Thanks for the flattery words... yes, over the years I paid over 50k of tax... heck to IRS..

Personally, I'd retire and do what I enjoy most if I had your portfillio today 

I dont think u need anything more, unless u foresee that your current portfollio wont be able to sustain your retirement lifestyle u crave for........

If growth is the objective, then buying another prime retail/shop lot might be a good idea.......... 

this sound like some sorta Financial Planner kinda stuff which i hv attended...

Lawyer1,

If I am in your position, the ONLY kind of  insurance that I may consider is Critical Illness Insurance only.  And, the coverage has to be at least 1 million to 5 millions.  Shop around and see whether you can get a good deal.

That is one of the financial risk that you have not covered.

Plus, I will move some of money oversea too.  Too many eggs in Malaysia basket is not safe too.  And, if your children will be studying oversea, the money is there first.

Dreamer

a) haha...u considered ASM/ASW/AS1M as govern's bond, actually it is a fixed price equity fund managed by PNB, but you are not wrong as it is fixed at rm1/unit with stable return for the last 10 years. So i dont think u shd channel out the rm542K as "bond" in other country may not pay this stable income return, another good point for keeping $ in Malaysia is that u r not subject to the exchange risk (USD is depreciating now) plus u can use it anytime in Malaysia, as PNB products do not have tie in period, u can withdraw any amount anytime.

Right, that's what I thought too about the PNB funds, yes, since the RM is still my native currency, better stick with some RM and not go through currency risks. No, I'm not into USD, I'm into many other First World currencies besides the USD.

b) about the saving for children's overseas study, for my case, my parents do not financially support me in my tertiary education, they only did it till my secondary education, so for the degree programe i had self-financed myself, i made some part-times job whenever i can during my study time, and involve in small biz selling grocerry in uni Campus, this make me a good entreprenuer, and developed what i am today. Saving rm1million for child education is not my way, for my case, i will rather enjoy what i have earned, but not to give spoon feeding rm1mil fund for their tertiary education, if they want to spend rm1mil in education, they need to fight for it, getting scholarship or gain themselves. Furthermore, PTPTN loan is always available for those who can make it upto University in Malaysia (PTPTN open for both private and public uni students). If they study good enuf like getting 1st class degree, the loan will be converted to scholarship. So no burden for them to repay if they are really smart.

You are very determined person, I respect that. For my children, I think I would like to give them a better advantage for their lives,... don't know if this postion might change in future, but that's how I am thinking now. Yes, I know about PTPTN, and have been subscribing to the SSPN scheme in Malaysia.  Sure, scholarships and student loans are good, but if they do not become the "creme de la creme" when they grow up, then the scholarships and the study loans might not be in their hands. So how ?

I don't know.... but I think as parents, we should prepare for the worst, but hope for the best in our children.

c) You want to become a PR of selected country, do u mean singapore? For me, Malaysia is still the best place to stay, the living cost is among the lowest in developing country. Plus Malaysia is where i was born and raised, Do you know that many Singaporean migrates to other country as well? It is funny that we Malaysian chinese rushing to migrate to singapore while singaporean migrates to other countries.....If what u think is migrating to AUD/NZ, i think they also have some racist issues there....so think twice.

No, not Singapore, I am a half-Singaporean. And even if I am not, I don't think I'll migrate to Sgp. I do have quite some investments in Sgp, though,.... maybe another reason for the desire to migrate is I wanted some change in my life. Am bored in this country,...... so why not kill two birds with one stone - a change in poersonal life and at the same time, catch a PR in a place in order to reduce the university expenses for my children in future,...

well Lawyer1, I would keep the ASM/ASW2020 since it's actually more than OK return for that kinda risk...

If I were you, I would probably buy 1 or 2 more properties & put more money in foreign shares...

Yes, foreign shares,... times are still good for going in at this moment because the economy is not fully on the upswing yet,... I look at it this way, I am happy that I am at the right time and the right place for share investment. Why do I say these ? Well,... right time because this is a dwonswing in the economic cycle and I have the money now and right place because I am in a place which allows me to invest at wherever I wanted too - no more restrictions about taking my money out, unlike the nineties in Malaysia or even currently in Indonesia. So yes, more foreign shares.

Properties ? ....perhaps in North America, BUT definitely NOT in Malaysia anymore, I think I am satisfied with my props here. In Sgp ? Don't think so too,.... 'cos I don't think Sgp is in my future plans,....

I'm much less experienced than you financially...but about medicine in the US, it's not just about the cost. I did some research some time back and it looks like only something like 2% of the places for medicine is available for international students:

https://www.amherst.edu/admission/apply/int...ational/pre-med

Maybe you should consider the UK/AUZ for medicine studies...

Okay ! Thank you for the advice and the stats,.... I used medicine because off the board, medicine is an expensive course, and hard to get places anywhere in the world,.... Medicine is an eg,... my children may not want to go into such professions, they might want to be involved in the arts, dances, etc,....

About migration, maybe that's for your kids to consider, but i assume for your case since your business & contacts are in Malaysia, why move away from your source of income? I had met a few of my dad's friends who moved to Australia & are now complaining that they shouldn't have moved in the 1st place...sure you get so called good governance, maybe better standard of living but it's the "status" they missed the most.

Well,... I have heard of people coming back,... yeah,.. and my friends told me if I migrated, I will have to start my life ALL OVER AGAIN, compared against what I have achieved in Malaysia and Sgp,... To me, I am ready to START AGAIN. I am ready to imagine that I have just graduated from U,.... and am ready to take on small jobs to start with,... Whatever I have left behind is just that's all it is, something I left behind,.... I always think even in Malaysia, what status is there ? Perhaps my definition of status is different from everybody's,...

But the passive income I have built-up will be there, of course, and I shall reap the monthly income continuously with minimal work, that's the plan anyway.....

Yeah my bad. I am thinking about his case too much from my personal bias.\

Xuzen

Lawyer1,

1) ASM, ASW2020

I DO NOT TRUST the government.  And, I am AGAINST NEP.  So, NO ASx for me.  I ONLY recommend ASB for BUMI.  I ONLY invest on PBBank in Malaysia.  It has done much much better than those ASx in term of dividend yield.  Plus, I get GREAT capital appreciation.  Do you OWN study before investing in PBBank.  I ONLY put 5% of my money in PBBank.  90+% of my money is in oversea.

ASx are NOT bond fund.  It is 80% to 90% invested in stocks.  And, they are MOSTLY in GLCs.

Okay, I have read in your many posts about PNB and the GLCs. Very solid points,... and about Renong too,... Problem is I have not found another investment outside Malaysia that is safer than the above with the same or higher returns,... Secondly, I still need to park som many in my native currency,... Malaysia is still "my insurance", if I don't make it or cannot reside outside,.... for whatever reasons,....

Then again, even if I make it outside, then the first problem comes in again,... I'd like to share something with you all : do you know that many Bumis and non-Bumis still leave their investments in the PNB funds, and when the dividend comes, PNB has a facility whereby PNB will wire-transfer the dividend to these individuals who are residing outside of the country. So what do we see from here : simple, the PNB funds are still, or well, qualifies as one of the more viable investments.

Of perhaps I have not found a better investment outside than PNB,... not yet,...

2) Oversea Education

If it costs 1 million, why do it?? The children will have a better life living off the 1 million than spend it on education.  Plus, your children MAY NOT be the study kind.  No, I do not think it will cost 1 millions.  The cost of college education has grown TOO MUCH and it is about to change.  This has to follow the law of supply and demand.  If it costs too much, the demand will not be there.

Don't know again,... but still think it's better to use the money to get an education than just giving out the RM 1Mil to the young ones. Thanks for the info and the thinking about the cost of education,... makes sense,... but I think the Ivy League fees won't go down too much in future,....

3) Critical Illness Insurance -> 1 million to 5 millions

You have a lot of savings.  So, unless the Critical Illness costs you 1 million, it is NOT a problem for you.  Hence, it is NOT a FINANCIAL RISK.  Why buy insurance in that case??  You buy insurance to cover FINANCIAL RISK that you cannot handle.  Critical Illness that cost 1 million is a POTENTIAL RISK for you.

Great counting there, Dreamer,.... thank you,... 

Don't know,... but I have never thought much about insurance in my life,... I just do my best for myself and my family, and when the time comes to go, just go-lah,... I guessed this thinking pattern is very much different from the many people in this forum huh ?....

Dreamer

Lawyer1,

<<Foreign Currency FD>>

If it is in Malaysia, it is STILL not oversea.  At your level of wealth, I will be more comfortable opening an account in Singapore and keep the money there.  IMHO, foreign currency FD in Malaysia is NOT a good deal.  At your level of wealth, you could have just open an account in that country.  You can start at Singapore.  Then, you could either diversify to HK or Australia.
CrossFirE,

I invest ALL OVER the world and multiple asset classes: Stock, Bond, REIT.  Search on "dreamer" to get all my posts and detail

Dreamer

Ok here's my comments:

1) Haven't filed your annual taxes or filed it in good faith to LHDN.

Well, I am a lawyer, I will refrain from twisting this statement too much, after all, we are not in court. I practise Tax Avoidance, I have been vetted by the IRB previously and they have found that my ways are legal. The net result is I have more money in my hands because I do not need to contribute too much to the KWSP and I do not need to pay too much tax.

A reason why I set-up my own proprietorship is because I get to manage (and control) the taxes on my own. I have a theory whereby if an individual is able to do this, there is much financial profit to gain. Tax Avoidance is legal, if done properly, but Tax Evasion is ILLEGAL. There is a difference between the two, albeit the line is very fine.

On the KWSP, I am of the opinion that I can do better in my passive investments than earning the 4% to 6% from the KWSP every year. Hence, it's better that I hold the money myself and invest myself.

2) You forgot one important asset.  The value of your company.

Yes, you are right - the value of my company.

In the world of stocks investment, this parameter is called PB - Price-to-Book Value. No, I have not totally forgotten, but I consciously choose to ignore this because to me, the company is a source of Active Income, and we have to work for this income. My focus today is on Passive Income - whereby I am trying to find ways to make money without working, but letting the money work for us to make more money.

After all, when I settle down in future in a foreign country, the source of passive Income will play a very important role before I find a stable job, or get involved in a stable income-generating activity.

3) If you just move funds to and from company account to personal account, as you need, without accountability tracking, it's bad for company books, and shows lack of financial management at the company level.

It does not matter to me if my company books are bad, after all, it's a sole proprietorship, and I am not accountable to any external auditor. Neither do I have any partner, shareholder or independant director. I do not intend to turn it into a PLC, so I do not need to build a resume of good corporate governance. So long as I select my clients carefully and do not get into any bad dealings, my assets will not be jeopardised.

I have another theory here : building a Sdn Bhd or Pte Ltd is a lot of hassles, and the costs and expenses incurred are truly not necessary if we have the proper tactics and plans in-place. The purpose of a business is to make money with the minimum risk and hassles - so if these 2 objectives can be achieved, why not just set-up a sole proprietorship ?

4) Great investment portfolio.  KWSP savings is low based on annual income at early 40's, meaning pretty low self declared monthly salary all this time.

Thank you,... Second sentence can be replied to as in point 1) above.

I'm also a business man in my 30's, with my own Sdn Bhd, and our financial management principals for our companies differ significantly.  Company generates net profit of RM1.7-2+ mil each year and annual turnover of Rm 8-10mil.  I know exactly how much my company cash balances and personal balances are thanks to bank statements and financial software!

Great to hear your good income,.... You have good control over your business, but I believed there are more than one way of running a business. One way is your way (which many people use) and another way is my way (don't know how many people use this),... I intend to find a third way when I have migrated overseas.

One more thing : sometimes I feel bored doing the same thing day in and day out, and my friends tell me that I do not know how to improvise and find new things or new ways of doing the business. Then I feel bored trying to improvise new ways of doing the business.

So, guessed the only way is to migrate overseas and find other work/things to do. This is also in-sync with where my Passive Income kicks in : to have money without working at all.

3) Once business size become bigger, it is always advisable to be Sdn. Bhd. to limit your liabilities, that's why we often see sole proprietorship in small scale, once become bigger, all turn to be sdn bhd. But I have no knowledge whether lawyer firm can be register as sdn bhd or not to run.
Sole-proprietorship is cheaper and easier, but it is treated as personal wealth, while for Sdn. Bhd. company and individual asset is separated out.

Because when business become bigger sometimes, not everything can be totally controlled, nor you can have every insight of the deal done one by one. So to limit the potential liabilities like your company made mistake and need to pay compensation, at least it will only affect the company, not your personal asset.

Joking aside,
Your advice do cost or not?
Every appoitment with lawyer and advice from lawyer is counted per hour basic.   

<<it's not all good when putting the money only outside of Malaysia.>>

Lawyer1,

Out of all your total assets, 3 millions is in Malaysia and 1.5 millions is outside of Malaysia. 

So, do you feel safe having that much money in Malaysia??  That is the QUESTION that you have to answer yourself.

<< 1) If you put directly in the country concerned, you get taxed quite heavily by the gov't of that country... say, 10% on your FD interest in Australia, and 4.5% in NZ >>

Which is IRRELEVANT... You are NOT aiming to make money out of those money.  Your GOAL is to keep them safe.  If the GOAL is to make money, there are better way.

<<compare Sgp's Maybank vs Malaysia's Public Bank (PBB). PBB will give you a higher rate.>>

Which is IRRELEVANT.  You have TOO MUCH money in Malaysia.  Your GOAL is to protect the VALUE of your savings to be affected by ONE country.

You are in WEALTH PRESERVATION mode.  You have ENOUGH.  It is MORE IMPORTANT not to lose money than make money.

Making 10% out of your investment will not make a difference.  But, losing 30% to 50% of investment will make a difference.

SAFETY is MORE IMPORTANT than return.

Dreamer

The biggest risk in the world is not taking any risk, everyone agree?

1)Putting money under the pillow or milo tin, exposed to fire risk and inflation risk but get away from bank bankruptcy.
2)Putting money in FD worry of bank bankruptcy and not able to hedge against inflation risk.
3)Putting money in the equity,forex,commodities,futures,options,property will expose to many risk, higher than putting in the pilow or milo tin, if u get high return and you can be self-made millionairs. Will you stop after making millions?

For each sectors of business there must be a strategy to reduce their risk compare with the competitors, therefore they remain in the business because they know how to avoid it and remain in the business. Or they have failed but they bounce back stronger and make a sucess in their life. I believe if we have faith and belief in ourself, we are already a successful person.

@Lawyer1
Since you have a good portfolio, do you consider yourself at the stage of financial freedom? Do you still have the feeling of unsecured since you are at top(for me atleast you are on the top)? You have the wealth, do you have the health? Can I have a cup of coffee with you?

He he he,

Lawyer 1 may want to seek specialist help to put some of his money in tax-free haven such as Cayman Island, The Bermudas etc.

The financial planning company that I hire to do my personal finance does these to their High Net Worth Clients.

Xuzen

Lawyer1,

1)  You have to answer this yourself.  Do you keep enough outside of Malaysia??

2) Another reason to do this that is to protect your savings in case that RM collapse.

3)  Third reason is to hedge against foreign exchange for future education expenses.

    For example, you KNOW that your children will study in Australia.  So, every year, you transfer a bit of money to your Australia account.  So, instead of taking a HUGE RISK on the exchange rate between RM and Aussie Pound when your children need the money in Australia, you spread it out across many years.

Dreamer

Lawyer1,

<<I intend to migrate there first at this moment, fnd a job there and start building-up my residency>>

Why?? You are WEALTHY enough. 

A) For most country, you can invest / move enough money to qualify for residency.

B) You have ENOUGH MONEY that tuition is not issue for you anyhow.

C)  How realistic is that you can find a DECENT JOB oversea??  It is SAFER and MORE LIKELY that you invest and retire over there.

Dreamer

Lawyer1,

Many had tried this path.  Some succeeded and some don't.  So, you better have a plan B.

Dreamer