Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[opmi]

"Mortgage payments for these two properties will kick in some time in the next few months.
I'll be renting out these three projects and the rental income can help cover the monthly instalments on them."

Looks highly leveraged to me. He is going to depend on rental income to finance his monthly mortgage payment.

When interest rates starts to raise and if he is not able to find a tenant will it not become double whammy?

then you go pick up durians lor

[tonyking]

Admirable... coz he took action during the 2008 bottom, and further leveraged further with more investments... while we watch for potential interest rises, his view is probably continued growth due to rampant monies printing & continued near 0% policy by Fed. I hope to take similar actions like him, but need a bottom like his to get started... hopefully when the time comes, I would not be too scared to enter... Kowtow to him, pursued his interest & wealth together... V.few can truly work what they like & yet be financially strong...

[Some-one]

Seriously, I would say that his investment is very risky. If he cannot find any tenants for his properties and if property price falls, he would be in big trouble. Some more, he still have money stuck in equities. Hardly a good investor. don't know why ST interviews him...

[LionFlyer]

Profitable Plots? Why ST bother to interview him? I went to the PP presentation many years ago and walk out. Absolute BS (especially the Boron thingie) and asking someone to commit 15k on the spot on the basis of a powerpoint presentation is ridiculous. If he really bought into this, he can hardly be considered good with his money.

[NTL]

Negative example?

Learn what not to do.

[kazukirai]

Sorry for the late post! Was busy yesterday.

Even the pros make mistakes- Chartered Semicon. Reminds me of a scholar I once met who made the same bad investment. So we always need to be humble with regards to how much we know especially since the stock market and economy is a complex system.

Investment pro goes against the flow

Investing in stocks has been a long-time passion for Mr Terence Wong, head of research at DMG & Partners Research.

He started observing how his family members were investing their money in the stock market when he was a teenager.

"I've always liked investing in stocks because they are more liquid and offer higher returns than fixed deposits," says Mr Wong, 37, who assumed his position in 2007. He was previously chief executive of SIAS Research.

"I also make it a point not to buy education endowment plans because a long-term portfolio in equities can yield better returns," adds the father of two young girls - Aurora, three, and Evabelle, who is 11 months old.

Mr Wong prefers small- and mid-cap stocks to blue chips, which are often touted as more stable.

"Because of my job, I have access to the management of these firms or funds - and knowing that they are trustworthy and credible people gives me that extra comfort in investing in small- and mid- caps," he says.

He lives with his homemaker wife Mindy Fang, 31, and children in a four-bedder unit at the Caribbean at Keppel Bay.

While Mr Wong has a comfortable lifestyle, he believes it is important to give back to society, even if it is in a small way.

"I was inspired by Mr Ee Peng Liang, Singapore's 'Father of Charity'," says Mr Wong, who used to volunteer at the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and Singapore Children's Society. His family actively supports Apex Club.

Since becoming a father, Mr Wong has had to cut down on his charity work but continues to help out in small ways by distributing food to the elderly and buying masks for the underprivileged during the recent haze.

Q: Are you a spender or a saver?

I'm more liberal with my spending as the years go by. But in the last 15 years, I saved about 35 per cent of my annual income.

I don't spend much on myself but am generous when it comes to my loved ones, be it gifts for my wife or educational classes for my daughter, family holidays as well as get-togethers or parties for my friends. But I make it a point to donate money to charity too.

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

On average, I charge about 30 per cent to 40 per cent of my total spending across three credit cards. But as a creature of habit, I tend to charge most of my bills to one card out of convenience.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I've bought health and life insurance policies for myself and my family.

But the bulk of my investments is in stocks. I've a preference for both small- and mid-caps and I believe that if you invest in them wisely, you'll get a good return.

Even during financial crises, you can invest in good-quality small- and mid-caps that have a good financial track record, sound growth fundamentals as well as a trustworthy and credible management team.

I'm also not a believer in diversification of one's portfolio and prefer a concentrated one. Although there is a danger that the returns may fall drastically if one stock 'dies', if you pick your stocks carefully, that risk can be mitigated.

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

Although I grew up in a comfortable environment, I was a low-maintenance sort of person. I'd spend my spare allowance on Transformers' figurines and newspapers which offer a good coverage of the National Basketball Association games in the United States.

In primary school, I used to take my pocket money out of a coin box. Despite having access to it, I'd only take what I needed. It wasn't until I was 16 and went to Canada to further my studies that I learnt how to plan my spending with the education money that my parents gave me.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

When I was 12, I witnessed the market tumble in 1987, and that was a real eye-opener for me and got me intrigued. I was also influenced by my parents and relatives who dabbled in the stock market.

At 17, I used about $20,000 from my savings to buy into PruLink - a Singapore-managed fund which largely tracks the blue chips on the Straits Times Index. That's when I also realised, maybe I could just invest on my own without going through a middleman who'd earn a commission from my earnings.

And before I knew it, I became an investment analyst in December 1999.

Q: What property do you own?

My wife and I own two units at Caribbean at Keppel Bay. We first bought a three-bedder unit in 2006 for a really good deal. Its value has more than doubled since. We then got a four-bedder unit in 2010 to accommodate our larger family and that cost us about $2.8 million.

We have been renting out the three-bedder unit.

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

The antique Changsha bowls from the Tang Dynasty which are over 1,000 years old. They are significant archaeological finds that proved the existence of trade relations between China and the Middle East.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I used to think of running a brick-and-mortar charitable organisation when I retire. But I will probably continue investing as well as doing my charity work.

I've really enjoyed my work over the last 14 years and wouldn't mind being paid to have fun!

Q: Home is now...

A 1,668 sq ft four-bedroom condo unit at Caribbean at Keppel Bay.

Q: I drive...

A silver BMW X5, which is big enough to take seven passengers, including two booster seats for my girls.

rjscully@sph.com.sg
Singapore Press Holdings Limited

[mobo]

It is hard to comment as Mr Terrence Wong does not provide much details of his approach to investments. However I am pretty much skeptical of his stock investment expertise if DMG’s research reports are anything to go by.

From the article, his credentials as an investment expert seems nothing more than a briefly mentioned casual link as a department head of research in DMG which honestly to my best understanding is just a typical corporate support job.

[opmi]

Another DMG analyst seems to be better - Goh.

[Behappyalways]

http://www.nextinsight.net/index.php/sto...nam-cheong


http://valuebuddies.com/thread-1368-post...l#pid58610

It is hard to comment as Mr Terrence Wong does not provide much details of his approach to investments. However I am pretty much skeptical of his stock investment expertise if DMG’s research reports are anything to go by.

From the article, his credentials as an investment expert seems nothing more than a briefly mentioned casual link as a department head of research in DMG which honestly to my best understanding is just a typical corporate support job.

[kazukirai]

It's funny how I was just talking with my wife about this yesterday- that I know of some people around my age (late 20s-early 30s) without a degree that do fairly well in life (income-wise) because they went into sales of either insurance or property, and this guy appears on the papers today. Nothing good or bad about this just an observation.

Only thing I have with all the property advocates is how they need to either admit or realise that the main attractiveness of this asset class in Singapore is the leverage and not the 'tangible aspect' of it. I'm wondering how many property investors don't realise it's the leverage that's 'attractive'.

Property agent aims for passive income

18 August 2013
Straits Times

Mr Shon Foong's ambition to become a property agent and coach started when he helped out as a shampoo boy in his mother's five-seater hair salon in the 1990s.

Regular customers would invite his family to their homes in the festive season.

"One of them changed houses pretty often, and it got bigger and bigger each time!" said the 32-year-old. "I then came to know that he was a real estate agent."

And that struck a chord with Mr Foong, who was then in Secondary Five.

He wanted to take up a business course in a polytechnic, but his grades did not qualify him to do so.

So he joined the workforce in 2006 after his National Service, with a diploma in Quality Engineering Management.

"I had no experience or mentor, so I browsed through advertisements in the newspapers and attended workshops and courses which would help me to become a property agent," he said. But closing his first deal proved tough.

"From 7am to 9am, I'd hand out fliers at a market, and from 7pm to 10pm, I'd go door-to-door in landed estates and public flats to give out my namecards and ask if they were keen to sell or rent out their home."

After four months, his perseverance paid off when he closed his first deal and earned a $5,000 commission. "I couldn't believe it! That was more than 10 times what I had earned a month in the army."

Today, he is a senior division director with property agency ERA and, together with a partner, he runs a real estate training school for agents in Singapore and Malaysia.

Mr Foong said his humble background made him more aware of the less well-off.

"My parents rented a room in a three-room HDB flat with two strangers for over a decade," he said. Their savings paid for his education and that of his elder brother. Later, it was used to set up his mother's small hair salon.

"We were always appreciative of the volunteers who would send us food and groceries at the end of each month," he said.

He said, in return, he has been trying to help others since his army days. "My friend said, 'You may have no money, but donating blood is free!' So that's my first work of charity."

He distributes food and groceries to patients stricken with cancer. He and his wife Shenice, 32, have a 17-month-old son.

Q: Are you a spender or a saver?

I've always unconsciously had a saving habit. My mum always says that money is hard to earn, so don't spend it unnecessarily.

About 20 per cent of my income is set aside for fixed deposits and an emergency fund, and another 10 per cent for future investment plans.

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

I've several credit cards. I charge a four-figure sum to my Citibank dividend card monthly to accumulate cash rebates and discounts on dining and petrol. The other cards are used for leisure activities or when there are card-specific dining promotions.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

My family and I believe in growing our "golden nest egg" and being well insured.

My wife and I have seven insurance policies including life, endowment and health. These act as safety nets for my parents and family in the event that something untoward happens to me.

I intend to buy local and overseas property. The several rounds of cooling measures are meant to deter speculative investors. But if you are in it for the long haul, it is still lucrative to purchase private homes.

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

We were put under the care of a Malay nanny as both my parents held jobs.

I never had pocket money in primary and secondary school and would take food from home. In 1997, I took up part-time jobs as a pest control cleaner at coffee shops where I could earn over $11 an hour.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

One of my mum's regular customers, a real estate agent, would change homes every one to two years and move into bigger units each time. His story made me feel that investing in real estate can grow one's wealth faster.

Q: What property do you own?

I bought a three-bedder unit at condominium Park Green last year for about $1 million, and rented it out till recently.

I'm also a co-owner of a four-room flat at Marine Terrace which I purchased in late 2006 with my mother for about $280,000.

Recently, when the Sing dollar strengthened against the Malaysian ringgit, I bought two residential condo units in Kuala Lumpur for about RM1.3 million in total to take advantage of the exchange rate.

Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I bought a Buddhist crystal which cost $8,500 at an auction for my wife because it was something she was looking for.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I'd like to continue building my property portfolio so that the rental income can eventually serve as passive income when the mortgages are paid up.

I also hope to grow and better establish my training school.

Q: Home is now...

A three-bedroom apartment at Park Green condo. It's five minutes away from my parents-in-law's home so it's convenient for them to drop by.

Q: I drive...

A white Lexus GS300 which is spacious and serves my family well.

rjscully@sph.com.sg


Singapore Press Holdings Limited