Homepage
PR Newswire
[Note: I think ST is starting a new column to replace the Me & My Money series which MW has faithfully updated here in the VB forum every sunday. I'll do my best to keep this one updated in the same spirit that MW has. As you guys can tell, MW has stepped down as moderator in view of his increased workload and personal commitments. Cityfarmer has taken over that role and is doing a tremendous job.]
The young can be forgiven if they switch off the minute someone tells them to start investing.
They are constantly being bombarded by advice from investment gurus and advisers that investing is best started at a young age, be it 18, 21 or 25.
When I began working, I did not save much nor invest and indeed the problem is getting to first base - to have enough to start investing.
Even hearing about friends putting aside sums for stocks - at that time British stocks as I was in London then - couldn't bestir me.
Between saving sterling pounds and spending it on books, clothes and meals, the money flowed out more easily than staying put.
However, things came to a head when my parents laid down the law and insisted that I set aside $1,000 a month. Surprisingly I became used to saving more.
The enforced saving habit enabled me, relatively quickly, to amass enough of a kitty to pick up some shares.
One of my first investments was OCBC Bank - an easy pick based on it being a long-established name - during the Asian financial crisis.
Then, it was trading at what is now an adjusted $2.50. Despite the recent rout, the shares are now trading at $10. They have delivered a handsome return, something I could not have achieved if I had left the savings in the bank itself.
In my case, starting young or young enough was the right thing to do.
Having enough time on your side means that returns can be compounded. Fatal moves are rare as there is enough time for the investment portfolio to recover from mistakes.
In the next couple of pages, we feature four young people who have embarked on their investing journey.
While each has a different story to tell, what has struck me is that all say putting in the hard yards is one of the important factors for success. In other words, investing the effort in reading and researching and understanding the product is vital to growing that portfolio successfully.
We are starting a weekly "Young and Savvy" column which aims to share some insights from our younger writers on their investing experience.
Over the next few weeks, we will also discuss how the young can start saving as well as get some tips from veteran investors.
Despite the ongoing market turmoil, investing is something I believe will pay off in the long run.
Starting young is important but if you haven't, don't feel you have missed the boat. Even if you are past the first blush of youth and well into your career, you still have time to build wealth. It just comes down to taking that first step.
Wong Jian-Hui, 27
Broker (institutional futures sales)
Q: When did you first start investing?
I have been investing for almost 10 years. I started out by sharing interesting trends I observed from the markets with my parents. It wasn't till I was 21 that I made my first investment, in CapitaLand, with the trust and money from my dad, a retired engineer.
I bought it some time in 2007 when the market was bullish. I sold it two weeks later as I was eager to lock in my first profitable trade. The notional value of my investment was about $50,000.
My father eventually felt comfortable enough to spin off a part of his equity portfolio for me to manage independently, and I've never looked back.
Q: Tell us more about your investment strategy.
I think there are two main schools of thought here - fundamental and technical analysis. Personally, I like to look out for technical chart patterns.
My style is short-term trading and I try to capture market swings.
To support my view, I will run my trade idea past some trusted friends who have a good grasp of the fundamentals. If the stars align, I will commit to the trade.
Full article available at Straitstimes.com
Lionel Yeo, 28
Revenue analyst
Blogs about personal finance at www.cheerfulegg.com
Q: How much do you invest and what do you invest in?
Over the past two years, I have invested about 30 per cent of my take-home pay each month. My first investment was only a couple of hundred dollars.
I invest only in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - financial instruments which track an index, such as a stock index or bond index. I buy index-based ETFs, such as the SPDR Straits Times Index ETF, Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund and ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund ETF.
I focus on plain-vanilla "physical" ETFs that physically own the assets of the index they aim to track. And I don't invest in "synthetic", or swap-based, ETFs that are exposed to various types of risks.
My portfolio has grown 9.5 per cent per year for the past two years.
Q: Tell us more about your investment strategy.
My father, a retired trader in a bank, taught me how financial markets work and interact.
Investing is not about stock-picking or timing the market, it's a lot broader than that.
I believe in passive investing, putting my money in indices that collect many stocks or bonds together into one product. The idea is that the "average" is always better than trying to beat the market.
I set aside money each month to invest and don't plan on taking it out of my investment account, at least until retirement.
Since I don't have to monitor individual stock movements, I spend at most an hour managing my portfolio each month. It leaves me a lot more time for other more important things in my life.
Yew Han Hui, 23
Studying accountancy at the Singapore Management University
Member of OCBC Bank's Young Investors Pack (YIP) programme
Q: What prompted you to start investing at 20?
I invest to create more wealth for the present and the future. I believe in the quote: "Never work for money, but let money work for you".
In 2010, I was introduced to investing by a friend and that's when I realised that I could do more with money than let it sit in the bank. I also joined the OCBC Young Investors Pack that year.
All members are given an investment book to learn more about investment strategies. We also get a monthly e-newsletter written by OCBC's investment research analysts which gives an overview of markets targeted at young investors.
Q: Why do you invest only in stocks?
The yield and risk level are suitable for my risk appetite, and stocks are also more liquid than bonds or fixed deposits.
Dinesh Shamdas Dayani, 26 Public relations executive Writes for finance website http://dollarsandsense.sg/
Q: How would you describe your investment preference?
For the last four years, I've put over $30,000 in stocks. I have invested mostly in blue-chips and real estate investment trusts, followed by small caps. I also set aside a certain amount of cash regularly.
Holding cash is important in this volatile market and uncertain economic climate.
As a rule of thumb, I never leverage to fund an investment.
Instead of investing a small amount every month, I would accumulate about $5,000 in cash before doing so.
Q: Where do you seek investment advice?
I get advice from my father who has taught me a few key principles: never leverage, be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and do not invest in something I do not understand fully.
I'm no Warren Buffett, but I look at business and economic fundamentals to guide my investing decisions. Stock prices may fluctuate, but if I think a stock is fundamentally sound, it's fine to keep it for the long run.
I review my investments every year.
For full articles, go to Straitstimes.com
The young can be forgiven if they switch off the minute someone tells them to start investing.
They are constantly being bombarded by advice from investment gurus and advisers that investing is best started at a young age, be it 18, 21 or 25.
When I began working, I did not save much nor invest and indeed the problem is getting to first base - to have enough to start investing.
Even hearing about friends putting aside sums for stocks - at that time British stocks as I was in London then - couldn't bestir me.
Between saving sterling pounds and spending it on books, clothes and meals, the money flowed out more easily than staying put.
However, things came to a head when my parents laid down the law and insisted that I set aside $1,000 a month. Surprisingly I became used to saving more.
The enforced saving habit enabled me, relatively quickly, to amass enough of a kitty to pick up some shares.
One of my first investments was OCBC Bank - an easy pick based on it being a long-established name - during the Asian financial crisis.
Then, it was trading at what is now an adjusted $2.50. Despite the recent rout, the shares are now trading at $10. They have delivered a handsome return, something I could not have achieved if I had left the savings in the bank itself.
In my case, starting young or young enough was the right thing to do.
Having enough time on your side means that returns can be compounded. Fatal moves are rare as there is enough time for the investment portfolio to recover from mistakes.
In the next couple of pages, we feature four young people who have embarked on their investing journey.
While each has a different story to tell, what has struck me is that all say putting in the hard yards is one of the important factors for success. In other words, investing the effort in reading and researching and understanding the product is vital to growing that portfolio successfully.
We are starting a weekly "Young and Savvy" column which aims to share some insights from our younger writers on their investing experience.
Over the next few weeks, we will also discuss how the young can start saving as well as get some tips from veteran investors.
Despite the ongoing market turmoil, investing is something I believe will pay off in the long run.
Starting young is important but if you haven't, don't feel you have missed the boat. Even if you are past the first blush of youth and well into your career, you still have time to build wealth. It just comes down to taking that first step.
Wong Jian-Hui, 27
Broker (institutional futures sales)
Q: When did you first start investing?
I have been investing for almost 10 years. I started out by sharing interesting trends I observed from the markets with my parents. It wasn't till I was 21 that I made my first investment, in CapitaLand, with the trust and money from my dad, a retired engineer.
I bought it some time in 2007 when the market was bullish. I sold it two weeks later as I was eager to lock in my first profitable trade. The notional value of my investment was about $50,000.
My father eventually felt comfortable enough to spin off a part of his equity portfolio for me to manage independently, and I've never looked back.
Q: Tell us more about your investment strategy.
I think there are two main schools of thought here - fundamental and technical analysis. Personally, I like to look out for technical chart patterns.
My style is short-term trading and I try to capture market swings.
To support my view, I will run my trade idea past some trusted friends who have a good grasp of the fundamentals. If the stars align, I will commit to the trade.
Full article available at Straitstimes.com
Lionel Yeo, 28
Revenue analyst
Blogs about personal finance at www.cheerfulegg.com
Q: How much do you invest and what do you invest in?
Over the past two years, I have invested about 30 per cent of my take-home pay each month. My first investment was only a couple of hundred dollars.
I invest only in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - financial instruments which track an index, such as a stock index or bond index. I buy index-based ETFs, such as the SPDR Straits Times Index ETF, Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund and ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund ETF.
I focus on plain-vanilla "physical" ETFs that physically own the assets of the index they aim to track. And I don't invest in "synthetic", or swap-based, ETFs that are exposed to various types of risks.
My portfolio has grown 9.5 per cent per year for the past two years.
Q: Tell us more about your investment strategy.
My father, a retired trader in a bank, taught me how financial markets work and interact.
Investing is not about stock-picking or timing the market, it's a lot broader than that.
I believe in passive investing, putting my money in indices that collect many stocks or bonds together into one product. The idea is that the "average" is always better than trying to beat the market.
I set aside money each month to invest and don't plan on taking it out of my investment account, at least until retirement.
Since I don't have to monitor individual stock movements, I spend at most an hour managing my portfolio each month. It leaves me a lot more time for other more important things in my life.
Yew Han Hui, 23
Studying accountancy at the Singapore Management University
Member of OCBC Bank's Young Investors Pack (YIP) programme
Q: What prompted you to start investing at 20?
I invest to create more wealth for the present and the future. I believe in the quote: "Never work for money, but let money work for you".
In 2010, I was introduced to investing by a friend and that's when I realised that I could do more with money than let it sit in the bank. I also joined the OCBC Young Investors Pack that year.
All members are given an investment book to learn more about investment strategies. We also get a monthly e-newsletter written by OCBC's investment research analysts which gives an overview of markets targeted at young investors.
Q: Why do you invest only in stocks?
The yield and risk level are suitable for my risk appetite, and stocks are also more liquid than bonds or fixed deposits.
Dinesh Shamdas Dayani, 26 Public relations executive Writes for finance website http://dollarsandsense.sg/
Q: How would you describe your investment preference?
For the last four years, I've put over $30,000 in stocks. I have invested mostly in blue-chips and real estate investment trusts, followed by small caps. I also set aside a certain amount of cash regularly.
Holding cash is important in this volatile market and uncertain economic climate.
As a rule of thumb, I never leverage to fund an investment.
Instead of investing a small amount every month, I would accumulate about $5,000 in cash before doing so.
Q: Where do you seek investment advice?
I get advice from my father who has taught me a few key principles: never leverage, be prepared for the worst-case scenario, and do not invest in something I do not understand fully.
I'm no Warren Buffett, but I look at business and economic fundamentals to guide my investing decisions. Stock prices may fluctuate, but if I think a stock is fundamentally sound, it's fine to keep it for the long run.
I review my investments every year.
For full articles, go to Straitstimes.com
