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Research has shown that Singaporeans are generally under-insured, although many realise the importance of having sufficient coverage against death, disability and critical illnesses. Without adequate insurance, you and your family may suffer financially when a breadwinner of the family dies prematurely or contracts a critical illness. (more…)

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I would like to share with you some gems mentioned by the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffet, during a recent 2 hour press conference on 4 May 2008:

“There’s no reason we should become fearful if a stock goes down. If a stock goes down 50%, I’d look forward to it. In fact, I would offer you a significant sum of money if you could give me the opportunity for all of my stocks to go down 50% over the next month.” (more…)

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I recently visited a good friend’s father in hospital as he had just undergone a heart bypass operation.

The class A ward private hospital stay and the surgeon’s fee came close to $20k. My friend’s father, Mr Lim, was in good spirit – not only was he recovering well, he admitted that he was thankful he took my advice and signed on for an enhanced shield plan where benefits are ‘as charged’. Otherwise, he would be worried sick about the money and would think twice about staying in a private hospital.
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Inflation is here to stay, like it or not. The May Consumer Price Index  reports inflation at 7.5%.  Inflation will be tamed but it will never be what we’ve enjoyed for the last 26 years – an incredible low of 2.5% to 3%.

Singaporeans who are uncomfortable taking financial risks and who are happy parking money in bank deposits, playing ‘safe’, are now facing an even bigger risk – that of not protecting themselves against inflation.  In the long run, your savings will actually shrink and you could become poorer, not richer because of inflation.
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Once bitten twice shy. Some people I talk to still feel the pain of their losses during the internet bubble in year 2000. But who would not. I lost 80% of my money too!

On hind sight, I should have never put all the money in one basket. Thankfully, that lesson taught me to be more prudent and I was prepared to invest again after that.

So, why invest in unit trusts?

6 benefits that iFAST Financial highlighted in their brochure are: (more…)

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This may sound like a cliché but it is important. Planning involves some pain because it forces you to ‘think’ and thinking can be the most difficult thing to do.

Planning begins with having goals. Do you have goals?

Goal setting can be adventurous. It’s time to think big and dream big. On the other hand, think small too because it may take several little things or steps before you can tackle the big one. Ask yourself these kind of questions:

I want to travel round the world before age 50. How much will it cost?
Can I afford to invest in a private apartment after buying my first one?
I want to retire at age 55. Is that possible?
If I quit my job and start a private practice, will I be working day and night?

Write down your goals and be positive. Use words like ‘I can’, ‘I will’ rather than ‘I will not’, ‘I can not’.

Unless you set a deadline you won’t accomplish your goal. The other thing is to stay absolutely focused. When you stick to the course, you’ll see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. Feeling good about your goals will contribute to your success. And don’t forget to celebrate when you have achieved a certain milestone in your goals.

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Medical Insurance, or Health Insurance as it is commonly known, is the most basic and the one of most important form of protection in our daily life.  It prevents you and your family from suffering a financial loss as a result of an accident, illness or disability. It can provide an income while you are disabled or in hospital, or cover the cost of your medical treatment or nursing care.

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When it comes to planning your financial future, the last thing on a financial planner’s mind when you first meet should be the sale of a product - the client’s needs and providing relevant advice via a solid financial strategy are far more important considerations.

A professional financial planner should help you figure out where you stand financially and then find the most appropriate products for your needs. You should expect a financial planner to:

Design a cost-effective financial strategy to meet your short-term and long-term goal
Recommend solutions to meet that strategy and ensure that you have the correct amount of life insurance or health cover should you die or become incapacitated
Recommend suitable investments based on your risk profile and time horizon and ensure that they can potentially deliver returns to meet your retirement funding
Design an estate plan relevant to your needs to ensure that if you die, your dependants will be financially secure. (more…)

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Financial planning requires a long-term commitment from you and your Financial Planner to ensure that you succeed and achieve desired results. Hence, it is vital that your Financial Planner and you have a good understanding of your needs, your financial objectives and your goals. To help you get started on your financial planning process, here are some pointers on financial planning that may be useful for you:

Setting specific & measurable financial goals
The first step to any planning is setting goals that you want to achieve and deciding when you want to see the results materialize. For example, if you would like to own an investment property by age 45, you need to draw up specific plans (or steps) on how to arrive at that target. When you set your financial goals, you have to ensure they are measurable so that you will know when you have reached your goals.

Be realistic in your expectations
Goals require time to be fulfilled. Do not expect your financial situation to change overnight or within a short period of time. No one predicted that crude oil prices could hit $147 a barrel! Similarly, how the stock markets will behave in the short term is unpredictable. What we are concerned is that you have the holding power to see your investments multiply.

Start early

Early bird gets the worms. It is always wise to start your financial planning early in life. By cultivating a good habit of saving or investing small amounts of money early, you will find it easier to reach your financial goals. Even if another person saves and invests more but later than you, the results are quite unexpected to many – you will still emerge the winner in the race. The principle of compounding works best when given time.

Be aware of the effects of your decisions on your financial plan
As financial planning is all about achieving your life goals, it is necessary to shape it around your life cycles. Each financial decision you make can affect the other areas of your life. For example, your decision to buy your dream home of $2million may affect your retirement goals.

Monitor and review your financial situation at regular intervals
Your lifestyle will change at various points in your life. These changes could be due to marriage, the birth of a child, change of career, buying a new house or car. You need to re-evaluate your financial plan periodically so that you stay on track and achieve your long-term goals.

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