Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[kazukirai]

My portfolio comprises my two businesses, a $2 million stock portfolio and properties.

I prefer commercial properties for investment because the yield is much better.

I have six properties. One is a four-room, 950 sq ft Housing Board flat at Cantonment Road, bought in April 2009 for $475,000. It is currently worth $610,000. I also have a 2,400 sq ft commercial shop unit in Kuala Lumpur bought in 2008 for $230,000. It is tenanted at 7 per cent annual yield. I do not know the current value.

In 2009, I bought two student accommodation units -

I also bought a 1,450 sq ft Northpoint light industrial unit at Yishun at $320,000 in September last year. Three months later, the development next to it was selling at $300 to $350 per sq ft. It will be completed next year.

In 2007, I bought into PineAgritech - a China firm listed here - when it announced it had secured an exclusive distributor contract with $500 million net profit for the next three years. It did not materialise by the second year.

Now read this from a few months back. Selected paras.

As part of her work, Ms Wendy Kwek, managing director of training firm Executive Directions, conducts public seminars advising investors on all aspects of property investments.

Besides my investment properties, I have a six-figure sum invested in stocks. They are mainly blue chips such as SPH, SGX, SMRT and Genting. I select stocks based on the firm's fundamentals and track record. Some of the stocks are strictly for dividends and some for capital gains, so I look at the potential projected income that can be paid as dividends or capital gains.

When investing in properties, it is important to know how to leverage. As a personal rule, I maintain a certain level of liquidity by having cash reserves that are more than a year's expenses. This acts as a buffer even if my properties go untenanted.

I come from an average family and I have a younger sister. My mother was a housewife. My father was a police officer and his take- home income was on average $850 a month.

We lived in a three-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio for the first 30 years of my life. My dad was a gambler and we had to struggle when we were young. Sometimes, we had loan sharks visiting our flat.

For real estate, I invest across the different property classes. The reason I invested quite substantially in industrial properties recently is that it is a less understood and undervalued asset class with good growth potential.

I own a terrace house at Jalan Kayu; an HDB flat near Jurong Point; five units of TradeHub 21 light industrial property in Boon Lay Way; two light industrial units of Northpoint Bizhub; a 1,600 sq ft HDB shophouse in Yishun; and two units of Midview City light industrial property at Sin Ming.

My overseas property investments include two office units at Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur; six condos in KL; a condo in Penang; 19 properties (including freehold carparks and student accommodation) in the Philippines; one property in Melbourne; and seven properties in Britain. I also have five pieces of land in Hong Kong, the US and Britain.

Sorry for the bad editing. Is it just me or do the stories seem really similar?

Gambler father. Invest in stocks with strong fundamentals. Own foreign properties. Own commercial properties. Student accomodations in Philippines. Public speakers.

Not that I'm taking away anything from their successes but I think if they have any sort of professional relationship with each other, it is worth noting how successful people leverage on each other to seek out opportunities for re-investing their monies.

If I am to venture a guess, Ken Chee has leveraged on Wendy Kwek's expertise as an experienced property investor and speaker while combining his own expertise in stock investing to make good. Wendy Kwek's probably sought out his views on investing too. I think he's done a good job really.

Reminds me once again that everyone needs a good mentor to succeed.

[SLC81]

I wonder if StraighTimes needs to to a background check before publishing the story on the facts, financial numbers ..etc.
I have read quite some interviews in Me & My Money Series and think some of them are quite boastful and actually use it to advertise their own business.

[Jacmar]

I wonder if StraighTimes needs to to a background check before publishing the story on the facts, financial numbers ..etc.
I have read quite some interviews in Me & My Money Series and think some of them are quite boastful and actually use it to advertise their own business.

Don't be so gullible and believe everything you read.ask yourself if a reporter ask you whether you want to be interviewed. I would if:

1. I want to promote my business or
2. i want to show off ..."how lian" type. In which case i would stretch the truth by a lot. stretching the truth by a lot is not auditable/verifable.

[cif5000]

I wonder if StraighTimes needs to to a background check before publishing the story on the facts, financial numbers ..etc.
I have read quite some interviews in Me & My Money Series and think some of them are quite boastful and actually use it to advertise their own business.

If you notice, some of these people who were "interviewed" had been advertising with the paper for a while. Obviously, they advertise to raise their profiles so that they can do more business, whether it is selling seminars or koyok. The paper is simply doing itself a favour. Profits are derived mostly from advertising and not from the quality of news.

You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Win-win.

We just have to accept a little humour and entertainment in our lifes...and also learn to classify them accordingly!

[Musicwhiz]

If you notice, some of these people who were "interviewed" had been advertising with the paper for a while.

This is very true indeed. In the most recent "interview" with Ken Chee, I noted that he advertises his "Millionaire Investor Program" almost daily in the TODAY newspaper.

[pianist]

unfinished housing projects still at construction stage..is it reasonable to value them as assets?

[koh_52]

unfinished housing projects still at construction stage..is it reasonable to value them as assets?

To me, these are liabilities...once IR go north...he 'pork' liao.

Contd to service the loan for at least 3.5 yrs without any income...indeed these people are not high net worth investors.

[arthur]

If you notice, some of these people who were "interviewed" had been advertising with the paper for a while. Obviously, they advertise to raise their profiles so that they can do more business, whether it is selling seminars or koyok. The paper is simply doing itself a favour. Profits are derived mostly from advertising and not from the quality of news.

You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Win-win.

We just have to accept a little humour and entertainment in our lifes...and also learn to classify them accordingly!

Arrr... True true.
I think you might have hit the nail on the head why ST keeps getting this category of people as their interviewees..
Not possible the reporters have no leads or no brain right??

Hmmm...

[kazukirai]

If you notice, some of these people who were "interviewed" had been advertising with the paper for a while. Obviously, they advertise to raise their profiles so that they can do more business, whether it is selling seminars or koyok. The paper is simply doing itself a favour. Profits are derived mostly from advertising and not from the quality of news.

You scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Win-win.

We just have to accept a little humour and entertainment in our lifes...and also learn to classify them accordingly!

Arrr... True true.
I think you might have hit the nail on the head why ST keeps getting this category of people as their interviewees..
Not possible the reporters have no leads or no brain right??

Hmmm...

There's also no vested interest for purely successful investors to give an interview.

Point out stocks that I own -> Price will run up to a point that I exit
Point out stocks that I wish to own -> Price runs up to the point that it's not in my favour

For businessmen, it's a different story. Interviews will be a form of advertising which, as Cif-san has pointed out, benefits both the interviewer (indirectly) and the interviewee (directly).

So, in essence, we have a situation much like the 2nd hand car market where one can assume they are all lemons. This leads the to the big question:

Is there a more viable form of sharing and learning for the greater public?

[Musicwhiz]

I don't think there can be a totally altruistic sharing from successful businessmen or investors. Most people would have a vested interest and as you mentioned successful investors will not want to share their closely guarded secrets with the general public. In fact, the only ones who are so willing to share are those trainers and "mentors" who claim to be able to make you rich on just $XXX a day etc.

Even for myself, I share freely on my blog on value investing and my methods; but the problem is I am not a hugely successful investor with a million-dollar portfolio, so technically speaking who will take my "teachings" seriously?