Investing

[jpatokal]

Stockmarkets around the world are irrationally exuberant, bond yields are terrible, property prices are through the roof and even fixed deposits get barely 2%. Where should the conservative investor put his money these days?

(And anybody who replies to this with "PM me for details about the Stinky Durian Growth and Double Lucky Prosperity Fund!" will be shot.)

[abliss1971]

Hi

I hear you !

Returns are always down to market conditions and lets be honest, if we could control these we would both be sat on a boat in Monaco. However tax efficient investment planning is key, especially as you are offshore. Savings in tax is free money and comes with no additional risk. I could show you some great ways to save on tax, No CGT, No Income tax on your withdrawals, No tax on interest etc etc even on your return to home country.

I could tell you lots more but really need to know more about your personal situation.

Happy to help if you want to chat more.

Adrian

[jpatokal]

Do you have problems with reading comprehension? I'm not asking about taxes (I have those worked out quite nicely, thank you), I'm asking about sensible places to invest, and I specifically said I don't want any solicitations from slimy financial advisers who are just trying to pimp the products that get you the highest commissions.

I could tell you lots more but really need to know more about your personal situation. Happy to help if you want to chat more.

[Asian_Geekette]

Do you have problems with reading comprehension? I'm not asking about taxes (I have those worked out quite nicely, thank you), I'm asking about sensible places to invest, and I specifically said I don't want any solicitations from slimy financial advisers who are just trying to pimp the products that get you the highest commissions.

I could tell you lots more but really need to know more about your personal situation. Happy to help if you want to chat more.

jpatokal,

No need to get violent. Some people just need to make some money.

[abliss1971]

I offered to help - you need it, in more ways than one

[Strong Eagle]

Stockmarkets around the world are irrationally exuberant, bond yields are terrible, property prices are through the roof and even fixed deposits get barely 2%. Where should the conservative investor put his money these days?

(And anybody who replies to this with "PM me for details about the Stinky Durian Growth and Double Lucky Prosperity Fund!" will be shot.)

Just a couple of things come to mind. Need to invest in a currency that will stay even or appreciate against the Sing $$. Leaves out US investments.

Property may be high but will continue to grow short of a world recession.

Stock market here may be overheated but what about Australian stocks (particularly mining)?

Oh... and I have some Scottish Widows and Orphans Life Insurance funds you can invest in.

[jpatokal]

I offered to help - you need it, in more ways than one

If you have any advice you'd care to share on this public forum, I'm all ears.

[jpatokal]

Just a couple of things come to mind. Need to invest in a currency that will stay even or appreciate against the Sing $$. Leaves out US investments.

Yeah, I already gambled on the Japanese yen starting to appreciate last year. It's been six months now and so far things have been going precisely the wrong way, but I'll hang on for a while longer...

Property may be high but will continue to grow short of a world recession.

Any way you look at, I don't think current pricing in Singapore is sustainable. Right now, there's a supply-side crunch because not much was built for a while and lots of condos have been razed to make way for new bigger ones. Once they all come online, prices will crash. And then it'll be time to buy

Stock market here may be overheated but what about Australian stocks (particularly mining)?

Basic on a 10-second Googling, the markets Down Under seem to be hitting record highs too? I'm a firm believer in "buy low, sell high".

[ksl]

UTAC (SES:U12.SI) Too high at the moment, buy between 80 and 85 is a fair price, 75 is an excellent buy and it does sometimes drop that far depending on outside threats. it is expected to peak at 1.25. this is a cyclic share, which may peak 3 times a year to various levels! best sell time is before dividend payout! And wait for the big drop.

Many companies introduce more shares rather than paying cash! The introduction of more shares has you know weakens the price, although you are compensated with the extra shares, these companies normally hit a really low point on the slightest outside threat to the markets, thats the time to buy in.

This is high risk high returns and should be short term trading, the engineers that own the company all came from TSMC of Taiwan, they took all their gained knowledge over the years, and decided to setup in China. Listed in Hong Kong and Singapore not Taiwan, they are the cream of TSMC and know what they are doing.

At present its beeing pushed up by overall market conditions, and not actual growth, it should tail off, to around 85 and lower in the spring, I personally never chase peaks, I always stick to a gain of between 14 and 21%,

These type of shares nearly always revert back to where they started, with more shares floated for development and research funding.

Another really good one is D-link, I sold at 52 TWD having purchased at 30 although I'm still waiting for the drop, it went on to hit 71TWD the first time for a very long time its been up that high Although back in 2000 it touched 80TWD. Always buy below 40TWD or the equivalent.

I have a gamble on LCD and I mean a gamble, based on the technology to date, at present there is very small investment in further development of G7 and higher factories. Basically because there have been too many players and the price reductions on monitors need to be stabilised.
None of the monitors were of any real value to consumers, if you compared picture quality, because the digital supply wasn't around, it takes a very long time for the full conversion for true digital hardware, which i believe is to be completed by 2010.

Consolidation has always been on the books to stabilise price, and this year i can see improvements, in the lower stable; Chungwha Picture Tubes, and Hannstar, these are low prices at present, And with Samsung out sourcing to 5 Companies in Taiwan. I do see a substantial development to kerb price reduction in the market. AUO and CMO, Hannstar and Chunghwa are the leaders in Taiwan.

Taiwan is also producing more than Korea, due to Samsungs outsourcing to Taiwan.

I have the LCD has a long term investment and its pure speculation on my part, but we are coming into an era now, where they have to start delivering digital transmissions, these shares will not take off, untill the hardware is in place, to take over from the CRT, and I believe many companies this year have cut or stopped CRT production, so I believe in the next 2 or 3 years, we will see, a substantial growth in the manufacturing of quality Large Screen Displays meaning 30inch and above, which will give substantial returns and growth which has been long waited for... 2010

Sold my Kepple Corp, which is another excellent share, although i can't see it dropping much so soon, but anything Kepple in my eyes, is meant to make money!

I personally like to play the high risk market, but i play safe by following the governments 7% per day movement rule, I can guarantee that the Taiwan market will not run limit up for 4 straight days. thats why i sell between 14% and 21% always on the 3rd day, they will drop before closing, locking in the profits.

Other than that I would look at Asian utilities, water, electric, steel and stainless steel, will see substantial growth in the long term in most Asian Countries. China, and India without a doubt! Although waiting for the markets to rock a little is whats needed to jump in and it will happen.

Happy hunting!

[2378lim]

Just a couple of things come to mind. Need to invest in a currency that will stay even or appreciate against the Sing $$. Leaves out US investments.

Yeah, I already gambled on the Japanese yen starting to appreciate last year. It's been six months now and so far things have been going precisely the wrong way, but I'll hang on for a while longer...

Property may be high but will continue to grow short of a world recession.

Any way you look at, I don't think current pricing in Singapore is sustainable. Right now, there's a supply-side crunch because not much was built for a while and lots of condos have been razed to make way for new bigger ones. Once they all come online, prices will crash. And then it'll be time to buy

Stock market here may be overheated but what about Australian stocks (particularly mining)?

Basic on a 10-second Googling, the markets Down Under seem to be hitting record highs too? I'm a firm believer in "buy low, sell high".

How about NZ$ for what know where year in june the rate will drop and when reach fed rate will go up.

[jpatokal]

How about NZ$ for what know where year in june the rate will drop and when reach fed rate will go up.

I wouldn't buy a currency now that's already appreciated 17% against the SGD during the last year:
http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/conve ... amt=1&t=1y

...but I kinda wish I'd bought it last year instead of JPY

[sq009]

How bout ETFs? They are relatively safe, higher % than Fix Ds, Not affected by interest rates fluctuation. Its more of a long term investment. but hey, as long as you can beat S&P 500 (15% within 3 years) Its actually not so bad.

The only drawback is to choose which Index to follow. Singapore ETFs are relatively safer with slightly lower returns. US ETFs are slightly better rated, but invest with care as there is an increasing concern of Petrodollar and changing of Oil denominator.

alternatively, open fix D at a Jap Bank which i did. Long story short, japan is under deflation, and jap banks cannot give negative interest rates. Therefore you earn the difference. (not as simple as it sounds like, but it works more or less this way)

Hope this helped

you can pm me to exchange ideas =)

[fuc_99]

is it really that good this year?

i heard it's very good this time last year

[jpatokal]

How bout ETFs? They are relatively safe, higher % than Fix Ds, Not affected by interest rates fluctuation. Its more of a long term investment. but hey, as long as you can beat S&P 500 (15% within 3 years) Its actually not so bad.

Isn't an exchange-traded fund (ETF) just a repackaged mutual fund, that is, a small slice of a big bundle of stocks? So your returns still depend on the stockmarket's fortunes, and if they go down, then so does your investment.

alternatively, open fix D at a Jap Bank which i did. Long story short, japan is under deflation, and jap banks cannot give negative interest rates. Therefore you earn the difference. (not as simple as it sounds like, but it works more or less this way)

Can you open a yen-denominated fixed deposit with positive interest at a Japanese bank in Singapore, or did you have to do this in Japan?

And a question... I once stumbled on a site that tracks the fixed deposit rates offered by all major Singapore banks. I didn't bookmark it and I was never able to find it again. Any ideas?

[sq009]

Being subjected to economical cycles. ETFs can be very much predictable. Moreover, they are alot more safer then mutual funds as they represent country indexes. Although returns suck at times, but 15% for S&P500 over 3 years is reasonable, and Gold ETF earned me more than 40% over the last 5 years. Not bad actually for an almost zero risk investment.

You can open a yen denominator account with a japanese bank such as mitsui bank in singapore. Just be sure that they do not convert your money back to US where it lands back into federal reserve in New York, therefore defeats its purpose. I opened mine in Tokyo when i was there for half a year as an in house consultant, and i got my friend to open an investment account for me too.

Investment in Tokyo stock exchange can be rather lucrative due to the exchange rate. But recently its being plagued by negative comments on Japanese Government under Abe.

Maybe the site was AskDrMoney ? But its not exactly accurate though