Tag: invest

Best time to Invest Now?

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, PsychologyLeave a comment

More often than not, I read articles and comments and many people ask about if it is the time to invest now. Markets are too high…What asset class to invest into and should I invest now? I only have $100, $500, $1000 (It doesn’t matter how much you have. It matters to start early and depending on which stage you are at. It might be better for you to start an emergency fund first before you invest)

Just this morning, I was listening to Kiss 92 radio channel and I heard that there was a miracle. A fan fell down and went into coma for 23 days. While he was a in a coma, the morning show DJs started to call and talk to him. While they wished  for a miracle, they kept it real and thought that it might not happen. This then sparked a little thought – something we all know but fail to execute.

The story is such a good one that it kind of send me teary eyed for a short while. While we know that miracles do happen, we also know that miracles don’t happen all the time. However, it is important to keep believing that thing will happen the way you want it to no matter how far it seems. Never say never. Be practical but sometimes there are no explanations.

When is it really time?

You will never know when is the time you may lose your loved ones so treat them well and shower the love. Similar to investing, we will never have the crystal ball that tells us the future. If you do have one, I think there isn’t a need to seek financial independence anymore. No matter how accurate, lucky or correct one can analyse – there are no shortcuts. All things take time.

Spend time not focus purely just on money

Spending time on your loved ones is more important than making money. Money as what I alway advocate accelerate the process to many other things. Spending that time not also allows one to connect socially with family as well as reconnect with the young and old. Crossing generations also gives you fresh perspectives and new ideas. Don’t write them off.

Investing takes up a lot of brain cells if you are always exploring for new ideas. These perceptions will provide options and aide in that journey.

Family is family

Whatever your situation is family is always family. What you represent eventually will be translated down to the next generation. There isn’t a guide or way to do it but everyone is a parent for the first time so cut some slack on yours. After all, they were in different times as we did today. Family time provides connectivity that helps one mentally while providing that support. Some may call it safety nets in the finance world but personally I prefer to call that emotional support group. Perhaps friends might be as close to family but everyone’s comfort level is different.

With a section of the mental support covered, naturally one’s focus will be freed of distraction. However, there should always be a balance.

Is it the best time to invest now?

It is hard to say all of that with so many conflicting articles that talk about an all time high and that an impending correction is coming soon. That is all technical and feel. There are no scientific rules as to why markets goes higher or lower. Only interest rates and bond prices are inversely proportional. Other than that, there are no fixed formulas and no one can single handedly control or manipulate the markets.

As always, you can choose to put in some during the initial phase and stagger the investment on a regular basis. This is what most people know as dollar cost averaging.

The other way is really to split the amount that you wish to invest into 3 or 5 parts. Every time the market drops, just diligently put some in.

What ifs?

What if the markets were to increase by another 5% or 10% and you are not invested. That would mean that you will always be missing the market rallies. A medium and long term view of the market will definitely help in the long run.

The excuse

The contradiction will always be there. When you are young, your commitments are lesser but the disposable income is lesser too. Moving into middle age, your commitments increase but your disposable income depends on what you need to spend on. When you are slightly older, your commitments decrease but your risk level should not be like 20 years ago.

The concept

The whole idea is to really to invest early and invest regularly. A miracle happened for someone today but that doesn’t mean it happens to everyone. Some people missed their chance or opportunity and that would have been too late.

Disclaimer

This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from website solely for the purpose of illustration. Remember not to be a slave of money but make as much as you can so that you can make use of money.

When the world drops in front of you

On By RistrettzIn PsychologyLeave a comment

Life is very strange. It can be tough for some, easy for others. Sometimes smooth sailing while some have to ride heavy waves for extended period of time. Covid-19 has not been great to many people and companies globally. This also pretty much sums up the cashflow situation most companies are when the economy shuts down for months. The typical companies who are in debt are just simply living on future money, future growth and future prospects. Never touch those companies.

Uncertainty

Life has a lot uncertainties but these should not be the decisions you make in your life. Life will also give you a fair share of knocks but these knocks when looking back ensures that these formulate and set you up for the future. It is actually kind if you look back in that way however at the very moment that things happen, it isn’t easy to take.

Personally, I do understand how it feels and it is totally fine to feel dejected, upset and even cry about it. Immerse into the whole dejection and slump but don’t drag that out for too long. It is equally important to pick up and build the self confidence from scratch.

Your plans will change. Your ideas will fail and things will not fall in the way you want it to be. Truth be told, that is reality. The world starts dropping on you and the worries start formulating in a strange way. Whatever the situation is – It is a setback and you need time to recover. Be it one month, one year for 2 years – that is a process that everyone have to go through. It strengthens your resolve and makes your mind work so much harder.

Moving Forward

The first step is the dismay and anger. Get it through thoroughly and do not withhold. The next step is actually crucial – your own support group. Your family, your parents, your friends, your spouse, your extended family. This is also the time when you will start to realise who you can depend on. Some friendships will be lost while new ones will be developed. The support group is important to keep the sanity going.

Step number 3 is the recovery part and at times, mood will change from step 1 to 3 but that is not a step back but a step forward because there is a plan to go ahead. Regardless you like it or not, you will have to accept it and move ahead. The important thing is to push ahead. At this point in time, confidence can be at a all time low and you will definitely know what you need and what you don’t need.

Moving Backwards

Many times, when you feel that the world has fallen right in front of you. You are not alone and it happens to many people. No one likes to share to tell you the bad things. After all, everyone really just tell you the positive and optimistic stuffs. Social norms say you can’t say but I beg to differ on that view. I’ll say, it is better to speak your mind than keep it under a smile or silence.

I can’t say that this is a good feeling but it is indeed a humbling experience. It can be a time to rethink and/or reevaluate.

It will not happen

Most often, things happen at the most unexpected moments. I often hear people say things like this will not happen. These companies are too big to fail. These are the monopolies or even “My plan is …..” Well, I would say that who knew Covid will actually be a global impact to our livelihoods. The thing is really never say never. Humans are forgetful but these setbacks brings you back to the ground. When you struggle to find a solution, the struggle makes everyone resilient. We are only resilient when you experience hardship.

The Impact

What is impacting is that being a majority middle-class, we are all sandwiched-class. Being financially savvy brings your step out of the sandwich class. A close friend of mine once said that your best gift to your child is getting your own retirement plan ready. I reflected on that statement multiple times and it is true to a certain extent:

a. It is intangible and your child will never be able to understand it until their later stages of life

b. Being financially free and getting ready for retirement gives less stress on your kids as compared to now when you are sandwiched between the seniors and your young ones.

c. By getting ready for retirement, you will eventually also prepare for your child’s education. This is reality and it is real. Imagine contribution CPF to your child’s account and compounding at an early age. This kick start their beginning where most of  us either started too late or had to little to begin with.

Conclusion

The purpose of this is really to gain some awareness about personal finance and how important it is over the longer term. You have to know what you have or what you don’t in order to cover what you are lacking.

As each and everyone of us are different, if you are in difficult times. Don’t worry, it will pass and something better will come by. You may or may not see it now but it will be better as time goes by. Health is important so take care of your own well-being and be mentally stronger over time.

Sustain, maintain and grow your wealth. There is no rush as baby steps are the ones which brings you confidence. Each time, you fall as a kid, you just got to get back  up. Similar with your own investments (Be it personal investments or monetary investments) every step of the way is an experience. No one said that it was easy. Tough knocks makes you a better person and let you make better future choices.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

Able to write and share is my main objective is to create a community and blogging what I want to do. Being mentally well and put down content is something I always wanted to do. Trying out new things will definitely bring one’s horizon to a different level.

Grab Invest (Robo)

On By RistrettzIn New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Robo Advisors, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

During the earlier part of 2020, Grab announced an acquisition of a wealth start-up, Bento. The have since re-branded them to be GrabInvest. It looks like they have ambitious plans to expand into South East Asia with Singapore as its base. We have seen quite a number of new services and products that Grab has been rolling out. That is the benefits of having strong backers as well as a branding that aims to disrupt some industry. I’m not too sure how big they can become but they have been throwing marketing dollars for some time to build their brand. You can read more about the acquisition here at Bento As GrabInvest.

Invest, Save and Grab

It sounds like Grab is going to bring out the brand in their app once more. They probably want to integrate this into the Super App that we often hear about. The tag line is pretty effective I say.

Almost No Barrier to Entry

It takes only a small amount to start investing. I don’t think Syfe and StashAway has a minimum amount to start investing but this set them apart from the usual investing through micro-investing. I’m not too sure about the effectiveness though.

Saving Money

Each time you use the app to do certain actions, you get to choose an amount that will be used to invest automatically. Good habit though.

Spend

There is no lock-up for your funds so you can transfer your money back to the wallet anytime. Talk about flexibility.

Underlying Investments

Okay, looking at how things are. This is similar to the other robo-advisors as to their cash solutions. The underlying funds would be Fullerton Fund and UOB asset management. My guess is the usual short duration bonds or assets as close to cash funds. Due to the nature of the expected returns projected at 1.8% p.a., it is most likely the case.

Fees are simple at 0.45% p.a. Similar or higher than other solutions. If you ask me, I’ll go for Singlife account where you can deposit up to S$10k at 2.5% p.a. and it is SDIC protected. Micro-investing versus Singlife – Singlife wins hands down but integration wise and branding, Grab edges forward a little more.

Read about my previous post on Singlife here at Where to Park Your Funds? Singlife

For excess funds of more than S$10k, get into Dash and Earn. The first year will be at 2% p.a. capped at $20k. Then go for Tiq Gigantiq at 2%p.a. (For the first year) capped at S$10k. On the options available, I’ll give grab a miss unless I have too much spare cash in their wallet that I can’t take it out.

Conclusion

It seems like it is a hype for now. Other for convenience, I can’t find much differentiation from the rest of the many options available in the market except for convenience. It doesn’t help that Grab is trying to take over the world by trying to integrate everything. I don’t support a monopoly so that is a minus. However, I do think that there are other services which will show up on the app in the near future. Coupled with the fact that digital banking license will be announced in Q4 2020 or in 2021 should there be any delay. As a consumer, we should be happy about competition.

I do see more pros than cons though, given their history of data breaches and bad marketing. Also, I don’t see that they are MAS licensed or approved nor are they working with any financial institutions other than the mentioned fund houses or asset managers. On top of that, monies are held in custody of Grab. Reading their Terms and Conditions, it seemed like they got their own ass covered as compared to the consumer so I’m not too sure about that.

I still don’t see it on my Grab App even after updating the app so I’m wondering how buggy their app can be over time.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post and purely my own opinion that I am writing about in my thoughts. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. Don’t be too fixated with what is the best.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services and products here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

What Will I Invest with S$10,000

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Cryptocurrency, Personal Finance Series, Robo Advisors, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

I realised that such posts actually attract more viewership as compared to technical breakdowns. I get it that most people want a quick and fast way to read content and download views. The first 3 seconds of every post will most likely decide if the reader would like to continue reading, be skeptical or just scoff at it. In my earlier posts, I talked about having an emergency fund. It takes time to build such things so don’t forget, the little things count.

In this article, I’m going to discuss more about what to invest and why especially for folks who just got out of school. When I graduated, I remember vividly that it seemed to be pretty hard to save money. A few years on, I realised what constituted the bulk of my spending and why I could not save more. These life experiences cannot be bought so I would say the money spend networking and forging friendships are my human capital.

Going back in Time

Going back to 5 years ago, there wasn’t many choices to invest extra funds into. It was the standard brokerages, fund houses or at most bank/custodian brokerages. There wasn’t a lot of tools to invest in and let’s be honest, the retail bankers can’t be too bothered with a S$10,000 fund. It just isn’t worth their time. So, like many others who preaches, I shall say it again – If you do not care about your own money, no one will. I remember I used to buy funds via FundSupermart, trading some Forex with CMC Markets/Saxo Capital and used Standard Chartered Brokerages to buy US/SGD equities. Nothing fancy that you can really do though.

Moving forward 2020

With the current options we have available, traditional investments seems really cool. (At least it is for me) I really like the options out there for me to pick and choose. You can Insurance Tech, Robo Advisors, Cryptocurrency, Real Estate Block-chains, ETFs, Leveraged Equities/Indexes and many more. With the upcoming digital bank in Singapore, I think that this is going to be great for consumers. The key problem now is to get more people interested in their own personal finances.

What to do with S$10k?

We are going to take away the cash solutions for this since this is on the assumption that cash funds are kept away in a safe place. With the new funds, this is money that you can afford to lose. I used to know something who likes to take a punt, he would leverage and buy options on the same counter without considering the risk. Well, he wanted to win big but eventually his portfolio became pathetic and he lost his job while these options expired and markets dropped. The objective of sharing this story is to always abide by your investment discipline.

I am reminded of the rules:

  • No one has the crystal ball and you will never know when the markets decide to be green or red.
  • A small amount of leverage is fine but not when it is concentrated into one counter. Remember to diversify but not over diversify.
  • Always use option to your advantage, not to speculate.
  • When you lose to the market, blame no one but yourself because no one forced you to invest. You can keep cash and seek cash solutions but if your cash deflate, that’s on you and no one else.

With a S$10k portfolio, I would split it up into a few tranches.

Robo Advisors

  1. Robo Advisors are a great tool if you do not know what to buy or when to buy. The whole idea is to buy when markets go up or down. The entry level for robo investing is so low that anyone can invest. Let’s also be real, all platforms have a cost upkeep so fees are unavoidable. For this I would Assign at least S$6k (~60% – 70%) into such funds and this forms the Core part of the long term portfolio
    1. The first option can be Endowus (USD ETFs) which i discussed before here at Endowus
    2. The second option can be Stash Away (USD ETFs) which i discussed before here at Stash Away
    3. The third option can be Syfe (For SGD related equities or the Global Equity Portfolio) which i discussed before here at Syfe

Now, you must not forget to top up your investment on a monthly basis. Treat that as a form of savings. The earlier you save, the faster your will reach your retirement goals.

From the robo advisor portfolio construction, you can choose a partial bond|equity balanced fund. This is where your bond exposure comes in. Do not waste your time with SGS or SSB during this period because they returns are not great.

Cryptocurrency

2. They say that trend is your friend. The trend now with all the hype is about Cryptocurrency. I can’t help but would add a small amount to the portfolio. They are supposed to act different as compared to fiat currencies. For this I would assign at least S$1k (~10%-15%) and i consider these as alternative asset class.

    1. The first option is to buy Bitcoins. They are by far the largest Cap in the Crypto World.
    2. The second option is to get a foot in to Crypto.com. I previously discussed about this as well here at Crypto.com App/

Funds

3. Personally, I like income or dividend equities or funds. If you are more risk adverse i would suggest to put some money into the PIMCO income funds. They are just the best in class for bonds. Depending on what you like, the average dividends is roughly around 3-4% p.a. For this, I would assign at least S$2.5k (~25%-35%) and these are supposed to be a stable source of dividend funds.

Trading

4. Finally, what fun is there if you leave everything in the Core Portfolio. The balance 15% of funds (~S$1.5k) can be use to buy in specific equity counters in the SGX. (for e.g. bank stocks or reits whenever there is a market pullback) If you really wish to fully invest these monies, just put them back into the Robos or ETFs.

What other options would you do or suggest to do? Feel free to comment. The whole idea of writing is to really share about opinions and you never know when an idea strikes you.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

When is it time to invest?

On By RistrettzIn Macroeconomic, New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

We hear a lot of this all the time. Our parents, our friends, our colleagues and everyone. There isn’t any in my opinion. Some may beg to differ but there really isn’t any the way the see it. There is an actual science to this because it really depends on what kind of person you are. No one will manage your money better than yourself. There are three dimensions to this how I see it.

Your Life Cycle

Life-Cycle – Depending on which part of the cycle one is in, you will change the way you invest and how you want to invest. Different stages in life provides you with different perspective and capability to do certain aspects of financial tweaks. Some get a head start while other don’t but that is not the end goal. It is your objective that is key – No one should just carbon copy a portfolio or process. This is customised and should be based on your own circumstances.

How much you have to invest?

How much you have – This is really a sticky question because the real fact is that no one knows. I am of the mind that your own networth and liquidity is for your own to know and manage. Unless you own the millions that you can’t manage because time is what you need, this would apply to at least 90% of the folks out that. How much can you afford to save or take out that does not affect you paying off your bills on time depends on your financial situation. I remember when I first started out, the salary I have is for my own takings. The very first thing I did was to spend almost all of it. It isn’t smart but we all learn.

Paying yourself first

Paying yourself first is essential in building a bigger pool. The first $1k, $10k, $25k $50k, $100k will be exponentially easier with every milestone. However if you don’t start, then the milestone will not be met. Regular saving plans/investment does help in this process. Using the envelop technique is also recommended for guys who are really starting out.

Time – This is a large and essential part of everything else.

First, you need to find time and give time to learn and experience. No one grew up knowing everything, all of these lies with exposure and experience. Some gets it faster than the rest while others manages this slower. Like an exercise buddy, the journey is long but if you persist and encourage one another, it will ride for a long time.

No excuses – Is Netflix and the next PlayStation more important every other day? Educating and understanding finance takes time and effort. Even if you hate it, try it in a smaller scale model and gradually increase it over time. I can certainly say that over a time period, it will become second nature.

Second, You do not have a warchest overnight. You need to build it. No one knows when is the next drop, what is the next promising industry to go into. No one knows who is the next unicorn or donkey but through time, you will eventually find out about your own strength and sense of investing.

My four points on a good time to invest

These four points in my opinion sets the basis of what is a good time to invest. TLDR:

a. Anytime is a good time to invest as long as you have a plan and you know what you are doing

b.Do not invest more than what you require to pay your bills.

c. Start early, start young, the later you start – the tougher it is. It is never too late but the results will be less than one would expect.

d. Learn as much as you can so that you are well-equipped. Today, there are too many tools around to learn and see.

I also do understand that by saying “When is a good time to invest?” It will attract criticism as to “timing of investment”

Timing the Market?

I would also want to address this issue of timing. It does no one any good if you time the market. No one has the crystal ball.

a. Start by splitting your warchest into different portions. Be disciplined and when market drops, buy some then don’t expect these to turn unto profits overnight.

b. Keep an eye on what you are investing especially if you are buying into a company. Investing into index funds leave you to a more passive investor. We shall not talk about Core and Tactical management of investing this round.

c. Regular investing also helps. Find mutual funds or portfolios who have in-lined principles to what you belief and stick by it.

d. Remember to always review. Things change and so do us as humans during different life cycle.

Small Note

P.s. As you can see, my beliefs is as such that all things work in an ecosystem (Before it gets disrupted). Smaller efforts gives greater confidence and these translate into positive energy, mindset and clear mind. Then, this brings you to another aspect. When this Eco-system is in place, many of the things we have discussed earlier will be a second nature and you would know how to react accordingly.

My Take on Robo-Advisor

Personally I like to use some form of Robo, systematic investing such as Endowus. It also cancels out my liking of timing my Buy-in timing.

  • Most importantly, the cash related funds uses a big institution related fund manage such as Dimension Fund which is not readily accessible to retail investor.
  • They have shown that they return the rebates they receive from the fund houses instead of absorbing it to pay fees to Banks/Financial Institutions as recurring revenues
  • All funds invested are held on behalf by UOB Kay Hian and held in my own name so funds are safe I say.
  • My only grip is really about the buy time which I have no control over. By the time the markets drop, I’m not sure when my funds are invested but on the bright side, it means it is consistent and disciplined trading.
  • Relatively lower management fees which means more compounding interests for all. That is good news.
  • I also like that they only debit the management fees at the end of the quarter instead of taking money at the start. Tells a lot about how they want to be different. Say no to upfront fees.
  • The first Robo-advisor to be able to invest using CPFIS. I think they were also the first to be able to use SRS to do so as well. That makes one more level up as CPFIS only approves certain funds that you can invest in. This makes it flexible to invest using Cash, SRS and CPFIS.
  • If you use my referral code to sign up and invest minimum S$10k, we both get $20 each which can be used to offset the management fees to keep their lights running: https://endowus.com/invite?code=EDZ8M

Disclaimer

Money is not everything – They say (Who? I don’t know). Without Money, there are lot of things we cannot do. With proper money management, these will slowly go away and your mind’s will be clearer. With a clear mind, things unravel. An end is always where new things start. Be positive and do not be bound by just money.

This is also not a sponsored posts. I used it and I like what I am seeing.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from a few websites for this article.