Investment rules

“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.”(Ecclesiastes 7:12)

Recently I browsed through a wealth management newsletter sent by a bank. One of the articles entitled `Avoid the most common investor mistakes’. Some of the pointers mentioned are planning, realistic expectations, cutting losses, avoid cheap and low-priced stocks etc. However, to me, after having worked in the financial sector for the past 12 years, the most valuable investment rules are ‘KNOW WHAT YOU INVESTED’ and “BE PRUDENT, AVOID BORROWING’.

Investing nowadays has become very complex, so be alert and not to be fooled by the ‘marketing’ materials which often disguised as ‘research’ materials. Do not be overdose on information which is so easily available that you can become paralysed by them, blurred your vision and drown you in useless details. Go for something simple and you can understand, rather than lured by the high `projected returns’. Preserving capital is the key in any investment.

The Lehman Brothers debacle in 2008 clearly illustrates the above investment principles. Investors suffered huge capital losses buying investment products which were paraded to the public as safe investments with attractive returns (not knowing that they are actually derivatives).

Thank God that none of my clients was hit by these derivative products. I had some clients who expressed keen interests in buying them. My ex-company was also one of the distributing channels. I browsed through the thick prospectuses and found them to complex to understand. At that time, there were many such products named themselves as ‘bonds’, been launched with big newspaper advertisements. Money from financial services sector was so lucrative that NUS Biz Adm’n undergraduate course received the most applicants and from the brightest in 2007.

The other thing that an investor should be mindful is be PRUDENT, avoid ‘gearing’. Invest only on money that you can spare and lose. A close friend told me that someone borrowed $200k from his bank to invest in Lehman’s bond. Yet another who is novice investor, tried to trade forex which is very risky as the gearing allowed is as high as 98% of the capital (you only need to fork out 2%).

In any investment, always work on the worst scenario, i.e. what is likely the maximum downside. Once you have done with it, the upside will take care itself because psychologically, most people know how to handle profit but don’t know what to do when their investment turns sour.

It is a very common practice for the sales staff to impress you with imputation of unrealistic projected returns during their presentation of the product. You should only pay attention to the guarantee returns, especially for insurance policy. Also, buy a ‘hybrid’ product such as investment-linked policy is not advisable. Such product will cause uncertainty to what you will get upon withdrawal or on maturity as the investment component in such policy can be very volatile, especially if it falls in a bad investment year.

Higher risk, higher return and vice- versa. There is no free lunch in this world. Do your homework. Keep track of your investments and be humble, learn from your mistakes. If you have no time to invest personally, then do it through professionals. Be very careful when someone offers you something that is too good to be true!

Pilgrim's progress- John Bunyan

“If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.” (Galatians 6:3-4)

Recently borrowed this book from the library and found out why nowadays very few Christians talked about it. It was written in 1600s. I discovered that the English used is a bit hard to understand. (Read more about this book under ‘Biblical Highlights’)

Every experience mentioned in the book can be seen in our own lives. We as Christians struggle, makes mistakes and suffers the consequences of our actions.

Some thoughts for me to ponder:

1. Does this character exist in my own life?
2. Do I myself behave like the characters in the book sometimes?
3. What is God’s opinion of my behaviour?
4. Do I have times of failure and triumph like the main character?

A Friend

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

An athlete: "He is a balancing pole that enables me to walk the tight-rope of life without falling."

A physician: "He is like a soft bandage and a soothing ointment for the cuts and bruises of life."

A Botanist: "He is a vine that clings to us and hides the discrepancies and rough places of life."

A jeweler: "He is a golden link in the chain of life."

A woman in mourning: "He is one who comes in when the whole world goes out."

Giving vs receiving

“Do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrew 13:16)

Recently I came across a devotional book where the author uses The Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea to illustrate two kinds of people living in this world.

The Sea of Galilee- water is fresh, fish is in it, trees spread along the banks, children playing along the shores. On the other hand, the Dead Sea – no splash of fish, no birds singing, no children’s laughter, no man or animal will drink the water.

Both the seas got their water from the same source- River Jordan. They received the same good water. The difference lies in that the Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the water. It receives and gives the same amount. For Dead Sea, every drop it receives, it keeps it jealously. It gives nothing, that is why it is called the Dead Sea.

Which category of people we belonged to? We need to remind ourselves that if we only strive to receive but reluctant to give so that others may be blessed, we will end up like the Dead Sea, lifeless, joyless, and lonely.

Mammogram

“If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength.” (Proverbs 24:10)

I went for my mammogram yesterday at SGH. Even though I paid as a private patient (cost me $134), the waiting time was still very long. My appointment was 3.50pm and when came to my turn was already 5.30pm.

I was told by the Polyclinic that I no more qualified for subsidised screening programme (which costs only $50) as I am a cancer patient now (regardless of what type of cancer). My gynaecologist is not aware of such discrimination. Don’t understand the logic behind for such policy. To me, it is like saying that they are only interested to save those who never have cancer before, but not the cancer survivors.

“Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; let God refute him, not man." (Job 32:13)


I read from articles on cancer and almost all give the same advice- stay away from sweet things because cancer cells love to feed on glucose. In fact, one of the methods used for tumour diagnosis is PET scan (which cost $4-5k per scan) where patient is injected with radioactive glucose into his body so that tumours can be identified. For that reason, I am very careful on food that have high glycemic index (G.I.).

Different carbohydrates behaved differently in our bodies. Glycemic index basically ranked carbohydrates according to the effects they have on our blood sugar levels. Food that are high in such index mean that they are easily digested and absorbed into our bodies, as a result, lead to a rapid rise in our blood sugar levels.

We always think food high in glycemic index is mainly western items like waffles, cornflakes. To my surprise, even some fruits like watermelon and pineapple have very high G.I.. Some of these fruits’ G.I. are as follows:

Watermelon – 72 (high)
Pineapple – 66 (high)
Cherries – 22 (low)
Kiwi – 53 (medium)
Banana -55 (medium)
Mangoes – 57 (medium)

I couldn’t find the G.I. for dragon fruit. It is originated from Vietnam and becomes popular in Taiwan when some researchers found its G.I. level is low. There, many Taiwanese diabetes patients use dragon fruits as a substitute for rice. There are big dragon fruit farms along Batu Pahat and Kluang, Johore. The one with red flesh inside is very juicy and taste great, but quite expensive. It can cost as much as more than $3 each.

Humourous scrabble

Someone who is 'deadly' good in scrabble comes out with these:

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

Gifts by mail

“A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.” (Proverbs 18:16)

I always enjoyed myself being an auntie for so many nephews and nieces because I come from a big family. Before I was married, most of the time I stayed with my two sisters who are living here. When I got my pay or festive seasons, I would love to give them treats. Now all of them have grown into adults, the only nephews and nieces that are still young to be pampered are my youngest sister’s children in Petaling Jaya who are in pre-primary and primary school age.

I used to buy clothes for the children whenever my youngest sister and I see each other but most of the time to play safe, I always buy larger sizes, but then the children don’t have the chance to wear them immediately. Recently a new idea struck me. Why not get them some fanciful children items like stationery, and mail out to them? So I bought some and went to a nearby post office personally to make sure I paid the correct postage (by air) and made proper customer clearance declaration. That was 8th September, the day before Hari Raya Puasa. I called up my sister 2 weeks later and was disheartened that the parcel didn’t reach her. Too bad, it must have been ‘lost’ in the transit. Alas, 30 years since I left Malaysia, the postal system is still so inefficient and unreliable. Then came a telephone call from my youngest sister on Tuesday night (5th Oct),telling me that the parcel has been received and the children were thrilled over it! Can’t believe it took almost a month for it to be delivered.

Nevertheless, I am very excited to find this new way of keeping myself occupy, an excuse to go shopping, make the children happy and cheer up my spirit as well. I hope to do it more often. Really, sometimes we don’t have to do ‘big’ things to make a difference to someone else lives. I learnt that small, inexpensive gifts can also go a long way in building and maintaining good human relationships.

Bizzare behaviour of Singaporeans

“I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19)

Recently an ex-colleague of mine forwarded me a very thought-provoking article entitled ‘The Bizarre Behaviour of Singaporeans’ written by a German national who has lived in Singapore for the past 9 years:-

“44 years of economic and material success have spawned some very strange behaviours among Singaporeans. They spent so much to buy a house or flat, furnished it up like a palace, but spent their time outside, most of the time at work. And the maid are the ones enjoying the million-dollar or multi-million dollar assets.

Then they pay so much, the highest in the world, for a car only to park at home. Too expensive to drive, too many ERPS and car park charges to pay. And they are encouraged to park their cars at home and take public transport, being cheaper and more convenient.

And when Singaporeans travel, instead of seeing the places, they went shopping. The best part is that they would head for the cheapest bargains, buying stuff that they could get in Chinatown or pasar malam,at even cheaper prices. But they are still happy that they got a bargain.

And while the heartlanders are busy trying to make a life here, being told to bust off if they are not happy, which they could not, the rich and presumably very happy and contented citizens are buying up properties overseas just in case they need to make that escape from this paradise.

While many Singaporeans are thinking of jumping ship, or preparing to jump ship, hoards of new immigrants are rushing in to take their place in this paradise.

And to top it all up, they keep complaining about the govt and all the policies that they found unpalatable, but come every election, they will vote and return the govt to power.”

No Singaporean would dare to dispute the above profound observations. Frankly speaking, our social behaviours have lagging far behind our economic progress! We are the only country in the world that has to institute an annual campaign (now they called it ‘kindness movement’) to remind us to be kind to one and other!

We are heading towards the direction like any other big urban cities. Inadvertently, it is going to lead to even more fast-paced, high-stress, intense-pressure living environment. People are so caught with the frenzy worldly pursuits that they have no time to dwell on non-tangible goals in their lives.

When poorer folks are scrambled to meet the escalating high cost of living silently, it seems strange to me that the more affluent ones are complaining loudly on matters like not enough car park lots (may be not near enough to their homes?)are built. When will this scramble for non-ending material aspirations come to a standstill? May be only when one is forced to a sudden pause in life due to some setbacks occurred along the way.

It is a fact that many parents here who owned a car ended up being a chauffeur for their children for various activities instead of having some fun and wholesome family outings. I had an interesting encounter with a very successful property agent some months back. She would not take any call or drive after 9pm (which is considered ‘early hour’ to most Singaporeans). Later, I came to know that she has to drive all her children (3 of them) to different schools at different places early in the morning. Since the lives of all her children are in her hand, she wants to make sure that she gets enough sleep every weekday! What a heavy load she has to bear for years!

Questions to ponder: Do we determine our value by how much tangible things we accomplish on this earth? It is worthwhile to live on the edge of exhaustion and not taking care of ourselves(I was once like that)?

Relief from 'bitterness'

“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10)

My appointment with my Chinese physician on Wednesday relieved me of the ‘sufferings’ I had to bear for the last 3 weeks of having to consume the ultra bitter Chinese herbal drinks (twice a day). She changed the formula to one that is more palatable.

I have learnt from my mistake this time. Earlier on, I ordered from the Chinese medical shop 3 weeks’ herbal supplies as for me to travel from home to Chinatown is quite a distance. When I discovered that the herbal drink was so bitter, I had no choice but to finish the supplies as they don’t come cheap. This time round, I ordered two packets to try out first before placing more orders. So far the taste is ok.