SG Web Reviews

An angry comment from a reader

2013-05-21T19:22:00.002-07:00

Attached below is a comment from one of my readers in response to my post "Why I don't believe in financial advisor". I feel that there is a need to clarify my position and let my readers know more about my background. I work in the aviation industry and has never worked in the financial sector before. The articles in this blog are a collection of my thoughts and personal experiences. Readers must not miscontrue the articles in this blog as financial advices.

My thinking is that you don't have to be a qualified financial analyst in order to point out the inherent flaws of the financial sector. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can do so. For many years, job titles like "financial advisors" or "financial consultants" have been too loosely used in Singapore by many insurance agents who are only interested in selling expensive whole-life insurance policies. Instead of educating the public on buying term and investing the rest, these FA often hardsell unit trusts and whole-life insurances to unwitting customers. Very often, the customers' interest and needs are not met or aligned at all. To make matter worse, many FA are also not upfront with the commission or fees they are collecting from customers.

My vision is that Singaporeans can buy insurance policies directly from insurers without any middlemen at all. We all know that being a middleman is a lucrative trade because you are just providing a service and earn a commission through the process. But having a middleman often created a tradeoff and the result is that customers ended up paying more. So do away with insurance agents and any third part independent financial advisors. Today, with online technology so advanced, everyone should be able to buy online easily from insurance companies. Why do Singaporeans have to go through FA to buy insurance policies/unit trusts and pay more?

Could you elaborate more about your following statement:

"Financial advisors need to provide value-added services and educate clients on investing. Selling financial products alone will not help clients to improve their investment knowledge at all."

Are you suggesting financial advisers start to operate as equity investment firms that conduct seminars to their clients? I do know of at least a firm that is doing that successfully in Singapore. However the average consumer in need of some basic insurance/retirement planning would all probably have to adopt a DYI approach as fees can cost between $2,000 - $5,000 a year before commissions for a qualified financial advisor who is able to value add by ur definitions.

By the way, have you been a financial advisor yourself? There are certainly inherent problems in the industry that needs to be resolved. Do agree that many FA now are sales oriented however do feel your comments are a bit lopsided.

Government confirmed that Singaporeans are discriminated in the financial industry

2013-05-20T22:10:00.001-07:00

Last week, I read a Straits Times article on "Government to boost pool of local finance experts". Apparently, PM Lee was the guest-of-honour at the official opening of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC). Incidentally, I was at MBFC last month to meet up with Zane Lim from BullionStar Singapore. The office was indeed impressive and I thought that to be able to rent such expensive facility in the business hub, BullionStar must be doing quite well.

In the article, the government announced plans to groom more local talents in the finance sector. The goal is to build up a local core to fill up the specialists and leadership positions. The article did not specify details on how the government is going to implement this initiative and instead stated motherhood statements from the government. Apparently, this move came about after Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin announced in March that the government was tackling discrimination against Singaporeans in the financial industry. I find that this is a very sad case for Singaporeans. The finance sector is supposed to be one of the most well paid industry in Singapore and to be discriminated by foreigners in our own country is a total disgrace. Obviously if Singaporeans migrate to overseas, they can expect to be treated as 2nd class citizens, but to be discriminated in our own land really takes the cake. Foreigners are supposed to add value to Singapore by bringing them their expertise and performing jobs which Singaporeans don't have capabilities. Somehow, this is often not the case, at least at the ground level. We see many foreigners competing with locals for jobs that Singaporeans can actually perform, we see Singaporeans being given the snub because they have National Service liabilities, we see foreign supervisors favoring their own countrymen when recruiting employees, we see Singaporeans being rejected for good paying jobs because foreigners are cheaper, the list just goes on.

Whilst I admit that Singapore needs to anchor foreign MNCs to set up their bases here in order to continue attracting foreign investments, the desired outcome must be to create good paying jobs for Singaporeans. Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of luring foreign companies to invest in Singapore. Far too often, I read or heard of cases of MNCs employing many foreign managers and rank-and-file workers. Singaporeans were often given the cold shoulders because we were deemed too expensive. This is definitely not a healthy development and something must be done to address this negative social trend before it gets out of hand. Already, Singapore is seeing a growing group of PMETs being unemployed in their 40s and 50s. It's high time that government do something drastic to enforce companies to employ more Singaporeans. I hope more can be done to help Singaporeans rather than Singapore's economy.

Magically yours

Stock Update: Biosensors Receives CE Mark Approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex™

2013-05-20T21:01:00.001-07:00

Below is a press release from Biosensors. SG Web Reviews has been monitoring the company for quite sometimes and is of the opinion that Biosensor has a lot of potential to grow. Just like Apple, Biosensors has the ability to cannabalise its older products, which is a hallmark of a forward-looking innovative companies. Not vested in this counter.

Biosensors International Group, Ltd. ("Biosensors" or the "Company", Bloomberg: BIG SP; Reuters: BIOS.SI; SGX: B20), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative medical devices, has announced CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex™, the latest addition to the BioMatrix family of drug-eluting stents (DES). BioMatrix NeoFlex features a new advanced stent delivery system, improving pushability, trackability and crossability. It also has a lower lesion entry profile than its predecessor.

BioMatrix NeoFlex retains the same unique combination of abluminal biodegradable polymer coating, proprietary limus drug Biolimus A9™ (BA9™) and flexible platform which has made the BioMatrix stent family an increasingly popular choice of DES in the global markets where it is available.

The landmark LEADERS trial demonstrated the ‘Gold Standard’ performance of BioMatrix Flex™, and the baton has now been passed to the next generation in the form of BioMatrix NeoFlex, equipped with all the attributes of its successful predecessor, together with improved deliverability.

Results from the final five-year LEADERS data, presented at TCT 2012, demonstrated that BioMatrix Flex significantly reduced the risk of clinical events in the very late phase, and showed a significant reduction in very late stent thrombosis (VLST), compared with Cypher® Select™.

"CE Mark approval for BioMatrix NeoFlex represents another important step forward for the BioMatrix brand, improving our flagship product yet further with enhanced deliverability ", commented Jeffrey B. Jump, President of Biosensors’ Cardiovascular Division. "Since the launch of the original BioMatrix in 2008, we have been the driving force in biodegradable polymer stent technology: BioMatrix NeoFlex will enable us to retain this position."

BioMatrix NeoFlex will be rolled out in all CE Mark global markets over the coming months.

Preparing for the worst

2013-05-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

If you thought that preparing for the worst is all about buying life insurance policies from your financial advisors, then you were wrong.

My dad passed away early this year. It was unexpected and my family was totally unprepared for his demise. Like many Singaporeans, my father did not plan his estate distribution and left without a Will. So we had some problems trying to close his bank saving accounts. We were also initially unsure how to claim his CPF monies. Thankfully CPF Board wrote to us and informed that he had made a CPF nomination many years ago, so we were able to withdraw his CPF monies within weeks. The lesson learned out of this episode is to have a proper planning for financial matters while you are still around. It is important that you set clear directions on how you want the money which you worked hard for in your life to be distributed according to your wishes after you passed on.

Intestate Succession Act
In the absence of a Will, your assets will be distributed according to the Intestate Succession law. The rules are rather inflexible and sometimes, your estate might not be allocated according to your wish. That is, your money might not go to the people whom you feel need it most. For example, if your wife and children are financially independent, you might want to provide for your elderly parents instead.

Under the Act, in the absence of a Will, your estate will be distributed according to the below:
1) Spouse only: 100%
2) Spouse and child: 50% Spouse and child
3) Spouse and parents: 50% Spouse and parents
4) Brothers and sisters only: 100%
5) Grandparents only: 100%
6) Uncles and aunts only: 100%
7) Government: 100%

Plan ahead to avoid conflicts
Having a Will can certainly minimize unnecessary complications after you have passed on. It is about being responsible to your loved ones and ensuring that the people you care about receive your money in the manner you want them to. Your will must set out your wishes clearly, so it is advisable for you to seek legal advice when preparing your Will. This is to ensure its validity. Planning ahead will not only protect your interests but also reduce the stress on your loved ones. So do plan your estate and make your CPF nominations now. Don't procrastinate. Take action.

Magically yours

Value Stocks in Singapore: Boustead has 10 Consecutive Years of Dividend

2013-05-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

Not many listed companies in Singapore can claim to have more than 100 years of history. Boustead belongs to this handful group of companies. Boustead is a progressive global Engineering Services & Geo-Spatial Technology Group offering an extensive range of specialized engineering services and geo-spatial solutions. Its suite of engineering services is geared to fulfil the demands of specialized engineering fields such as energy-related engineering (for oil & gas / petrochemicals and solid waste energy recovery), water & wastewater engineering and industrial real estate solutions. Under its geo-spatial technology arm, the Group provides consulting services and distribute ESRI geo-spatial technology to major markets across Australia, South East Asia and South Asia.

Dividend History
Although Boustead has no formal dividend policy, it has a tradition of paying dividends linked to long-term net profit growth. Boustead has achieved respectable growth in dividends over the past ten years, with a compounded annual growth rate of 21% over that period.

Their history of annual dividend payments includes:
1)Ten consecutive years of dividend payments;
2) Growth in the ordinary dividend to 5 cents per share in FY2012 after maintaining the ordinary dividend at 4 cents per share for four consecutive years; and
3) Paying a total of 33.75 cents in cash dividends over ten consecutive years, equivalent to almost 200% of the purchase price of the Boustead share at 17 cents at the beginning of FY2003.

Financial Strength
I like Boustead because it is financially strong with net current assets of $150million and has consistently paid out dividends to shareholders for the last ten years. It is well managed with sound corporate strategies. However, given the current high valuation climax in Singapore market, I would only purchase this stock during market correction.

Magically yours

BullionStar Singapore's Gold & Silver Products

2013-05-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

BullionStar offers brand new gold bars from well-renowned LBMA certified producers. The manufacturers BullionStar works with include Heraeus and PAMP Suisse.
Renowned for 160 + years, BullionStar’s partner mint Heraeus produces gold bars from 1 gram to 1 kilogram

BullionStar is also proud to offer bullion products from PAMP Suisse, one of the world’s leading bullion brands well known for its attractively designed products.

Silver Bars are available in sizes from 31,1 gram (1 troy oz) to 31,1 kg (1000 troy oz). BullionStar offers different LBMA certified brands including Heraeus, PAMP Suisse, Royal Canadian Mint & Johnson Matthey bars.
For a larger investment in silver, BullionStar offers very attractive silver bars in the sizes of 1 kg, 100 oz and 1000 oz.

Even for the astute investor, it might be worthwhile to also consider gold coins rather than only gold bars. Some of the following advantages can be attributed to gold coins compared to gold bars.
- Coins are more suitable in a scenario where precious metals return as money or means of payment.
- Small units carry higher premiums when shortages appear.
- Coins can be sold or consumed individually.

BullionStar carries a wide assortment of different gold coins in different sizes.
Silver coins is the most popular investment in silver. A lot of people choose to buy e.g. a monster box of 500 silver coins rather than a few large bars thus making coins a good alternative also for larger investors. Silver Coins are also a popular gift and due to the cheap cost of silver compared to gold, it is possible to hold a substantial amount of silver for a low cost.

BullionStar offers all the popular brands of silver coins such as Silver Eagles and Silver Maples.

The Silver Bull Market: Investing in the Other Gold

2013-05-12T07:10:00.003-07:00

In The Silver Bull Market: Investing in the Other Gold, Shayne McGuire examines the vital investment considerations about silver alongside the significant drivers of the metal's bull market. Although silver moves closely with gold in financial markets, it differs from its sister metal in that more than half of demand is derived from multiple industrial processes. While its significant reliance on film photography has ended, today silver's industrial demand is driven by technological progress (brazing alloys and solders, smart phones, tablets, plasma panels and new applications like silk-screened circuit paths and radio frequency ID tags); photovoltaics (solar panels); and new medical applications (silver is both biocidal and highly conductive).

Though Warren Buffett disdains gold for its lack of utility, he regards silver differently: in the late 1990s, he purchased 130 million ounces, one-fifth of global production at the time. After outperforming virtually all other investment classes for more than a decade, gold is being reincorporated into the financial system as an asset deserving a position, large or small, in mainstream diversified portfolios. Leaving aside the metal's rediscovered diversification benefits (it tends to go in the opposite direction when stocks go down sharply), gold has risen as a viable investment alternative in today's environment of unhinged global government spending and monetary expansion. While silver has risen as well—even more than its sister metal over the last decade—it has remained gold's shadow investment for important reasons. For one, its smaller market and higher volatility have kept most financial professionals away, as the metal is often regarded as a highly erratic investment best left to speculators. There is also the memory of the 1980s and '90s bear market, precipitated, in part, by the illegal attempt by two wealthy families to corner the silver market, which led to the metal's darkest day, March 27, 1980. While gold has more than doubled in value since its 1980 peak, silver remains substantially below the all-time high it reached more than three decades ago.

Manager of the first gold fund launched within the U.S. pension system and author of two books about gold investment, McGuire, outlines what he regards as 13 key drivers of silver investment for the years ahead, including its deep connection to the ongoing electronic revolution (as a key industrial input), its strong correlation with gold, and its high sensitivity to an increase in potential inflation in the future. He provides an investment history of the metal, which considers the key reasons for its separation from gold in the 19th century, the impact of the decline of film photography, as well as the end of the 1970s bull market. McGuire also thoroughly examines the risks related to silver investment, particularly its higher volatility than gold and its behavior at key financial moments that have affected the investment.

The Silver Bull Market is now available nationwide at all major bookshops and popular online e-book retailers. For a list of retailers that are available in your location, visit: www.wiley.com/buy/9781118383698.

New CPF & Medisave adjustments higher than inflation rates

2013-05-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

Below is a government press release announcing the changes in the CPF Minimum Sum and Medisave Minimum Sum. The increase in the CPF MS represented a 6.5% increase and the Medisave MS represented a 5.1% increase from 2012. Note that both rates are much higher than the core inflation rates in Singapore 2012.

Whilst I understand that the adjustments are necessary to help Singaporeans meet their retirement and healthcare needs, I question the need to peg the adjustments at a rate higher than the inflation rate. Why is there a need to set aside so much money in our CPF Retirement and Medisave accounts? Does it really help and benefit Singaporeans? If so, why set so many restrictions for medical claims from our Medisave accounts? The money in our Medisave Account belongs to us, so why restrict us from using it for medical costs? Obviously I am concerned as I am in my early thirties and at the rate it is going, the Minimum Sums could be half a million by the time I retire. I really hate to think that after slogging for decades, I cannot even touch or smell my hardearned CPF monies.

CPF Minimum Sum
CPF members who turn 55 between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014 will need to set aside a Minimum Sum (MS) of $148,000 in their Retirement Account (RA). The MS for 2012 was $139,000. The MS has been adjusted over the years to account for inflation, longer life expectancies and Singaporeans' rising expectations of their quality of life post-retirement. The MS is targeted to reach $120,000 (2003$¹) in 2015.

Medisave Minimum Sum and Medisave Contribution Ceiling
The Medisave Minimum Sum (MMS) is the amount that a person turning 55 needs to set aside in his old age for his own or his dependants' healthcare expenses and basic MediShield and ElderShield premiums. Regular MMS adjustments are necessary to help Singaporeans meet their long-term healthcare needs. From 1 July 2013,

a. The Medisave Minimum Sum (MMS) will be raised to $40,500 from $38,500. Members will be able to withdraw their Medisave savings in excess of the MMS at or after age 55.

b. The maximum balance a member may have in his Medisave Account, known as the Medisave Contribution Ceiling (MCC), is set at $5,000 above MMS and this would be increased correspondingly to $45,500, from $43,500.

Any Medisave contribution in excess of the current MCC will be transferred to the member's Special Account if he is below age 55 or to his RA if he is above age 55 and has a MS shortfall.

The BullionStar Review: Good time to buy physical gold?

2013-05-07T19:37:00.003-07:00

SG Web Reviews is pleased to conduct another interview with BullionStar Singapore on gold investments.

SWR: Recently, gold prices has dipped quite a lot. In your view, do you think its only a correction or the start of a bear trend for gold?

Many relate the slump in gold prices due to the recovering US economy and news that the Feds are easing on their QE programs. Other factors include China, being a net importer of gold, not performing as well economically as expected and Cyprus selling its gold reserves to clear its debts. However, as investors are dumping "paper" gold in the market, we are experiencing a completely opposite environment here in the physical precious metals market. People are rushing in to buy physical precious metals to take advantage of the low prices right now to the extent that the mints/refineries are not producing enough to meet demands. We are looking at a 6-8 weeks lead time upon ordering and premiums are increasing because of the rise in demand. With such heavy buying in the physical market, it will only be a matter of time when the investors and traders become bullish on gold again and start to push the price of gold up.

SWR: A good time to buy gold?
It's always hard to pin point a good time to buy gold. Gold prices were USD 300-500 per troy ounce in the 80s. So does that mean to say we have missed the boat? One thing for sure is that gold has stood the test of time for over 6000 years, no fiat currency has ever manage to do that. Gold has always retained, if not increased, its purchasing power. Having said that, given the recent drop in prices, yes this is definitely a good window to purchase precious metals.

SWR: There are several other online bullion shops in Singapore, like Silverbulion.com and Goldsilvercentral.com, what makes BullionStar.com stands out from the other competitors? How do overseas investors purchase from BullionStar.com?
BullionStar aims to be the premier bullion dealer not only in Singapore, but to the world. With our user friendly website, making purchases for bullion has never been easier and our strong presence on the internet allows to reach out to customers all over the world. At BullionStar, we always aim to provide the best customer service to our clients and offering bullion at the most competitive prices.

Magically yours

The Value Investors: Lessons from the World's Top Fund Managers

2013-05-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

When I was approached to do a book review on "The Value Investors: Lessons from the World's Top Fund Managers" last year, I was quite hesitant because I don't believe in fund managements. As a self-style investor, I prefer a more hands on approach to investing. Even if I lose my monies, at least I learnt some lessons out of my investment mistakes. However, when I chanced upon a review by another fellow blogger, I changed my mind.

Apparently this book is an investment-biography book which features interviews of twelve value-investing legends from around the world, learning how their personal background, culture, and life experiences have shaped their investment mindset and strategy. These men, who became strong advocates of the approach despite considerable age and cultural differences, include: Mark Mobius, Irving Kahn, William Browne, Teng Ngiek Lian, V-Nee Yeh, Shuhei Abe and many more.

The book's focus is on the investment techniques and approach of value investing. The content is engaging and unravels how these investors, each of whom has a unique value perspective, have consistently beaten the stock market over the years. The book attempts to answer some pressing questions such as “Do these value-investing legends share a trait that allows this to happen?”, “Is there a winning temperament that turns the ordinary investor into an extraordinary one?” and much more.

‘The Value Investors’ is for individual investors who wish to diversify their portfolio across different asset classes or geographically or wish to understand how they can master the balance between art and science in investing.

For more information, visit: http://as.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118339290,descCd-buy.html

Singapore Dividend Stocks: Making Passive Income

2013-05-02T18:33:00.001-07:00

Below is an article from guest blogger, Richard who works as a stock analyst and has 3 years of experience in the stock market. He likes to write articles and hope to share his experiences with investors in Singapore If you would like additional SGX Dividend Stocks data, information or screening tools, please visit website http://sg.dividendinvestor.com, a leading source for in-depth research and analysis for stock investments.

One of the best ways to diversify a dividend growth portfolio is investing internationally. Singapore is an excellent country in which investors can look for the companies that have a stable earnings and long history of dividend growth. There are several reasons behind it such as: Singapore’s companies have benefits of easy access to the world’s second largest economy, China, as well as many other growing economies in Southeast Asia, region, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

DBS Group Holding Ltd (SGX: D05) –

DBS Group Holding Limited is an investment holding company in Singapore. The company operates through its main subsidiary DBS Bank Ltd. This bank is engages in the provision of retail, small and medium-sized enterprise, corporate and investment banking services. The company’s institutional banking provides to its institutional clients the financial services and products. The company’s subsidiary, DBS Bank Ltd had established a wholly owned subsidiary in December 2012.

The company has a market capitalization of 38.26 Billion, EPS is 1.56, P/E ratio is 10.07 and dividend yield is 3.57 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.28.

Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4) –

Keppel Corporation Limited is an investment holding and management company that is based in Singapore. The company is engaged in the marine, property and infrastructure business. It operates in four segments: Offshore and marine, Infrastructure, Property and Investments. Keppel Corporation Limited was founded in 1968.

It has a market capitalization of 20.12 Billion, EPS is 1.24, P/E ratio is 9.04 and the dividend yield is currently 4.03 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.27.

SembCorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96) –

SembCorp Industries Ltd is a Singaporean company that is engaged in the production and supply of utility services, terminal ling and storage of petroleum products and chemicals. The company is operating in four segments. In April 2013, the company opened a woodchip-fuelled biomass steam production plant. In July 2012, its wholly owned subsidiary, sembawang capital, divested its entire 20% shareholding in Arian Engineering Corporation.

SembCorp Industries Limited has a market capitalization of 9.05 Billion, EPS is 0.42, P/E ratio is 12.11 and the current dividend yield is 2.96 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.15.

SMRT Corporation (SGX: S53) –

SMRT Corporation is an investment holding company in Singapore. It is the second largest public-transport company in Singapore and listed in Singapore Exchange since July 26, 2000. It operates in seven segments: Rail operations segment, Bus operations segment, Taxi operations segment, Rental segment, advertising segment, engineering and other service segment. In October 2012, its subsidiary, SMRT investments Pte. Limited incorporated SMRT Alpha Pte. Ltd.

The company has a market capitalization of 2.31 billion, EPS is 0.07, P/E ratio is 21.20 and the dividend yield is currently 4.74 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.01.

Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX: F99) –

Fraser and Neave, limited is Singapore-based Company that engages in the sale and production of beverages like soft drinks, beer and tout and dairy products, printing and publishing, development and investment in property. The company owns a portfolio of reputable brands including F&N, 100 Plus and F&N SEASONS for Beverages, and F&N MANGOLIA, F&N NUTRISOY and F&N FRUIT TREES FRESH FOR DIARIES. It is also engaged in property development, property investment, serviced residences and investment funds.

Fraser and Neave Limited Company has a market capitalization of 13.59 Billion, EPS is 0.49, P/E ratio 19.18 and the current dividend yield is 1.91 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.12.

For further information related to best dividend stocks in Singapore, please visit the site http://sg.dividendinvestor.com/

Why I don't believe in financial advisors

2013-04-29T23:53:00.003-07:00

My impression of financial advisors has never been good. Generally, if you managed to pass a few MAS exam papers after graduating from the university, you can work in the banks or financial institutes as financial consultants, advisors or planners. Most of these so-called financial advisors are nothing more than salesperson interested in selling you only unit trusts and expensive insurance policies. Typically, they would first calculate your retirement needs and then systematically work on your fear of having insufficient monies in your twilight years. Once they managed to convince you that you are under insured or inadequately invested, they will then hard sell you expensive financial products. All these years, I have witnessed too many of such sales tactics. Although I will not say these tactics are unethical, what I want to point out is that too often, these financial advisors don't add value to consumers.

Focus on value-add, not sales
Most of the financial advisors in Singapore don't receive fixed salaries and draw their incomes based purely on commission fees. This means that they have to sell expensive financial products to clients in order to survive. Obviously given such situation, the financial advisor will be more interested in earning your money, rather than help you earn money! Sure, there are many 3rd party financial advisors who claimed to be independent and charge clients fixed fees not linked to product sales. However, I see no point in paying them good money just to advise me on what type of insurance or unit trusts to buy. Given that all the information is now available on the internet and that Singaporeans are becoming more discerning, the financial industry has to mature and evolve. Financial advisors need to provide value-added services and educate clients on investing. Selling financial products alone will not help clients to improve their investment knowledge at all.

Empowerment through financial education
The key to building wealth is financial knowledge. To keep making money, you must have the knowledge, skill and competency to generate wealth. Financial products are just tools for making money. The advisors who sold the products to you are not interested to help you grow. They are only interested to grow their fat wallets. Don't be fooled into buying irrelevant financial which will make you regret later. You are only throwing away good money. Always remember: You, alone, is responsible to grow your money, and knowledge is empowerment. Enhance your financial knowledge through ebooks. Don't let others take advantage of you.

Magically yours

Property investments in Singapore

2013-04-27T08:33:00.003-07:00

Today, The Straits Times published that a record 18,400 new homes is expected to be completed in Singapore this year. This figure surpassed the previous high of 14,600 units built in 1997, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority data. Coupled with the slew of policy measures implemented by Singapore government in recent years, the red hot property market seems to cool down a bit. Although the number of transactions for resale and sub-sale transactions dropped in the last few months, private home prices still remain high. Analysts expected private home prices to post a moderate rise of about 3 - 4 per cent this year.

Investing in Singapore properties
Every market has its cycles. Gold, silver and equities have their rises and falls throughout history. Property is no exception. The current property market has been on an incredible bull run since the United States banking crisis in 2008. Hot money resulting from the Quantitative Easings had entered Asia countries and caused housing bubbles to be formed. In HDB Singapore, prices for landed and non-landed homes have rocketed to unprecedented levels. Medium cash-over-valuation (COV) for resale HDB is now $30,000 and there were reported cases of Bishan flats being sold for a million dollars. The investment demands are not fuelled by normal market supply and demand. To counter this, the government has rolled out a series of cooling measures to tame the investment demand from buyers but to no avail.

To buy or not?
Obviously no asset can go up forever. Nobody can predict accurately when the bubble will burst for Singapore's properties but when that day comes, it is going to be a very devastating event. The current property market in Singapore is nearing its peak and its downfall is inevitable. If you are buying a private home in Singapore for investment purposes, it might be prudent to wait for a better opportunity to enter the market. After all, property is an extremely illiquid asset and if the market turns bearish suddenly, you might not be able to rent out or sell the property. If this happened, your prized asset will become a nightmare liability.

Magically yours.

Press release: The End of Ethics and A Way Back

2013-04-26T08:57:00.004-07:00

How to Fix a Fundamentally Broken Global Financial System

by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch and Jordan D. Mamorsky

SINGAPORE, April 26, 2013 - In this new book by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, Research Professor for the Spiritual Capital Initiative at Yale University and Jordan Mamorsky, attorney and Yale University postdoctoral fellow, The End of Ethics and a Way Back makes an impassioned call for an end to corrupt and irresponsible practices and the restoration of a more virtuous, ethics-based version of capitalism. It delivers a penetrating, at times controversial analysis of the demise of virtuous capitalism, and a road map for achieving a return to ethics, virtue, and sustainable economic growth. The End of Ethics and a Way Back is a must-read for lawmakers, financial regulators, financial advisors and auditors, journalists and media commentators, and all thoughtful observers of current affairs.

The authors explore some of the most outrageous recent examples of financial vice, including the London Interbank Borrowing Rate (LIBOR) scandal, the demise of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, ratings agency corruption, John Corzine’s MF Global, Tyco, and Bernie Madoff’s two-decade Ponzi scheme, among others. In a series of compelling case studies, Malloch and Mamorsky chronicle how those organizations and their leaders lost their way and the havoc their reckless, often criminal activities wreaked globally, before offering a set of structural and holistic solutions for our current ethical crisis in global governance.

They propound well-reasoned solutions to problems deeply embedded in global markets and corporate cultures, including:

Restructure the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and staff it with better qualified, better compensated investigators
Institute new rules of the financial game, beginning with reinstitution of Glass-Steagall
Take the exotic derivatives market in hand, including the aggressive regulation of Credit Default Swaps
Devise aggressive new accounting rules to curtail accounting gimmickry and “shadow banking” leading to off-balance sheet risk
Reign in the commodities markets with better and more frequent regulatory audits and smarter corporate governance
Implement stronger fiduciary standards and enhanced transparency for retail investors

While overwhelming pressure is placed on the modern-day large corporations, critics of capitalism view them as insatiable masters of the universe, answer only to shareholders, with no consideration for the human rights, social and environmental issues. According to Malloch, “To appease investors and shareholders, executives have turned to the proverbial performance-enhancing drugs: what we will call economic vice. Economic vice produces artificial home runs for shareholders and creates unrealistic market expectations.”

The End of Ethics and a Way Back is now available for purchase online and at retailers nationwide in both print and all e-book formats. For a list of retailers, visit http://www.wiley.com/buy/9781118550175.

The most important skill you must possess

2013-04-24T19:00:00.001-07:00

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the importance of sales and emphasized the need to master the art of selling. Most of us would dismiss that the ability to sell is only for salesmen and marketing executives. But I beg to differ and I think that there is no difference between working for money or making money. In order for everyone to excel in his trade, you must be able to sell your ideas and thoughts to your counterparts. If you cannot articulate well and made your colleagues buy-in your thoughts and proposals, you will find it difficult to progress in your career, no matter how technically competent you are. This is because if you do not know how to sell yourself, your colleagues will have no idea how good you are and very likely, you will be passed by for promotions.

Sales is King
Last week, my wife and myself went to buy groceries at Sheng Shiong hypermart and saw a big crowd outside the store. We went forward and saw a man demonstrating the usefulness of a micro-fiber cloth. It was actually a simple cloth used to wipe table and kitchen top. But he managed to illustrate how stain-free it can be from dark substances like soy sauce and even showed that it can also be used to wipe mirror and sofa seats. It was a very hot morning but he managed to grab the attention of many people and convinced many people to buy from him. My wife, who is usually not an impulsive spender, bought two packets from him. I thought that within an hour, he managed to make more than a few hundreds of profits! Several lessons can be learned from this episode:

1) To sell effectively, your product must serve a need. The micro-fiber cloth is a simple product, but many housewives find it useful for maintaining cleaniness at home.

2) Made an impression or impact within 10 minutes. If you cannot grab your client's attention with the first 10 minutes, you will find it difficult to engage him no matter how good your product is. The guy selling the clothes managed to grab the attention of the housewives and created crowd attention instantly.

3) Do not be afraid of challenges. The guy set up his stall in front of a hypermart and most likely, the hypermart might carry his product too. However, he focused on the problems faced by housewives and convinced the customers to buy through repeat demonstrations. Most salesmen if given a choice, will always ring up the easier customers. But if you want to be successful in sales, always tackle the most difficult customers first.

4) Do not be afraid of setbacks and hardships. That was a hot morning, yet the guy stayed at the same spot for at least an hour peddling the clothes. Of course not all the crowd bought from him but that didn't stop him from continuing to sell. In the sales line, it is inevitable that you made hundreds of unsuccessful cold calls. The key to be a successful saleman is to hang on and keep improving your craft.

So do educate yourself and master the art of selling to advance your career!

Magically yours

Gold Investment:BullionStar at a Glance

2013-04-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

The following article is an advertorial from BullionStar. It is for information only and readers must not miscontrue it as an offer or inducement to buy. SG Web Reviews will not be responsible for any losses made by readers as a result of any investments made by readers based on this article.

Physical Metal
The bullion you buy from BullionStar is just that - your bullion. BullionStar only offers fully allocated bullion. No paper promises, no unallocated accounts, no risky Ponzi schemes. The bullion you buy from BullionStar is YOUR bullion.

Your Metals - Your choice
BullionStar offers you a wide range of quality bullion from renowned mints and refineries. You are always in full control of your assets with BullionStar.

- Buy or sell various bars and coins at competitive rates and spreads.

- Have your bullion shipped, picked up or stored in "My Vault".
- Trade fully allocated Vault Grams in Gold, Silver and Platinum for a low spread online.

- Control your stored bullion in My Vault online where you can buy, sell or request delivery of your physically stored bullion at all times.

We are proud of our versatile, easy-to-use online trading platform. You can place orders 24/7 to trade the bullion you need when the price and conditions are right for you.

Choose whether to have your bullion:
- Shipped to your delivery address;

- Picked up by yourself; or

- Stored securely in "My Vault"

Competitive Prices
BullionStar is building on the experience of its renowned trading system for precious metals. The BullionStar platform is shared by several successful bullion dealers around the world. You benefit from the volume-based premiums we can offer as a result of our worldwide presence. As a result, BullionStar provides some of the lowest premiums and storage fees available anywhere, without sacrificing service, speed, or security.
In addition there is no minimum or maximum order when buying or selling to BullionStar.

Full Access - Full Control
When you purchase from BullionStar, you are in control. As soon as you place an order, you will receive an order confirmation via e-mail. When we have received your funds, you will receive a payment confirmation. Another update will be sent via e-mail after we have stored your bullion, shipped your bullion or when it is made available for your personal collection at our office. If you choose to buy bullion to store in My Vault, you will be able to follow the full process online under My Vault Storage.

My Vault Storage

BullionStar's solution for storage is called My Vault. When storing bullion in My Vault, you are in control and can buy, sell or withdraw your physical bullion at any time. You can place orders online and trade your physical bullion in a matter of seconds.

You will always have full direct legal ownership of all segregated bullion.

The vault offers you:

- Allocated bullion – no paper promises

- Insured bullion – no risk for you

- Easy-to-use trading interface online

- Buy, sell, or withdraw at any time
- Trade Vault Grams online

- Minimum of two years free storage

- Ownership certificate of physical bullion

- No reporting requirements or ties to foreign governments

Vault storage is free for a minimum of two years. BullionStar is proud to offer you stable solutions in uncertain times. It is our job to keep your metals insured, audited and secure so you can relax.

Vault Gram
Vault Gram is BullionStar's solution for trading fully allocated gold, silver and platinum online. The premium over spot and the spread between buy and sell is very low. It's easy and straightforward to trade Vault Grams online. You can buy, sell and overview your Vault Gram's online under My Vault Storage. Vault Grams are backed by fully allocated physical bullion but not segregated into individual items. Hence it is only possible to make transactions online for Vault Grams. It is not possible to request physical delivery for Vault Grams.

No Reporting Requirements To Governments
The whole order process, from confirmation of your order to delivery, is fully transparent to you, while your government is given no access to our records. BullionStar prides itself in providing complete customer confidentiality. There are no specific reporting requirements for bullion under Singapore law and we have no ties to the EU or USA.

Highest Quality Bullion
The bullion we handle is bought directly from the production line at the mints or direct from established bullion wholesalers. When buying from BullionStar, you will receive bullion that is minted by the most renowned mints in the world. There is thus no risk for counterfeiting or for receiving odd products from unknown mints.

Are you prepared to be rich in Singapore?

2013-04-18T11:14:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about the life of a serial entrepreneur. He was lucky enough to sell off his online business more than a decade ago during the dotcom crisis and managed to land a huge windfall from the transaction. Overnight, he became a multi-millionaire and could afford not to work for the rest of his life. But he chose to become a salaried employee and stay on to manage his business for the board of directors. The reason was because he was passionate about his work and loved what he was doing very much.

Are you ready to be rich?
Many people thought that being rich can make you happy. But according to the article, being rich can only make you happy up to a certain point. Beyond this point, more money doesn't make you happier. After a certain time, you become numb from the lavish spending and derive no joy in material well being. In fact, being suddenly rich can even make you lose sight of your dreams and ambitions. After all, if you have more than enough money not to work a single day for the rest of your life, what is your next goal? This may sound like a fascinating idea but it can also be frightening. This is because life without aims and challenges will not be meaningful; in other words, you will be just wasting away your life and consumed by money itself.

Can you manage the windfall?
We have heard of people who got huge windfalls from lotteries but lose them all in a few years. Typically, these people do not know how to manage wealth sensibly. They do not know how to invest wisely and preserve their wealth. They have no concept of personal finance management at all. So after they became suddenly rich, they went on to buy big house, sport cars, lend money to relatives and spend away the money foolishly. Eventually, they used up all their monies and ended up back in square one again. It's a shame whenever I came across such articles because these people could have put the money to better uses and went on to achieve great things in life. The money, for example, could have been used to support worthy charitable causes and help the less fortunate. But when the pot of gold landed on someone who is poor in financial management, its always a case of "easy come easy go".

Therefore the key to wealth management is to have a plan on how you are going to use the money if you are suddenly rich. Yes definitely a portion will be spent, but there is a need to also invest and preserve wealth. Most importantly, we must have a good mental and physical health in order to enjoy the wealth.

Magically yours

Stock Investments Insights: Sold off my k1 Ventures shares

2013-04-18T02:44:00.003-07:00

Today, I sold off my k1 Ventures shares at $0.162. Taking into account the various dividend pay outs in the last three years and after deducting off the commission fees, the annual return rate is average 3.33%. I made about S$1000 profit. Actually all along, I had never considered my holding in k1 Ventures as a form of "investment". This is because back in 2010, I had wanted to pull out a portion of my CPF Ordinary Account (CPF-OA) monies and parked it under a stable stock before my HDB flat purchase. The intent was to sell off the stock at a later date and slowly build up an emergency fund. Well after three years, k1 Ventures delivered and I got back my CPF OA funds.

Dividend Stock
My decision to sell off k1 Ventures is not because of the stock performance. In fact, it has always delivered consistent good corporate results because it is well managed by a team of experienced management. Since 2005, it has been giving out dividends and returning capital reductions to its investors. I stand corrected, but any investors who bought this stock in 2005 would have gotten back their principle capital. So the track record for k1 Ventures is there.

Cash is King
I could have kept the stock and collect dividends for the next few years. But recent events has made me decided to liquidate my CPF investments in k1 Ventures, which has substantial investments in the United States. The Korean tension, Boston explosion and the poison letter to President Obama gave me the "uh-oh" feeling that something nasty is brewing in America. k1 Ventures' company and stock performance are closely related to the US recovery. For the past one year, the stock has risen about 77% (from $0.09 to $0.16). So any derail in US recovery may cause the price to tumble again.

Against this uncertain back-drop, I reckon it is better to liquidate my CPF investments and prepare to invest if there is an economic crisis. Many readers had asked me what is my investment portfolio and urged me to share my net worth in this blog. My answer is that besides this "investment" in k1 Ventures, I did not invest in any stocks, bonds, forex or precious metals. In the past few years, I had been building up my war chest and quietly waiting for a crisis to invest.

I hope the opportunity has arrived.

Magically yours

Entrepreneurship Insights Series: 10 Entrepreneur Comments That Kill Investor Deals

2013-04-18T01:55:00.001-07:00

By Marty Zwilling of Startup Professionals Musings

Lack of confidence in your self, your product, and your startup is a surefire recipe for disaster. At the other extreme, too much confidence or arrogance can kill you just as fast. It’s always painful when a startup fails, but as a mentor to founders, I would hope that you can learn from these failings and not stumble on the same issues. I’ve written about these before, but since I see them so often, I thought it might be worth reiterating:

“Business plans are for dummies.” Some startups think business plans are only for investors. In reality, you should do a business plan primarily for yourself, as it forces you to think through all the elements. If it’s not written down, you can’t measure it, and thus you can’t manage it. Also written plans are much more effective communication to your employees, lawyers, accountants, and other key players in your rollout.
“If we build it, they will come.” The hot term these days is “viral marketing”, meaning we won’t do any marketing, but our product is so great that everyone will know about us anyway by word of mouth and through Internet social networks. In most cases, viral marketing only begins to work after you prime the pump with several million in real marketing over a couple of years.
“We have no competitors.” VCs and angel investors hear this one all the time. The investor view is that if you can’t find any competitors, either you are not being honest, or you haven’t looked, or there isn’t any market for your product. Your funding request will likely go into the circular file.
“More features than anyone.” Just because you included all the features of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn in your new social networking product, doesn’t mean everyone will love it. In fact, quite the opposite usually happens, due to complexity and work to switch. Investors like laser focus on a market-need causing real pain.
“Microsoft is too big/slow to be a threat.” Usually the reason the big companies are no threat is that the market is too small. Competing with IBM, Microsoft, and other large companies is a very difficult task. Entrepreneurs who utter this line are kidding themselves. They may think it's bravado, but investors think it's stupidity.
“We have the first-mover advantage.” That’s probably the soft way of saying, we don’t have a patent or any “secret sauce” for a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, a startup with no brand name and no intellectual property is a sitting duck for the big slow company, as soon as they see you gaining a bit of traction. Sleeping giants do wake up.
“No need to risk my own funds.” This is usually seen as the difference between involved and committed. Investors expect the founder and other principals to have “skin in the game,” over and above “sweat equity.” If you and your friends are trying to play Donald Trump, don’t expect other mere mortals to carry the risk load for you.
“We’re funded, now we can relax.” Quite the opposite is really true. Now the real work starts to build a sustainable business. Now you have to manage to budgets and timelines, and avoid the temptation to splurge a bit on office space or too many new employees.
“It’s the market, stupid.” It’s great to have a passion about a favorite new toy you invented, but just because you love it doesn’t mean the whole world will love it. Another variation on this theme is the person who creates a “solution” from technology, and then makes up a “problem” that it will solve. There is no substitute for understanding the market, and sizing the opportunity, before you climb out on a limb.
“Me, myself, and I.” I recently watched a promising startup I know wither and die for lack of funds because the founder refused to consider stepping aside as CEO in favor of a more experienced candidate, as a condition of a $1M VC investment. I reminded him that he could easily “kick himself up to Chairman”, but he wanted it all, and let ego take precedence over good business sense.

You probably think these are so obvious that they are clichés. I wish that were true, but I still see them happening every day. The most successful startup founders are never too busy to listen to the market, listen to their advisors, stifle their ego, and enjoy the ride. It’s a lot more fun than the alternative.

More than half of S'poreans would migrate if given a choice

2013-04-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

According to a Mind Share survey, more than 50% of the 2,000-odd Singaporean polled agreed or strongly agreed that, "given a choice, I would like to migrate". The results of the survey hardly surprised me. We all know that push and pull factors always come into play when people decide whether to migrate or not. For most people, the desire for a better quality of life and career advancement are the most common priorities. However, besides these two aspects, the survey revealed that there are actually much more push factors that compelled Singaporeans for wanting to desert their nation. Among the issues which Singaporeans are not happy about are: political leaders being paid too much, inability to retire comfortably in Singapore, high medical costs, foreign talent taking up job opportunities, huge housing loans, sky-high public housing prices and lack of priority for Singaporeans when it comes to job opportunities.

For the love of money?
Ever since young, I have never thought about migrating and I have always thought that those who did so are "quitters" who left for the love of money. After all, Singapore is such a wonderful place with no natural disaster and stable government. All my family and friends are also here. All of us were united and have a common aim, and that is to forge a better tomorrow. Life in the eighties and early nineties were actually very simple back then. There were foreigners of course, but not so many. The MRT trains were not so packed as today and seldom had any break-downs. HDB flats were affordable to most Singaporeans and job opportunities were aplenty for Singaporeans. Medical costs were also not that exorbitant.

Uncaring leaders
Things started to change after the nineties. After completing my National Service and enrolled in the local university, I started to feel that our social fabric has changed. Suddenly there were many foreigners in my university and when I entered the workforce, I had to compete with foreign talents for the same position. Whenever I brought my granny and father to polyclinics, hospitals or private clinics, the queue would always be so long and the medical bills was so expensive. When I wanted to get married, I balloted so many times for a new flat unsuccessfully and so had to pay through my nose for a resale HDB flat.

To be honest, nowadays I felt unloved by Singapore. I feel that our current leaders just don't bother about the ground feeling anymore. They are only interested in meeting their KPIs (economic growth and unemployment rate) and getting their million dollar salaries. Whenever there is a social issue, they just take the easy way out instead of tackling the problem heads on. The 6.9 million population target White Paper is one classic example. If they had bitten the bullet and tackle falling birth rate in the nineties or even now, Singapore needs not have to import so many foreigners to make up for the shrinking population.

Sometimes it pains me to see Singapore progressing in such manner but gradually I have accepted it and realized that if I cannot change the situation here, then migration is the only option. If my family and myself can find happiness elsewhere, why not? Why stay in Singapore and be angry with issues that cannot be solved?

Magically yours

Interview with Gerald Tay, CREi Academy Group

2013-04-16T02:03:00.004-07:00

SG Web Reviews is honored to conduct an interview with Gerald Tay of Conspiracy of Real Estate Investments (CREi) Academy Group. CREi provides property investment education tailored specifically to the ordinary investor & folk; and share time-tested, proven investment strategies which every keen ordinary investor can learn and apply with consistent success.

Growing up, how is your childhood like?

How does it shape your investment philosophies?

Unlike many, I was very fortunate to be born into a very rich family in the 1970s Singapore and learnt important wealth philosophies from my multi-millionaire grandfather. Our family were in businesses and property development, and some of these businesses were listed on the SGX Mainboard.

This particular early part of my life has laid down the foundation of real wealth and investment philosophies, which many ordinary people do not have the fortune to have access to. Their only information on growing their wealth is to rely on the media, so-called wealth ‘experts’ and other misleading sources who have only vested interests in making money out of the ignorant.

Due to unforeseen financial circumstances during my early teens, I have also experienced financial hardships and started work at the tender age of 15 years old. So, candidly, you can say I have the fortune to experience the different perspectives from both the rich as well as the poor.

You may read more about my personal biography, http://www.crei-academy.com/about-gerald/

What is your company, CREI all about?

How does it add values to investors?

CREi Academy Group (Conspiracies of Real Estate Investments) was founded on principles to educate the main-stream about the many truths as well as myths on wealth and investments, specifically in the area of property.

There’re simply too many half-truths and untruths about investments out there that are preventing many ordinary people from achieving their financial wealth and freedom. These so-called beliefs are concocted by the very people with self-vested interest in the markets to lure unwitting buyers to own that ‘dream’, a dream that mostly turns out to be a nightmare with dire financial consequences for most ordinary people.

CREi Values: What I DO for You… and What I DO NOT DO:

I do not share sexy, yet impractical and speculative investment theories for ordinary investors. You’ll realise through my many articles and sharing know-hows, the investment strategies I’ve successfully applied over the last 10 years & beyond, are powerful yet conservative and practical enough for the ordinary investor to apply.

I am not an investment seminar ‘guru’, and do not recruit a team of predatory salespeople to force-sell you expensive seminars, CDs, books and properties that promise so-called ‘millionaire dreams’ and charge ridiculous thousands of dollars to unwitting participants. I’m an investor and I make money investing, not by conducting expensive seminars and workshops. You’ll therefore find besides many informative articles, a pure educational 1- Day workshop seminar, “Choose to Invest Safely & Profitably in the Property Market” that delivers massive investment value and is priced the lowest among the many.

I do not use ridiculous fancy marketing words in my context and content, i.e. How to Become a Property Millionaire, Get-Rich-Quick-Easily, Make Millions in xxx months, Buy Properties with No Money Down, Secrets of…, etc. Why? Because these are no more than cheap marketing gimmicks, and not probable to most ordinary investors in their lifetimes.

I do not boast and advertise myself as a property ‘guru’, a property ‘expert’ or even a ‘millionaire’ investor. Why don’t I call myself an ‘expert’ or ‘millionaire’? Because anyone and just anyone… can claim to be one. I’m just another successful ‘Average Joe’ wealthy property investor who believes wealth is defined by time and happiness, and not net-worth or dollars. I believe in who I am and believe strongly in what I do and live by 4 simple life philosophies. – Fit, Healthy, Wealthy, Happy.

I do not share secrets of making money. Yes, you heard right! If there are really secrets in making millions and becoming super-rich in a short time, I would not be sharing any of it with you. Who will anyway? There’re NO secrets in making money… period! The wealthy and successful rich like my late Multi-Millionaire grandfather make their riches over decades through plain hard work, good foresight and simple practical strategies which I’ll share with you in this blog.

Talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. Go explore my blog, Click Here To Read My Articles and get a feel of how I think and what I do in my investments.

Obviously you are in favour of property as a form of investment to become rich in Singapore.

How about other forms of investment like precious metals, equities and forex?

I’m not in favour of any specific investments to become rich in Singapore, especially if that investor is completely ignorant of any forms of investments. Many ordinary investors would like to believe that they can be successful investors, but many don’t know what they don’t know. They choose to believe they can outwit the market, and love to equate high return investments which can be dubious in nature to be quality investments. Many fail to distinguish the difference due to complacency, stupidity, greediness and ignorance.

And, I’m not in particular favour of using words like ‘Become Rich’ for ordinary people. These words are no more than cheap marketing gimmicks and they often lead an ordinary investor into the hellish pits of greediness, stupidity, complacency and ignorance. When people are consumed by envy, they make bad investors. I see it every day. The obsessive need to make more than others can lead to excessive risk-taking, over-leveraging and poor judgement.

The desire to make more quickly can induce people to trade frenetically and gamble fruitlessly, forsaking the only reliable method of making money on their capital: investing it patiently for long-term growth. Most people should align their assets to make a decent risk-adjusted real return above and beyond the inflation rate, not swing for the fences and strike out in a feverish effort to get ahead. If an investment adviser or broker ever tells you they will make you rich, walk the other way. The most reliable and responsible wealth advice is to grow your money slowly over time.

I prefer using the term ‘Become Wealthy’ instead. It’s more down-to-earth and a lot more realistic and doable for many ordinary people. ‘Rich’ is a very superficial and relative term. Most people think and try to be the next millionaire, but fail to understand it’s not money that makes wealth. I think money is an essential characteristic of wealth, but doesn’t solely represent wealth.

I had to argue that money can represent wealth, but it can also represent poverty and a whole host of other meanings. Money as a symbol is…quite diverse in meaning.

Sustaining your riches makes you WEALTHY, and sustaining it into the next generation and many generations beyond, makes you wealthier.

My definition of wealth is simple. I love to live by my own rules. Life on my terms is wealth. This isn’t to say I’m in control of everything, but rather that I am doing what I love to do, at my leisure, and maintaining and improving it, while also being able to enjoy everything that brings pleasure to me, and allows me to continue to work on the projects I value most. That’s my definition of wealth.

When you can define your wealth, you will find the ‘enlightening’ path which will lead you to that investment most suited to your personal ‘modus operandi’ and overall wealth objectives.

Singapore government has implemented a slew of cooling measures on property investments in

recent years; don't you think these measures are going to make it even harder for Singaporean

investors to make money from property?

No. The cooling measures are implemented for a good reason: To subdue current over-inflated property prices. And if the government needs to resort to implementing many cooling measures by stepping into the market, it does not take a lot of common sense for the ordinary investors to know that prices are indeed over-valued and they need to tread extremely carefully or avoid buying altogether.

No governments want an asset bubble like the property market to burst. The political and financial consequences can be deadly. That’s the reason why they have to step in to prevent further price speculation and rises. On the other hand, cooling measures are only temporary measures. They are only implemented when the market gets too feverish, and will most often be removed when prices are subdued due to a financial slowdown or crisis. Take for example, the capital gains tax in the 1990s and the 10% cash upfront in 2003, which have been removed to help the market rise again.

For beginner investors and most people alike in their daily lives, they tend to focus on the problem itself, rather than thinking hard on the solution.

I met many people who have sustained investment losses and so were interested in becoming educated about property investment. I think they were doing thing backwards. You first have to be educated, because an informed investor is a smart investor. You don’t put your money on the line and hope for the best.

Knowledge is your best chance of protection, your best friend and your solution finder. There are 2 parts of education, namely financial and technical. Financial knowledge is about knowing enough how the macro economics of the global economy function and what makes asset prices goes up or down, while technical knowledge is specifically to that investment where the investor has to put in hundreds or even thousands of hard hours comprehending the nuts and bolts of how that investment works.

With the cooling measures and over-inflated prices, acquiring enough knowledge is your best form of investment today. Opportunity is when knowledge meets preparation. Patience will weed out the real investors from the amateurs.

In the next five years, which direction do you think the local property will head?

I hate to invest on predictions, and have never invested my money for capital gains based on predictions. As an investor, I avoid trying to be a future trend predictor, a ‘fortune-telling’ guru or think I possess super-power psychic. Trying to be either will simply make me lose sleep every night, worrying or thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow with so many changes abound, and might even put unnecessary pressure on my limited brain capacity.

But if you really like to hear some ‘predictions’, here are 5 of my ‘fortune-telling’ gripes for the next 5 years based on my understanding of the world economy.

1) The world economy might be headed for a major financial crisis, making the 2008 financial crisis look like a chicken in a coup. Major economies (China, USA, Europe, Japan) are supported by a large quantity of ‘phony’ money printed endlessly by their governments. Instead of turning the economy around, massive debts are sending these nations towards default, and there’s no escape from a market crash in the future when you have such enormous debts.

2) Even if there’s no such catastrophic event mentioned above to happen anytime in the next 5 years, there might be some ‘black swan’ event that might just tip the balance and burst the asset bubble, especially in Asia. The ramifications could be severe enough for our Singapore property market, especially when prices are already at ‘bubble-pricked’ levels.

3) There’s a high possibility of interest rates going up, once markets realised that the bonds which they hold might never be redeemed by broke governments. Although higher interest rates have never been the sole catalyst for property prices to fall, they do have some impact nevertheless.

4) For the next couple of years, as long as governments and central banks can continue to convince markets of their ability to restore economic growth and certainty through their ‘asset enhancement’ program (money printing), investors (large institutions) will continue to push more money into the system, especially into Asia and asset prices like property may continue to rise or stabilise with more cooling measures ahead.

5) By 2016 in Singapore, there will be a huge supply of at least 200,000 new residential units coming into the market, both from HDB and private. You have to ask if there will be enough money supply in the market by then to absorb especially for those who hope to sell for capital appreciation. In the commercial sector, rental is one of the most expensive cost components and should there be a financial crisis (high possibility), which businesses can afford to pay high rentals then?

Whatever direction the property market goes, personally, I don’t care. My property valuations may go down, but they are highly sustainable in terms of the cash flow generated from rental income.

If you are buying on good immediate cash flow today, you are in pretty safe hands to withstand any possible economic shocks. If you are buying on hopes of capital appreciation or future cash flow in the next 5 years, again, candidly best of luck to your investments.

Loan shark harassment scams in Singapore

2013-04-14T00:18:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Mediacorp Channel 8 reported that a number of Singaporeans were tricked by con artists into paying ten of thousands dollars. Apparently the scammers sent text messages to the victims and claimed that they owed loansharks a sum of money and if they don't pay up, they threatened to harass them. Several of the victims were gullible enough to fell prey into their tricks even though they did not owed loansharks any debts. This is because they thought that their identification cards might have been manipulated and used by strangers or tenants to borrow money from loansharks illegally. Three days later, the culprits were caught by the police and hauled to the court.

Greed and Fear
This is not the first case of Singaporeans losing their hard-earned monies to con artists, who usually play on our greed and fear. One of the tactics most commonly used is to focus on many Singaporeans' desire to become rich quick in Singapore. Not too long ago, many greedy Singaporeans lost several millions after investing in dubious gold buy-back schemes. They were lured by promise of high returns from the gold buy-back schemes. Subsequently, many of them lost their investments after the scammers skipped town and absconded with their investments. And then there were the kidnap phone scams. In recent years, despite much police education efforts, there were still many of such successful cheating cases. To add insult to injury, the victims were from all walks of life including professionals, so do not assume that only housewives or the seniors are prone to being cheated.

What should you do?
Members of the public who believe that they receive kidnap phone scams or loan shark harassment scams should remain calm and call the police immediately. Do not bank transfer or remit any money.

In addition, do not to reveal personal particulars, such as NRIC number, residential address and contact details to unknown individuals; keep SingPass login details confidential; not give in to unknown and unsolicited demands for loan repayments; and not to contact the SMS sender.

As for investment scams prevention, one really needs to do research and not be lured by promise of high returns. Remember, if something is too good to be true, it probably is. There are too many people out there interested in cheating your money, so it pays to be cynical and not invest in get-rich-quick investments.

Magically yours

What Should Property Investors do with their Money Today?

2013-04-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

By Guest Blogger Gerald Tay, CREI Academy

I want to share some personal thoughts and investment decisions based on the 2013Q1 URA PPI flash estimate and what it means for the property market.

The 2013Q1 estimate of 213.1 represents a 0.5% quarter-on-quarter increase, which is a moderation from the 1.8% q-o-q pace we saw in 2012Q4, but suggests that the market prices are still rising, albeit slightly, despite 7 rounds of government cooling measures.

Today, we’re at the record peak of the property cycle since 1965. It does not take a lot of common sense to tell us we did to tread extremely carefully, especially in current uncertain economic climate.
My personal predictions (I personally hate to invest on predictions), if you may, is that there might be further price increase in all segments of the property market. The residential market is still being supported by local first-time buyers (though we don’t know for long yet), while the commercial and industrial sector have continued hot money flows resulting from the severe cooling measures on the residential sector.

However, this does not mean investors should simply rush out to buy that new launch property today and hope to cash out in the next few years. The potential downsides are much greater than the upsides, and basing on the price-rental index which is 57% over-valuation (The Economist), buyers and investors today are already paying for future prices years down the road.

I have done my personal investment calculations for the residential market, comparing price versus rental. Even with current low interest rates imputed, most properties (resale & new) are already fetching negative yields, not to mention when these rate start to rise back to ‘normal’ in future.

Today, the Asian property market (Especially Singapore, Hong Kong & China) is being supported by ‘phoney’ money. Money is printed endlessly in the trillions of dollars by irresponsible governments for their personal political motives. Banks are either lowering their reserve rates or cutting interest rates and these fuelled the transfer of more hot money flows. The money is finding their way into Asia like Singapore, in hopes of so-called higher returns and inflating many asset bubbles. I.e. Singapore, Hong Kong, China.

When a financial crisis erupts (Europe, USA, China crash), these ‘phoney’ money would find their way back ‘home’ faster than a speeding bullet, resulting in severe price deflation and chaos.
I personally urge you, if you are an investor who is still in the midst of growing your wealth for your retirement, please be very careful where you are putting your money today. If you are investing in overseas property, make sure you know that country inside out. When I mean inside out, (NOT as a tourist) I mean you have been living in that country for years and is very familiar with the local real estate market. Or, you have credible partners who are locals in that country who are willingly to invest together with you. If you are simply investing in an overseas property and expecting good returns based on a piece of paper, some cocktail champagne, nice sales talk or because you think you spent 1 full month to do some due diligence , I have to candidly say best of luck to your investment.

As for local properties, invest on cash flow and never capital appreciation.

For myself, I’ve stayed away from our local property market since 2011 and have expanded to USA real estate market. I worked with experienced local USA investors who are more familiar with the terrain and invested their own money with me.

If you do not have the kind of connections or expertise, then my best wealth advice for you TODAY is to leave your money in the bank, despite the low interest deposits. Be patient to take advantage of massive opportunities to grow your wealth within the next few years when prices start tumbling down again.

Please Remember: The Return of Money is more important than the Return on Money in any investments.

Magically yours

Build your investment portfolio with Singapore dividend stocks

2013-04-11T19:19:00.002-07:00

Dividends are very important for all investors because they provide a non-market-dependent form of return. A company that has the ability to pay consistently high dividend is a well-managed business. In Singapore, investors are putting their money into high dividend stock Singapore to get high yield from their investment. Here I am sharing some dividend stock Singapore with high yield, which investor should consider.

City Spring Infrastructure Trust (SGX: A7RU) –

City Spring Infrastructure Trust is a publicly owned infrastructure business trust, based in Singapore. It was established with the principal objective of investing in infrastructure assets. It provides unit holders with long-term, regular and predictable distributions and potential capital growth. Its investments are made through acquisitions across the globe. City Spring Infrastructure Trust was incorporated in 2007.

The trust has a market capitalization of 729.07 M, EPS is 0.01, P/E ratio is 39.80 and dividend yield is 6.83 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.01.

Technics Oil & Gas Limited (SGX: 5CQ) –

Technics Oil & Gas Limited is an investment holding company in Singapore. The company operates as an integrator of compression systems and process modules for the offshore oil and gas sector worldwide. It is operating in three segments: Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning segment, second is Contract engineering segment and Procurement service segment. The company was founded in 1990 and headquartered in Singapore.

It has a market capitalization of 188.16 M, EPS is 0.08, P/E ratio is 10.91 and the dividend yield is 5.68 percent.

Star Hub Limited (SGX: CC3) –

Star Hub Limited is a telecommunications company that provides a wide range of services over mobile, internet and fixed platforms in Singapore. The company is the second largest mobile operator. It engaged in the provision and operation of telecommunications services and other business that are related to the info-communications industry.

It has a market capitalization of 7.51 Billion, EPS is 0.21, P/E ratio is 20.97 and the dividend yield is 4.58 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.05.

MTQ Corporation Limited (SGX: M05) –

MTQ Corporation Limited is an investment holding and management company in Singapore. Its activities include oilfield engineering, rental and sale of oilfield equipment and spare parts, provision of oilfield equipment manufacturing, sales and servicing of turbochargers. It provides its services in three segments: investment holding, oilfield engineering and engine systems. Investment holding segment is related to investments and also provides the management and corporate services to its subsidiaries. Oilfield engineering provides its consumers, engineering services for the servicing, manufacturing, assembly and fabrication of oilfield equipment and engine systems provides sales and servicing of turbochargers.

MTQ Corporation has a market capitalization of 115.43 M, and dividend yield is 3.21 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.02.

OKP Holdings Limited. (SGX: 5CF) –

OKP Holdings Limited is an investment holding company that focuses on construction of airport runways and taxiways, expressways, flyovers, vehicular, bridges, roads, airport and oil and gas-related infrastructure for petrochemical plants and oil storage terminals. The company provides management services to OKP’s subsidiaries. It has two segments: Construction and Maintenance.

It has a market capitalization of 158.84 M, EPS is 0.04, P/E ratio is 12.81 and the dividend yield is 2.91 percent at the annual dividend payout of $0.01.

DividendInvestor provides data related to Singapore dividends. To get more information please visit the site http://sg.dividendinvestor.com.

Interview with BullionStar Singapore

2013-04-09T23:24:00.001-07:00

Today, SG Web Reviews is honoured to have an interview with Zane Lim, Regional Manager of Operations for BullionStar.

BullionStar is a physical precious metals trading company in specializing in online sales in Singapore. Its office is located at Marina Bay Financial Center Tower Two.

SWR: Zane, its a pleasure to meet you. Can you tell us more about your company's background, business model and history?

BullionStar was formed by people with vast experience in the precious metals industry. The founders of BullionStar own and operate several precious metals companies worldwide. One of the founders of BullionStar, Mr. Torgny Persson, has established several bullion dealers in Europe previously. The Swedish company Liberty Silver AB was established by Mr. Persson in 2008 whereas Estonian Liberty Silver OÜ was established in 2011. Another founder of BullionStar, Mr. Joakim Andersson, is also the managing director of Bullion International Ltd which is a service provider for bullion dealers and information companies in the precious metals industry. The founders are supporting the Austrian School of Economics, hence BullionStar is built on a strong ideological belief that precious metals is the best unit of account and the purest form of money.

Precious metals have been used as money for thousands of years. During the last four decades, precious metals have been removed from our monetary system which no longer has any backing whatsoever. We at BullionStar believe that the current monetary system, called fractional reserve banking, is to blame for many of the economic problems arising today. We thus want to offer a reliable alternative, an asset which has retained its value and purchasing power for thousands of years: precious metals, specifically, gold, silver and platinum.

At BullionStar, we are dedicated to be a full service provider for individuals and institutions buying, selling and trading physical precious metals. We offer a full range of gold, silver and platinum products at competitive prices. You can take full physical delivery by having the products shipped to you, or you can collect the products personally if you desire. You may also choose to store your items in our vault where you are in full control of your assets. The vault operates with full accountability. All products offered are fully allocated, i.e. have full physical backing in precious metals.

SWR: In recent years, Singapore government has been aiming to make Singapore a hub for precious metals trading. How does your company fit into the picture?

BullionStar agrees with the government of Singapore that Singapore has a unique opportunity to take a leading position as an international hub for precious metals, not only in Southeast Asia, but in the world. The Singaporean government trade agency, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore has stated that they hope that Singapore’s share of the global precious metals market will grow at least fivefold within 5-10 years and create an Asia-Pacific industry hub for precious metals. BullionStar also believes that there is a need and a great possibility that Singapore will emerge as the hub for precious metals trade. As such, BullionStar intends to play a vital role as the precious metals market in Singapore grows.

SWR: In view of the recent gold spot prices correction, what is your long term view of holding the precious metal as part of one's investment portfolio?

Gold is very well supported by its own fundamentals. Demand for the yellow metal is robust in both the jewellery and investment sector, especially with China now being a net importer of gold, is increasing. The supply however remains flat and has not increased during the last 10 years even though the gold price went from USD 200 to USD 1,900 per troy ounce. This highlights the difficulties that producers face to respond to the higher prices.

Sellers of investment precious metals, such as ourselves, are experiencing much higher demand than what is normal for the season. This indicates that investors have jumped on the possibility to add to their holdings during the slight decline over the last months. With supply drying up, it is in strange in our opinion that the price has not reflected this increased demand yet.

With the uncertainty springing from the European and US debt crises, gold is well positioned to once again be the eye-catching asset during the next flight to safety. Gold has historically always been a good inflation hedge as well as a safe asset in times of economic uncertainty and financial turmoil. As central banks are printing money in abundance to inflate away their debt problem, gold will most likely act as the ultimate asset for stability and value as it has for 6000 years.

With Germany deciding to repatriate half of its gold reserves held abroad, it will likely set the trend for other Central Banks to follow suit. This underlines the fact that Central Banks around the world do not trust each other on the actual volume of bullion that they claim to hold. One can’t help but wonder why 300 tonnes of gold require seven years for it to be completely delivered other than that the bullion is not actually in the vault. It is highly plausible that the gold have long been loaned out to bullion banks who in turn sold it. Seven years may very well be a delay tactic to recover the missing gold via printing of more dollars to buy gold from the open market and this in turn will only push gold prices further up.

On top of all this, we also observe that Central Banks, especially in Asia, Middle East and even Latin America, are continuing to buy gold for fear that major currencies such as the Euros and US dollar will degrade through Quantitative Easing Programs. With the frenzy buying of gold by Central Banks while others repatriate their gold holdings abroad, it will be a matter of time before private investors take notice and follow suit in the buying and taking delivery of physical gold.

Lastly, gold has always been viewed as an indicator of stability. When the global economy is in a downward spiral, we will be able to observe rapid rises in gold prices as more people seek for a safe haven for their wealth. With the Euro and US debt crisis, this is exactly the time when we should be expecting gold prices to surge. So why has gold been flat for the past few months?

Short term, the acts of Central Banks and traders on the commodity exchanges trading “paper gold” in the form of derivatives may affect the price in peculiar ways. If a Central Bank is trying to expand its balance sheet with inflationary policies, this might give an expectation of a more deflationary policy to follow with the affect the gold price react negatively in the short term. This is counterintuitive as the inflation is increasing but is telling for the interconnectedness and importance of future expectations in the world of finance. Some commentators would ultimately point the finger at the imperfection of the markets where the price of gold is set on commodity exchanges where there are more outstanding futures and “paper contracts” than there are backing of physical gold. This practice easily exposes itself to a suspicion of manipulation where some traders may have an interest in suppressing the price of gold to hide the inflation and risks in the economy that a price surge in gold would gossip about

With the interest in the gold market picking up due to these times of uncertainty, the volume of investments coming in will eventually render any price control impossible. That will be the day, and it should be coming sooner than later, when we will see the spike in gold prices as more people recognizes gold, which has stood the test of times, as an avenue to protect their wealth.

SWR: In light of recent gold investment scams in Singapore, what make your company different from the rest?

At BullionStar, we claim nothing more than that precious metals, which we offer at the lowest prices anywhere, are better to have than any other currency. And because of the inflation-based global monetary system, it is often better to hold stable money like gold and silver rather than most stocks especially during economic downturns. Whatever returns you get from precious metals are derived from the metal itself, not some kind of dividend. Gold is a one-of-a-kind medium of exchange. There’s nothing like it. But it doesn’t provide annual yields or dividends. Be suspicious if you are ever offered interest payments in exchange for holding your gold. Ask yourself, where is this money used to pay dividends coming from? The classic Ponzi scheme is one where payments to investors/members are derived from additional recruits who pay into the scheme. In the case of gold scam artists, they’re not making their money by simply selling to gold investors. They’re selling at such above-market prices that they are able to fund their operations.

How gold scammers operate

What happens is that the pricey gold is offered at a small ‘discount,’ that is a discount from their exorbitant prices. You are given the option of the company buying back your gold at full price, that is, at the full exorbitant price. And the money used to buy back the gold from you must be derived from new recruits. Meanwhile, these new recruits buy the ‘discounted’ gold in the expectation of returns from selling it back to the company at a later date. Such a system is highly impractical and unsustainable. With premiums of around 25% spot price of gold, what happens when you run out of dupes who are willing to buy high? Your ‘dividends’ are obliterated. You might derive some comfort that you are left with your gold — if they actually deliver the physical gold to you. But then, you could have bought the gold at much better prices almost anywhere else. In addition, such gold is of questionable quality. Looking at the products offered by some of these companies, the bars being displayed are of obscure brands. To whom can you sell these bars in the future? This is important, considering the potential for fraud or counterfeiting of metals. It is always best to buy trusted and reputable brands.

Avoid being fooled

Do not be led by rhetoric that you read off some website’s banner. It is possible that they are making money off people’s growing interest in gold and silver, while not necessarily providing them with good investment options. Even when something sounds nice and truthful, go by the facts. It’s not enough that a company proclaims the right thing, e.g. bullishness in gold, but that their business model is based on this, and not shady practices. The scary thing is these scammers are still in operation, in Singapore, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, always looking for people who aren’t aware of how a Ponzi scheme could be applied to the precious metals investing sector.

Better options

Make sure you get your physical bullion at the most competitive prices, and that you are ensured of physical delivery. And in the case where you opt for vault storage of your precious metals, make sure a third party can verify the presence of your bullion in the vault.Apart from improving the regulatory aspect, it is important to instill in people the practice of due diligence before they put their money somewhere.We at BullionStar hope to help in getting the truth out, and allowing competition to really dictate what businesses last, and which ones disappear from a lack of suckers.

SWR: Should investors buy gold jewellery or bullions/coins?

When buying jewellery, not only do you pay for the amount of gold content in the item but also the workmanship. This may result in the cost of the jewellery costing much more than what it is worth in terms of gold. Also, if you are to sell the jewellery, most dealers will only be willing to pay 70-80% of the spot price for the amount of gold in the jewellery. Buying gold bullion on the other hand is different, you only pay a small premium compared to spot and internationally recognized brands of gold bars are accepted worldwide by bullion dealers. You will also be able to fetch a selling price that is much closer to spot if you choose to liquidate them.

SWR: How do investors register an account and what are the fees and transaction costs?

Registering for an account is as simple as setting up an email account. One simply have to click on the "Open an Account" link at the top right hand corner of our webpage and fill in the required fields accordingly. By registering for an account, we will reward you with 10 Vault Grams of Silver with no obligations at all! On top of that, account holders can also take advantage of our industry leading online trading platform in the "My Vault Storage" page.

With regard to fees, we do not charge any fees for account holders to maintain the account with us and there will be no transaction fees as well when purchasing or selling bullion to us. If the customer chose to store bullion purchased from us in our vault, we are providing free storage for 2 years. The only fee that the customer may incur is when they are withdrawing bullion stored in the vault. That will be at a transaction fee of $149 per withdrawal. For eg, A has 10 gold bars stored in our vault and decide to withdraw 1 bar, the transaction fee will $149. If he decides to withdraw 10 instead of 1 bar, it will still be at $149.

Magically yours