Wonder how much he actually made from his properties, after finance costs were factored in. He actually held it through the last financial crisis where property fell 40%.....so in a way he's lucky that prices came bouncing back!
No mention was made on the water treatment company he bought at $1.40, and how much the stock split was....
The Straits Times
Sep 11, 2011
He keeps an eye on the long term
Downturns don't faze banking head who stays invested through economic cycles
By Magdalen Ng
He might have a head for business, but Mr David Leow, 42, admits that he is not always the most rational of investors.
He bought a unit at Sea View condominium in Amber Road, formerly Sea View Hotel, because it was there that he met his wife, Ms Hui Joo Hoo. While they were in university, they were sent on a business attachment to the Cold Storage outlet there.
Mr Leow says: 'Of course, it was not completely determined by my feelings. It had to be a unit that I liked, and at a price that I was willing to pay.' He has since sold the unit at a profit.
Mr Leow, who is the head of small businesses, Singapore, and head of cross-border trade in South-east Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, stumbled into the banking industry when he got a trainee job at the bank, which allowed him to work in the various business units.
'I thought it was fantastic. At that time, I knew what I didn't want to do, but I definitely did not know what I wanted,' said the business administration graduate from Nanyang Technological University.
His wife also works in a bank. They have no children.
Q: Are you a spender or a saver?
I am a saver. I put aside about 40 per cent of my income every month.
I make sure I know what my recurring expenses are, such as income tax, allowances to my parents, maid salary and levy and insurance premiums, which come up to nearly 35 per cent of my pay.
I deduct these from my salary so I don't get the illusion that my disposable income is equal to my salary. I also track my daily expenses with an application I downloaded to my iPhone so that on a monthly basis, I get a sense of my expenditure.
To take care of our mortgage and household expenses, my wife and I have set up joint accounts.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I do not charge a fixed amount, but I use my cards for most things that are more than $30. I withdraw about $200 a week from the ATM. I charge specific items, such as groceries and fuel, to specific cards, because of the discounts. But I try to support my bank at other times.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I make sure that a couple of things are looked after - asset enhancement and protection. I stay invested in bonds and equities throughout the economic cycles.
I make sure I have adequate insurance cover and have contributed to the Supplementary Retirement Scheme account every year since it was implemented.
I bought insurance in the first year I started working. My life insurance coverage is about $800,000 but I tell my agent, that if I have enough for a decent funeral and cremation, that's enough because it won't be a strain on my family.
Critical illnesses and disabilities will be the real cash drain, so I have topped up my term insurance coverage to half a million dollars.
Q: Moneywise what were your growing-up years like?
My father was a businessman and my family was not rich, but we were never poor. I grew up in a three-room flat in MacPherson where my three sisters and I shared one bedroom. We moved to a four-room flat in Tampines when I was 15.
My earliest memory was getting involved in simple chores at my father's garment factory in Kallang. He subsequently moved to importing garments from Thailand, and I helped deliver them to retailers, or conduct stock takes.
Q: How did you become interested in investing?
When I first started investing at 17, I wasn't even eligible for a trading account, so I did it through my dad. The first stock I bought was Chuan Hup, which I still have today.
I look at three things - value, quality and long-term relevance.
For example, when I bought a few lots of a company in water treatment several years ago, it was trading at about $1.30 per share, which I assessed to represent good value, with the company having good management and being in water treatment. I knew it would become more relevant in the future. It is now trading at $1.70 due to unfavourable market conditions, but this is after a stock split, which means I have more stocks as a result.
Q: What property do you own?
I have one property, the one I live in. At the height of the last financial crisis, I had three residential properties - an executive condominium in Hougang and two condominiums in Katong.
Fortunately, we had the financial capability to hold on to them and sold them with a decent profit only when the market recovered.
Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?
It was a Franck Muller watch for my wife for our 13th anniversary present this year.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I'm not sure if I'd ever retire, but I'd probably move on to something that allows me to have more time to myself and with my wife.
Q: Home is now...
A 3,261 sq feet penthouse in East Coast Road which was built in the 1980s. I bought it at less than $1,000 psf, and it has increased to about $1,100 psf.
I bought it because of the spacious bedrooms which allow my parents to live with me. New developments usually have bay windows and the blocks are usually built quite close to each other, so I'm very happy to have moved here.
Q: I drive...
A four-year-old Lexus IS250. It's always tempting to change the car but with the COE at this level, I don't think it represents good value to change now.
I'd probably do so after 2013 because that's when many cars would be due for scrapping as 2003 was a year of bumper COEs.
songyuan@sph.com.sg
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WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I bought the shares of a technology company during its initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange. It showed a lot of promise initially, as the company was involved in a lot of government projects and had some good technology.
Unfortunately, the quality of the company's management was really poor, and the business has not been faring well. The stock price is now less than 10 per cent of its IPO price.
Q: And your best?
From a personal perspective, it's my wife, because of the support she has been giving me.
From a financial perspective, it would have to be my investment in properties, from which we have made over $1 million over the years.
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far from frugal.
Speaks volume to me.
