Wow.. So much jewelry! Enough for 4 wives!

i used to think like you, thinking everyday is a brilliant day, always counting when i will achieve 1m, 10m, and 100m. My wife keeps on reminding me that not everyday is a good day. Once you are hit by 1 in a 100 year event, like Asian Financial Crisis, or Subprime Crisis, it may be very difficult to continue that CAGR of 20%, as mathematically you will need to get at least 100% return to get back your capital pre crisis if you suffer 50% loss, if you cannot find additional source of capital. That may warrant you to take unnecessary risks and cause further capital loss. I find avoiding trapped in a major crisis is more important to achieve high return.

As a matter of fact, i am currently having the exact dilemma of whether to start liquidating my portfolio as i have achieved my financial goal 3 year ahead of schedule, or continue the aggressive investment strategy..

Stock market record highs. Property, gold, silver etc everything also so high. If sell the stocks, also dont know where to reinvest the money.. Put in FD, sure eaten up by inflation. Any advice?

Hi, want to share my experience…

My wife and I came from middle class families. Both of us graduated from Australian universities in the 90s, courses paid for by our parents. I managed to attain 1M net asset 7 years after working. However, due to financial obligations to siblings, parents from both sides and own family, wealth accumulation had been slower than I expected. Things only brightened up the last few years after obligations to siblings have been fulfilled according to my parent’s wish.
Now I work 11 hr day, 6 day week, including public holidays, down from 14hrs previously, will reduce to 8-9 hrs next year to spend time with family

Salary – 25% our monthly income.
Private fund management. – 75% of total income.

Age: 50+

Assets:
Five properties, estimated 22M
Two 10-year old cars worth 30k
Equities invested in various countries about 12M.
EPF 1M
Business – Not appraised.

Liabilities
Loan – 5.5M

Feel free to comment.

This post has been edited by newbie99: Apr 26 2024, 05:03 PM

Ok. It's a long 37yr journey... will try to share when I can free up my time.

A very short summary.. I am not trained in finance, so take my words with a pinch of salt.

If you are not in finance line, you will need good contacts to give you good and reliable information. Get to know your fund managers and invest in their funds to get their reports, and be helpful, nice and generous to everyone. For example, if I meet hksgmy and wife one day, i will treat them to Michelin star dinner. 

Risk management. So the saying goes 'take care of the downside, and the upside will take care of itself'. I used to concentrate my investment in around 10 stocks when I first started but now I invest in 20+ stocks in a few countries. My rationale is by investing in about 20+ instead of 10 stocks, the potential portfolio return is still the same but i can mitigate the risk if one company suffers.

Take calculated risks. I refinanced my properties in AFC, GFC and Covid to invest in stocks. It generally took 2 months to get the loans approved, so timings were good, because each time, the loans were approved when stocks were near rock bottom.

I dont invest in property now as property didnt give me the return equities gave me.

This post has been edited by newbie99: Apr 27 2024, 10:04 AM

In Australia, all foreign derived income including dividends, capital gains, r taxable if u r a tax resident there unless u choose not to declare them. But with CRS, it can be difficult as ur SG info will be shared with Aust automatically, and later in life if u decide to transfer all these to Australia, u will have a lot of explanations to do.

Yes you can do that but most boutique funds only send monthly reports to their clients and I would prefer the convenience of calling them directly if i need to take immediate actions. Often the info u can obtain through conversations can help u make better decisions.

House - Possible to stay with your parents and rent out this house?
Transport - Get a cheaper car next time, one you can comfortably pay with cash or within 2 years.
Income - Learn up another skill to help you with a 2nd income.

Your commitment is pretty high. You need to build up your liquid asset so you dont miss out on investment opportunities in future.

Is it that important to wear an expensive suit and watch to meet your client in Investment Banking? It could be a double edged sword, either the client thinks u are not managing your finances properly or you are very good in your job.
I have met many over the years, and most of them drive bigger and more expensive cars than their clients. Guess Investment banking pays really well! Unfortunately my children are not interested in studying finance.

A bit of update since it's end of 2024,

Assets:
Left 4 properties, estimated 19M (Sold 1 property around 3M, will be using the fund to finance investment which yields higher return).
Added one car, 3 cars estimated 240k (Since my better half feels unsafe driving long distance with the old cars)
Equities invested in various countries values 13M (Self investment YTD 27%, Fund Investment YTD 16%, so far)
EPF 1M
Business – Not appraised.
Property sale - 3M awaiting payments


Liabilities
Loan – 5.4M

This post has been edited by newbie99: Dec 21 2024, 11:20 AM

Mainly in stocks, approximately Malaysia 40%, SG 20% US 18%, HK 17%, Indo 2% and Philipine 3%.
Stock:Managed Fund:Cash ratio = 10:5:1

KLCI return is -10% over the past 10 years. It's not easy to yield a good return from Malaysia stocks.
Only 11 out of 30 stocks in my portfolio r in KLSE. They are a mixed bag of big and smaller cap growth stocks with div yield of around 4-5%. I bought them for capital gains as I also trade the volatility. Good dividend yield is just a bonus.

This post has been edited by newbie99: Feb 22 2025, 02:51 PM