Stock picking – not something I believe, do or condone personally on regular basis. After all, how many industries or stocks we can follow with a business to run or a day job? Here’s my take, the part where I
Property investment dominates the day as of the time of this writing, until government has to step in to curb the speculators’ action (especially bulk buys, etc) by announcing various measures. The most recent (and perhaps “impactful”) is a new
Do you have extra cash on hand that you are considering to invest? Before thinking of the may possible things you can spend that extra cash on, better invest your money first in picking the right health insurance in Malaysia.
Yes, it is possible to do so next year in 2014. It is a combination of a few factors – Budget 2014, your age and Private Retirement Scheme (PRS). “So simple?” you asked? It is, and I am surprised why
During a recent LIVE webinar with KCLau.com audience, I was presenting awareness and education on medical insurance. The most common and important thing is to understand what it means by co-insurance, co-payment and deductible. Very important is because all these
What is the definition of a will and why we need it? One word – wealth distribution tool a crucial part of comprehensive financial plan after one has crossed over to the other realm. Believe it or not, we all
There is nothing new in the book Value Investing in Growth Companies – How to spot high growth businesses and generate 40% to 400% investment returns by Rusmin Ang and Victor Ch’ng. That might sound negative, but really it isn’t.
It is always an enlightening experience for a person of my age to get to know really successful people/business owners in my line of work. Although I do have clients from all walks of life, it is that some of
Whether you are a top notch business man or you are just a 9-5 employee, there are some universal money saving rules that apply to all of us in general. For whatever business you engage yourself in, wealth accumulation is
Statistics show that only 20% of small investors ever come close to achieving their investment goals. The other 80% get eaten alive by “investment sharks”—investment advisors, fund managers and other hucksters out to line their pockets with your hard-earned cash.
Any drop in stock price will send jitters down investors’ spine – no matter you are a savvy or a layman investor. Most M-REIT counters, known for its high yielding traits and relatively non-volatile price, suffered double digit drop in
A bold statement indeed, aye? At one point or another in our lives, I think we are guilty of doing this without realizing it. All our money making efforts are focused in generating more income and acquiring more assets, but
Here, I wish share with you the part of my long term retirement portfolio which is being managed by a private fund manager, in KLSE. The potentials are higher return – matching long term savings with long term investment. Below
Day in, day out, I got asked by strangers, readers and prospects – “What do I do on daily basis as independent financial adviser?” Is it by being not tied to any products providers but instead representing customers in sourcing
Taming the Money Sharks by Professor Philip S Cheng – I cannot find a better phrase to describe this book other than taking this from its back cover – “Down-to-earth strategies guaranteed to make you “shark-proof’ while optimizing your investment
Can anyone claim he has never lost money investing in the stock market, or any investment for that matter? The book by Professor Philip Cheng, Taming the Money Sharks: 8 Super-Easy Stock Investment Maxims is dedicated to all retail investors
Are M-REIT bad investments now? Should an investor long in REIT liquidate their positions now given that the unit prices of M-REITs have retreated some 10% plus from their highs or should an investor accumulate slowly? Why is there a sell down
How to become an independent financial adviser – that is one of the questions I got asked every now and then. Can you become one just by passing some sort of exams, like unit trust agent or insurance agent? Can
If reports have been anything to go by, we are all seriously in debt. As reported by major dailies through the month of June; Malaysia’s household debt stands at a staggering 86% of the country’s GDP, the highest ratio in
Do you feel yourself slogging at work – getting tired of clocking in, clocking out routine every single week? The money is good for now though; supporting your current lifestyle, although you doubt that with the increment you are getting
Despite the fact that investment linked insurance policy sounds like going against the concept of using insurance for sole protection purpose, it is still the first policy anyone should get due to a balance between cost versus feature. But this
As the public get savvier and financial markets mature in Malaysia, independence in form of fee based financial advisory will get increasingly popular. This is when the trend turns away from ubiquitous financial products and homogeneous asset management or unit
The past 3 weeks have been busy time for me. Was at KL one whole week – giving a talk on REIT investing; also meeting people whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise if it weren’t for HowToFinanceMoney.com and if I
Financial independence – it is the ultimate goal of why we are doing what we are doing day in, day out, yes? According to the author of the book by Wiley – John J. Vento, this is akin to getting
This episode 2 we are going to instill awareness on the options you have when you want to save for a major financial goal in the future. Like child education. The first come to mind is endowment insurance policy or
Just last week, the firm I am with, Fin Freedom invited the Chief Investment Officer of Company P, Mr Ang Kok Heng, all the way from KL, to present a 1.5 hours by-invitation-only private session with clients at Fin Freedom
Every other day, when a prospect or existing client told me the monetary burden of not having money for proper investment – one of the thing I’d ask is – “How much is your monthly insurance commitment?” Some replied –
Hektar REIT is one of the first retail REITs in Malaysia but with the emergence of other bigger retail REITs like Capita Malls Malaysia Trust and IGB REIT, it often get overlooked among many investors. I personally think it deserve
I am sure everybody knows you can invest your Mandatory Retirement Fund Account 1 money into unit trust. What a lot of people don’t know is that you can also invest in shares via an approved asset manager. You either
People won’t buy from you if they don’t trust you no matter how much return or how much value you could promise & deliver. It is even so MORE important when dealing with other people’s money. Fair comment? This article
I often got asked – “What kangtao you got?” or “What lubangs you got?” – which, more often than not means – any way to make good money with minimum risk and effort? Of course, there is. But before I
Quick updates on REIT sector in Malaysia. Basically what the Malaysian REIT Managers Association lead by Dato Stewart Labrooy is submitting proposal to the Securities Commission to allow REITs to take on construction risk. What it means is that instead
When the phrase “Making a dent in the universe” is mentioned, the late Steve Jobs came into the mind. I mean, even if you are not using an iPhone, who don’t know what an iPhone is right? The book by
Insurance is an essential part of financial planning into achieving our eventual financial freedom. If I were to quote this saying – “Sex is like air, it’s not important unless you are not getting any” and apply it to insurance,
Have you heard of the term – investment purification? Wonder how the analogy of cooking a delicious curry – selecting the right ingredients and then mixing them in the right amount – could be used in the investment portfolio selection
The term – financial planner is overused in the industry today. Any financial intermediary attached to an insurance company, a unit trust agency or a bank can be a financial planner. However, a fully licensed financial advisory firm refers to
e tax filing dateline for employees (BE form) has been extended for another 2 weeks until 15 May, in case you are not aware of this already or your financial planner didn’t tell you. Here’s another thing you should know
I got this “From the Desk of CIO (Chief Investment Office)” letter I received in my inbox this morning, for my EPF investment scheme in a private managed fund. Basically, this option is more exotic than your normal investment withdrawal
It is a straight talk, no holds barred discussion with MoneyTree Malaysia CEO, Brandon Liew on money issues affecting most Asian families. But before that, I asked Brandon if he has any good story to tell about the founding of
Will you be amazed if a 7 years old can explain the concept of inflation in his own words? Apparently that is the outcome of the financial education program run by MoneyTree. I interviewed the CEO and founder of MoneyTree
Who would have thought the story of ants and grasshopper we learn in elementary school is applicable to personal finance? Yeah, I am talking about frugality and money management. How does this relate to the ant and grasshopper story? For
“Financial independence is subjective” – that’s what John KS Lim told me when I interviewed him. Who is John Lim? Unlike previous interviews where I connect with CEOs, authors or founders of companies, this time I did something different. John
This interview with CEO of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust, Sharon Lim Hwee Li would not have materialized if not for the tremendous help by the CapitaMalls Asia Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing, Mr Lim Seng Jin. The properties in CapitaMalls
There is this article in Personal Money March 2013 on protection against women-specific diseases. And since I got married last December, with peers around me or whose wife are planning for baby soon, I started to look for these lady
I was at Cititel Midvalley from Sunday till Tuesday earlier this week. Primarily I had an appointment with CEO and Head of Finance of the REIT Manager for AmFIRST REIT at Menara AmFIRST, Petaling Jaya. I shall keep the details
The good guys at iMoney.my made another superb info graphic on what Malaysians or anyone with money in Malaysian banks should know about – and that’s PIDM. Lots of facts explained, and lots of myths debunked. Myths like, you can lose anything
Whether you need money in a pinch or have grown bored with your jewelry and want some new pieces, you should seriously think of selling your jewelry for money. You might think that selling your jewelry is a waste of
With the proper knowledge, wealth can be obtained and sustained. Make money work harder for you instead of let time work against you. Risks only comes from not knowing what you are investing in. You are unique, and only you
I wonder do you save coins in a jar? I had done it for my kids. Last 2 weeks ago, I decided to deposit my coins into kid’s saving account but i was told by H__C bank that they will
A cold email to Sunway REIT Investor Relations Manager, Ms Crystal Teh Lay Ling end of last year was another shot in the dark in my attempt to reach out to various REIT Managers. There’s always this gap between what
If you are someone in the investing or finance profession, do you get this a lot? Or, even if you *seem* to be someone who have more success or experience in investing money, the first question people are eager to
The first thing you’ll need to do as an online retailer is to market your goods in places where buyers and potential clients frequent most. Fortunately, these platforms are increasingly becoming a common phenomenon. Nonetheless, not all the places you’ll
Sustaining a personal injury because of someone else’s negligence is one of the worst experiences a person could ever go through. You could suffer emotional, property, and/or physical damage, and recovering is never easy. This is why you need to
The layman approach to retirement is to save a huge lump sum of money, and then set a limit of how much one could spend on annual basis for the next, say 20 to 30 years. Now, layman doesn’t necessarily
Your credit score (also called your FICO score) is the number assigned to you by credit rating agencies that indicates whether they consider you to be a good credit risk or a bad credit risk. This is vitally important in
Your house should be your safe space away from the rest of the world. Sure, there may be problems going on internally, but at the end of the day you will always have your house to return to and it
During the 2013 Chinese New Year, I got to meet a very interesting 26 years old. His name is Michael (name changed), and he happened to be my subscriber, my customer for REITMethod and RetireMethod course, plus, a hometown junior
A lot of people have doubts on the need to have a financial plan. Some even ask – what’s that for? If you look at it from personal level, what is our ultimate goal in life after studying and working
When I emailed the CEO of AmARA REIT Managers, (the manager of AmFIRST REIT) Lim Yoon Peng directly requesting an interview, it was a shot in the dark (Just for the record, I’ve only seen Axis REIT CEO and AmFIRST
If you don’t know that already about Lai Seng Choy, he didn’t claim himself a self-made millionaire. But he admitted he controls his expenses very tightly. Case in point – if our monthly expenses is MYR 3500 a month, we
Financial planning – why do you need it? You might retort – “I already have insurance coverage” or “I already have my money well invested”. All these are from different product providers but let’s take a step back – is
How do you call a man who join the insurance industry not to sell but just to get hands-on experience on insurance products itself? Dumb. But when when that man is Lai Seng Choy, you’ll be dumb not to listen
When I got to know of this book called Freedom, written by a man on the street you and I could relate to, I was curious to find out more. I contacted the publisher, Kanyin to reach out to the
Save more. Spend less. Invest more, speculate less. Budgeting. Financial and retirement planning. Grand plans that sound like all the cliched answers at beauty pageants – “Everything I do is for world peace, bla bla bla”. That’s a lot of bullsh*t, don’t you
Hey my loyal readers, please ignore this post if you are busy. Why? Because this is just my last minute attempt at winning RM 5,000 (and possibly a shot at an Asus Nexus 7 tablet) participating in Maybank2u Facebook App
My subscribers are well aware of my affinity with investing in REIT, M-REITs to be specific. And I’ve helped some of my subscribers/readers into understanding REIT investing via REITMethod.com, an online educational course I co-founded with KCLau. Some of these
Have you ever wondered how to donate money? Yes, for real, I am not talking about donating some spare change of a few cents or ringgit to the beggar in the street and a lady who approached you in the
After finishing The Value Investors: Lessons from the World’s Top Fund Managers by Ronald Chan, I come to realize value investing is not just a concept in practice. It is highly dependent on your character – either you have it or you don’t.
A reader questioned this previous article of mine…Inflation and Consumer Price Index – All Time Low! … Actually, she questioned the validity of the Y.O.Y (Oct 2012) inflation data by Malaysia Department of Statistics of only 1.3 percent compared to 2012. After
Extra money by this time of the year will send a surge of euphoria in many people. Bonus will always comes in handy especially those who have been through hard time and learnt about the value of money. But before
It’s definitely a good news for my fellow countrymen. Year to date inflation stands at 1.7 percent only as we speak, compared to 3_ percent last year. Maybank KE projection for year 2013 is at 2.7 percent, which, if it
KLCC Property counter surged to all time high today. Even if you are not a REIT investor, you would have noticed this news on KLCC Property. And even if you are not a stock market investor, you know what is
Symbiosis. That is the best term to describe the relationship between banks and us, the consumer. For the uninformed, Google the term or flip your secondary school Science or Biology textbooks, haha. Who can live without bank services nowadays right? We
It’s a sensitive issue when money is concerned. Many us will never find it enough, is reluctant to give some of it away but is more than willing to blow a lot of it away just so to fulfil our
Growth, transparency and healthy competition. These are the key words best used to describe the REIT industry in Malaysia. Now, if you are an investor, would these be the exact same things are you looking for? Growth is needed to
Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) is the talk of the town right now. Hwang is the first to launch its PRS funds, and I’ve read its prospectus. In this post, I’ve distilled the most important things you should know about any
This is an information sent to me by Peter Lim of BursaMethod. I am not invested in this stock, but if you currently a shareholder of this company, then by all means read this. In an age where trust and
To celebrate a milestone in reaching 1000 facebook fans, I am giving away one copy of the book by KC Lau and Amy Sipagal, Top 93 Personal Finance FAQs in Malaysia. It’s not exactly the latest book now, and you
If the answer is YES, and you thought I am referring to fixed deposit or bonds, then you are dead wrong. Fixed deposit and bond do not provide capital growth. The answer lies in real estate investment trust (not to
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) – frequent readers of my site know that I am an advocate of this investment vehicle. On top of that I also run a REIT investment online educational program at REITMethod.com, the first of its
Just like any other trend, today, people with lots of money tend to invest on real estate or commercial properties. *This scenario only valid in Malaysia, further study needed in other country. 1. If you are going for rental business
When I talked to Jared Lim, the head honcho at LoanStreet.com.my, I am absolutely sure LoanStreet can dramatically simplify your mortgage loan application process. And best of all, it is free to use. Think of it as your mortgage loan
I am not speculating over here – this is based on facts and figures from Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. Here’s what happening during Q3 2012: business is generally in contractionary mode. If you are an employee, you know that
This is the continuation of Private Retirement Scheme Roadshow – Key Takeaway Part 1. Click here if you missed the first part. This part contains in-depth info on PRS at the time of writing, plus some thought-provoking questions/comments from the speakers
Money habits – what are yours? My friend, AK at Singaporean Stock Investor posted his 7 money habits (inspired from the late Stephen R Covey’s book – 7 habits of highly effective people) which we all could relate too, but
I was at the Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) Roadshow & Seminar 2012 as special guest on 12 October at Penang. It is an event organized by Money Compass, one of the premier wealth magazine in Malaysia. Why was I there?
Note that I currently don’t invest in commodity such as gold or silver. However, the Consult the Expert section in Personal Money Oct 2012 issue may contain a complete set of answers for potential silver investors. FYI, Maybank is offering
This gist of this article, originated from A Singaporean Stock Investor blog, strikes a chord with me that I have to re-post it here with slight modification, and tweak it to suit for Malaysians. All words are from the author, AK and the
Personal finance experts in this episode combined entrepreneurship with value investing to supercharge their money growth. Ken is the CEO and co-founder of 8 Investment Pte Ltd, a company that focuses on equity investments and education. He was also awarded the Spirit
Budget 2013, termed the election or voter friendly budget, is finally out. Proof? No subsidy reductions or GST or increase in tobacco/alcohol duties. As usual, it is a long list of goodies that man in the street like you and
Knowing is power, negligence bring disaster, if you know how bank works, crack the code,and you can get your money back from them. Here is the list of what they do 1. Annual fee or supplementary card fee – banks often
This is the sequel to Different Equity Compensation Plans you should know as an Employee and is happening all around us. Know the jargons to impress your colleague 🙂 Golden Handshake Usually provided to top executives for loss employment through layoffs, firing or even
..so said Warren Buffett, during his recent talk (14 Sept 2012) with MBA student at Richard Ivey School of Business (based on notes from market folly). He further adds… I don’t know! It’s not about high IQ. I am also puzzled
Today, I want you to pick the “wrong answer” in this multiple choice question. Where’s the question? There is none. Just use your logical thinking. Ok here goes. A) KC Lau, bestseller author (Top Money Tips for Malaysians), founder of
If you didn’t get IGB REIT IPO, should you buy the stock when it goes listing then? Probably at a price which is higher than RM 1.25/share? Check your chances below and if your IPO money already got refunded, soon.
Successful investors are process-based, rather than product based when it comes to investment decisions. Even if you are provided with the an investment vehicle with the most lucrative potential returns, making consistent profit is unlikely if you depend solely on
What Queries You Have on Buying Stocks and Applying IPO at KLSE? Firstly, I cannot claim to be an expert in each and every aspects. But you know what, sometimes we just have these unknown things inside us – with
I am glad that the simplified version of IGB REIT IPO prospectus, in video form, has received so much gratitude and good response from readers. As you might have already known, I am neither a financial analyst nor an investment
IGB REIT IPO retail offering has been delayed from its original date of 23 August 2012, pending Securities Commission final approval on its prospectus. However, this does not deter us from conducting due diligence based on the earlier draft of