Articles
Markets Down 12%: “SALE” Time, Not Sell Time
What are the regrets of fund managers and advisers who are still in the profession today, when they think of 2008-2009? Overnight, US equities ended sharply lower in the Thursday trading session, with S&P 500 finishing down for a sixth straight session yesterday....
Let Your Financial Plan And Adviser Anchor Your Confidence Even When Markets Are Fearful
The COVID-19 situation has riled people and businesses, and it seems that yesterday, global stock markets finally showed its fears, with the growing spread of the virus across countries, increased deaths and large clusters in Europe, and fears in the US. The US...
2019 Household Income Report: What To Do With Your Most Important Financial Asset
Every February, the Singapore Department of Statistics releases the Key Household Income Trends. We had that release today, 20 February 2020. A common response to this report is that of feeling rather underwhelmed but yet without surprise. All employees know that...
How Does Budget 2020 Affect Us In Our Personal Finance?
Just as Budget 2020 had short-term, midterm and long-term implications, we can also adjust our personal finances across these time periods to better prepare for our financial future. In the short term, think about how you can better manage your cash flows. With the...
Why Most Needs Can Be Covered By Term Insurance?
Mark is a good friend of mine. Some years back he had the opportunity of his life time to build his dream house on a piece of land given to him by his grandfather and he had a budget of $1 million. After many months of construction and renovation, it was finally...
When Markets Fall Because of an Epidemic: Stay Put, Stay Healthy
This article is adapted from an email to MoneyOwl clients on 28 January 2020. I usually write to our investing clients once a month after the month end, but the jitters surrounding the spread of the coronavirus spurred me to do so earlier. At the start of the week on...
To Do Well In Your Investments, Ignore Market Outlooks
A year ago, at about this time, market watchers were generally pessimistic about 2019. After all, just a month ago on Christmas Eve of 2018, markets (represented by MSCI World Index) fell by 11.76% as fears of an impending trade war between China and US grew. We...
Giving Your Child a Financial Head Start – CNY Edition
Happy 2020 and what a busy start to the year it has been! This article is for parents who are interested in imbuing their children with financial wisdom. Just as we are getting into the swing of things, i.e., getting balance in our work-life, recovering from the mini...
Why We Have No Strategic Allocation to Gold
"All that glitters is not gold; Often have you heard that told: Many a man his life hath sold But my outside to behold: Gilded tombs do worms enfold." - The Merchant of Venice Gold recently hit a 7-year high with the recent talk of military conflict between the US and...
We have no 2020 outlook
A very happy new year! At this time of the year, fund managers like to do a review of markets in the past year and a forecast or outlook for the coming year. Occasionally, a few would compare – usually when they are right – the market in review versus their initial...
2019 Market Review
A lot can happen in a year. Looking back at how 2018 ended, it was hard to be extremely bullish headed into 2019, yet as it turns out, extreme bullishness is what gripped both stock and bond market investors over the course of the year. The US stock market fell almost...
Optimising Your CPF with a Personal Touch (Pt. 2)
In our earlier article (click here to refer), we looked at the projected CPF savings of a new joiner to the workforce with plans to get his own place after 5 years. In this article, we will look at a middle-aged profile looking at upgrading their property. Profile 2:...
