Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

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#51
(07-12-2010, 07:59 PM)Jacmar Wrote: She is using the same strategy as this kiyosaki guy of the rich dad poor dad fame. using leverage in a rising property mkt looks like no brainer. add on to it the lecture route and you can make lots of serious money provided you know when to get out of the mkt in time.

back in the early nineties many people did until they got hit in '96/97 crash. Know of a couple of people like her that gone broke and swear never to touch property again. this has stuck on to me ever since. moral of the story is leverage can work both ways n don't extrapolate the rise on a straight line.

Rightly said. It's easy to tout the benefits of leverage in a rising market, as we have witnessed for the property market in the last 2-3 years due to the influx of foreigners. This is similar to using margin in share investing to magnify your gains. I'd bet these seminar pushers do not go into details on the high risks involved with heavy leverage, as they themselves probably have not experienced a major correction or crash (and thus have not suffered themselves). So it is possible that the blind are indeed leading the blind!
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#52
She was bankrupt once and manage to make a comeback. However, if this time round should she go bankrupt again, I doubt she will be able to make a comeback.
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#53
(07-12-2010, 11:44 PM)Bibi Wrote: She was bankrupt once and manage to make a comeback. However, if this time round should she go bankrupt again, I doubt she will be able to make a comeback.

To be fair, she was ALMOST bankrupt. Tongue

But all I can say was - she does not seem too prudent with her spending, with half her commission being "denied" to her (this part sounds very fishy if you ask me) and with her over-committing to a condo and car. So it seems that history has a strange way of repeating itself......Big Grin
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#54
I am wondering.. she was almost bankrupt ..and at that point in time, she started selling course on how to become a business millionaire and property millionaire? Anyone can verify that..

If she did that.. can anyone sue her if she told everyone she owns a lot of properties or is a millionaire?

Just wondering..not saying she is.
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#55
(08-12-2010, 09:06 PM)wj888 Wrote: I am wondering.. she was almost bankrupt ..and at that point in time, she started selling course on how to become a business millionaire and property millionaire? Anyone can verify that..

If she did that.. can anyone sue her if she told everyone she owns a lot of properties or is a millionaire?

Just wondering..not saying she is.

I think if you check her chronological history, she did become rich through property investing before launching her seminars. I would think that is at least the proper thing to do rather than mislead the crowd.

Of course, this is just circumstantial evidence. I won't mind if someone gets to the bottom of this and finds out more....Tongue
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#56
Ah, finally Philip Loh is interviewed! I've read his many articles on Personal Finance and investing and found them to be very good! He is also one who does not dabble in property at all, yet can make so much money from just stocks and bonds. His property (a condo) is also fully paid-up. Kudos to him! Big Grin

Dec 12, 2010
me & my money
Insurance whizz, savvy investor

Patience and a contrarian mindset propel accountancy grad to success
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Instead of opting for the corporate route, accountancy graduate Philip Loh decided to pursue another calling - that of a financial adviser - after his graduation in 1998.

It helped that he was already a part-time insurance agent at Great Eastern when he was studying at Nanyang Technological University from 1995 to 1998.

He told The Sunday Times that he could have joined one of the Big Four auditing firms but he did not like an office job and he enjoyed meeting people. Back then, financial planning was still alien to many people, but he saw the huge potential for the advisory business to evolve.

Mr Loh, 36, was Great Eastern's top senior executive life planner in 2008 and last year for new business sales. He became a manager of financial services this year and runs a team of seven agents. For the past 10 consecutive years, he has qualified for the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), and made it to the Court of the Table (COT) - a higher tier of membership of the MDRT - for four years. This year, he achieved COT within the first nine months.

His investment portfolio comprises cash, life insurance plans, investment-linked insurance plans (ILPs) and stocks. He has more than $500,000 invested in futures and currencies. The latter include S&P futures, Nasdaq futures and Singapore Stock Exchange Index Futures.

Mr Loh believes that a huge dose of patience and a contrarian mindset are critical ingredients for success in investing. He is married to teacher Bridget Koh, 34, and they have three children - Jan, eight; Gerard, four; and Joy, one.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I am a personal saver but a family spender. I save about 40 per cent of my income, spend about 20 per cent and the rest is invested in my business to ensure that my clients are well taken care of.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I charge an average of $4,000 a month to my credit cards, including petrol charges. I withdraw about $1,000 a week from the ATM.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

My biggest investment is in my financial advisory practice. On a personal level, I invest in professional managed funds, stocks, futures and currencies. I am holding quite a fair bit of cash now, out of which more than half a million is being used as collateral to hold my derivatives and currency positions.

My insurance portfolio consists predominantly of ILPs and I have a small unit trust portfolio with Fundsupermart. About 30 per cent to 40 per cent of my investments are in a mix of Asia and global funds and the rest are in bond funds. It is a relatively defensive strategy as I am not convinced that we are seeing compelling values in the markets. I have less than $100,000 in stocks.

I also have two whole life and one hospitalisation plan. My life cover is $1.2 million. The annual premiums for my whole family are close to $50,000. The annual return for my investments has averaged about 12 per cent to 13 per cent over the past 10 years.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

I grew up in a humble family. My father is a cab driver and my mum was a factory worker. I have a younger sister. The four of us lived in a four-room HDB flat in Bedok.

My maternal grandparents were hawkers. I learnt a lot about running a business when I helped out at their food stall in Outram during weekends and school holidays. I helped out when I was between the ages of seven and 16. Life was comfortable nevertheless, especially with doting grandparents.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I remember reading some investment classics during my national service days. In 1996, while at NTU, I read a book about the investment philosophy of Warren Buffett. Other books included Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness of Crowds, Manias, Panics And Crashes - A History Of Financial Crises and Reminiscences Of A Stock Operator.

These books got me thinking about the whole concept of investment. In my childhood days, I used to dream of running my own business, like a factory or shop. I guess what I am doing now does fit my childhood dream of having my own set-up, apart from the fact that I am selling intangibles rather than physical goods.

Q: What property do you own?

I have little inclination for property investments and do not own any other property apart from the one I live in. In my view, properties here are too overpriced. In fact, property prices are eight to 10 times that of household income.

Fundamentally, I'm a stocks and bonds person, so I prefer financial instruments other than property, unless the value of property is very compelling.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I guess it is the one-carat diamond ring I bought for my wife for our 10th wedding anniversary in June. It cost $10,000. I believe I should really learn how to spend my money more generously to bless my loved ones and the people around me.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

With no outstanding mortgage, I believe my wife and I could live very comfortably on $12,000 per month. I aim to be financially independent by the age of 40.

Q: Home is now...

I live in a three-bedroom, 1,200 sq ft condo in Chua Chu Kang, which I bought in early 2007 for $500,000. It is now worth about $800,000.

Q: I drive...

A silver 2.4L Honda CRV. On weekends, I drive my family around in a baby blue Toyota Picnic that I bought for my wife last year.

lorna@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?


I invested a total of about $250,000 in a China counter listed here, buying the shares at various times from 2006 to last year. The stock price continued to plunge due to the firm's poor corporate governance. I sold the stock towards the end of last year at a loss of $60,000.

I could have used the money to pick up other cheap stocks. Fortunately, my other share transactions made money, so I still achieved more than 50 per cent returns during the recent economic crisis.

Q: And your best?

It sounds a bit like a cliche, but my best investment to date is definitely my three children, Jan, Gerard and Joy. This investment transcends monetary terms to include time, love and many personal sacrifices. The returns and reciprocation are also priceless, and they include peace, joy and hope.

My other good investment is my career. I'm a numbers person, so I enjoy being involved with financial instruments. Monetary-wise, it is also rewarding. If I had been an auditor or accountant, I could be earning $150,000 to $200,000 a year, but I'm currently earning much more than that.

I've had some good stock investments. In 2008, I was holding a fair bit of cash which allowed me to pick up many bargains in the stock markets during the credit crunch period. For example, I bought DMX at an average price of about 12 cents, Ellipsiz at 3.5 cents, Kingboard at 11 cents and Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund at around 29 cents. I sold them at about twice the purchase prices at the end of last year.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#57
Just my opinion, I usually don't trust or like agents who achieved so call million dollar round table. The only way to achieve that position must be selling products which fatten their wallets with commission. There is no way one can achieve that by just selling term and hospitalization plans.
He seems to imply he is savvy in investments but yet why did he invest predominantly in ILP policies?
One thing I do agree with him is to make big money, one must invest in penny shares during the worst of the recession. Invest in pennies that have withstand counts of recession and still come out unscathed after the recession. The only fear factor is the penny company decides to delist itself during those bad times.
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#58
this is e most valuable lesson i learnt from the post
"I have little inclination for property investments and do not own any other property apart from the one I live in. In my view, properties here are too overpriced. In fact, property prices are eight to 10 times that of household income."

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#59
(12-12-2010, 08:54 AM)Bibi Wrote: One thing I do agree with him is to make big money, one must invest in penny shares during the worst of the recession. Invest in pennies that have withstand counts of recession and still come out unscathed after the recession. The only fear factor is the penny company decides to delist itself during those bad times.

I agree with you on this, except that one must be very discerning when it comes to investing in "penny" companies, as quite a few of them may not be well-established and their financials may deteriorate very quickly in the event of a recession/downturn. So, one must be very selective and do sufficient homework to be able to pick the winners from the losers. It's not an easy task, to say the least.

Not to mention the fact that one also has to battle one's emotions during periods of pervasive pessimism. Smile
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#60
I'm inclined to believe he made his money in his financial advisory business , not thru' stocks/bonds investments.
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