Homepage
PR Newswire
02-08-2011, 01:03 AM
I agree with Roy - people spend far too little time on their investments and far too much time on their job! And their investments usually constitute quite a large portion of their wealth, so it's rather shocking and surprising.
I am impressed by Roy being 29 and already managing $200,000 (through a company); but it seems he also has expensive desires like getting a car, and planning a "freehold condominium" (usually in excess of $1 million in Singapore) and a Golf Club Membership.
Business Times - 01 Aug 2011
STARTING YOUNG
Gutsy Roy charts his own path
Roy Chua switched courses in university to follow his heart, reports DICKSON LI
GRIT, sheer determination and a healthy risk appetite - that's what it took for Roy Chua to get to where he is today.
Now an executive in a shipping company, the 29-year-old recalls how he secretly took the $15,000 his mother gave him for his university fees and deposited it in his brokerage account. His father was incapacitated by a stroke and thus unable to support him through school.
With that sum for his school fees as well as the five-figure commission earned from working as a property agent during his school holidays, Roy started to build up his portfolio.
Today, he manages a six-figure portfolio in the region of $200,000. Roy's investments are all made with an investment holding company, so that profits and losses can be taken account of. He eventually hopes to go into investing full-time and this, he believes, will help him build the credibility that he will need.
Q:What got you interested in investing?
A: I was doing my National Service when I caught the Rich Dad Poor Dad fever, a book written by Robert Kiyosaki. I also met a group of like-minded friends from an online forum. I was so hooked on the idea of finance and business that I later quit my bachelor in computer engineering course after a year, to study business (with a major in finance) at Singapore Management University (SMU).
Q:What do you currently invest in?
A: I currently have about 80 per cent invested in equities listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), around 5 per cent in a US counter, and the rest in cash. Derivatives, currencies and other forms of investments, including property, do not appeal to me. I like businesses and I specifically look out for companies that can generate a stable and resilient stream of income, and manage their finances prudently. I avoid investing in stocks whose companies compete mainly on pricing - such as airlines.
There are a lot of companies in the US which I would like to invest in, but the current state of the US economy is holding me back.
Q:What has your best investment been so far?
A: Raffles Medical Group. You can't see much from its last two years' financial statements, but looking at its statements over the past 5-7 years, you can see that it is a sound business with good management. I bought in most heavily in 2008 when prices were at rock bottom - about 60 cents a share. To date, I have not sold a single share.
Another of my favourite investments was Robinsons. A colleague recommended it to me in 2007 as a dividend play. I looked over its financials for the last five years and took a position in it with the intention of holding on to it for the long term. Unexpectedly, Robinsons was taken over about five months later, giving me a 66 per cent return.
Q:What has your worst investment been so far?
A: I'm not sure if you can call this an investment. During my army days, a group of us were conned into investing in private equity. But it turned out to be nothing but a scam - the person we put our money with disappeared and, personally, I lost $5,000. It was a good but expensive lesson.
Q:What tips can you share from your experience in investing?
A: Start as early as possible, do a lot of reading, research and thinking to learn how to grow your wealth without taking unnecessary risks. Talking to different people can also help broaden your mind. However, regardless of what others say, it is important that you make the final decision based on your own rational analysis.
I believe that everyone should pay more attention to their financial planning and be more involved with their financial investments rather than leave it to a financial consultant, or blindly listen to their brokers' recommendations.
One thing I fail to understand is how people spend at least eight hours a day, five days a week for a paycheck of a few thousand dollars, yet spend next to no time at all on their investments - which are usually worth many times more than their monthly paycheck.
Finally, staying rational is especially important in times of huge price volatility where the market gets irrational. Isaac Newton said: 'I can calculate the movement of the stars but not the madness of men.' If you can't maintain your rationality, you are better off staying away from the markets - that, or you need a ton of good luck.
Q:How did you handle money when growing up?
A: With thrift. Since I was young, my mum has cultivated in me a habit of saving by giving us slightly more than what we need, and encouraging us to save up by buying each of us a colourful coin bank.
As we grew older, she got us to open our own bank accounts, and every January, she would take us to update our bank books personally to let us see the interest earned on our savings. Back then, I didn't understand the concept of interest, but it made me terribly delighted to see 'free money' credited into my account.
Q:What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?
A: Apart from a car which I bought using cash a year ago, almost all my savings are invested in my investment holding company now. The next step is to get my own place, preferably a freehold condominium, and after that, a golf club membership.
Q:What are your long-term investment goals?
A: To grow my investments to a scale such that, firstly, my family would not have to worry about finances at all, and then to have enough resources to invest in renewable energy and sustainable food supply, for the betterment of mankind.
If you're between 17 and 30 with investing experience to share, do get in touch.
E-mail btyif@sph.com.sg with 'Starting Young' as the subject heading and include your name, contact details and a short write-up on your investing story.
I am impressed by Roy being 29 and already managing $200,000 (through a company); but it seems he also has expensive desires like getting a car, and planning a "freehold condominium" (usually in excess of $1 million in Singapore) and a Golf Club Membership.
Business Times - 01 Aug 2011
STARTING YOUNG
Gutsy Roy charts his own path
Roy Chua switched courses in university to follow his heart, reports DICKSON LI
GRIT, sheer determination and a healthy risk appetite - that's what it took for Roy Chua to get to where he is today.
Now an executive in a shipping company, the 29-year-old recalls how he secretly took the $15,000 his mother gave him for his university fees and deposited it in his brokerage account. His father was incapacitated by a stroke and thus unable to support him through school.
With that sum for his school fees as well as the five-figure commission earned from working as a property agent during his school holidays, Roy started to build up his portfolio.
Today, he manages a six-figure portfolio in the region of $200,000. Roy's investments are all made with an investment holding company, so that profits and losses can be taken account of. He eventually hopes to go into investing full-time and this, he believes, will help him build the credibility that he will need.
Q:What got you interested in investing?
A: I was doing my National Service when I caught the Rich Dad Poor Dad fever, a book written by Robert Kiyosaki. I also met a group of like-minded friends from an online forum. I was so hooked on the idea of finance and business that I later quit my bachelor in computer engineering course after a year, to study business (with a major in finance) at Singapore Management University (SMU).
Q:What do you currently invest in?
A: I currently have about 80 per cent invested in equities listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), around 5 per cent in a US counter, and the rest in cash. Derivatives, currencies and other forms of investments, including property, do not appeal to me. I like businesses and I specifically look out for companies that can generate a stable and resilient stream of income, and manage their finances prudently. I avoid investing in stocks whose companies compete mainly on pricing - such as airlines.
There are a lot of companies in the US which I would like to invest in, but the current state of the US economy is holding me back.
Q:What has your best investment been so far?
A: Raffles Medical Group. You can't see much from its last two years' financial statements, but looking at its statements over the past 5-7 years, you can see that it is a sound business with good management. I bought in most heavily in 2008 when prices were at rock bottom - about 60 cents a share. To date, I have not sold a single share.
Another of my favourite investments was Robinsons. A colleague recommended it to me in 2007 as a dividend play. I looked over its financials for the last five years and took a position in it with the intention of holding on to it for the long term. Unexpectedly, Robinsons was taken over about five months later, giving me a 66 per cent return.
Q:What has your worst investment been so far?
A: I'm not sure if you can call this an investment. During my army days, a group of us were conned into investing in private equity. But it turned out to be nothing but a scam - the person we put our money with disappeared and, personally, I lost $5,000. It was a good but expensive lesson.
Q:What tips can you share from your experience in investing?
A: Start as early as possible, do a lot of reading, research and thinking to learn how to grow your wealth without taking unnecessary risks. Talking to different people can also help broaden your mind. However, regardless of what others say, it is important that you make the final decision based on your own rational analysis.
I believe that everyone should pay more attention to their financial planning and be more involved with their financial investments rather than leave it to a financial consultant, or blindly listen to their brokers' recommendations.
One thing I fail to understand is how people spend at least eight hours a day, five days a week for a paycheck of a few thousand dollars, yet spend next to no time at all on their investments - which are usually worth many times more than their monthly paycheck.
Finally, staying rational is especially important in times of huge price volatility where the market gets irrational. Isaac Newton said: 'I can calculate the movement of the stars but not the madness of men.' If you can't maintain your rationality, you are better off staying away from the markets - that, or you need a ton of good luck.
Q:How did you handle money when growing up?
A: With thrift. Since I was young, my mum has cultivated in me a habit of saving by giving us slightly more than what we need, and encouraging us to save up by buying each of us a colourful coin bank.
As we grew older, she got us to open our own bank accounts, and every January, she would take us to update our bank books personally to let us see the interest earned on our savings. Back then, I didn't understand the concept of interest, but it made me terribly delighted to see 'free money' credited into my account.
Q:What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?
A: Apart from a car which I bought using cash a year ago, almost all my savings are invested in my investment holding company now. The next step is to get my own place, preferably a freehold condominium, and after that, a golf club membership.
Q:What are your long-term investment goals?
A: To grow my investments to a scale such that, firstly, my family would not have to worry about finances at all, and then to have enough resources to invest in renewable energy and sustainable food supply, for the betterment of mankind.
If you're between 17 and 30 with investing experience to share, do get in touch.
E-mail btyif@sph.com.sg with 'Starting Young' as the subject heading and include your name, contact details and a short write-up on your investing story.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/