Business Times Interviews - Starting Young

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#81
I have to agree with D.O.G on his views. Like your kind self(chessgal), you did not attend any of the expensive course because you found a trustworthy mentor. Did your mentor charged you an arm or leg to let you learn? Or was he the type that just wanted to share with someone he deemed to be a worthy student?

I believe most of the trainers became millionaire thru selling their seminars. The ones I know who were already millionaires were Dennis Ng of housingloan.sg and Andy Ong of ERC. But of course, the list might not be exhaustive coz I dont really attend all the seminars. I just popped by when I am free Smile
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#82
(26-06-2011, 02:39 PM)piggo Wrote: I am a Malaysian as well, but am not as positive about properties in Malaysia as you are.

Just off the top of my head, housing loans are easily obtainable in Msia. Also the interests rates are not low. The government in Msia is also not as efficient as compared to SG. If anything goes wrong, it'll be a double whammy of high interest rates and depreciation. As a chinese, I am very uncomfortable with the direction the government is moving towards... so it's highly uncertain that 30 years down the road I'll want to "return" to Msia. Local wage rates in KL or Penang is quite low compared to the housing prices. Of course there's the issue of crime rate, if you're unable to get tenants, an empty house is a good target for burglars. The local government also sucks at infrastructure planning (i.e roads, rail networks). Comparatively, even though the capital needed for SG properties is much higher, it offers a much more stable alternative.

This is what I gather from the forum so far:
1. rental yields of about 5-6%
2. interest rates of about 2-3% which can be locked for 40 years
based on this, as long as rentals MYR and property prices don't fall too much (thanks chess_gal!!)
==>property in Msia can be a very compelling investment.

The difficulties for most people here are that:
1. property (even in Msia) represents a substantial portion of one's net worth, so one needs to have a decent net worth to diversify meaningfully (by geographies, asset classes, etc)

This assumes you have a 'balanced' portfolio: equities (int'l / domestic), bonds (corp, govt, high-yield), commodities, property etc.
In other words, to properly diversify with a single Msian property of say RM400k, (S$165k), for this to be about 25% of your net worth, means you have to be worth more than S$500k.

2. to the extent that one like chess_gal chooses to concentrate a substantial part of net worth in this special category called 'property in KL', then you need (i) a whole lot of confidence that Msia would do better than most of the other classes in the portfolio over a long period, and (ii) a lot of local knowledge - the amount of time, 'tuition fees' and airfares that chess_gal refers to sets the standards for all of us who hope to learn.
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#83
(26-06-2011, 10:43 PM)wj888 Wrote: The ones I know who were already millionaires were Dennis Ng of housingloan.sg and Andy Ong of ERC.

I know this is a bit OT, but I just have to say this. For Dennis Ng, I believe his first million $ came from saving and investing for 15 years. I am not sure how or why the second million came so quickly. Tongue
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#84
Just to clarify, the acceptable gross yield is 8%. cost of investment about 4%. My first property failed the test actually. It was a lesson learnt.

My mentor is just an average guy, he quits his high paying but stressful job to do real estate full time. More flexibility. I am his first student, infact he has never acknowledge me as his student, a humble guy. He is willing to share as I am the first female investor he met who dabbles into property and very serious at it.

Again to me, real estate consultancy is a form of professional service. Audit firms do organize seminars and charges ppl for that. In all honesty, I still feel nothing wrong charging fir seminar. Business is still business. They do not hv any social obligation to anyone. But what comes around, goes around.

My mentor always remind me not to judge, try to see things from their perceptive. Why business is being done in such ways.
40 years loan is only for those below 30
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#85
I think this guy sounds grounded, probably except for the part about the Hedge Fund! Tongue Unless you are a superb investor who knows how to deal with OPM very well, perhaps it's better to stick to investing on your own? Sleepy

Business Times - 27 Jun 2011

STARTING YOUNG
Gamer-turned-successful investor


NUS undergrad Scott Lee tells ENYA LIM about how he saved every dollar to pursue his interest in business

CREDIT cards may be one of the five Cs that many young Singaporeans aspire towards, but not Scott Lee Dong Yi. The economics major, who considers Warren Buffett an idol of sorts, is rather disdainful of the cashless mode of transactions often lauded for its convenience.

Mr Lee is set to pursue his third and final year of undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS) when the next term resumes in August.

The self-proclaimed 'ex-gaming freak', who used to play computer game Counter-Strike competitively with friends during his secondary school days, has changed his tune quite a bit since then. Mr Lee now divides his free time mainly between investing and reading financial reports or books on business and finance.

He does these on weekends as well as in his free time, as he serves an internship with the Bank of China during the week.

After his mother died in late 1998, Mr Lee was forced to be independent and to take care of himself, which resulted in him realising the value of money quite early on. Money was tight then, and he recalls living in the same four T-shirts - outside of his school uniform - back in secondary school, while his father drove taxi to sustain the household finances.

Q: How did you handle money when growing up?

A: I was frugal from a young age and saved every single dollar I could, as far as possible. I remember once, when I was in secondary school, I walked all the way from Bukit Gombak to home in Bukit Panjang - just to save those 50 cents or so of bus fare!

Apart from a little spent on comics, the rest of my money went into the bank, and I got entertainment from playing computer games at home, without having to spend money.

Q: What sort of financial planning have you embarked on?

A: My financial planning is quite basic, actually. I am currently covered by one to two types of standard medical insurance. All my other financial resources go into investing. Q: Do you spend more or save more?

A: Definitely a saver - I don't shop much. Being a guy helps as well, because I am less bothered about clothes.

Q: Do you use credit cards?

A: I did last time, but only for a while. Banks charge interest on credit cards - it just doesn't make sense to use them because you're really just helping the bank make money and helping yourself spend more. I personally don't advocate credit cards, and would go so far as to totally rule them out of my finances, even in the future.

Q: What got you interested in investing?

A: Prior to doing business studies in polytechnic, I had no idea what business or finance was about. It wasn't even a conscious decision to learn about these things at that time - I initially chose the course because my friends chose it. So it was only in poly that I started learning about business proper in a whole 'real way', and getting more seriously interested. Then in the army I pored through books on investing and other finance-related books.

Q: What are your current investments?

A: At the moment, my stocks are mainly in the United States: American Express (Amex), Moody's, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and BYD Co. Hong Kong is the only other market where I have one investment, too.

Q: How would you describe your risk appetite?

A: I am extremely risk-averse - because of my background - so you could say it is very low.

Q: What has your best investment been so far?

A: Overall, it would probably have to be Amex, not only because they are an outstanding company. I bought the shares over two years ago at a relatively low price, and today those have approximately doubled.

Q: What has your worst investment been so far?

A: Definitely Las Vegas Sands. I may have earned between 150 to 160 per cent on those shares but those gains were lucky ones; it was a bad decision because I didn't understand the business well enough. I could have lost a lot of money - it was purely luck that I didn't. Had the economy continued seriously declining, it would have been really bad.

Q: Any tips to share from your own experience with investing?

A: Investing won't make you rich in a few months; rather it has everything to do with hard work and rational thinking; luck is an inherent element of business but it doesn't work the same way with stocks. Never trade - common advice is to buy and sell. Trading is gambling with luck, which won't work out in the short or long term.

The key is to understand the companies you are interested in, and understand them well. Then buy low, when the price is right. An understanding of companies is very, very important. If you don't understand the company, it's as good as gambling your money away. Investing need not be about low risks and low returns - it doesn't make sense. If you do your homework, you can have low risks and high returns too.

Q: What are your long-term investment goals?

A: I eventually hope to start my own company - a hedge fund - and get shareholders to invest. But that would depend on whether I can get clients, of course, as well as convince them to stay.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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#86
Credit cards are cost free unless u miss a payment date.
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#87
(26-06-2011, 02:57 AM)Chess_gal Wrote: I used to visit a lot Msia forums, be it realestate forums or investment forums, I realised there are huge contrast between a Singapore forum and a Msia forum. In Msia forum, we do get a few rotten apples that criticises one's achievement but usually the positive feedback surpases the negativity. Somehow, I dont feel such vibe here in Sg forums, Hardwarezone, Channelnewsasia and even here where forumers are in in my opinion the enlighten ones. Singapore forumers probe a lot, tend to judge and doubt one's ability and achievement. And some were really rude as well.

Hi Chess_gal,

I'm late to the party on this one but would like to share my 5 cents worth.

First, you can be assured that comments here will not be rude. If there are any, MW and myself, have a duty as moderators to ensure that the comments is retracted or deleted.

Secondly, you have to understand that this is, at heart, a Value Investing forum. Most forummers here are probably more familiar with stocks not property and much less M'sian property.

Value investing, as any investing should be, involves having a healthy dose of skepticism. After all, for most of us, the monies we put to work are our hard-earned savings which we aim to form a nest-egg for retirement. All the probing and doubting are just part and parcel of that process by which we sift viable investments from non-viable ones.

You may tout your M'sian real estate investment books to Singaporeans but is it written for a Singaporean audience? Does it address any concerns on tax for foreign property investors, FX rate flucuations, Tenancy, Financing woes etc? Or are these concerns invalid? Either way, they have to be addressed.

I hope I'm not being too much of a wet blanket here. You certainly have the guts and the drive doing what you're doing and I commend you for that.
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#88
Just a word of caution ...

Singaporeans investing in Malaysian properties - do take note of the non-resident tax at 26%.

Also, the last I heard of - Singaporeans can only buy M'sian properties that are worth over RM500,000?

Also, it's difficult to open a bank account unless you are a work permit holder or student pass holder?

Also, if you want to buy land, you need to register a company.

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#89
Actually, the books are targetted at Msian working in Singapore. At the moment, there is about 1 million Msian working in Singapore, so they are my target. But for those Singaporean who are keen to invest in Msia, please read books written by Msian authors. Not necessary to get from me, Renesial Leong is pretty good as well and her books are in major bookstores. But I personally prefer Milan Doshi - Black book, it was my property bible and Ho Chin Soon map as reference.

I am organising a property investor gathering this month, 16 July (dinner) and Ho Chin Soon (he is a mapmaker, not a property guru) has agreed to grace the event. if you guys are free to join and chat up with the rest of the investor, please feel free to join. No worries this is purely networking and no selling of seminar or property as all of us are investor (we dont have any property agent in this group). Age ranges from 26 to 50 plus. Mostly in their 30s. Dinner bill is equally split. Join us and see for yourself.
etan, form a company with a local partner. Dont buy as a foreigner.
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#90
(27-06-2011, 12:46 PM)Chess_gal Wrote: Actually, the books are targetted at Msian working in Singapore. At the moment, there is about 1 million Msian working in Singapore, so they are my target. But for those Singaporean who are keen to invest in Msia, please read books written by Msian authors. Not necessary to get from me, Renesial Leong is pretty good as well and her books are in major bookstores. But I personally prefer Milan Doshi - Black book, it was my property bible and Ho Chin Soon map as reference.

I am organising a property investor gathering this month, 16 July (dinner) and Ho Chin Soon (he is a mapmaker, not a property guru) has agreed to grace the event. if you guys are free to join and chat up with the rest of the investor, please feel free to join. No worries this is purely networking and no selling of seminar or property as all of us are investor (we dont have any property agent in this group). Age ranges from 26 to 50 plus. Mostly in their 30s. Dinner bill is equally split. Join us and see for yourself.
etan, form a company with a local partner. Dont buy as a foreigner.

When's this gathering? I'm interested...

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