Why you should stop trying to beat the market - Oct. 21, 2011

Why you should stop trying to beat the market - Oct. 21, 2011

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Most S'poreans not well insured: AIA poll

sources http://www.btinvest.com.sg: 22 Jul 2011 11:57 by Lester Hio

NINE out of ten Singaporeans are underinsured and will be forced to downgrade their living standards should anything happen, according to a recent AIA Singapore survey.

The 2011 AIA Singapore Nationwide Protection Survey, conducted between March and June this year, made five key findings with respect to Singaporeans’ perception of life insurance. It found out that Singaporean couples were not having either the correct or complete conversations about their family protection’s needs, and that it was acceptable for dependents to downgrade their living standards or remarry to make up for loss of income should anything happen.

Furthermore, there is the perception that insurance is not affordable, especially with rising costs of living, as well as a slightly misguided idea of what adequate insurance entails.

AIA’s survey was prompted by a 2007 study done by the Life Insurance Association (LIA), which found that the average Singaporean was underinsured by more than 65 per cent. It showed that the average Singaporean was covered for an average of approximately $165,000, when adequate protection, to maintain a similar level of living standards, was estimated to be $495,000.

LIA defines adequate protection as total coverage of approximately ten times one’s annual income.

AIA’s CEO and president of LIA Tan Hak Leh pointed out the discrepancy between knowledge and action.

“We found out that approximately six in ten Singaporeans claim to have a clear idea of how much they need to set aside for their dependents in the event of the death or permanent disability. However, only one in ten Singaporeans is sufficiently protected,” said Mr Tan.

AIA is rolling out a series of public awareness campaigns to inform and increase public knowledge of the insurance gap. It has also collaborated with the National Family Council to implement future plans that would help inform families about the insurance gap and to help build financial resilience for families.

Lim Soon Hock, chairman of the council, says that the collaboration would help with the council’s charter in building “strong, resilient and happier families”.

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Nancy McGuirk: The Brevity of Life

"only one life, 'twill soon be past;

only what's done for Christ will last."

- C.T. Studd

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

60 Minutes [CBS] - The day of reckoning - State and Local Budgets Crisis - State and Local Bon...

The "day of reckoning" as the Senator Chris Christie puts it, is coming to all Americans as they realized that the states they lived in are running out of money and are unable to pay off their debt obligations when they are due. Their over spending and excessive benefits programs in the country has caused America to arrive at this state of their economy. They have dug a financial pit hole so deep that I believe it would take many future generations' labour to pay back their current debts, and that's provided they stop their overspending.

Watch this video, and get yourself prepared for the NEXT big Crisis that may bring America to its knee, and how it could affect your future even if you are living outside the USA.

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Fiat Currency or Real Assets, take your pick

Ever wonder how the story of each fiat currency plays out in the end? Ever question why things are getting more expensive? What's the cause of inflation? is it true that food and things are getting scarce? Or are our money worth less now because loose monetary policies around the world?

So, if these fiat currencies are devaluing each day, wouldn't it be wise to store your monetary value in real assets like gold, silver and other commodities? Take a pick, because when the day of reckoning comes, it will be too late when you realized that your paper dollar has turned into monopoly money.

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Meltup

I would to share this video I found on www.inflation.us it's a very interesting video on the impending hyperinflation that may strike the US economy, and how it will affect the whole economy and ultimately how it will matter to you. Educate yourself and be prepared for the next huge financial roller coster ride.

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis

Educate yourself in what's coming our way. Man, when this next financial bubble burst, it's going to be so huge, it will make the Leman Brothers collapse and the 2008 crisis looks like child's play.

Prepare yourself for the mother of all bubbles.

a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua

Close to 12,000 opt for CPF Life

Source: Straits Times Oct 18, 2009

Close to 12,000 opt for CPF Life

By Jamie Ee Wen Wei

It has been a busy month at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.

Members have been flooding its offices and phone lines with questions about the new CPF Lifelong Income Scheme For The Elderly (CPF Life), which was opened last month to those aged 55 and above.

Almost 30,000 people have walked into its five service centres to ask about the scheme, said Mr Tey Chee Keong, deputy director of CPF Board's lifelong income department.

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Payout of $360 a month on retiring

In two years' time, when she turns 62, Madam Yeo Ai Kiaw (above) will get a payout of about $360 a month from her CPF Life Basic plan.

The plan, which has the lowest payout among the four options, will allow her to leave more money to her beneficiaries when she dies.

'My husband and I are now living with our son. He and his wife take care of all the household bills. I don't have to worry about anything,' said the sprightly 60-year-old.

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Preparing himself for a longer life

Mr Palaniappan Kannappa is not afraid of death but he is worried about 'living too long'.

'The Minimum Sum in my CPF will dry up in about 20 years. What will happen if I live longer than that?' he said. So the 59-year-old accountant started shopping for a retirement policy a year ago.

Around that time, he read about the CPF Life plan, which was introduced to the public last year.

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Mr Cheng Yew Fatt wants to remain independent in his old age

Mr Cheng Yew Fatt wants to remain independent in his old age.

For this reason, the 55-year-old, who is unemployed, signed up for the CPF Life Plus plan last month.

It provides him with a higher monthly payout than the Life Balanced plan, but leaves less for his beneficiaries. It suits him because he feels his three children are already well protected financially.

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His savings will run out in 5 years

Mr Lee Poh Lee is a family man, but last month, he signed up for the CPF Life Income Plan, which will give him the maximum payout from his CPF from next year.

The 63-year-old, who runs a crane rental company, decided on this plan because his CPF savings are low.

'I've only about $19,000 in my CPF so it'll run out very fast.'

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He's not signing up

When Mr Christopher Seet turned 55, he invested $70,000 from his CPF in an American International Assurance (AIA) annuity plan.

Early this year, he started getting a monthly payout of $562.

Now 62, Mr Seet does not intend to sign up for CPF Life. He said it does not bother him that the monthly payout he is getting now will last for only 17 years, unlike the CPF annuity scheme, which is for a lifetime. 'What is important is the present. If I really outlive my savings, then I'll just have to find some way to make ends meet.'

Stocks 'gain from crisis'

Sources: Straits Times Oct 19, 2009

Stocks 'gain from crisis'

More investors turn to equities due to low bank rates and fewer options

By Alvin Foo, Markets Correspondent

THE equities industry has gained tremendously because of the global financial crisis, said the head of a key stockbroking company in Singapore.

Investors - faced with near-zero bank deposit interest rates and fewer alternative options for their funds - have turned to stocks in a big way.

This trend is set to continue, even as Western funds are expressing more interest in Asian stocks.

DBS Vickers chairman and chief executive Edmund Lee told The Straits Times: 'Our industry has benefited in a very big way, because there are only two asset classes that have performed in the last 12 months - equities and property.'

His company was named the best retail broker at the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (Sias) awards earlier this month.

In Singapore, the surge in the Straits Times Index (STI) bears witness to the renewed interest and liquidity in stocks. Last week, the index hit a 13-month high, crossing the 2,700-point mark. It has recouped all of the losses incurred since the sharp selldown following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Minibonds payback

Source: Straits Times Oct 1, 2009

Minibonds payback
By Francis Chan

INVESTORS of Lehman Minibonds who are still holding the credit-linked notes should get some money back in 'a few months', said PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore (PwC), receivers of the toxic investments on Thursday.

The announcement will bring some cheer to investors who were unable to come to settlements with distributors that sold the products. It also allays fears that the process to recover some of the hundreds of millions of dollars lost would be bogged down in lengthy cross-border legal wrangles.

PwC said the receivers have taken control of the underlying collateral of the notes and have started the process of realising the residual values before paying noteholders. The collateral consists mainly of corporate bonds held by two special purpose vehicles in the Cayman Islands.

The receivers reached an agreement recently with Lehman Brothers Special Financing (LBSF), the swap counter-party in the Minibonds programme here.

This deal clears the way for the next step, which involves the receivers appointing a disposal agent - believed to be a global investment bank - within the next few days.

The agent will begin liquidating the underlying collateral so that certain payment obligations, including some due to LBSF, can be made. The balance of the funds will be distributed to noteholders.

The amounts they receive will depend on what series or tranches of notes they are holding. PwC said the process will 'take a few months to liquidate the collateral and determine the actual value which can be realised'.

Although PwC could not say when noteholders might get some money back, or how much they will get, due to confidentiality obligations.

'This settlement provides certainty to the noteholders that at least some of their initial investment will be recovered,' said Mr Dominic Nixon, a partner at PwC and one of three appointed receivers from the audit firm.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the deal with LBSF does not affect any claims individual investors are making against the financial institutions that sold them the notes.

'Investors who accepted partial settlement offers ... would have retained a portion of the notes, and will get to keep the residual value arising from those notes,' said MAS on Thursday.