Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[Musicwhiz]

Glad to hear of her success story, and how she is helping others. Thumbs up to her!

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Sep 16, 2012
me & my money
77th Street founder is living her dream
Elim Chew is in a happy position of earning enough so that she can contribute to social projects

By Joyce Teo

Ms Elim Chew, the well-known founder of streetwear fashion chain 77th Street, is one busy woman who happily professes she is "living her dream".

She is involved in various social projects while she runs her business and, on top of that, she is on a mission to wean her friends off luxury goods and get them to support local brands.

You get the idea that she would not mind having more money but it would be quickly channelled into yet another social project.

Ms Chew, 46 and single, says: "I don't look at things to see how it would benefit me, but how it would benefit other people, the community or industry. Everyone has an ambition to be rich but it's what you do with the money that makes you different.

"I am lucky to have a business that is making money, to allow me to play. I am involved in several projects. One of them is The Marketplace Exchange, where people can go to sell their recycled and handmade goods."

Through this exchange, she can transfer the knowledge of making money to less advantaged people, including stroke patients, the disabled and the poor.

Ms Chew, who recently chaired the Hawker Centre Public Consultation Panel, is a South West Community Development Council district councillor and on the Singapore International Foundation's board of governors. She is also a director of Scape, a non-profit organisation for youth development.

She has been working for the past four years to make Singapore an Asian fashion and design hub.

Ms Chew, who has only an O-level certificate, got the idea for 77th Street while studying hairstyling in London. She returned to Singapore to start the shop with her older sister while working as a hairdresser.

The first 15 years were hard. They stayed in crummy motels and ate bread on buying trips overseas.

She set up a salon in 1987 - and used the cashflow to fund 77th Street - and sold it in 1994 to focus on 77th Street, which today has seven outlets in Singapore and one shopping mall in China. It is also a wholesale distributor in Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

A member of City Harvest Church for 21 years, Ms Chew was Pastor Kong Hee's hairstylist until she sold her salon. The church leaders may be in trouble but she has pledged her support as she considers the church her family.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I am more of a saver. I have been squirrelling away money since I was young. I used to give money to my nanny and ask her to keep it for me.

But if you are a saver, you are losing money because of inflation... So the idea is to deploy your money so as to make it work for you.

Actually, I barely have time to spend on myself. I give away up to 50 per cent of my monthly income, including a fixed 10 per cent tithe to my church. The rest goes to various church projects, my social projects and my mother's churches in parts of Asia.

I shop only when necessary. I would rather not buy luxury goods because I can use the money to do something else, like supporting underprivileged kids for a whole year and helping my mum support kids in Myanmar. She has a children's home there.

I am careful with my money. It helps that I have simple tastes. I love hawker centre food so I don't go for fancy food. And I enjoy a simple lifestyle.

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

Less than $1,000 a month.

Q: What financial planning have you done?

I have bought insurance products, including a few endowment plans. I don't invest for the sake of investing and I don't invest in shares because I have no time to monitor the market.

I do have one investment property - a warehouse for my business. I paid about $800,000 for it and I lease it to 77th Street. The price has gone up by about $15,000 in the two months since I bought it.

I never used to like property, but now I can see how it can be a good investment.

In hindsight, I should have kept the shop at Far East Plaza as it is now worth about $2.6 million. It would have been better to buy property than to do business where I sell items piece by piece.

I bought the shop for about $500,000 in 2003 and sold it the next year for about the same price when we ventured into China - 77th Street Plaza is in Beijing.

Property investments may seem like a good idea but they come with risks. For a long time, I was afraid to buy property because I saw how the value of my first property purchase can just drop by half. But when I invest in my business, I can still control it.

At 77th Street, we have the habit of using what we have, instead of borrowing money.

When you do business, you always need to grow. You cannot stay stagnant.

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

I was quite thrifty when I was younger because like most Singaporeans during the 1960s and 1970s, I didn't have much money to spend.

I have two older siblings. My late dad was a manager at a family business dispensary and my mum had her own hair salon. I watched my parents try to make ends meet as they brought up three children, and decided then and there that I must do better in life.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I bought my first endowment plan when I was in my 20s. My hairdressing customer convinced me that it was a good investment. I put in $200 a month, which is deducted from my bank account. I like the savings plan because I can just forget about it.

Q: What property do you own?

A warehouse that I lease to my business.

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

My vintage Star Wars Collection toys. I have spent tens of thousands on it. I just wanted the best items and I completed my collection quite some time ago.

-----------------------------
Q: Home is now...

A rented landed property in the east, where I live with my mum.

Q: I drive...

A black Toyota Picnic

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

---------------

WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your best investment to date?

Other than my business, I guess my townhouse has turned out to be a good buy.

I just sold my townhouse in the east because I had a good offer.

I made about $200,000 from the sale.

It may not seem like a lot but it’s a good price, considering that my neighbour sold his townhouse for half his purchase price during the 2008 crisis and that I’ve lived there for many years.

It was good timing as we were preparing to move out to a landed property so that my mum has more space to do her gardening.

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

A quarter of my vintage Star Wars toys collection was eaten by termites. That cost me at least $15,000 and it is all gone. Otherwise, the value would have appreciated by now.

[Temperament]

This is indeed our world. Where you can do what you think is appropriate or believe, if you have the ability to keep on earning more than enough to fund your "pet project".
What is your "pet project"?
i have. But i don't have the ability to keep on earning more than enough to fund my "pet project".

[pianist]

seldom hear an individual business owner leasing her investment property to her company.
is there tax savings in such an arrangement?

[Stocker]

She owns that warehouse and rent it out to her company, her company pay her the rental.
Not much difference in taxes nowaday ( corporate tax and personal income tax rate no big difference ) as she still has to declare the rental income ias her personal income, although the rental is part of the expenses of the company.

[Musicwhiz]

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Sep 23, 2012
me & my money
Money's boring, says celebrity chef
Chef In Black's Emmanuel Stroobant provides the passion for his business while his wife manages the finances

By Joyce Teo

Chef and restaurant owner Emmanuel Stroobant has a string of restaurants under his belt, so he must know a thing or two about finance, but he tells you money is not a subject he relishes.

"I don't like money. I find money boring," he says.

Mr Stroobant, known for his television series Chef In Black, has a new programme called 36 Ways To Live on the Asian Food Channel. He wrapped up the filming in June in just two weeks.

The 44-year-old vegetarian is also a restaurant consultant and a certified yoga instructor.

"I do things because I like to do them, not because of the money. I don't think I will be any less happy if I don't have much money. I am happy to enjoy a business-class trip, but if I don't, it's no problem. But my wife is a different story."

Ms Edina Hong, 40, who answers quite a few questions on behalf of her hubby, says he has no sense of the value of money, so she manages his finances. They work well as a team - she looks after the money while he provides the passion for the business, she says.

"When I first met him, he had only RM300 in his bank account," she recalls.

Malaysian-born Ms Hong is the co-owner of upmarket French restaurant Saint Pierre in Central Mall and director of the Emmanuel Stroobant Group, which also runs casual eateries such as Picotin and Brussels Sprouts.

Mr Stroobant, a Belgian, met his wife in Malaysia. They moved to Singapore in 1999, the year they got married. Both are permanent residents. They have two adopted children - Keira, three, and Mia, two months old.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

Neither. My wife does enough of both.

I don't like shopping and I am not into brands. When I find something that I like, I will buy two or three pieces of it. I spent on drinking and partying when I was younger but now I generally don't really spend much unless it's on my daughters. I wish I can say the same about my wife.

Money is, of course, important, but there are other things that are equally important like health, a balanced lifestyle and spending time with my children.

(Mr Stroobant gave up smoking and cut down on drinking three years ago when their first child arrived. "When you have kids, you don't want to die too young," he says.)

The things I do spend on are my kitchen tools and yoga. I would fly to Sydney or elsewhere for some yoga convention or workshops. These can cost $500 for three days. I have a $6,000 Pacojet ice-cream maker at home and I just bought a very precise Clifton thermometer for $400.

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

It varies from $1,000 to $50,000, depending on if I am travelling or not. Edina is quite fussy about where she stays and we travel about two or three times a year.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

The investment that we do is really in our businesses. We don't borrow to open restaurants. When our restaurants make money, then we will open more.

I am now working on the designs for two new restaurants - another Brussels Sprouts outlet and a Picotin outlet - coming up in Sentosa.

But we did buy a high-floor, well-located condominium in River Valley just as the market was picking up at the end of 2006. We also bought a house in late 2010 which we are still in the midst of redesigning. My wife has it planned. We will move into the house when it's ready and rent out the condo. The rental will cover the mortgage.

--------------
Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I have no real interest in investing. My wife is the one who makes the investment decisions.

Q: What properties do you own?

We have a 2,000 sq ft condo unit in River Valley, which is a stone's throw from Great World City, and a house in Sixth Avenue. The condo was purchased in 2006 for $1.5 million. The house, with a land size of 4,000 sq ft, was purchased for $3.5 million.

When it's ready, it will have a built-up space of 6,000 sq ft, with a basement and a small lap pool.

Both have since increased in value.

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

I spent $75,000 on a painting by a Canadian female artist four years ago. I got it from Opera Gallery and I love to look at it every day.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

None. I don't think I will ever stop working. I keep thinking that retirement means fishing or golfing, neither of which I enjoy much. I think I would love to slow down and do stuff like teaching yoga or cooking with children.

Q: Home is now...

A condo unit in River Valley. I have been in Singapore for 13 years and have no plans to move anywhere any time soon.

Q: I drive...

A black Audi Q5, which I still think has two wheels too many.

I sold my Harley Davidson bike last year as I was not riding it much after the arrival of my first daughter.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

------------

BEST AND WORST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

It was my first investment, an IT fund. I followed my boss' advice back in 1999 to invest in it.

I was going to put quite a lot in it but my wife refused so, in the end, I invested about $10,000.

The fund went down by half after I invested in it and eventually collapsed completely.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

My business. With our first Brussels Sprouts outlet, we broke even in six weeks.

If we were to sell it, it would be worth a nice sum.

[kazukirai]

Carrying on MW's weekly tradition...
For the full story, please go here. (paid access only)

Entrepreneur homes in on property
Raymond Khoo avoids shares and bonds, and views mortgages as a form of forced savings

Entrepreneur Raymond Khoo has a refreshingly simple approach to investing - property and nothing else.

The 48-year-old avoids shares and bonds because he is not sure about them, while he sees the monthly mortgage repayments as a form of forced savings.

"When I buy a property, I know there is this amount of mortgage that I have to pay each month. If not, I'd just spend it," he said.

The best advice he has for budding property investors is to make firm friends with agents.

He also gives agents an additional commission.

"Then, at least there is something in it for them when they recommend the best deals to me," he said.

...

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I'm quite a spender rather than a saver. Supporting the economy, as they say.

Other than my mortgages and fixed payments, I don't actually have any savings. Everything goes back to the business.

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

On average, I charge about $8,000 a month to the cards. I'm not a person who likes to carry around many cards, so I charge everything to one card.

When I go to Tiong Bahru market to buy groceries, even the fishmonger accepts Visa.

I like to use my Insignia card by DBS, because it is almost like having a personal assistant. You can call them for everything - when your car breaks down, you can call them and they send a replacement car to you. You can also call them for hotel or yacht reservations.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I do buy insurance for pure protection purposes, and I am covered for about $1.5 million, so I know that if anything happens to me, the family is taken care of.

For my son, I also bought the necessary medical insurance, and also a savings plan for his education, which will work out to 30 per cent over what the current college fees are. Hopefully, he will be able to study wherever he likes when he is 18.

I've always done well in property, and always thought it was a safe bet. I still do. Investing in property has been the best financial planning tool for me. I do follow the market, but I've never gone into stocks and shares because they are not something that I am familiar with. I take bigger bets where business is concerned.

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

Growing up was a breeze, and my dad, who was an entrepreneur who owned bowling alleys in Malaysia, was an excellent provider.

My mother was a housewife, and we lived in a Housing Board terraced house in Jalan Bahagia. I have two older brothers and one older sister.

When we were in primary school, either my dad would come to pick us up, or sometimes the driver would pick us up, so we were privileged. But in secondary school, he told us to take the bus.

My dad also imposed limitations to teach us the value of money.

If we wanted to watch a movie once a month, that's fine, but anything else, we would have to work for it. We would collect and sell newspapers to make some pocket money.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

My first property was a semi-detached house in Malacca, which I bought when I was in my 20s.

It had a built-up area of about 1,900 sq ft and a garden that was more than 2,000 sq ft. It cost me only about RM200,000, and we sold it for more than RM1 million.

I can say that I have a good eye for property and for spotting the right time to buy.

Q: What properties do you own?

I have a couple of shophouses in Kuala Lumpur and a condominium in Bukit Timah.

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

It was a classic Mercedes SLK convertible, and I bought it around six years ago for more than $100,000. I wasn't looking for a car but I went into the showroom and I really liked it, so I bought it.

It was almost like supermarket shopping.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I don't have any plans to retire, because once you have the mindset that you are going to retire in a few years, you are no longer as driven or gung-ho.

When I do retire, however, I probably will be able to sustain my lifestyle through my property investments. I can either sell some off or rent them out.

I will probably devote more time to my volunteer work with the prison ministry, which reaches out to prisoners, former convicts and their families. It's something that I feel quite strongly about, maybe because my late grandfather was a prison chaplain.

Q: Home is now...

A 3,000 sq ft condominium in Bukit Timah, which cost about $3 million and another $500,000 to renovate. We moved there about two months ago.

Q: I drive...

An Audi A4 convertible.

songyuan@sph.com.sg

BACKGROUND STORY

BEST AND WORST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

It is this men's lifestyle publication from the United States that I bought about two years ago. I didn't do enough due diligence for it. They did not tell me that the Media Development Authority (MDA) had said they were not allowed to publish in Singapore. So eight months down the road, I was putting together the team and was told by MDA that it did not allow this publication here. I lost nearly $1 million.

Q: And your best?

I bought a penthouse unit at a condominium near KLCC for slightly below RM$2 million (S$800,000), and that one turned around very quickly. We expected to buy and rent, but before we managed to rent it out, someone made us a ridiculous offer. We sold it for more than double the price.

[Musicwhiz]

Thanks Kazukirai,

The impression he gives me is of arrogance, somehow. I drew this from the following:-

1) Buys sports cars consistently, and likens it to "supermarket shopping", meaning he bought it as an afterthought - implying he has wads of cash to burn

2) Treats mortgages not as liabilities but as a form of "forced savings". I can't for the life of me imagine how this could be considered "savings". It's leverage pure and simple.

3) He believes he has a "good eye for property", rather unabashedly.

4) He lets on that he holds on to DBS Insignia card, a premium credit card. Previous interviewees had never revealed exactly which cards they carried.

The +ve I got - helping prisoners and doing charity work. Kudos to him for that....

[Temperament]

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Sep 23, 2012
me & my money
Money's boring, says celebrity chef
Chef In Black's Emmanuel Stroobant provides the passion for his business while his wife manages the finances

By Joyce Teo

Chef and restaurant owner Emmanuel Stroobant has a string of restaurants under his belt, so he must know a thing or two about finance, but he tells you money is not a subject he relishes.

"I don't like money. I find money boring," he says.

Mr Stroobant, known for his television series Chef In Black, has a new programme called 36 Ways To Live on the Asian Food Channel. He wrapped up the filming in June in just two weeks.

The 44-year-old vegetarian is also a restaurant consultant and a certified yoga instructor.

"I do things because I like to do them, not because of the money. I don't think I will be any less happy if I don't have much money. I am happy to enjoy a business-class trip, but if I don't, it's no problem. But my wife is a different story."

Ms Edina Hong, 40, who answers quite a few questions on behalf of her hubby, says he has no sense of the value of money, so she manages his finances. They work well as a team - she looks after the money while he provides the passion for the business, she says.

"When I first met him, he had only RM300 in his bank account," she recalls.

Malaysian-born Ms Hong is the co-owner of upmarket French restaurant Saint Pierre in Central Mall and director of the Emmanuel Stroobant Group, which also runs casual eateries such as Picotin and Brussels Sprouts.

Mr Stroobant, a Belgian, met his wife in Malaysia. They moved to Singapore in 1999, the year they got married. Both are permanent residents. They have two adopted children - Keira, three, and Mia, two months old.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

Neither. My wife does enough of both.

I don't like shopping and I am not into brands. When I find something that I like, I will buy two or three pieces of it. I spent on drinking and partying when I was younger but now I generally don't really spend much unless it's on my daughters. I wish I can say the same about my wife.

Money is, of course, important, but there are other things that are equally important like health, a balanced lifestyle and spending time with my children.

(Mr Stroobant gave up smoking and cut down on drinking three years ago when their first child arrived. "When you have kids, you don't want to die too young," he says.)

The things I do spend on are my kitchen tools and yoga. I would fly to Sydney or elsewhere for some yoga convention or workshops. These can cost $500 for three days. I have a $6,000 Pacojet ice-cream maker at home and I just bought a very precise Clifton thermometer for $400.

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

It varies from $1,000 to $50,000, depending on if I am travelling or not. Edina is quite fussy about where she stays and we travel about two or three times a year.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

The investment that we do is really in our businesses. We don't borrow to open restaurants. When our restaurants make money, then we will open more.

I am now working on the designs for two new restaurants - another Brussels Sprouts outlet and a Picotin outlet - coming up in Sentosa.

But we did buy a high-floor, well-located condominium in River Valley just as the market was picking up at the end of 2006. We also bought a house in late 2010 which we are still in the midst of redesigning. My wife has it planned. We will move into the house when it's ready and rent out the condo. The rental will cover the mortgage.

--------------
Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I have no real interest in investing. My wife is the one who makes the investment decisions.

Q: What properties do you own?

We have a 2,000 sq ft condo unit in River Valley, which is a stone's throw from Great World City, and a house in Sixth Avenue. The condo was purchased in 2006 for $1.5 million. The house, with a land size of 4,000 sq ft, was purchased for $3.5 million.

When it's ready, it will have a built-up space of 6,000 sq ft, with a basement and a small lap pool.

Both have since increased in value.

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

I spent $75,000 on a painting by a Canadian female artist four years ago. I got it from Opera Gallery and I love to look at it every day.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

None. I don't think I will ever stop working. I keep thinking that retirement means fishing or golfing, neither of which I enjoy much. I think I would love to slow down and do stuff like teaching yoga or cooking with children.

Q: Home is now...

A condo unit in River Valley. I have been in Singapore for 13 years and have no plans to move anywhere any time soon.

Q: I drive...

A black Audi Q5, which I still think has two wheels too many.

I sold my Harley Davidson bike last year as I was not riding it much after the arrival of my first daughter.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

------------

BEST AND WORST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

It was my first investment, an IT fund. I followed my boss' advice back in 1999 to invest in it.

I was going to put quite a lot in it but my wife refused so, in the end, I invested about $10,000.

The fund went down by half after I invested in it and eventually collapsed completely.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

My business. With our first Brussels Sprouts outlet, we broke even in six weeks.

If we were to sell it, it would be worth a nice sum.

What a "lucky" wife he has caught. And it really complemented his life. A really "beautiful marriage".

[Musicwhiz]

Conclusions from reading so many interviews? The interviewees love

1) Property
2) BMWs



The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Oct 07, 2012
Precious lesson from sale of parents' flat
Profit made and later sales experience sparked Andy Tan's interest in investment

By Magdalen Ng

Mr Andy Tan, a senior executive at a fund management company, says a background in electrical engineering proved to be ideal in preparation for the industry.

"It covers everything from management, to accounting, legal and social studies. We had to cover the whole spectrum," said Mr Tan, 43, who has been in the industry for nearly 20 years.

He studied electronics engineering at the National University of Singapore.

Mr Tan has invested and managed different portfolios across Asia, Australia and Europe in real estate investment, asset management, business development and fund management.

He is the chairman of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (Aprea) Singapore, an association for institutional investors, fund managers and professionals in Asian real estate.

The multinational members, which include sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and fund managers, collectively manage assets in excess of US$1 trillion (S$1.21 trillion).

Aprea actively seeks to represent and promote the best practices in the institutional real estate asset class in Asia.

Mr Tan's wife, Liane, is a visual artist and a part-time lecturer. They have two children, Zion, nine, and Zoe, three.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

There is only so much I can spend on eating, wearing and shopping before they start eating into me. But I will not hesitate to spend the time and money to enjoy comfort food.

While working in London, I would drive for more than one hour up north to this place called Oriental City to enjoy authentic Asian food in a food court setting. I would also freely spend to enjoy good French food with my wife because it is an artistic feast for the eyes and a gastronomic enjoyment.

On average, I save about half of my earnings.

Most of it goes to our children's education, food, travel, giving to our parents and church.

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

I charge about 25 per cent of the amount I earn to my credit card monthly, and pay my bills in full each month.

To be honest, I don't charge as much as I would like to because quite a number of places still demand cash or only accept Nets.

I don't keep a very close eye on how much I spend, not in detail. I just look at my monthly account to make sure that my salary is in, then I roughly know what is left from the previous month.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I am covered for more than $3 million, so I think my family will be well covered in the event of my death, critical illness or total and permanent disability by a few millions, given our simple lifestyle.

I am a strong believer in real estate, especially when the global financial crisis taught us that even blue-chip companies and stocks can become worthless overnight. Real estate makes up about 70 per cent of my portfolio.

Having said that, I do diversify across stocks, exchange-traded funds and also trade in derivatives as and when the opportunities arise.

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

I grew up with my parents and two younger brothers in an old attap roof house in a kampung village. My father worked as a lorry driver while my mother worked at home by taking on contracted assignments from nearby factories to recycle used paper bags into clean bags. She also doubled as a restaurant waitress in the night.

I would help her out with the paper bags in the afternoon after school and study at night. Those were challenging times because we had to save as much as we could to prepare for relocation to an HDB flat as part of the Government's land acquisition programme.

I therefore learnt early the value of hard work, saving, courage and most importantly always being hopeful.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

My parents' first HDB flat made me see the power of investing. It cost about $15,000 which they subsequently sold for more than $200,000.

During my secondary school holidays, I worked as a salesman to sell chocolates or any product that was available. For each box of Mozart chocolate that I sold for $12, I earned a $3 commission.

Later, I moved on to selling luxury Cezanne watches during the holidays. For each watch sold, I earned at least $40 commission. On average, I earned at least $1,600 a month by selling two watches a working day.

Those were my first lessons on investment and doing business.

The first stock that I owned was probably SingTel, which was the first big market cap stock on the Singapore Exchange. The Government started to educate people on investing and also allocated some shares to us.

Q: What property do you own?

I have a few freehold condominium units which I bought over the past eight years. They are located centrally, and all more than 3,000 sq ft.

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

It is definitely the BMW which I bought more than two years ago. I paid more than $200,000 for a depreciating asset.

But I did buy it when the certificate of entitlement (COE) price was relatively low before it started to shoot through the roof again.

More importantly, my family really enjoyed the ride thoroughly, which is what matters.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I remember that former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said that the day your mind starts to stand down, you are on a slippery downhill slope. So I do not even think about it.

My retirement plan is therefore to live each day to the fullest.

Q: Home is now...

A 1,400 sq ft condominium in Serangoon Gardens, which was bought about eight years ago.

Q: I drive...

A titanium BMW 5 Series.

songyuan@sph.com.sg

-----------------------------------

Worst and Best Bets

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

I invest in fundamentally sound blue-chip or government-backed companies and assets. I have not made any losses so far.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

Without a doubt, it has to be my wife and children. My wife is my lover, friend, adviser, counsellor, motivator and a self-sacrificing mother of two children.

Children are blessings to be loved, embraced and enjoyed. They reflect our blind spots and mould our character, not the other way round. They share your joy and pain and that is what makes it all worthwhile and meaningful.

How do you measure all these blessings? You cannot because the best investment is immeasurable.

In terms of my monetary investment, I have done the best when trading in derivatives, which are not really an investment.

The risk-return profile is very high but, to trade, you need time. If you don’t have the time, you can’t be trading constantly.

[pianist]

i like this phrase: "I therefore learnt early the value of hard work, saving, courage and most importantly always being hopeful."