Financial Advice in Singapore | Financial Advice

Interview in Channel U - Moneyweek

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 09:54:00 +0000

For my reader and friends, I'll be appearing tonight 7pm in Channel U - Moneyweek again on the topic of investment. Do stay tune if you are happen to be at home watching TV! :-)

Advisers to assess clients under new MAS rules

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 11:40:00 +0000

Advisers will have to assess their clients ability to understand investment products before selling to them, under new rules established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Read More @
International Adviser :: Advisers to assess clients under new MAS rules

What financial institutions teach their financial advisers to do could be illegal!

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 01:21:00 +0000

It always upset me when I come across such article as follows:

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1377-a_EY9MLo0vtk-3TVAHOOB3A3SQFUL4UPNIJI3PT

While you thought joining a reputable bank or financial institution and making lot's of money is glamorous, think twice on your objectives and goals in life whether you have your principle or just for the money.

You could end up in jail without know why! Read: -

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1377-a_EY9MLo0vtk-3TVAHOOB3A3SQFUL4UPNIJI3PT

Interview in Channel U - MoneyWeek

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 06:57:00 +0000

Tea Eng Peng will be appearing in Channel U (MoneyWeek 财经追击) this Saturday 23 Oct 2010 evening again on investment related topic.

Adam Khoo's Millionaire Mindset

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:25:00 +0000

Adam Khoo has been an inspiration for me since many years back. I am always following his news and blog closely because I think he is someone who can put things in perspective and in simple form to understand.

I was always wondering how a young chap who was a former school drop out transform himself into a millionaire at age 26 until I found out from one of his newsletter which I subscribe to that he actually start reading massively on Success and Mindset related books at the age of 15 when he decided his first goal to be a millionaire by age 26.

What can we learn from his story? Success is not overnight and it took him 11years of hard work too before he reach his goal. Another classic example is BreadTalk's Founder - George Quek. He too has been in the food industry for more than 20 years before he started BreadTalk and got listed within 2 years!

Morale of the story, do not just look at the success that someone has achieved now but also know the effort that they put in before their success. There is never nothing for something. We reap what we sow!

Have you ever wonder why everyone has only 24 hours in their life and yet some achieve more than the others? I have been pondering this question for many years and today I can confidently says that the main difference is in the way we think!

There is this book call "Think and Grow Rich" and I use to mock at it because how can anyone just grow rich by thinking? Over the years, it has proven to be true by many other people who is inspired by this book including me.

Studies shows that average person use less than 10% of their brain thinking and spend most of their time taking instructions or asking others who are not any better than themselves for solution. If you can't think effectively, you should at least be able to read. The more you read, the more your brain will exercise and expand your thoughts. Successful people don't stop learning after school, in fact they continue learning as much as before they are successful because they have to handle bigger challenges.

I urged my reader to invest time in reading and if you are not sure where to start, start with Adam Khoo's range of books! I personally own most of them in hardcopy. Now you can get them in softcopy @ http://adamkhoomillionaire.blogspot.com/ which cost less from retail store and easier to keep in your computer, ipad or mobile devices for reading.

P.S. Stay tune to http://www.adamkhoomillionaire.blogspot.com/ where interesting articles will be posted. Follow twitter @ www.twitter.com/adamkhoomillion

TEA ENG PENG (郑永平) Appearing in ChannelNewsAsia

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:55:00 +0000

I'll be appearing in the following Channel NewsAsia program brought to you by Saxo Capital Markets - What's Your Position?

Online trading platform has revolutionised the way retail investors trade. With plenty of research and information readily available these days, how does one use them to formulate a trading plan? Find out by catching the 2-part programme "What's Your Position" produced with the support of Saxo Capital Markets.

What's Your Position - Part 1
March 3, 2010 (Wed) 9:30pm
March 4, 2010 (Thurs) - Repeat Telecast 12:30pm
March 5, 2010 (Fri) - Repeat Telecast 4:30pm
March 8, 2010 (Mon) - Repeat Telecast 6:00pm

What's Your Position - Part 2
March 10, 2010 (Wed) 9:30pm
March 11, 2010 (Thurs) - Repeat Telecast 12:30pm
March 12, 2010 (Fri) - Repeat Telecast 4:30pm
March 15, 2010 (Mon) - Repeat Telecast 6:00pm

Komaba Global Bond Fund is going to be terminated on 5 October 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Dear Reader,

It has been awhile since I last blog as I was busy being interviewed and contributing articles which will be restricted from publishing them until the magazine or website publish them for at least 2 weeks. Will keep you guys posted!

However, I have a more urgent news to break that is I have been notified by APS Komaba Asset Management Pte Ltd, that A329 Komaba Global Bond Fund will cease subscriptions with effect from today, 4 September 09, as the fund is going to be terminated on 5 October 2009.

Kindly note that more details on the above cessation will be provided shortly.

Life Insurance Tax Relief

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:40:00 +0000

Have you been over declaring your Tax Relief unknowingly?

Majority of the people thinks that their have paid a lot for insurance premium and when it come to declaration of Tax where there is this column for Life Insurance Relief, they feel "relief" that at least it is tax deductible but they are only half right!

An extract from IRAS Website on the subject matter as follows:

"You are not eligible for life insurance relief if your total compulsory employee CPF contribution in the previous year is $5,000 or more.

If your CPF contribution is less than $5,000, you can claim the lower of

The difference between $5,000 and your CPF contribution.
Up to 7% of the insured value of your own/your wife's life or the amount of insurance premiums paid, whichever is lower."

Conclusion:

Majority of the population are not eligible for Life Insurance Tax Relief unless you are self-employed without CPF contribution or low income earner where total annual CPF contribution is less than $5000 a year.

Note:

The current tax-filing system cannot detect whether you are eligible to enjoy Life Insurance Tax Relief and will not disallow any input in the Life Insurance Tax Relief column subject to a maximum of $5,000 even if you are not eligible. It is up to you to file and is your own responsibility to know how much to file. If you have been over declaring, you can write to IRAS to do an adjustment.

You can click on the following link to know more about the subject matter:

http://www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page04.aspx?id=208

P.S. Tax matter changes from time to time and I am not a tax consultant, hence please consult your tax consultant or IRAS if in doubt.

Best Deal for Aircon

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:01:00 +0000

Recently my aircon gave way after good ten years and I decided to do some research before my aircon purchase and found the following two website particularly useful to share with my reader:

1. http://singapore-aircon-advice.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.coolserve.com.sg/

I do not get any referral fee from the above but I wouldn't mind if they were to give me some for my free advertisement. Anyway good luck in your aircon purchase!

Prosperity Personal - Online Personal Finance Planning Tools

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:17:00 +0000

Always thought managing your personal finance is a complicated and dreaded affair?

A glimpse of Wealth Manager - Simulating investment in property

Run no more because
Prosperity Personal offers you an easy-to-use online personal finance planning tool. A tool that is completely free, and it enables you to understand in the blink of an eye your long-term finances. Why plan? Because uncertainty translates into stress, Prosperity Personal allows you to understand and plan your future based on proven analytical models. It gives you not only an immediate overview of your long-term finances, it also enables you to improve your future by simulating different scenarios and compare their outcomes.

Think you're financially smart? Take the Finance Challenge and stand a chance to win an Asus Eee PC till 30 June 2009

Prosperity Personal is an open community where netizens gather to share their wisdom, thoughts and experiences and build confidence in personal finance in a dynamic environment.

TEA ENG PENG （郑永平）Inteviewed by 《财经追击》

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:26:00 +0000

Hi All,

Please keep a look out on the interview of me with 《财经追击》under the programme call "Financial Planning 101".

1^st Telecast 29th May 2009 (Fri) 9:30pm Ch U

2^nd Telecast 1^st June 2009 (Sun) 11:30pm Ch U

Will keep you posted on the follow up telecast if any. Cheers!

Follow up this week they will touch on fresh grads n CPF topic.

So please look out for my interview in their programme this week.

1^st Telecast 05^th Jun(Fri) 9:30pm Ch U

2^ndTelecast 7^th Jun(Sun) 11:30pm Ch U

Other Telecast Time:

12thJun(Fri) 9:30pm Ch U

14thJun(Sun) 11:30pm Ch U - Repeat

19thJun(Fri) 9:30pm Ch U

21thJun(Sun) 11:30pm Ch U - Repeat

What you need to know about your CPF Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:09:00 +0000

I have found a video from CPF Website - IM$avvy on the subject "Optimising CPF" which is very comprehensive and I personally benefit from it too as it is with visual aid.

There are so much one need to know about their CPF yet too little time was spent to understand it. Thus I strongly recommend my reader to view this video before engaging any Financial Adviser for advice. It will save both your time and money in your financial planning.

Click here to Watch it! (Best view with Internet Explorer or you might need to download a player)

The video is about 1 hour long but it is definitely worth your time! It is modular too, so you can view part by part.

If you have no time to invest in yourself, the price you need to pay later might be higher for not viewing it!

P.S. Please drop me a note if the link is no longer valid and I shall remove this post. So please view it before it is gone!

CNBC Interview with Sani Hamid of Financial Alliance Pte Ltd

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:16:00 +0000

Sani Hamid is a Director, Wealth Management (Economy and Market Strategy) of Financial Alliance Pte Ltd and is also a good friend of mine. I am proud to present some of his interviews with CNBC that I managed to find from the internet to my readers. You can also google his name to find out more about him.

Get Into These Hot Funds - Sani Hamid (28 Apr 2009)

Worst May Be Over - Sani Hamid (13 Apr 2009)

Investment Strategy - Sani Hamid (30 Mar 2009)

Buy Financials - Sani Hamid (05 Mar 2009)

Stocks to Pick Up by Year-End - Sani Hamid (02 Jan 2009)

Comment from Reader

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Recently I receive the following email from one of my reader and it motivate me to squeeze out some time to continue blogging despite of my busy schedule:

"Hi Tea,

Thank you! Your email had been great help to me.

I got to know your blog while I google for “term insurance”.

Please continue to update more on your type of insurance… your website is easier to understand than most of the others."

FREE Financial Calculation Tools Online

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Sun, 03 May 2009 05:59:00 +0000

Recently I have found a website that provide FREE Financial Calculation Tools Online which I feel compelling to post in my blog. I am very impress because it is graphic intensive with drag and drop feature, yet very fast processing time. You got to try it to believe.

I strongly encourage all my reader to try it out before it is no longer FREE!

The website is as follows:

http://www.prosperitypersonal.sg

The links to the tools are as follows:

1. Wealth Manager
2. Prosperity Planner
3. Risk Planner

This website offer the above types of Financial Calculation Tools for your simulation and the best part is you do not even need to register as a user in order to use! Absolutely FREE with no gimmicks that I know of at this moment...perhaps they might start charging once they have enough user, so don't wait. Try now while is still FREE!

Book Review - MANIAC! "You've to be a little crazy to succeed in this crazy world!" by Andy Ong

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:44:00 +0000

I was reading this book written by Andy Ong who is the bestselling author of "Personal Financial Planning in Singapore" who also founded the Financial Planning Association of Singapore (FPAS) when he was 26 years of age and served as its Founding President for two terms. He subsequently became CEO of ERC Holdings Pte Ltd which is now a multi-million dollar company that comprises 11 companies withing the group with interests in education, publishing, marketing services and consulting operations.

This book bring you the mindset of Asia's 50 highly successful individuals and how you can replicate this mindset to achieve success!

In financial planning, it is not all about saving and investing but also on how to increase your personal income so that you have surplus to save and invest. I strongly recommend reading this book if you want to know the mindset of the highly successful individuals and how they make money.

I'm summarize one part which I find it most useful to share on the 4 Phase of how to move from Struggler to Maniac:

Phase 1: Step out of your comfort zone!

Maniac pointed out that many of us are so comfortable with our everyday lives that we are not contemplating our next moves. In fact, it is their personal belief that the vast majority are so comfortable that they do not plan to maximise their career potential. Even if they do, they may be short-changing themselves by setting targets that they know they can comfortably attain. The first step is thus to GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE!

I personally feel that without this Phase 1, nothing change!

During this recession, it could be a good time to reflect what we really want in life and plan for rainy day. Many of us are too busy with our daily life running a rat race. Sometimes it take some courage to step out of our comfort zone and make some short term sacrifice in order to have long term gain. We must be crazy if we expect something different will happen by doing the same thing over again and again without changing anything.

Phase 2: Find a Mentor

Every single one of the Manics credited his or her success to someone who has guided them to succeed in their respective fields. They all have mentors who showed them directions in life and how to fully take advantage of the opportunities that they are given. You will be surprised how willing successful individuals are in sharing their experiences if you ask properly and do not intrude into their lives too much.

Phase 3: Commit to change

Knowledge is very much wasted if it is not put to use. Most of us learn what is necessary and try to implement the knowledge. However, when the first problem arises, we soon forget about the whole idea and go back to our comfort zone and safety net which often means that we are giving a half-hearted attempt. Manics commit themselves 100% and are constantly on the prowl for opportunities. They live, breathe and eat what they believe in.

Phase 4: Put together strategy to achieve personal success

Maniacs plan to succeed in their chosen field. They plan to the best of their ability, leaving as little to chance as possible They know that luck plays an important part in the path to success, perhaps even to the extent of 80 to 90%. They also want to maximise their chances on the factors they can control. These include:

- Which industry to be in?
- How to gain a competitive advantage in that industry?
- How to assemble the right team to implement the business mode?
- Putting in the extra effort to deliver a superior value proposition.

P.S. To find out more, you can either buy the book or borrow from the library and search by Call Number 650.1 ONG - [BIZ]

Who are Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs)?

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Year 2009 marked my 10th year in the business and I decided to embark myself from a FA platform to the IFA platform. Some of my client asked what are the differences? So I decided to post a blog to address this.

The term Financial Adviser (FA) refers to a corporation and the individual providing the advice is referred to as the Financial Adviser Representative (FAR). Exempt FAs are banks, insurance companies, finance companies, insurance brokers and holders of a Capital Markets Services (CMS) license.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulates the usage of the word "independent" by financial advisers. Amongst the key considerations for a financial adviser to use the term "independent" is the provision of more than four product providers from each class of investment product. He should have no direct or indirect commercial arrangements with product providers that will create product bias and should operate freely from any form of product restriction.

IFA firms are financial firms that are started and owned by experienced individuals from the finance industry, and are not part of any financial institution.

In summary, there are many FAs in the market but very few IFAs as using the word "Independent" would mean more regulation and not many companies are ready for that or due to the original structure of their main business e.g. the securities houses and banks. Some ask why the trouble to get myself into trouble then? My answer is simple, I believe I am ready! Being truly Independent is the way to go and will ultimately benefit my client. E.g. Now I can help my client to open securities account from more provider giving them choices rather than in the past where I can only open from one securities house because my ex-company is a securities house and there will be a conflict of interest to represent another securities house.

In a laymen term, IFA is like Carrefour which is a megamart that carries many products but none of the products belong to them. If you wanted to buy a laptop, you can choose to walk into Sony Centre that sell only Sony Laptop or you can also walk into Carrefour to choose from various brands of Laptop plus many other products that you might want all in one place which can save you time and money.

Some clients question the stability of the IFAs and the main concern is what if the IFAs firm collapse? Again my answer is simple: If you bought a Sony Laptop from Carrefour and Carrefour one day decided to withdraw from Singapore market, who will be liable if your Laptop spoil? Do you go to Carrefour or Sony? Do you worry more if Carrefour will withdraw from Singapore Market or Sony to withdraw from Singapore Market?

I think I will have more concern than the client when the IFA I decided to join eventually collapsed as that would mean that I have to find another IFA to house me, so wouldn't I be more careful than the client in choosing the IFA to work with?

After going through my stringent selecting process and talk to almost all the IFAs in the market, I decided to join Financial Alliance which is the first and only Financial Adviser Firm in Singapore to achieve both the Singapore Quality Class and the People Developer status. The coveted dual certification by SPRING Singapore was achieved only after a stringent assessment process. The company vision is "To be the guiding star in the eyes of our clients, and the inspiration for the Financial Advisory industry in the region". Over the last 6 years Financial Alliance has grown steadily from less than 10 consultants to current 150 manpower strength and is the first FA firm to win the inaugural Professional Enterprise Award - PRESTIGE in 2007. While many competitors scrambled to fight for manpower and sales, Financial Alliance focus on building infrastructure and I personally think that spells a lot on the company foresight and ability to fulfill their vision. You can also read more on their success story from the national bestseller "Asia's TOP Investments & Franchise To Make Your First Million" by Aminordin Omar & Timothy Chan (ISBN-13 9789810595210) available in POPULAR On-line Bookstore

If you are keen to explore this career, please drop me an email at teaengpeng@gmail.com with your resume for a non-obligation discussion on your suitability.

My 10th Year in the Financial Advisory Industry

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Inspired by my blogging buddies Wai Loong and Leroy writing a review of their year 2008, I decided to do a review myself on not for just one year but 10 years!

My first 1 year 6 months...

My first career after my graduation from Ngee Ann Poly was in the insurance industry. I actually got into this industry by accident and not by ambition. I did not remember wanting to be a Insurance Agent since young and I doubt anyone would have. I actually wanted to be a social worker after my graduation but if you remembered my Travel Insurance story, you would recall that my mom suffered a stroke during my last year in my Poly's days and I thought I should find a sales job with flexible hours so that I could rush back to take care of her if necessary since my Dad was having a full time desk bound job and my younger brother was studying abroad. I was flipping the newspaper and come across a sales position which was quite interesting (Of course the advertisement did not mention anything about insurance just mentioned sales position) so I called. The recruiter was very tactful and was telling me that this position required marketing of Unit Trust and as a fresh graduate from Poly engineering background, I had no idea what Unit Trust was but agreed to meet up for further discussion since I am desperate for a sales job. (For your information, Unit Trust was something new and not popularly known to everyone yet in 1999)

I still vividly remembered the place of interview was at The Adelphi opposite Funan Centre. Without any suspicious as it was in a shopping mall, I took a lift up to the office level but when I reached the door step, I found out it belonged to one of the big 4 insurance company. I was naive enough to think that there could be other office co-exist in the room so I walked in only to find out it is still the same insurance company which was too late to walk out because the recruiter warmly welcome me with a firm handshake. After a few round of talking, I then discovered that I was required to sell insurance but they promised to provide a 3 days FREE training for me to consider before joining. As an opened minded person in nature, I thought I had nothing to loss by attending and I could gain some knowledge while still searching for other sales jobs, so I agreed!

The 3 days course really open my mind and I understood the importance of insurance right away when I relate to my mom's incident. I thought I had found a dream career that fit my requirement of time flexibility and yet able to help other! (Only later to find out that most people do not want our help as they though that we want to make money out of them and treat insurance agent like a pest! This was not told in the 3 days training..hahaha) Being an engineer by training, although I was recruited by one of the big 4 insurance company, I apply a logical and systematic approach to compare all the big 4 insurance company during that time which was AIA, Prudential, NTUC and Great Eastern before deciding which company to join. (I will not reveal which company I eventually join to protect the privacy of the people and company that I'll be mentioning here)

In preparation of becoming Insurance Agent, I must pass some industry examination which was the Certificate of Life Insurance during those days (Now the requirement is CMFAS Module). We studied the difference between Agent and Broker in the text which is as follows:

Agent represents the company they work with.

Broker represents the client they work with.

Since then it inspired me to be a broker but when I ask my Agency Leader in the insurance company how can I be a Broker, he told me that the professional liability of a Broker is very high and need high initial capital to become one, so I drop the idea. Think during that time he was referring to starting a Broker Company but he did not tell me that I can join a Broker company and be their representative! On a special occasion, I bump into a friend who was a broker in one of the leading Broker Company, I decided to visit the company and find out more myself and the rest is history. I have not look back since!

My 9 months in a Broker Company...

I was very fortunate to join the right company that emphasis on training for their new adviser. If not, my learning curve would be much longer. In fact, I did not encounter much difficulties in my initial year as a Broker representative and my production was 50% more in 9 months compare to my 1 year in the previous insurance company! Imagine 1 company have 10 products, if we represent 8 companies meaning we have to study 80 products and new adviser will be overwhelmed without a good training system. However, we are still restricted to do only brokering on Life and General Insurance only. Not long after I joined the Broker company, the Financial Advisers Act was announced and everyone was preparing themselves for the transition. My immediate manager and the whole team decided to move to a bigger ship that already have all the tied up in place e.g. Unit Trust and Securities Trading which our Broker Company was not ready then.

My 6 years 9 months in a Exempted Financial Advisory Firm...

We decided to join one of the largest Securities Firm in Singapore and became their pioneer "Team Structured" advisers. Prior to that, they were managing more direct adviser and remiser converted to adviser. We grew together with the company over the last 6 years 9 months and was one of the largest and productive team in the company with 50 Advisers, 6 Managers and 1 Director at the peak of our team. I spent my happiest days in this company and also started my management path 2 years ago forming one of the 6 Managers in the Team.

Financial Advisers Act was only introduced in year 2001 and till now is less than 8 years, so is considered a fairly new market for most people. During these 6 years 9 months, many others FA firm had attempt to get me over to join their company by offering a higher compensation package but I refused to move as almost every player in the market are fighting for manpower and sales growth but few are exploring and fine tuning their processes. Until one day, I found Financial Alliance in year 2009!

I'll make new history from year 2009 onwards! Hope to write another 10 years review in years to come! :-)

See related article:
Who are Independent Financial Advisers
Travel Insurance

Best Travel Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:22:00 +0000

Comment from my article "Travel Insurance"

"Hi Eng Peng, good point about the need for travel insurance! Thanks for sharing. There are many travel insurances available in the market. Will you be willing to share more on the other aspects that we should evaluate on to determine which is the most appropriate insurance for our travel needs? Cheers! LeroyBlogsite: http://www.leroyang.blogspot.com/"

In response to one of my reader's comment, I decided to post a follow up article on the most appropriate travel insurance to consider.

In my personal opinion, the most important aspect to evaluate is the level of service in term of claim. Meaning speedy in response and the thoughtfulness in arranging emergency evacuation e.g. my mom's case. In my experience dealing with many travel insurer, I find the the following insurer are the better one and value for money (click to view brochure):

1. AIG Assist
2. Tenet TravelJoy
3. AXA SmartTraveller

Many times people ask me for a comparison but I must say there is always no apple to apple comparison in most cases. Insurer will always have a few features or benefits that are different to cater to their target market and that is one of the reason why they charge different premium.

For example, AIG has a special service call RED24 which is a world leading personal security advice and response provider. By monitoring worldwide security activity, their services provide the advice required to keep their members and loved ones safe at home and abroad. More detail can be found in their website below:

http://srvb.red24.info/affiliate/aigintl/about.php

Tenet is the leader in benefit innovation which many insurer take as reference. They are the first NATAS approved travel insurer (The current NATAS approved travel insurer is AIG) and first travel insurer to shorten the claim for Baggage Delay, Travel Delay and Flight Deviation from 12 hours to 6 hours. They are also one of the first to have Full Terrorism coverage and Unlimited coverage for Emergency Evacuation. If you wish to cover amateur sport, then Tenet TravelJoy is your choice as they offer extension coverage on hot-air ballooning, para-sailing, white-water rafting, snow-skiing and underwater activities which most insurer will exclude.

AXA offer the best value for money in term of their annual plan.

In conclusion:

Tenet will be my first choice of insurer if travelling Asia Pacific and the more develop countries follow by AIG for more exotic countries like Cambodia, Egypt etc. For frequent traveller that travel at least 4 times a year with minimum one week duration then AXA annual plan is the best choice. However, do not just take my words as you should always read the policy wording just like reading the prospectus of unit trust before you buy. You can find their policy wording in the following links:

1. Policy Wording for AIG Assist
2. Policy Wording for Tenet TravelJoy
3. Policy Wording for AXA SmartTraveller

You will also find the following link useful on the document require for Travel Claim provided by AIG:

Travel Claim Important Notice

Adam Khoo's New Book

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:27:00 +0000

I am rushing for work but feel the urge to share this before I leave the house. As I normally do my reading in the morning while my mind is still fresh, I came across Adam Khoo's new book release "Profit from the Panic" and he share his insight on his blog which I think is worth reading. The link is as follows:

http://www.adam-khoo.com/171/profit-from-the-panic-is-ready

Travel Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:49:00 +0000

The recent unrest in Mumbai and Bankok highlights the need to buy travel insurance before making a trip and there is a sudden surge in the demand for travel insurance among my clientele which was not their usual habit despite my constant advice.

I am a firm believer of Travel Insurance due to my own personal experience and is also my first claim experience with the insurance company which happen to be a Travel Insurance claim...My Mom's claim.

This happen way back in 1999 when I was still studying Final Year in the Polytechnic and my parent went on holiday without me. They have a habit to call when they touch down whenever they travel, but I did not receive any call from them pass 3 days from the day they left and I started to get worried. Those days handphone was not popular yet and few will bring a handphone to travel because auto roaming service was not popular then too, so I practically can only wait for them to call instead of calling them.

My sixth sense was right when my Dad call on the 4th day with a sad voice asking me to stay calm for what he was going to tell me. I could still remember he said, "Son, your Mom has a stroke in the plane even before we touch down and she is currently hospitalised unconsciously in the local hospital". I got a shock of my life since I had never experience such life event and I always take for granted that such thing will not happen in my family, who will or want that to happen anyway? I was lost of word and Dad had to comfort me to stay calm and focus on my final year exam, then he put down the phone promising to keep me updated on Mom's medical condition. I though that will be my last memory of my mom and tears start falling heavily.

Eventually my Mom got better and was sent back to Singapore for treatment. I rushed to the Airport on the day they returned and tears start rolling again when I saw her in the wheelchair with the medical apparatus. There was a doctor with her and according to my Dad all those was arranged by the insurance company. They sent a doctor over to monitor my Mom's condition and flew her back in the business class as she need more space due to the bulky medical apparatus required, then she was sent to the hospital in the long limousines that I only saw in the movie and not in real life. Mind you I was really impressed by the service rendered even though I was in my saddest moment! The rest was history as my Mom had recovered now but the scene was still vivid in my mind.

The total bill for her hospital stay oversea, plus doctor sent to accompany her back in business class with the limousines sending her to the hospital and the local hospital bills all add up close to $50,000! That's a lot of money then when liquidity was low in the family as the economy had not fully recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis where most of my Dad's money was stuck in the stock market and money sent to support my younger brother oversea study expenses. Luckily my Dad is a firm believer of travel insurance as he always says, "Since you have already spent so much money in the travel, what is another small amount to buy a peace of mind worth?". The travel insurance he bought for that trip was only $50 dollar while the claim chalk up to around $50,000 and could be even more for more severed cases! Isn't it a beautiful product? Since then, our family became advocates of Travel Insurance ensuring we spread the gospel to everyone we know.

After the emotional sharing, now is the logical sharing...

Many people have the doubt of whether should they still buy travel insurance if they had charge their air ticket with their credit card which will also provide insurance coverage. Some also think that there is a duplicate since most of the baggage lost or flight delay can seek compensation from the airlines.

The answer is a definite YES! Many do not know that the travel insurance coverage from their credit card is not comprehensive although some cards can cover up to $1 million coverage in the event of accidental death but terrorism is usually excluded, so read the terms and condition carefully. Most importantly, not one card that I know of as of now offer EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVACUATION & REPATRIATION coverage which is the main reason why you buy Travel Insurance! One of the definition for the coverage from one insurer is as follows:

"If you suffer a Disabling Injury, Sickness or Disease indemnifiable
under this Policy which, in the opinion of the Appointed Assistance
Company, is necessary to evacuate to the nearest registered medical
institution for medical treatment or return to Singapore, we will pay
for the reasonable cost of transportation and en-route medical care
and supplies including the assignment of a doctor &/or nurse to
accompany you, air ambulance, regular transportation, rail, road or
any other appropriate means necessarily incurred;"

Whatever insurance we buy must have the objective to insure what we cannot afford or feel pain to lost (eg. the big bills like my Mom's case) so that we can transfer our risk to institution with bigger financial strength like the insurance company with a small fraction of premium. The more observant people will ask is there a need for travel insurance then if we had a Personal Accident Plan with emergency evacuation? The answer is still YES as Personal Accident Plan will only cover if the incident is due to accident, what if we fall sick and not due to accident? The answer is obviously a "No", and Personal Accident Plan also does not cover other things like Trip Cancellation, Delayed or Damaged or Lost baggage etc...

In conclusion: "Never leave home without a Travel Insurance even if you just travel to Johor Bahru!"

Quote Of The Day

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:21:00 +0000

If you are worried about surviving in a Recession or even Depression which normally last 3 to 5 years...

I am worried about how you are going to survive your Retirement which normally last 10 to 20 years!

Quote Of The Day

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:16:00 +0000

Practice Make Perfect...

However, the right Practice will Perfect your Success...

But the wrong Practice will Perfect your Failure!

So BEWARE what you Practice!

Quote Of The Day

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:06:00 +0000

Simple is not equivalent to Easy...

Easy is a result of Hardwork and Practice for most people but is often a gift for some talented.

Moral of the story is "If you are not born talented, you can be talented being more hardworking and practice more often!"

Investment Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (TEA ENG PENG) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Interestingly I have been discussing this topic with many of my friends recently which motivate me to post it in my blog instead. Please note that this article is not for layman but for audience who is at least familiar with the Technical Jargon. However if you are still interested and bother to google those Jargon, you can still understand them.

The most commonly asked question: "Is there an investment strategy that can work in current and all market condition?"

The answer will be depend on your time horizon and type of money baskets you are investing in. There is no quick answer to it but read on to discover the pot of gold yourselves. If you are sharp enough, you might point out "How about Risk Profile and Investment Objective?"

I would say that Investment Objective is normally either Long Term for Retirement Needs or Short Term for Income Needs, and I am going to cover both anyway. As for Risk Profile, I personally think is crap because when the market is good, almost everyone has an Aggressive risk profile but when the market is bad,they become Conservative risk profile. This behavior is totally opposite from the best known investment theory call "Buy Low Sell High" or "Buy when everyone is Fearful, Sell when everyone is Greedy". Having said that, thanks to all these people who are just doing the opposite by buying high, selling low and sell some more when lower, so that the value investors like Warren Buffet can make some good money and buy some cheap stocks finally! (Note: Value Investing can be apply to all things in life not restricting to stocks market. It can be apply in the way you purchase goods, luxury and property as well)

But wait! Did I say that Value Investing is the only investment strategy to make money? The answer is no. There is another strategy call Momentum Investing where you buy and sell base on trend. You can also use Option Trading or CFD Trading for Momentum Investing where you are allow to short the market and make profit even if the market is heading south aka downturn. I am not going to discuss these strategies in detail as you can find a whole lot of information if you are interested enough and take action to google them. If all seems too alien to you and you only wish to find an Idiot-Proof way of making money through investing, there is a strategy for novice call Passive Investing by investing into all market or sector over a long period of time like 20 to 30 years through Mutual Fund commonly known as Unit Trust or Index Fund commonly know as Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Again, you can find out more if you google them.

However the number of investment strategy doesn't stops here but I just mentioned the most common one. In fact, my definition of Investment Strategy is the Strategy that work for you (You might still need to fine tune all the above strategy to suit your circumstances and need)! As the famous China leader Deng Xiaoping once says, "Regardless is Black Cat or White Cat, as long as they can catch Rats, they are good Cats". I have a friend who share with me this interesting strategy which he regards as the lousiest strategy. He says he has no strategy in investing, he only invest through feeling where he "Buy during good feeling and sell when the feeling is bad". You might laugh at it and agree with him that this is a most lousy strategy but the most remarkable part is that he is making money so far with this "lousy" strategy! Do you see anything common between his strategy with the famous investment theory "Buy when everyone is Fearful, Sell when everyone is Greedy"? Sometimes, people just don't know how to crystallize what they are actually doing. I commented to him that this is still a strategy although he think is not. Why I say so is just like when someone tell me that he hate decision making, he had already made a decision! He further share with me why he had adopted such a strategy is because there are many people who know how to read all the financial statement, reports and PE ratio but still lost money so why bother? Wow Lau! He win already lor!

The next thing you might be interested is what kind of investment return would each strategy fetch you and within how long? The following is just to serve as a guideline and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance where returns might varies according to actual scenario:

1. Passive Investing - about 12% return annually with time horizon of 20 to 30yrs period
2. Value Investing - about 15%-25% return annually with time horizon of at least 5 to 10 yrs period
3. Momentum Investing - more than 25% return within 3 to 6 months
4. Option Trading or CFD Trading - more than 100% return within 1 day to 3 months

(Note: Option Trading and CFD Trading is a tool while Momentum Investing is a strategy. You can also using normal trading platform for Momentum Investing. The difference is normal trading using Momentum Investing strategy do not give you the leverage and can only long the position.)

Now, you know the time horizon required for each strategy, what is the type of money baskets then? The key to all investment strategy is to diversify into at least 8 to 10 counters at any one time because no matter how much research you do and no matter how good a company's stock can look, things can turn against you with a single piece of negative financial news. Another way to diversify is by putting your money into 4 different baskets namely Security Basket, Growth Basket, High Growth Basket and Luxury Basket.

1. Security Basket as the name imples is for your security with investment target return of 1.5% to 4.5% p.a. which should make up from cash, Fixed-Deposit, insurance & capital guaranteed products. This basket will serve as emergency fund to meet sudden lost of job or paycut.

2. Growth Basket is the basket where you build your net worth & positive cash flow assets that will lead you to financial freedom with investment target return of 8% to 20% using Passive Investing and Value Investing Strategy

3. High Growth Basket is the basket where you ACCELERATE the building of your net worth & positive cash flow assets that will lead you to financial freedom with investment target return of 15% to 25% return using Momentum Investing Strategy

4. Luxury Basket is the basket where you save up to indulge in your dream assets with 0% investment target return. The money to be used for luxuries should not come from your primary source of income but from the passive income generated from your positive cash flow assets e.g. returns from your Growth and High Growth Basket. You should reinvest 80% of the return from Growth and High Growth Basket and put the 20% of the return to Luxury Basket.

You should allocate your investment funds in term of percentage into Security Basket, Growth Basket and High Growth Basket according to your age band. You SHOULD NOT allocate any amount of your monthly savings into your luxury baskset IF you want your savings to have high growth, else you can still allocated into your luxury basket with your primary source of income. The luxury basket should preferrably be filled by the returns generated from your growth and high growth baskets. My experience show that defer gratification will make you more hungry and your mind more active in wealth generating.

Suggestive allocation depending on your age band as follows:

Below 30 years old - 20% Security Basket, 40% Growth Basket, 40% High Growth Basket.
30 to 40 years old - 30% Security Basket, 35% Growth Basket, 35% High Growth Basket.
40 to 45 years old - 40% Security Basket, 30% Growth Basket, 30% High Growth Basket.
45 to 55 years old - 60% Security Basket, 20% Growth Basket, 20% High Growth Basket.
Above 55 years old - 70% Security Basket, 15% Growth Basket, 15% High Growth Basket.

(Note: You should adjust the pecentage in Growth Basket and High Growth Basket according to your circumstances and not neccessary always the same percentage. You might not have High Growth Basket at all if you are not comfortable with momentum investing or you could have zero fund in Growth Basket because you think you are savvy enough and value investing takes too long to double your money.)

To Summarise:

Value Investing or Passive Investing is suitable for people with little time to monitor the market and who have a longer time horizon of at least 5 years putting in the Growth Basket for Long Term Retirement Need.

Momentum Investing using Option Trading or CFD Trading is suitable for people who are more financially savvy with more time to monitor the market and who have shorter time horizon of 1 day to 6 months putting in the High Growth Basket for Short Term Income Need. You can also use this strategy to boast your Long Term Retirement Need as well with consistence return made.

Disclaimer:

No one strategy will guarantee to work as it all depend on the investor's committment place into learning the strategy with hands on experience. You are expected to make some lost initially in order to overcome your two greatest enemy call "Greed" and "Fear".

Some of the ideas in this article is not originate from me but from Adam Khoo's best seller "Secrets of Millionaire Investors" and "Secret of Self-Made Millionares". You are encouraged to read them for more details on the ideas that I have discussed here.