She did not mention which property she purchased or how much she paid for it (suspect she took up a loan). Considering her age, I guess it should be private property. Aren't prices a bit frothy now to be "investing" in property?
Business Times - 13 Jun 2011
STARTING YOUNG
The virtues of thrift and saving
Pauljean Ang tells WONG SU-JIN how those 2 qualities instilled in her from young have shaped her portfolio
HAVING grown up in a cash-strapped household, Pauljean Ang had the virtues of thrift and saving instilled into her - qualities which shape her portfolio even today.
The third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Accountancy (Finance) at Singapore Management University (SMU) scored within the top 10 per cent of her banking & financial services cohort in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and has since built on her education to fortify her investments.
A member of the SMU E.y.E. Investment Club, her interests extend to travelling, cycling, and music.
Q: How did your upbringing affect the way you handle money?
A: When I was younger, my family was quite poor, but things improved when my father started his own engineering business. My parents have always emphasised the importance of saving up. I have since inculcated this habit - I save about 30-40 per cent of my monthly allowance, and usually won't spend more than my allowance.
Q: What first got you interested in investing?
A: While in polytechnic, my finance courses taught me how important it was to manage your money well. I also realised that instead of simply leaving my money in the bank to yield a low interest, I could actually make my money work for me by investing.
Q: When and how did you get started investing?
A: I started investing in 2008. I did not have a trading account then so what I did was to buy a few lots of whatever shares my father bought.
However, it was brainless trading then as I did not actually do any homework or make decisions on my portfolio. After thinking about it, I told myself that this should not be the way to invest. I then began to do my own research instead of relying solely on my father.
I now lean more toward technical analysis when deciding whether or not to purchase a particular stock and do rigorous research beforehand.
Q: How would you describe your risk appetite?
A: Low to moderate. Just as I don't spend beyond my allowance, I would not trade more than my capital when I invest in equities. The capital for my investments comes from my savings, I invest 80 per cent of my savings and keep 20 per cent cash for liquidity.
My parents were wary of me trading on the stock market at first, due to the inherent risks.
Both in deference to their wishes and to my own risk appetite, I trade only on a full cash basis, and never on leverage or margin. It's relatively less risky, and lowers my chances of getting my fingers burnt.
Q: What is your current and ideal portfolio?
A: I recently sold all my stocks and used the money to purchase a property, so my current portfolio is property and cash. Although expensive, I feel that property is a good long- term investment for my portfolio.
However, I am currently re-saving my capital so that I can get back into the market soon and diversify my portfolio.
My ideal portfolio would typically consist of 20 per cent bonds, 20 per cent properties, and 60 per cent shares.
Properties, aside from being a good hedge against inflation through capital appreciation, can also contribute passive income through rental - a good way to accumulate wealth in the long run.
Bonds would help to balance out the risks in my portfolio, and equities serve as a shorter term investment.
Q: What are your best and worst investments to date?
A: My best investment so far was UOB. The stock price dipped immediately after I bought the stock last year, with the downtrend lasting for a few months. Nevertheless, I chose to hold. Finally, earlier this year, the stock price rose 10 per cent within a month or so and I sold my shares.
The worst investment would have to be Genting. Although I did not make a loss, I missed the spectacular run-up in August last year before the announcement of their full-year results. Selling too early caused me to lose out on a five-digit profit.
Q: What are your long-term investment goals?
A: My long-term investment goal is financial freedom. I aim to retire by the age of 60, be debt free, and continue to maintain my portfolio and a passive income. Investments will allow me to do this, as CPF alone is usually inadequate.
Q: Any tips to share from your experience in investing?
A: One should research before entering the market. Paint a few possible scenarios of how you think the stock price might move and then prepare your trading strategy accordingly.
For example, if a stock were to shoot up above the target price that you have set, what will you do? Sell all your shares or hold or sell half and hold the other half or buy in more?
It is good to pre-empt yourself with all these scenarios so that you won't be in a panic when you are faced with the actual situation.
Most importantly, try not to let emotions come into play when trading as it will affect your objective judgement. It is often easier said than done. Nevertheless, I think discipline and planning might do the trick.
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