My investment journey

[specuvestor]

Hi psslo

My point is that now is a bull market but urgent needs are agnostic to market highs or lows. When you are forced to liquidate when illness strike or kids need money for business etc, or simply panic (equities dropping 1/2 within course of 30 years period is not unusual) The scenario of 1973 with cash depleted and adjusted to 3% withdrawal give you a rough idea what happens when markets were sideways. Try telling the Japanese pensioners this chart for the past 27 years. 生命无NG

Neither am I saying allocate 100% bonds that will deplete when withdrawing 5% annually but it offers an alternative to minimise capital loss when one needs money at the worst possible time. I’m saying both asset classes has its purpose and not so straight forward as Ms Teh wrote

Similarly like what thinknotleft mentioned, $1m in 1976 will put you in top 1% of population but in 2007 not really. I didn’t want to nitpick but there need to be some inflation adjustment factor. That’s why bonds return over the period is a good gauge of opportunity cost. I didn’t want to mention this but I think STI dropped 1/2 during 1997/98 which doesn’t look like it in the chart.

Ms Teh is a good journalist

NB we also mentioned a bit about inflation here:
https://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-3828...l#pid95192

[Temperament]

We have been living on our own Capital & assets since 2011.

Our ideal is to have a combination of assets to generate cash flow in annually more then yearly expenses.

Or yearly expenses should track the cash flow in annually.

Should invest in a way Capital is preserved if not able to increase.

For Capital preservation, i think everyone (Retiree) has his own "Hurdle Rate".

But we can not escape this classic examples of risk in retirement as describe by :-

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/re...assets.asp

[corydorus]

June 2016 was life-changing for me. The day most people dread arrived out of the blue for me. My boss called me one night after work & apologetically informed me that the company was downsizing & I had been affected. After 24 years with the company (American MNC) as an engineering professional, this was the end of the road for me. Even though I had been mentally preparing myself for such an eventual scenario one day, I was still an emotional mess that fateful night. I had suddenly found myself out of a job in my late forties. Being the sole breadwinner (single income family) added to the gravity of the situation.

What has this to do with investing you may ask? In a sense, I have been preparing for this day for well over a decade. You see, job insecurity was a major factor that propelled me onto the road to investing.

Finding a well-paying job when you are approaching 50 is no easy task. Thankfully, my investment portfolio can now generate sufficient income to maintain the current standard of living (nothing extravagant of course). Therefore, I now have the choice not to return to the corporate world. As such, I have achieved my financial freedom & independence.
 ...
....

thanks for Sharing. I have been preparing for this for many years and in my late 40s now. I told my colleagues that I am happy to collect monthly paycheck as long as I can. Everyday is a bonus.

As for your points, I hit most of them ... except HK/Jpn stocks ... but I have US stock. 


Cheers

Cory

[Lochness]

lots of valuable insights shared 👍🏼

[funman168]

After experiencing the up n downs of stock investment, i think youngsters should not be blinded by the belief that stock investments is the holy grail to financial security and retirement...there are simply too many pit holes and danger laid down by the big boys...
A simpler and safer way is just focus on your career and buy your roof over your head ASAP...if you have spare cash, then just invest in index funds..

If u want to join Sgp rich 20%, u are better choosing one of the 3 options (career, property or business).it is highly unprobably that one can be rich by focusing purely on stock investment.

[weii]

In my humble opinion, to join the top 20% rich in Singapore, the youngsters need to excel in their professions or create multiple streams of income.

Rely only on career - rather dangerous due to disruptive technologies, merger & acquisitions etc. In fact, relying on salary alone may not be sufficient for some employees to be in the top 20%. http://www.businessinsider.sg/signs-youl...?r=US&IR=T

Rely on property - may not be foolproof in an ageing society where property price is already near a peak

Rely on business - it stands a higher chance if one excels in it

Rely on index funds - a no-no for value investing? Index funds are more susceptible to danger laid down by the big boys?

Rely on stock investments - need to be skillful to be successful and invest in a business-like way

[Lochness]

Strongly agree that, relying on salary alone is hard to be v rich, unless you are a high flyer in ur trade / is the top 10% in the company that earns the most....

[BlueKelah]

For a couple with Uni degree graduating and starting work from 23yo, they should be able to make 100k/ye average combined by 30y/o, and able to pay off a 3bed HDB. from 30-50 years they should be able to make >2m. and if they took half to use for kids/wedding/car/etc.. still have 1mil+ for investments.

This 1 mil likely to grow at least to 2 or 3 mil if they had invested and compounded from 30-50yr and likely they will be very well off if they compound till 60yrs and plus CPF should be quite rich liao.