray ForMH370.

Visit our Corporate Site
Check out our Facebook Page

4 Risky Locations To Use Your Debit Card

2013-11-12T19:24:00.001+08:00

Debit Cards have become one of the common tool for us to make payment nowadays. Today, we’re going to shed some light on some locations where you should be extra cautious when you use your debit card.

No. 1 Target : Outdoor ATMs

Outdoor ATMs are among one of the most dangerous places to swipe your debit card. Open-air kiosks give an ideal opportunity for thieves to skim users' data, grabbing it out of thin air, even in broad daylight. Skimming machines are frequently placed over the actual card slots at ATMs or other outdoor card reading terminals like vending machines or parking lot payment kiosks.

No. 2 Target : Petrol Stations

Petrol station pumps share many of the features card criminals love when exploiting outdoor ATM locations. In a place where you have multiple transactions occurring at any one time, combined with minimal supervision, it isn't difficult for someone with malicious intent to install a skimming device and a small closed circuit pocket-sized camera to help him in his cause. Thieves employ small video cameras at petrol pumps to capture footage of unsuspecting card users typing in their PINs, saving it for later and going on a spending spree.All the same, even if the thief does not get your PIN, he is still able to reproduce your card's magnetized strip and use it for most transactions.

No. 3 Target : Restaurants

Waiters regularly take customers' debit cards to run them behind closed doors. However, some will keep debit card numbers and expiration dates with the intention of using them later on. However, it isn't just sit down eateries and their employees posing a potential threat to your debit card. Using your debit card to order delivery can be dangerous too. Cashiers and card terminals tend to keep customer payment information on file for several months. While this might make future orders from that restaurant more convenient, small businesses rarely follow the steps necessary to protect information.

No. 4 Target : Online Transactions

Debit cards are an undeniably convenient way to purchase products online. When you put your debit card online, it is almost as if you are putting it on display for thieves. Malware or spyware downloaded to a computer provides an entry point for a hacker to store and lift information whenever they please. As your information is transmitted to the merchant, it is visible and accessible by its employees, but is also still vulnerable to hackers, giving it double threat potential.

The main concern is the debit card is tied to your money - your bank account--and dealing with debit card fraud comes with more headaches than credit card fraud. Although debit cards look identical to credit cards, debit cards do not work in the same way that credit cards do in the event of fraud. Debit card users are not always as successful when it comes to disputing identity theft and fraud on their accounts. Once that money is gone, it is gone; and it usually takes weeks or even longer to see reimbursement for stolen funds.

Visit our Corporate website

Visit our FB page and give us a Like !

Malaysian Budget 2014 - GST Implementation and consequences

2013-10-19T15:12:00.000+08:00

Next Friday, 25th October 2013 is Malaysian Budget Day.

One of Malaysians main concern is the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

Fitch Ratings, one of the Top three global ratings agencies, recently downgraded the country’s sovereign outlook rating from A to A- as Malaysia’s current fiscal deficit remain unresolved. They also states that the country’s main weakness is still in public finances sector, namely the high federal government debt that stood at 53.3% of GDP at end of 2012 compared to 51.6% at end 2011. At the same time, the country’s low fiscal revenue base stands at 24.7% of GDP compared with the median of other A rated countries (example: Taiwan, South Korea, China) at 32.8%.

One of the steps which the government will take to improve the country’s fiscal position is the implementation of GST. Currently, there’s a very narrow tax base as less and less registered companies and labor force pay taxes. Thus, GST will be a solution to broaden the tax base and increase revenue. The proposed GST will replace existing sales tax (10%) and services tax (6%) (SST) instead of adding on it. It is estimated that a 5% GST rate would result in a net increase in tax revenue for the Government by up to RM8 billion for the first two years.

In the worst case scenario, the cost of living will rise. Middle-income earners will be worse hit, especially those who earn RM4,999 or less, which is not enough to make ends meet when inflation in consumer goods strikes. The cost of borrowing will also increase due to this, resulting in higher cost of doing business which will lower country's competitiveness.

In the end, questions that everybody should ponder upon daily should be:

How should I start to monitor my expenditure?

Do I have a better cost saving alternative before I made a purchase?

How do I balance my current lifestyle expenditure with the inevitable rising cost of living?

Be wise, plan ahead for your personal finances or business finances wisely. As the saying goes; if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Have a T.E.A (Think, Evaluate and Act)

Visit our Corporate Website

Visit and Like our Facebook Page

Who OWN USA - Federal Reserve ?

2013-10-12T16:38:00.000+08:00

Over the past few months, we have taken an eagle observation eye on the happenings and surroundings of the world. We discovered that there are many past history in the monetary systems provide clues of what is happening in the future.

Recently we have the news of USA government department shut down due to debt ceiling issue. Beside the political opinion difference, what really behind all these financial mess ?

In view of this, we in PFA Asia has decided to elevate the sights to share some articles surrounding the economy, monetary systems and hope it give the readers a fresh perspective of the relationship between the consumer and monetary system.

Many bankers, stock analysts, fund broking house are all giving commentary of the effect of the Quantitative Easing. In short, QE is a money printing process and Federal Reserve in USA are responsible to print, circulate the paper money around the globe for day to day transaction.

Have you ever asked, who give this ultimate power of Monetary Easing to the Federal Reserve, Have you ever wondered, who owns or control the Federal Reserve ?

Federal Reserve was formed way back in 1775 to print the first money during American Revolution, known as Continentals. It has gone through many rough patches in history before establish itself to become the "Central Bank" of America.

However, due to change in the political climate, monetary policies, the functions of Federal Reserve has changed.

In essence, Federal Reserve is gazetted as a check writing machine or money printing money that creates paper money. Given this huge power, will there be abuse ?

3 questions come to the mind :
1) Who owns the Federal Reserve ?
Is it by a group a stakeholders who are private banker who are interlinked ?

2) How does Federal Reserve get its money and boost its reserve ?
Is it just via Open Market Operations to buy bonds or Treasury bills ?

3) If Federal Reserve is owned by a group of private bankers as stakeholders, then every
treasury bills issued with a guarantee return 6% is profit for the stakeholders ?

We invite and encourage you to explore and read the following 2 articles for more understanding and knowledge. The truth might be shocking. Stay in the know and stay tuned for next article..what happen when a country bankrupt ?

Visit our Corporate Website

Visit and Like our Facebook page

Reference :

History of Federal Reserve
Global Research on Who owns Federal Reserve ?

Top 10 Business Opportunities in 2013, part 2

2013-07-06T16:29:00.000+08:00

Continue on Part 2 on Top 10 Business Opportunities 2013 .....

Opportunity 6: The Pet’s business

A lot more younger generation tend to be parenting dogs and cats and would certainly spend lavishly on the pet's needs. The key is to focus on one specialized area be it dogs, cats or exotic pets and be the market leader in it.

Opportunity 7: Self-development

More and more people longing for self-fulfillment in their life.Programs and product ranging from self-hypnotism, DNA traits identification to Passion testing gain popularity. The presence of internet platform makes these areas more viable and financially affordable.

Opportunity 8: Free-lancing

As Gen Y work force is extremely demanding for you to preserve, the desire to locate completely new and also inventive solutions to get the job done will become important for you to organizational good results. The answer to this is the concept of Freelancing. This will be nature of the work force in the near future in this area. Area of opportunities regarding focusing on the suitable areas of assistance or perhaps abilities which includes image artist, copywriters, maids, Facebook advertising expert, data processing and many specific places.

Opportunity 9: Cloud Computing

A great deal of SME Business community have not really completely utilized the power of technologies to further improve of their business. With the introduction of SAAS (software to be a Service) PAAS (Platform to be a Service) ; this will drive the cost of assessibility to be much lower.

Opportunity 10: Health Empowerment

As wellness becomes an important matter throughout culture and also skepticism of traditional methods of medical care escalates, there's an increasing desire for more information and also knowledge on heath are on increasing trend. Health product like massage chair is a typical example where the standard filial kid and also daughter might aspire to reduce their sense of guilt of unable to spend enough time with their parents by obtaining expensive products and also tools to help improve their parents' health quality.

Reference : SME Magazine

Visit our Corporate Website

Top 10 Business Opportunities in 2013 part 1

2013-06-24T00:05:00.000+08:00

Source : Malaysia newspaper

The study above shown that as high as 50% of working executives and professionals are indeed planning to become bosses or entrepreneurs ! Now,the next question will be which business to go in ?

We have done a compilation of the the top 10 business opportunities in 2013. Enjoy your read. Do take note it is not in any order of preference or priority.

Opportunity 1: Organic and Healthy Food

This is not a brand new space. The opportunity lies in area or location where having lunch delivery of organic, feeder or healthy food would be a challenge. Report from World Health Organization(WHO) has supported that there is a increasing population are very acutely aware and conscious of what they eat.

Opportunity 2: Recreation and Leisure

Presently there can be certain people who are affluent looking at better ways to spend their time over and above their routine pastimes or indulgences. These group of people are also craving for specialized services and products. How about doing a convention with mountain biking ? These are the unusual combinations that attract the eyes.

Opportunity 3: Mobile Apps

By 2014, mobile devices, iPADs, note pad, smartphones etc. will take over laptop or computer as the means for individuals to access to internet. Small business owners can recognize that the best way to compete with the big boys will be be to put them at the market place via social media, word of mouth marketing. Mobile apps with regard to business are proven to enhance client retention as well as engagement. 2013 will be the tipping point to see the rapid increase in development of mobile apps seeing that the price of building mobile apps become more affordable.

Opportunity 4: Environmental Health

More than 800,000 persons throughout China have passed away due to the environment linked pollution conditions and sickness in 2012. More and more of these stories has sparked debate on how to build a progressive nation while taking care of the mother Nature. Go Green, Recycling, Reuse are some of the campaign as the result of this movement. People are getting more consciously aware of how to safeguard environment health is through consuming goods that are environmental friendly in the production process. This will see pollution-free fresh air, more healthy waters, toxins and chemicals substance free meals a huge demand.

Opportunity 5: Home Renovation & Interior Design

The well-to-do will want more than just a home. Upon purchasing their residence, remodelling as well as home design is their next hobby. There has been certain group who would like to have a property that is certainly their "own" i.e. design, using their unique idea as well as thoughts. Their residence becomes the "art" and so they need it to be uniquely exclusive according to their particular preferences. The definition of "co-creation" has come into play. So, interior designers ; learning this new trade will see your business soars.

Opportunity 6 - 10 to be continue on...Part 2

Reference : SME Magazine

Visit our Corporate Website

Career Information of Financial Planners

2013-04-29T00:14:00.000+08:00

Wonder what is the career as a Financial Planner ? This infographics has some answers.

Source : Financial Planner World
http://www.myceisonline.com

Talk to us to understand our Financial Planning income model

Visit our Corporate Website

Private Retirement Scheme-Myths and Concerns

2013-03-10T23:08:00.000+08:00

PRS video : source - www.ppa.my

We are back after 1 month observing the market response on the PRS. To our surprise, many PRS provider who market the product are jumping in with the advantage of tax savings rather than on the reason of retirement planning. Many people who take up are employees from the Multinational companies(MNCs) who have the financial muscle to provide the top up on the EPF statutory rate of 12-13% for the corporate tax savings advantage.

Many we spoke to are still on the look-and-see situation due to some concerns and myths. Some are valid concerns need to be addressed. Seeing this situation, we decide to conclude the PRS series with the intention to answer some of the concerns and debunking the myths, hopefully.

Private Retirement Scheme,PRS in Malaysia

Yes, show me the retirement figure !

Visit our Corporate Website

to RETIRE or not to RETIRE?

2013-01-12T15:44:00.001+08:00

One of our common goals is to retire comfortably...while we chasing and dream of that,how much is enough? What is the preparation we must aware of? and will we really can enjoy our retirement or retired for enjoyment thereafter?

First of all the big thing HEALTH!

Because of the advancement in medical technology, humans are living longer than ever.Also, with a balanced diet, exercising and managing the stress in our lives have helped to reduce the chances of hypertension, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, rheumatism and some cancers. The average life expectancy for Malaysian is 74 years (2012 estimate) see Malaysian living lifespan

By having protected by a comprehensive Medical Coverage Insurance will definitely ease the burden on medical expenses!

Next in the list FINANCES...

As a person approaching retirement, he / she must acquire financial insights and discipline to ensure they have sufficient money to last the rest of their life.During retirement, there are some expenses that will be reduced and some will increase as they are not apparent before retirement. It is important we take all these expenses into consideration in the retirement planning.

Additional expenses that are not apparent before retirement :

· Higher medical or dental bills

· Higher cost of home utilities

· Higher home upkeep or maintenance

· Higher recreation, travel or eating out

· Contributions or gifts (for grandchildren, charity and etc.)

Expenses that are reduced:

· Mortgage payment

· Transportation cost

· Children expenses

· Income taxes

· Food

· Clothing

Long awaited TRIP!

Retirees should be encouraged to take a trip. However, most people who have just retired are taking their big 2-3 months trip, only to feel deflated and depressed after they return home.It is more advisable to consider a series of smaller holidays and spread over the coming years.

Dilemmas of new BUSINESS venture

Many will consider venture into some sort of business during retirement. If starting off or venture into a business is a serious consideration after retirement, it is encouraged to understand the following issues :

· working capital requirement. While start up capital is an one-off payment, working capital represent a continuous cash outflow.

· the business cycle, try to understand whether it is a new introduction, harvesting or

maturing cycle.

· the skills and expertise require to run the business successfully

· the business structure, whether a sole proprietorship, partnership or limited company

a better option from tax planning perspective ?

After many years of saving how long will your retirement savings last?

If You Withdraw Both Principal and Interest,

How Long Will It Take to Exhaust a RM100,000 Retirement Savings Fund?

If we knew exactly how long we were going to live after retirement, this arrangement might be satisfactory. The reality, of course, is that none of us knows how long we will live after retirement. This uncertainty is what makes it so difficult to avoid the risk of outliving retirement income.

With the small sum in EPF of 166,416 (source : EPF annual report 2011) and lifespan at age 74, will you be able to retire comfortably or will you REALLY enjoy Retirement without WORRY ??

Private Retirement Scheme(PRS) in Malaysia

Lke a 2nd opinion on your Retirement preparation, talk to us !

Visit our Corporate Website

Boost your NEST EGG...How PRS works?

2012-12-22T22:48:00.002+08:00

Malaysia's new retirement scheme - which took three years to come to fruition - is called the Private Retirement Scheme - PRS in short. While the brief introduction are covered last article, in this article we will provide more detail about PRS features, mechanisms.It have some similarity to how an Unit Trust works which the fund offers are actively managed by approved fund providers.

Before we get into the details. Let's us first introduction some PRS Lingo. Here are some of the main differences:

PRS Lingo

Contributors (not investors):

They use PRS to save for their retirement.

Contributions (not investments):

The amount a contributor allocates to a PRS fund.

Providers (not fund managers):

Approved asset managemnet companies that can offer PRS funds

Who is Who in PRS ?

The introduction of the private retirement scheme framework are resulted from study and recommendations made by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to the Government to accelerate development of the private pension industry in Malaysia.

Security Commission (SC) - Underpinning the framework is a strong regulatory and supervisory structure based on the SC’s regulatory objectives of ensuring robust regulation and supervision of the PRS industry, promoting trust and confidence in the PRS and protecting interest of members.

Private Pension Administrator - which would be responsible for the operational of an efficient administrative system for the PRS industry.

PRS Providers - each offering a range of fund options under a PRS, where the assets are segregated and held by independent Scheme Trustees under a trust.

Key Features of PRS

• PRS are defined contributions schemes where the accrued benefits to members are

determined by the amount contributed plus investment returns thereon. The aim of

savings in PRS is to make the members’ savings grow over the long-term.

• Members would have the option to contribute to more than one fund under a PRS or to contribute to more than one PRS, offered by different PRS Providers.

• Being voluntary in nature, there would be no fixed amounts or fixed intervals for making contributions to PRS.

• A default option would also be made available for members who select their PRS Provider but do not specify a fund option. The default option would cater for different age groups. PRS Providers would need to ensure that the relevant members are switched to the default funds in accordance with the relevant age group as shown below

	Growth Fund	Moderate Fund	Conservative Fund
Age group	Below 40 years of age	40 - 50 years of age	Above 50 years of age
Parameters	Maximum 70% equites Investment outside Malaysia is permitted	Maximum 60% equites Investment outside Malaysia is permitted	80% in fixed income instruments of which 20% must be in money market instruments and a maximum of 20% in equity Investment outside Malaysia is not permitted

How to contribute to PRS ?

Individual members choose PRS Providers and funds according to their risk appetite and investment profile

Alternatively, an employer may also channel the contributions to a
particular PRS Provider where employees choosing the type of funds
offered by that Provider.

In both scenario, a default option for members shall apply if the fund option is not being

specified or selected.

Account Maintenance ?

Members would also have the option to switch funds within a PRS at any time, or change to another PRS provider once a year subject to to terms imposed by the PRS Provider. The first transfer can only be requested by a member one year after making the first contribution to any fund under the Scheme.

All contributions made to PRS will be split and maintained in sub-accounts A and B as follows:

The value of sub-account A and B can increase or decrease according to the unit price. The unit price is the worth of each unit held by a member from day to day. Units are priced daily.The diagram below shows an example of an individual channeling contributions to several funds under a PRS offered by different PRS Providers.

Source : Private Pension Administrator , PPA website

Tax Incentives?

In addition to the tax deduction permitted for EPF contributions tax incentives are provided to both employers and individuals as follows:

- Individuals - tax relief of up to RM3,000 for the first 10 years from assessment year 2012;

- Employers - tax deduction on contributions to PRS made on behalf of their employees
above the EPF statutory rate up to 19% of employees’ remuneration.

- A tax exemption is also provided on income received by the funds under the Schemes.
As such, it is a double tax incentives benefits for PRS.

By the way, are you aware that unit trust management company return on the mutual
funds are taxed first at 8% before the nett return reaches the hand of unit holders ?

How to achieve FINANCIAL FREEDOM or RETIRE RICH ?

Visit our Corporate Website

Private Retirement Scheme(PRS) in Malaysia

2012-12-09T22:21:00.001+08:00

Ever since the Private Retirement Scheme(PRS) was introduced and launched on 18 July 2012 by Securities Commission, it has been the talk of the town and of the investment community because of the potential business opportunities from it.

At the time of writing, 8 PRS providers (7 unit trusts management companies, 1 insurance company) are awarded the license to operate and market the Private Retirement Scheme (PRS). See list of PRS providers

As this is a new concept in Malaysia, the general public has started to gain more awareness through the newspaper, press, social media. But many still remain sceptical because of the element of risk and uncertainty.

We gathered the top 5 basic business and technical enquiries we have commonly being asked by our clients and shall present them in the PRS series.

What is a PRS ?
Malaysia, just like any other countries, will face the aging population syndrome which require medical and financial support in times to come. As at 2011, 5% of Malaysia population is of age 65+ and this figure is increasing to double digit by year 2020. (source : indexmundi, Malaysia age structure 2012)

Since most Malaysians either being employed in public sector as civil servant or private sector, there are only 2 financial schemes to support for the old age, namely pension for the civil servants and EPF(Employee Provident Fund) for the private sector employees.

Problem
Unlike the civil servant who will normally receive 50% of last drawn pay as pension amount monthly, the average savings in EPF as of age 54 for an active member in private sector is merely RM 166,416.(source : EPF annual report 2011). This is barely insufficient to last the retired members for next 10 years !

Have a look at the following statistics and see the alarming figure.

An astonishing 87% of EPF members have less than 100k in their account !!

Hence, PRS is a initiative that is formed by the government through Securities Commission to encourage typical Malaysians, and even foreigners who stay in Malaysia to save voluntarily to increase the retirement savings amount and it come with a 10 years tax incentive of RM3,000 per contributor per year.

Continue to follow us for the next PRS series : How PRS works .

Milestone 10 : Hurray Retiring ...

Like to know more about retirement planning, contact us today !

Visit our Corporate Website

How do I invest in precious metals like Gold, Silver or Platinum?

2012-11-05T20:59:00.000+08:00

After sharing the 3 key precious metals i.e. Gold, Silver and Platinum, we turn our focus to the "How", namely the ways for you to invest in them.

In general, there are 5 ways for a investor to buy or sell the precious metals.

1) Buy physical precious metals

Invest in physical items like gold, silver or platinum bars or coins. At the time of writing,

Price of 1 oz of gold bar/ coins = USD 1,740 ; 1 oz of silver bar/coins = USD 34 ;

1 oz of platinum bar / coin = USD 1,600.

2) Open precious metals investment account at banking institutions

Nowadays, a investor can choose to profit from the price movement by opening either

a gold or silver investment account, which is more common in Asia through banks.

3) Buy precious metals exchange traded fund(ETF)

Exchange traded fund is like a mutual fund, but it is linked to the price movement of the

precious metals like gold. It can be buy or sell at anytime.

See Precious metals exchange traded fund list

4) Buy shares/ stocks of mining companies

To reap returns of the price movement of precious metals, some choose to become

shareholder of mining company. A well known investor like Robert T.Kiyosaki owns him

gold mining company. See Precious metals mining companies list

5) Buy into precious metals index or future contracts

Future contracts are deals to trade precious metals decided now, but with the settlement in the future, usually 3 months ahead.

Just like any investment, investors in precious metals like Gold or Silver are presented with risk as well. In terms of risk-reward, 1st & 2nd ways for the lower risk appetite investor, 3rd & 4th are for the medium risk appetite investor while 5th way are for the investors who can stomach high risk.

However, investors should be cautioned of the "marketing schemes " offered by precious metals investment companies especially those which promised unbelievably high investment gain.

5 questions to ask prior to investing in precious metals :

1) What is the assets size or the company / institution ?

2) Is the institution /company licensed to do this investment ?

3) Do I have physical possession of the precious metal I invested ?

4) How much return I can get, and what is my risk ?

5) What are the costs incurred precious metal investment ?

Should I invest in Gold or Silver ?

Need some advice on your investment ? Talk to us.

Visit our Corporate Website

Platinum or Diamond, which is more expensive ?

2012-10-27T20:06:00.003+08:00

Platinum, with chemical name of Pt is a rare metal, whitish in colour, long wearing, highly polish and usually is associated in jewelry as the combination of diamond and platinum rings, necklaces, pendants.

When one is asked : Diamond vs Platinum, which one is more expensive ? Many will vote for Diamond as it takes high pressuration with long formation years to transform carbon to a crystal clear, sparkling diamonds.

Less known to many, most of the world platinum come from South Africa and Platinum are widely use in automotive industry, electronic and oil refineries. Platinum are used in catalytic converters in the new cars, that convert the poisonous exhaust gas into water and harmless substances. It is also use as catalysts in oil refinery, chemical industries, hard disc, computer monitors, electronic instrumentation as well. Do you know that automotive industry consume about 50% of world platinum demand while jewelry industry only account for 20% of world platinum consumption ?

Platinum are sold in the form of bars or bullions, stamped and with an indication of the percentage of platinum used. For example, Pt1000 (pure platinum), Pt999 (999 parts per thousand platinum and one part other metal). In the jewelry industry, a platinum ring containing 950 parts platinum or better is considered a high grade platinum. Other 50 parts are alloy used like iridium, palladium to give a bright finish and strength.

As Platinum is not regarded as money like Gold or Silver, high net worth investors has started to buy platinum as collectible items and not for trade. Hence Platinum price is relatively stable without much hikes.

Should I invest in Gold or Silver ?

Visit our Corporate website

Is Silver a good investment option ?

2012-10-14T16:27:00.000+08:00

Besides Gold, Silver is favourite among many collectors. Chemically, Silver symbol is Ag, while Gold is Au. Both of these precious metals share similiar electronic structures, they are electrical conductor, non-corrosive and easily formed.

Unlike Gold , one key characteristic of Silver is that it perish and become irreplaceable during the process of making or forming. This has inevitably create a demand and supply problem.

As both industrial and precious metal, silver find its widespread use in the telecommunication and information technolgy industry especially in mobile phones, computers. Silver has been long use as everyday's money. Nowadays, more and more people have started to accumulate silver in the form of coins and bars, where 1 ounce(oz) bullion coins or 10 ounce(oz) bars are most common. Silver contracts are even traded in New York and London Metal Exchange.

Is there a correlation between Gold and Silver in terms of the price movement ? It will be an affirmative Yes. Price of Gold to Silver is historically stand at 16 times. It means that 1 oz of Gold is worth 16 oz or 1 lb of Silver.

Recent trends see price of gold soar through the ceiling. At the time of writing, the following are the spot price for gold and silver. Gold = USD1,755 / oz, Silver = USD 33.58 /oz .

As the price of Gold to Silver now stand at 52.3 times, it is the Gold over-priced or the Silver being grossly under-valued ?

Should I invest in Gold or Silver ?

Visit our Corporate Website

Information reference :

Silver price chart 1995-2012

Should I invest in Gold or Silver ?

2012-09-30T13:59:00.000+08:00

Video courtesy of Booksilver precious metals inc

In our interaction and discussions with clients or friends, we have always been asked a RED HOT question : " What do you think of Gold investment ? should I invest ?"

Just like any other investments, it is always a tug of war game of Risk vs Rewards.

In view of many has asked this RED HOT question, we have compiled a series of precious metal investing and let start with Gold.

At the time of writing, Gold has reached USD 1,771 per ounce.

24 hour Spot Gold courtesy of Kitco.com

Gold is a class of precious metals and traditional people will keep or buy golds for different reasons :

Gold is traditional money
Gold has been used as a currency and as investment product for thousand of years. As a precious metal, it is a symbol of wealth and gold bullions has been passed on from generations to generations.

Human affinity on gold
Would you agree most of us like golden coloured items ? Do you like to hold, see, or touch a stack of gold ingots ? Hence, gold find its value in jewelry industry, art and investors.

Gold has intrinsic value
Despite the fact Gold also does not pay dividends or interests. But gold has always able to command a intrinsic value as many industrial processes or high tech equipment need gold as a conductor. Gold is a metal that is nonreactive, conductive, soft and easily formed.

Fear of money currency devaluation

Ever since 1971 when the US dollar is decoupled and no longer backed by gold, governments have been printing loads of paper money to support the economy growth. Many have feared the growing debts would overcome the government ability to contain it. So, gold is view as a hedge on the possible collapse or devaluation of the paper money currency.

In summary, precious metals like gold could be "insurance to protect a person real wealth". However, one should study and understand the market timing, pricing and determine your own investment strategy. How about Silver then ? Stay tuned with us and we will unveil more in the next series..

Talk to us on your investments needs

Visit our Corporate Webiste

Information reference :

Gold price trend 1995-2012

What happen when your car is gone or stolen ?

2012-09-23T15:14:00.003+08:00

PIAM vehicle theft prevention tips

As the crime rate continue to raise, vehicle thefts have also become so common that most car owner are concern of. So what you should know about motor insurance and making a claim when your vehicle is stolen.

For most of us, we bought our vehicle with our hard-earned money and took good care of it. Nowadays, for most of us who stay in the city and it is rather inconvenient to move from places to places without a vehicle. Needless to say if we don't have it for months... While losing your vehicle is one thing, but the process of making an insurance claim, waiting for police investigations while servicing the loan repayment for vehicle you don't have can be a very painful experience.

RED ALERT!!!

According to General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) statistics show that between Jan to Dec 2010 there is 37,564 number of vehicle theft. In the same period, insurance companies incurred claims totaling RM 603,719,506

Source: ISM Motor Claims Register - Jan to Dec 2010 (ICIS - MCR)

While public awareness on vehicle theft has increased. It is important for all motorists take precautionary measures and understand the protection for vehicle theft offered under their motor policies. It is vital to understand what your respective motor policies offer in term of theft protection as this helps reduce potential misunderstandings with insurers when claim should arise.

3 types of motor insurances available in Malaysia. The level of your coverage dictates what you can claim if your vehicle sustains loss or damages.

1) Third party cover
This policy insures you against claims for bodily injuries or deaths caused to other persons (known as the third party), as well as loss or damage to third party property caused by your vehicle.

2) Third party, fire and theft cover
This policy provides insurance against claims for third party bodily injury and death, third party property loss or damage, and loss or damage to your own vehicle due to accidental fire or theft.

3) Comprehensive cover
This policy provides the widest coverage, i.e. third party bodily injury and death, third party property loss or damage and loss or damage to your own vehicle due to accidental fire, theft or an accident.

Exclusions/extensions

A standard motor insurance will not cover certain losses, such as your own death or bodily injury due to a motor accident, your liability against claims from passengers in your vehicle (except for passengers of hired vehicles such as taxis and buses) and loss or damage arising from an act of nature, such as flood, storm and landslide. However, you may pay additional premiums to extend your policy to cover flood, landslide, landslip as well as cover your passengers. It is important to check your policy for the exclusions.

Is your vehicle adequately insured ?

If you are buying a policy against loss/damage to your vehicle, you must ensure that your vehicle is adequately insured as it will affect the amount you can claim in the event of loss/damage. For a new vehicle, the insured value will be the purchase price while for other vehicles, the insured value is the market value of the vehicle at the point you apply for the insurance policy.

• Under-insurance :-
If you insure your vehicle at a lower sum than its market value, you will be deemed as self insured for the difference, i.e. in the event of loss/damage, you will only be partially compensated (up to the proportion of insurance) by your insurance company.

• Over-insurance :-
Should you insure your vehicle at a higher sum than its market value, the maximum
compensation you will receive is the market value of the vehicle as the policy owner
cannot ‘profit’ from a motor insurance claim. Source: Insurance Info

What to do next when your car is gone ?

Do not panic! If you can't find your vehicle in a public area, look around and make sure you have not merely forgotten where you parked it. If you parked it illegally check with the relevant authority first as it may be towed away.
Lodge police report immediately, bring along the a copy of car registration card issued by Road Transport Department (JPJ).
Inform your insurer. Only motorists with Comprehensive cover can submit a theft claim.

Making a claim ?

The insurer will require the following when you make a claim. Please take note some insurers may require additional or fewer supporting documents.

1) Completed and signed insurance claim form

2) Original vehicle registration card duly signed by owne
3) Police investigation result
4) Original certificate of insurance
5) Copies of insured's identity card and driving license
6) Copies of driver identity card and driving license (if differ from insured)
7) Original release letter or latest outstanding loan statement from the financial

institution/bank which finances the purchase of your insured vehicle (if applicable)

8) Two set of original vehicle keys
9) JPJ's Lampiran B duly signed and certified by a commissioner of Oaths
10) Two copies of JPJ's Transfer Form K3 (transfer of vehicle ownership form to be

completed by registered owner), K8 with annexures identified as Lampiran A1 , C1

Memorandum Article of Association, Form 9, Form 24, Form 44 and Form 49

duly certified true copy by your company secretary (for company vehicle only)

Need help on your insurance matters ? Contact us for a FREE consultation

Visit our Corporate Website

Reference :
PIAM ISM motor vehicle claims statistics
General Insurance Association of Malaysia(PIAM)

How to avoid IDENTITY THEFT ?

2012-09-08T23:48:00.002+08:00

Identity theft occurs when your personal sensitive data is duplicated or stolen and someone becomes "You" and take control of your financial identity. The impact of the identity theft could be disastrous to the real owner.

The less sophisticated thief may forge your credit cards information and go on a spending spree. For the more high tech or sophisticated thieves could even applying loans, opening new bank accounts, cashing out cheques or go to the extent of using the bank account for money laundering purpose.

Detect identity theft
1. fraudulent or unexplained transaction on the credit card, especially on overseas
transactions.
2. receiving calls or letters from debt collectors, or delivery of the merchandise you
have never purchased.
3. sudden stop of mails especially your credit card or bank statements, as the identity
thief could have "changed" the correspondence address.
4. being informed on the loan outstanding you have never borrowed, or being

decline of the loan application because of the outstanding loan instalments

not settled.

Here are a few types of identify theft and how you can avoid it.

ONLINE

E-banking

Clear your cache after each time after exiting the website whether you are performing the transaction at home or in the office. This will ensure that your transaction have been cleared.

Phone Numbers

Customer service number of your credit card should be store in a very safe place beside in your mobile phone. This important numbers include those that related to your personal documents.

Password

DON'T use personal information numbers as password when you perform online transaction. People are generally use numbers that they can easily remember like their birthday or identity card number. When a thief steals your wallet that the number that they will try first. Always use strong and non-obvious password.

Anti-virus

Update your anti-virus software regularly. This will ensure that your computer is well protected from crime-ware threats.

OFFLINE

Hard copy documents

Always shred important documents that contain your personal information. Don't just throw it into the rubbish bins. Every time you want to cancel your bank ATM, debit or credit cards, cut the card into half, make sure your destroy the chip too.

Credit card

Monitor your credit card. Check your financial status every now and then. Simply just bring your Mykad to Bank Negara to obtain a latest copy of your credit report. Your credit card is as important as your cash, keep an eye on where your credit card goes each time your make a transaction.

Bank Statement

Even though is relatively safe nowadays, it is advise to check your bank statement each time for suspicious deposits or withdrawals.

What is your Financial Colour ? Contact us for a FREE Financial Assessment

Visit our Corporate website

Reference :

US Federal Trade Commission on Identity Theft

What is Investment Link Insurance? Are you really covered for life?

2012-08-26T18:39:00.001+08:00

Investment-Linked policy (ILP) - a hot selling product of most life insurance company, it is also most policy holders favorite choice. Most likely when you are approached by an insurance agent, you are presented with ILP. Do you still remember why you got yourself an ILP? Do you understand the risks you are taking all these while as an ILP policyholder? Are you really covered for life?

What is Investment-Linked policy?

An investment-linked insurance plan is a life insurance that combines investment and protection. Your premiums provide not only a life insurance cover but part of the premium will also be invested in specific investment funds of your choice. You get to choose how to allocate your insurance premiums towards protection and investment. Source: Insurance Info

Why you buy into a Investment-Linked insurance?

1) You want the flexibility to choose your own level of protection and investment.

2) You wish to vary the amount of your premium payments of coverage based on your own personal financial situation.

3) You have the flexibility to choose the type of funds based on your risk aptitude.

4) You want a savings plan to maintain your standard of living after retirement.

Source: Insurance Info

Potential high returns also come with potential high risk. As the policy's will potentially earn higher returns it also comes with potential investment lost. Unlike a traditional whole life policy, ILP may lapse early in situation of market uncertainty. So it may not be able to cover your whole lifespan even though you have been faithfully paying premium on time.

Whatever is your reason for taking up an ILP would be, you might or might not be informed that you policy will likely be lapse in the future. An investment-linked policy will probably lapse due to the following unforeseen circumstances:

1. Rising Cost of Insurance
As one ages, the insurance cost goes up and eventually exceed the premium paid. (see chart below). When you are young the cost of insurance is small, however this insurance cost will balloon to a shocking amount when you hit age 60 and above. As the policy cash value are unable to sustain the cost f insurance, hence the policy will lapse. You could be left without a life insurance policy due to uninsurable at certain age or health condition. Even if you are insurable at that point in time can you afford the higher premium due to increase in age ?

2. Investment fund performance
Each time you pay your premium to your ILP, the premiums are used to buy unit in an investment fund pre-selected by you and then the units are sold to pay for the insurance coverage and other expenses. When the market doesn't performed in favor to your investment strategy, your fund value will decrease accordingly. Once this happen the policy might lapsed due to insufficient of fund value (account value) to deduct necessary insurance costs and other charges.

3. Increase in policy & fund charges
Unlike a normal whole life policy that comes with minimum guarantee cash values, the
premiums and charges in an ILP are non-guaranteed,where the insurance company reserves the right to change charges. This mean the charges can go up and down. If the insurance company raise charges, it could affect the sustainability of the policy in the long term as cost go up. However, the insurance company need to give sufficient notice to policy holder, usually six month ahead when the changes need to be exercised.

4. Paying ultra low premium
There's no such thing as free lunch. When you are approached by an insurance agent, you are presented with ILP with extremely high protection, and so called the All-in-one policy, which cover for death ; disability benefits, 36 critical illnesses, Female critical illness, Cashless medical card, daily hospital cash allowance, accident benefits, and last but not least with high investment returns, the best part of this policy is only merely of RM 200/ month. However have your ever considered high protection equals high insurance cost and charges ? These low premium too good to be true All-in-one policy can't sustain for very long and will lead to policy lapse.

Pointers for ILP policy holder

As a consumer, when you are purchasing a insurance, you are indeed purchase a money contracts that could come to use in the future. Exercise due diligence and ask your insurance agent the following 3 questions :
1. What funds are the ILP invested in , any performance record in the past ?
2. Why are you recommending these funds to me , it is in line with my risk appetite ?
3. How much are the policy & fund charges ?

Final advice
1) Be updated on your fund performance. Review regularly, switch funds if necessary.
2) Look at the illustrations, focusing on the "low" projections and gauge how long your

policy will able to sustain.

3) Review your coverage as you age and reduce accordingly.

4) Don't overload your policy coverage with minimal premium. It might be cheap now
but will it really cheap in future?

Reference :

insurance info

What is your financial colour ? Contact us for a FREE assessment today !

Top 10 reasons why people buy insurance

Visit our Corporate website.

Flat rate loan vs flexi rate loan, which is better?

2012-08-19T13:12:00.002+08:00

In this topic, we will explore the difference between flat rate (fixed rate) and flexi rate(floating rate) loans available in the financial market. In what circumstances should you choose a flat rate loan, and when adopting a flexi rate loan is to your advantage ?

Flat rate(fixed rate) loan
As the name implies, the interest rate of the loan is fixed for the whole loan tenure, what it means is that you just need to pay the same instalment amount year after year without worrying on the interest rate fluctuations.

In financial planning terms, paying a fixed instalment amount also provide the comfort for cash flow budgeting purpose, while the basic salary increase over time, paying the fixed instalment amount allow you better manage your finances.

Flexi rate(floating rate) loan
In Malaysia banking system, the flexi(floating) rate is a function of
[Base Lending Rate(BLR) - loan spread] eg BLR - 2.3%.

The loan spread is very much subject to individual borrower credit history and may be altered if the borrower failed to make the loan instalment on time.

In the current relatively low interest rate environment, many borrowers are attracted to take up loans with the flexi(floating) rate package due to lower monthly instalment. However, the questions is how long more will the interest rate remain at all time low ?
What are the impact of interest rate movement to the instalment ?

Below is a comparison chart that would illustrate the difference of 2 type of loan packages.

Effect of bank interest rate increase

Like a FREE assessment on your mortgage contract, contact us today !

Visit our Corporate Website

Going Once...Going... SOLD! Understand Auction Process

2012-08-05T17:18:00.002+08:00

"Going Once...Going Twice...Sold to Mr.Wong!"

Sound familiar? We used to hear this lines in the public auctions hall or while watching television program for art, collectible and etc. However many unaware of other type of auction - PROPERTY!

While most of the collectible are auction for charity purposes. Properties are generally auctioned off when borrowers fail to pay their loan on time, many people see the properties deemed to have "bad feng shui". It this true?

In Malaysia properties auction are getting popular many do not believe in the superstitious of yesterday anymore. While many of the property investor are looking as a opportunity for under valued properties.

Type of auctions

1) Private Auction

Usually held by individuals, in which the participation is limited to a selected group of people or organisation. Some property owner see more advantage in this alternative instead of the traditional way of finding a buyer and signing the sales purchase agreement.

2) Public Auction

Usually organised by licensed auctioneers or big corporation like banks. This auctions are being held more frequently now especially in Klang Valley and mostly involve residential properties classified as : bank foreclosures". It is basically auctions to recover loan amounts upon borrower failure to repay the bank promptly.

Pro & Cons of Auction process

Plus Points

1) Whether is public or private auctions, it usually attended by those with good financial standing. For all auctions are the same, the highest bidder will secure the deal. The auction properties are usually assessed by a licensed property valuer to determine the current market value. Bid price starting from current market value, if the property is good willing bidder will offer higher price which is good for the seller. On the other hand if the properties are in bad shape then vice-versa will happen.

2) The process are usually faster when a property go through auction. In auction, bidder who are interested usually come with the required deposit (10% of the market value). When the highest bidder secure the deal, the bidder is usually given between 90 and 120 days to come up with the balance or source for end financing to complete the purchase.

Minus Points

1) Foreclosed properties usually come with very little detail it is up to the bidder to do their own homework. Bidders are usually not allowed to view the properties. The bidders have to conduct their own title search to ensure that it is caveat free.

2) Auctions do not involve the standard sales purchase agreement it is replaced by what is known as a condition of sale issued by the financial institution (to which the property has been charged at the point of transaction).

3) The condition of sale differs from bank to bank and property to property, thus it is important for the bidder to read the fine prints.

Do Your HOMEWORK

It's important to do research before bidding at a property auction. Here's what you need to do:

1) Conduct a land title or caveat search

The process of removing caveats can be time-consuming. (Caveats are placed by parties claiming to have ownership of the property). It can easily done through land office or consult a lawyer.

2) Visit the property

While you can't physically assess to the premises, you may check on the neighborhood at different time, at night, after a heavy rain, in the morning and a quick check on the exterior condition will help.

3) Bidding margin

Before the auction, talk to valuers about the maximum price that the property can fetch in the present market. Remember not to get emotional during the bid and you do not want to stretch your budget. The key to buying property at an auction is to make profit even before a subsequent sale is made.

4) Read the conditions of sale

Most public auctions organised by banks have details conditions of sales that are available for distribution to all prospective bidders, way ahead of the auction date. It specify the terms of auction such as required deposit and time given to bidders to secure end financing.It also indicate to settle all unpaid arrears ( maintenance charges, assessment, quit rent and etc.)

5) Prepare your deposit

Go prepared with the required deposit (usually 10% of the market value) either in the form of a bank draft or cashier's order in favour of the assignee of the auction.

6) Decision

Remember to always make an informed decision on both the properties as well as the process of the auction. Consult professionals like valuers about future prospects of the property and be realistic about the investment returns.

ZERO DOWN Investment strategy-Power of Auction

Visit our Corporate Website

Effect of bank interest rate movement

2012-07-28T14:36:00.000+08:00

What does this mean for consumer? When Central Bank of Malaysia first raised the overnight policy rate , consumers hope that Base Lending Rates (BLR's) wouldn't follow. But those hopes were remained hope after bank starting announcing hikes.

At the time you purchased your home, you are likely reviewed all the mortgage alternatives available to you. Usually you will choose the mortgage that allowed for a lower monthly payment and this means fixed rate mortgage may not be your favourite option. A floating-interest mortgage would have resulted in a lower monthly payment. Unfortunately, an increase in the general interest rates will usually cause the rates on variable mortgages to increase at the time of the schedule adjustment.

So how does this impact on consumers? Basically there are 2 types of loan package offered by Financial Institutions, flat-rates & floating-rate. For example hire purchase, credit card and fixed housing rates are considered flat rates category, if your loan are fall into this category raising of BLR will not affect you.

On the other hand, if you have floating-rate loans tied to BLR, this mean increase of instalment or lengthened of tenure. If cash flow is sufficient to pay the higher amount, then the mortgage can be sustained. If cash flow is not sufficient to meet the higher mortgage payment along with other living expense, the borrower will be required to reduce other discretionary spending. If the borrower is not able to reduce spending, then generally other debt is created, most likely on credit cards. Without a significant increase in cash flow, the continued funding of the monthly cash shortfall with credit cards will ultimately create a financial disaster.

The table above show the movement of interest rate, i.e. the BLR of Malaysian banks has increased around 1.1% (from 5.5% to 6.6% over a period of1 year).

Just a mere hike of 1.1% interest, additional payment of RM 188 per month is added on the shoulder of the borrower, which amounting to total extra payment of RM 65,400 for the whole tenure. The key question is, do you have an increment of 10%-14% per year to cushion the increase of the instalment amount ??

In conclusion, choosing the correct mortgage according to your situation is important. Selecting a particular type of mortgage simply to allow you to purchase a higher priced home is not sound money management. If you think that you are in a perilous cash flow predicament, you should take action now. Waiting may jeopardize your future financial security.

Flat rate loan vs flexi rate loan, which is better ?

Like to have a FREE assessment on your mortgage contract, contact us today !

Visit our Corporate Website

How to achieve FINANCIAL FREEDOM or RETIRE RICH?

2012-07-24T23:37:00.001+08:00

What does financial freedom means to you ? Retire rich, need not worry and have built sufficient assets, with passive income and sit down to relax, see the world..?

Asking the above questions will invite many interesting answers. In today topic, we would like to share with you some retirement risks and "challenge" your preparation towards financial freedom and retiring rich by anticipating the unforeseeable events.

Life is always unpredictable and that doesn't stop when you retire. There are people who strike a lottery or get killed by snatches after retiring, or anything in between. Traditionally most people believe in the concept of "put this much in every month now, and withdraw this much every month then". However, we have to be consciously aware that when we step into the "Financial Freedom" zone, there are 2 key aspects we need to protect :
i) the assets that give you the lifestyle and ;
ii) the health that let you continue to enjoy life.

Here are some situations that could challenge the traditional way of preparing for retirement and some fixes how to deal with them:

The Risk : Retire before you are ready
Forced to retire before you're ready. You might plan to retire at age 55 but your company might have different idea. According to LIMRA, a financial and insurance research organisation, averagely two out of every five people forced to retire before they planed to.

The Fix : Have a Plan B

How about have a PLAN B, this could include a little side business. Business could be anything that will bring in income to cover for your family expenses. In worst case scenario simply just move to a smaller home or cut back on some travel.

The Risk : Retire and life too long

You could live very long, stay healthy and independent. It cost a lot of money to live month in month out.

The Fix : Invest to keep pace with inflation

Don't avoid the stock market altogether and only locked up your money with bond and bank savings when you retire. Some money should be invested for growth. Invest with informed decision.

The Risk : Retire with illness

There are close to 3 million Malaysians are type II diabetes patients, it means if you have sweet tooth and your blood sugar on the rise when you approaching retirement, this is no good news. If Mr. Illness decided to pay you a visit, a chronic disease would require years of daily care, medication. Even you have bought medical or hospitalisation insurance, it would only be helpful at the margin. The monthly maintenance expenses will eat into the retirement nest egg.

The Fix : Have adequate critical illness cover

Accumulate as much as possible in solid cash for retirement or just simply get a living or critical illness disease policies to cover the unforeseen or may be a long-term care policy that would cover the care.

Milestone 10 : Hurray Retiring !

Visit our Corporate website

Do I need MEDICAL and LIVING INSURANCE ?

2012-07-15T12:13:00.001+08:00

There is a saying,
"You rather have insurance when you don't need it,
than when you need it and you do not have it."

There is no surprise there are bound to be people who disbelieve. After all, formal education trains us to be logical and not emotional. It is until when unexpected events happen to people surrounding us then we start to question how prepared are we.

In view of many questions on whether medical or living insurance are necessary by the readers and for your preparation ahead of rainy days ; we have compiled 3 frequently asked questions to ease your concerns.

1. I have already got SOCSO, why do I need insurance?
SOCSO only covers mostly work-related incidents. If unfortunate events happen to you during your working hours, within your stipulated work activities or job description, and on the similar paths to and fro your work destination, then you stand a chance of getting your claims, BUT it is definitely way lesser than individual Insurance.

In addition, as a governmental nonprofit organization, SOCSO is undergoing all necessary thorough revamping because of severe financial stress due to high numbers of medical bought-out diabetics, the disabled compensation allowances and gratuities paid out to the payees. Will you like to wait for your employer to tell you how much you can claim and wait for answers when you need money the most ?

2. I've already got Group Insurance coverage, why do I need to get additional insurance?
A typical Group Insurance covers only Term Life Insurance, Personal Accidents, Limited Hospitalization and Surgery, as well as some Employee Outpatient Treatments.

Sound adequate right ? There are 3 underlying facts most employees are not aware.

a) In the event of claim, the moneys goes back to your employer, not direct to you

as it is your employer who pays the premium.

b) Depend on the packages your employers have chosen, it may not be complete as
suggested package above and most employees do not know the insurance benefits
details until they need it..
c) When a employee hop from job to job, most employer will only cover the employee
when he/she is confirmed on the job.

What does all the above mean??? It means when you are sick and when you are not confirmed on your job, you have NO insurance cover ! Also, with the limited medical insurance coverage, chances are it may not be adequate for a big claim and you still need to fork out the difference, probably through salary deduction !

3. I've already got a medical card for Hospitalization & Surgical Benefits covered, do I need Critical Illness or Trauma Insurance plan?
Hospitalization and Surgical Benefits cover the surgical treatment fees, nursing care, and hospitalization bills due to your genuine and necessary medical attention.

They do cover the pre- and post follow up treatment bills too. But in terms of other additional expenses that come together with diagnosis of critical illnesses, especially that of cancers (defined as uncontrolled growth of lumps that spreads and invasive), or strokes, no extra financial reliefs will be provided unless Critical Illness or Trauma Insurance Plans are purchased.

Why would you need that? Unwanted as it may, there are bound to be many unforseen financial burdens forthcoming when a person is diagnosed with cancer or critical illness. These unforseen expenses are not medical bills but the daily allowances and living expenditures that continue on despite your being out of work. There are 4 pains a patients have to go through - Psychological, Emotional, Physical and Financial Pain. While you going through Physical & Emotional pain ; LAST THING YOU WANT to concern about during this time of revival will be the psychological burdens and financial pain that drain you.

Remember, you DON'T WANT to work harder to pay off your medical bills and survival expenses when you are diagnosed with critical illness. Your focus by then should be to work on health revival.

"No man is poor because of the lack of money he has in his pockets, but Poor due to the lack of preparation & independence of his survival."

Top 10 reasons why people buy insurance

Want an objective non-biased insurance review, talk to us !

Visit our Corporate website

INVEST FOR SUCCESS - Pitfalls to avoid in property investment

2012-07-01T15:28:00.001+08:00

After having a better understanding to obtain initial seed capital to invest in property through ZERO DOWN strategies, the next thing we should turn to is to take care of the LAND MINE in property purchase. In this article, we will explore some pitfalls and good practice in property purchase & investment.

Common pitfalls to observe :-

Beware of crowd pulling factor, i.e. avoid herd mentality by following the crowd
It is common for any property project, the company owners, directors, their friends or investors will have the 1st hand information to book choice units or buy at discount. Only remaining unsold units are open to public. This scene is more visible when people crowding themselves at a property exhibitions, rushing to select units, it is more of emotional buy rather than logical purchase.

Buy a dream home and renovate a lot

Many think of investing after having a house or after buying a dream home. On the contrary, in order to accumulate seed capital for future investment, buy property for investment first, rather than buying dream home. This is especially important as many will renovate and spend lots of money to decorate the dream house, and have little left for investment.

Do a financial health check

Before investing, remember to look at your finances, is your cash flow healthy, do you have at least 6 months of savings to cover emergency expenses, how much can you afford to borrow, how about your health / medical insurance, it is adequate to cover any unexpected medical emergencies ? This is an important aspect as property investment is less liquid and any change to financial situation and required immediate sale will take at least 6 months to get back the money.

Research and study on successful property investors have revealed they have some similiar good practice when it come to property investing.

Start one property at a time
Start with small investment first, one at a time, with at least 6-12 months time gap. Learn how to negotiate for a good buying price, make some friends with bankers, lawyers or even valuer, as they could provide great help or information for your property purchase. A good way to explore will be residential property as the risk is lower compared to commercial or industrial properties.

Start with completed property with tenancy
As this is an important investment asset, look for completed property as you can check the surroundings, whether it is busy with people, will it be flooding after heavy downpour, traffic conditions etc. It will be much better if the property is occupied with tenancy, with at least 1 year to tenancy expiry so you are assured of the cash inflow from the tenancy to offset some of your mortgage payments.

Know your market
Identify up to 3 areas you plan to invest in. Do some homework by understanding the development in that particular area, the amenities, the population, the buying power and most importantly, the transacted price of the property. You may look through the classified advertisement to have a rough idea of the selling price of the property, and take some notes on the pricing trends.

Now, you have some information to make your property investment a successful one. The next step is to start some planning and take action. Aim to buy 3 properties and you are on your way to enjoy financial retirement much earlier. Wishing you good luck in your property investing.

Like an assessment on your financial health before investing, contact us today !

Visit our Corporate website

ZERO DOWN Investment Strategy 5- Power of Auction

2012-06-23T16:35:00.002+08:00

Buying property at a auction seems to be one of the last option for many people, mainly because we are not familiar with the mechanisms and workings of the auction house. Nevertheless, many will agree buying property at auction is one of the best way to acquire a property at below market price and easily pocket quick financial gains, but the question is HOW ?

A better way to learn about the tricks of the trade is to personally visit the auction house, observe the behaviours of the auctioneers, the bidders etc, and you must have some basic idea of the real market value of the property under auction, and check the outstanding assessment bills owed by the previous owner, the condition of the property, the land titles whether is caveated (means the land ownership title is blocked from being transfer) etc.

Typically a investor who bought property through a auction will apply the concept of buy-to- upgrade in order to make it a ZERO DOWN investment.

Let's us look at the following case study,

Buy property below market price at auction

Market value based on condition as it is - 400k

Bought property under auction - 320k

Do some upgrade on the auction property

Upgrade new fittings, tiles, painting, cabinets etc - 70k (include assessment bills, legal fees etc)

Total cost of ownership - 390k

Get a new valuation on the property after upgrade

New market value appraised - 550k

With loan of 85% margin - 440k

With this arrangement, the investor will receive a cash back of 50k* from this auction exercise. (* 440k from the loan - 390k from the cost to own the property)

As you can see, there are many ways to own a property with ZERO DOWN, we hope you have benefitted from this ZERO DOWN property investment series. Next week, we will explore some pitfalls to avoid in property investing, and.. how to evaluate whether the property is overpriced ? Stay tuned for next topic..

Going Once, Going .. Sold, Understand Auction process

Have property to finance or refinance, talk to us for a FREE consultation
Visit our Corporate Website