INVEST Fair 2021 - Growth story to invest in for the next 10 years

INVEST Fair is back in 2021. I first attended INVEST Fair many years back when I just started investing. I remembered they held the fairs at Suntec city convention hall and MBS and I've went for all before. As a young investor, it was eye opening to hear all the talks as it opened me up to the world of investing. Due to the pandemic, they are not able to hold a live event this year. However, they are back with their first virtual INVEST Fair from 21 to 22 Aug 2021. The 2-days event will bring about discussions and exchanging of ideas on 6 upcoming investment trends in the next 10 years.

Highlights from the first Virtual INVEST Fair

Live Sessions

The usual live sessions which we see at the conference halls will be brought online where you can listen at the comfort of your home. Here are the topics:

• Wealth In China
• Digital Transformation & Cyber Security
• Gems in Small and Mid Caps
• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
• Trends driven by Millennials
• Asset & Portfolio Management

I'm particularly interested in wealth in China, digital transformation & cyber security and trends driven by millennials. These topics seems to be very much forward looking to give us some ideas on what we can invest in for our portfolio growth in the next 10 years. 

We all know that China is fast becoming a powerful economic powerhouse. They have companies such as Alibaba, the ecommerce giant which owns Taobao and Lazada, Meituan Dianping, the king of delivery services in China, Tencent, a world-leading internet and technology company and many other up and coming companies such as from the electric vehicle space and artificial intelligence. The wealth in China topic will be of interest to you if you're looking to invest in the next growth story in China. 

Digital transformation is another area of growth which is definitely happening in the next decade. COVID-19 has accelerated the implementation of digital transformation for many industries and companies. Companies dealing with robotics, sensors, AI, digitisation will be the next growth story. I'm quite sure with 5G coming in the next 2-3 years for many countries, devices will be more connected and possibilities of technological growth will be limitless then. With that, cyber security becomes even more important so companies in this space will do well also moving forward. 

Finally, trends driven by millennials is another topic of interest. Trends have changed over the past 8 years since I started blogging. Mainstream media was popular many years ago when internet was not so easily accessible. Then came smart phone which made internet so easily accessible and mainstream media becoming not so popular while new media such as blogs, internet sites such as mothership became the alternative choice of content for millennials back then. Facebook was hugely popular and is still popular now but I can see trends shifting towards Instagram, YouTube and now the latest craze is on TikTok. TV channels were once popular but now people have shifted to watch on demand content such as Netflix and Disney+. Retail shopping was once the norm but this has shifted to online shopping now. 

From all these trends driven by millennials, we can already decipher some great stocks to invest in. If we had invested in Netflix 5 years ago, we would have gained a 500% return, Facebook (which own Facebook & Instagram) would have returned 300%, Alphabet (which owns YouTube) would have returned 300% and lastly SEA (which owns Shopee) would have returned 1700% all in just 5 years. I will be interested to find out what is the next big growth story based on the new trends going forward. 

There will be a Q&A segment for all sessions, where attendees can post questions to each

speaker/panel. Digital Transformation & Cyber Security and Trends driven by Millennials will be panel discussion moderated by the guys from Seedly while the rest will be presented by individual speakers. 

Virtual Booth

ShareInvestor, along with 4 Gold Sponsors will each have a virtual booth where attendees can visit

virtually to join in the live webinars, promotions, and activities across 2 days.

e-Goodie bag

Just by registering for the fair will get you an e-goodie bag with research reports and freebies from shareinvestor's partners.

The research report will cover topics on:

• Top 5 Asset Management Funds and their Holdings
• Investment Trend for the Next 10 years
• A definitive Guide to ESG Investing
• 2 Undervalued small and mid caps companies for your watchlist

Sign up now for free to get your e-goodie bag. 

Lucky Draw

There will even be a lucky draw consisting of 8 prizes, ranging from $88 to $388 cash. Just login on that day to stand a chance to win the lucky draw. 

The first virtual INVEST Fair is happening from 21 to 22 Aug 2021, 930am to 1pm. Join in for an insightful 2 days of learning at the comfort of your home. You might get some ideas to really grow your portfolio in the next decade. 

Register for free below:

This post is sponsored by ShareInvestor but all views are of my own

Case Study on DBS (SGX: D05) - Using ShareInvestor

Established on 16th July 1968 by the Government of Singapore to take over the industrial financing activities from the Economic Development Board, DBS Group Holdings Ltd is a now multinational banking and financial services corporation. DBS acquired POSB Bank on 16th November 1998 and currently have multiple branches all over Singapore. DBS Bank is the largest bank in South East Asia by assets and among the larger banks in Asia, with total assets of S$482 billion as at 31st Dec 2016.

DBS have strong market positioning in consumer banking, treasury and markets, asset management, securities brokerage, equity and debt fund-raising in Singapore and Hong Kong. Its largest and controlling shareholder is Temasek Holdings. DBS received Global Finance's "Safest Bank in Asia" accolade for six consecutive years, from 2009 to 2015 and was also awarded the Best Digital Bank in the World in the year 2016 by Euromoney. With operations in 17 markets, the bank has a regional network spanning more than 250 branches and over 1,100 ATMs across 50 cities.

DBS recently reported a quarterly profit slightly below estimates on Monday (Nov 5), expressing worries due to trade war and property cooling measure that might lead to hold back on its loan book growth next year. With the intensifying tariff dispute between China and the United States impacting Singapore’s export-reliant economy, and implementation of new measure, outlook for bank are clouded after reporting their profit last year.

DBS reported net profit came in at S$1.41 billion in the three months ended September as compared to S$822 million a year earlier. 

DBS having 31 per cent share of the Singaporean housing loan market mention that the slowdown in new mortgages due to recent cooling measures is bigger than expected. Before the latest round of measures were introduced this year, DBS is expected to grow its mortgage book by around S$4 billion in 2018. However, the lender revised it to S$3.5 billion and now expects about S$2.5 billion after implementation of the cooling measures.

Let’s look at how DBS is scoring based on ShareInvestor’s grid:

DBS shares fell 2.6 per cent in afternoon trade after the result release, on track for their biggest single-day percentage fall in nearly three months.

In terms of price movement, although there is a huge decline in its year on year high but there is a strong support for its incremental year on year low. 

Reviewing historical CAGR data, the company is also showing positive performances across the ups and downs of both business and market cycles. 

However, considering that CAGR does not reveal growth volatility, we can look at forward estimates to have a sensing of the pace of growth and momentum that can be carried into future years. 

With strong estimates put forth by the analysts based on growth forecast, four analysts from research houses maintain DBS as BUY and one as Hold in November 2018. 

With its less than estimated profit for Q3, is it still a good stock to include in your portfolio? Leaving you with ShareInvestor’s consensus estimates. 

In the ever-changing market, it is essential to equip yourself with the right tool. Sign up for a FREE trial to experience the dynamic platform that provides data and information to make better investment decision. Sign up for your 9 days trial here.

ShareInvestor is a financial platform that provides market data information for multiple markets to both institutional and retail investors across its online toolsets, ShareInvestor Station™, ShareInvestor WebPro™ and ShareInvestor Mobile.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by ShareInvestor  

INVEST Fair 2018 - Coming Soon In August 2018

This article is written in collaboration with ShareInvestor. All views expressed in this article are the independent opinion of SG Young Investment

INVEST fair has been a yearly affair ever since I started investing 8 years ago. I attended my first ever INVEST fair at Suntec City many years back and it really opened me up to the world of investments as there are many free talks and also booths around for me to ask any questions which I might have on finance and investment.

This year, INVEST fair is back again at Suntec City which will be held from 25-26 August 2018. Admission is free and all seminars are free to attend too . INVEST Fair is ShareInvestor’s annual flagship event with the purpose to showcase products and services in the market, to act as a meeting point for investors and traders alike and to keep the attendees abreast with the latest market outlook. There will also be 3 x lucky draw chance for readers of SG Young Investment. Do read to the end of this post to find out how you can take part in the lucky draw.

I will briefly write about some of the interesting topics and also the speakers who will be delivering it so you can check it out later.

The fair this year features some interesting topics such as fintech, cryptocurrency & blockchain, crowdfunding and also the usual trading and investing. I've picked some interesting topics and speakers below which you may be interested in:


1. For investors:

The Impact of Interest Rate Rises on Singapore Listed REITs 

This topic is presented by Tam Ging Wien from ShareInvestor Academy. He has been an avid equities and real estate investor for over 10 years. In 2017 he published his first book entitled REITs to Riches: Everything You Need to Know About Investing Profitably in REITs.

I think this is really relevant for investors especially if you are investing in REITs. The rise in interest rates will affect REITs but do you know how much your investments will be affected? I'm a fan of macroeconomics and this topic will certainly be of interest to me.


The Market Talk with The Motley Fool

Most of us would have heard of The Motley Fool. They will be holding a 30 mins Q&A session at INVEST fair where you can ask their team any questions related to investing. The panel includes some of their top analysts so just shoot any questions which you might have and I believe you will learn some good stuff from them.

2. For traders or aspiring traders:

Acquiring a Systematic Professional Trader Process  

The next topic which caught my attention is on trading. I started off as a trader and tried to learn everything from reading charts, to psychology to candlestick patterns and all the Fibonacci techniques etc. However, I grew to learn that trading is not really for me but it can be suitable for some people. I've personally seen certain people around me who can trade rather well because it suits them very well.

If you're thinking of trading for a living but do not know if its just a dream, then this may be the topic for you. The speaker is Anton Kreil, one of the keynote speakers for this year's INVEST fair. He was a former professional trader at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan on Wall Street and the City of London and retired from the Investment Banking Industry in 2007 at the age of twenty-seven just before the Global Financial Crisis. Anton is now the Managing Partner of the Institute of Trading & Portfolio Management, a global school and community of smart Retail Traders. He is well known for his direct approach to teaching which he has cultivated over the last eight years in order to optimise Retail Trader performance

3. For cryptocurrency and blockchain technology explorers:

Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies - More than Money

For those who want to know more about blockchain and cryptocurrency, this should be the topic for you to explore on. To be honest, I do not have much knowledge on blockchain or how I can invest into this new space. Its not easy to learn online so probably if we can listen in person, it would be much better.

This topic will be presented by Darren Koh, who's a strategist from Tokenize Xchange. Darren has been an enthusiast of the space since 2016. At Tokenize, he is the man behind strategies and is passionate about what the blockchain has to offer. A purveyor of blockchain technology, Darren is always educating others on what this new trustless data structure can accomplish and is also building the Tokenize blockchain.


Digital Assets & Blockchain - The New Tokenized Economy for the Future

There is another similar topic on the new tokenized economy for the future which will be presented by Davy Goh from Bcoin Exchange. As the founder of BCoin and an outspoken blockchain and cryptocurrency evangelist, Davy is responsible for its overall success. A motivated leader and serial entrepreneur, Davy has a proven management track record and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in corporate financial strategies and management.

This will be a good topic to hear on how blockchain will be used for the future.


4. For crowdfunding investors:

Compound your Returns by Auto-Investing in a Portfolio of SME Loans

Crowdfunding may be still new to many investors out there but it is actually a viable alternative way to grow our money with higher returns. Of course, with higher returns, most of the time it comes with higher risk as well.

This topic will focus on SME loans which I have invested in several times through the Moolahsense platform. I've invested in 4 different loans and so far all has been successful with returns of 13.50% to 18%. Because of the higher risk nature, I evaluate the investment choices really carefully and make sure I manage my risk well. I only invest a small portion of my investment capital in SME loans for now.

Lawrence Yong, CEO and Co-Founder of Moolahsense will talk about compound your returns by auto-investing in a portfolio of SME loans. Before founding MoolahSense, Lawrence was a Vice President at Macquarie Capital where he was closely involved in developing its sales and structuring business at the Fixed Income division.


Many other free seminars and panel discussions

Apart from the topics I listed above, there are many others which you may be interested in for the INVEST fair which will be held over 2 days on a weekend. Here are the details of the event:

INVEST Fair 2018

Date: 25-26 August 2018

Time: 10am to 7pm

Location: Suntec Singapore Hall 405 & 406

You can refer to more information on their website here. Do check out the exact date and time for the different seminars available under Agenda -> Seminar Schedule on the website.

*Additionally, ShareInvestor has kindly given SG Young Investment's readers 3 x lucky draw chance when you enter the promo code - SGYOUNGINVESTMENT when you register. Remember to enter the promo code when you register for FREE for this event. Click here to register.

Where To Put Your Money To Save For Better Returns?

Interest rates are so low in our bank accounts that it virtually earns close to zero interest. Gone are the days where we see higher interest in the bank account where it was once as high as  9.5% as offered by POSB in the 1980s. Now, there are other higher interest/savings account which offers 1%-3% interest but there are various criteria to meet such as paying bills, buying investment products and meeting the minimum credit card spend.

During my school days, someone approached me to do a survey and subsequently told me of a higher interest product which is known as an endowment plan. Being young that time, I was convinced that this was the better option than just putting my money in the bank account. Little did I know after 10 years, the plan is not even halfway through as it takes 25 years to mature.

I'm sure many of us have bought into similar plans in one way or another and still paying for it after many years. It seems like it’s never ending.

Saving for life goals. The Shorter Way.

While there are many savings plan out there which many people put their money in to achieve certain savings goals and at the same time compound it, 25-year term for most endowment plans is too long for short term goals such as marriage, buying a house or even saving for a child's education.

There are other guaranteed returns investment tools such as the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) which are capital guaranteed and pay out a fixed rate coupon to us. However, it can be hard to plan for our savings with this as we need to buy and sell the bonds and there will always be the desire to sell it for a profit. Nevertheless, it is a safe and guaranteed low risk investment option.

Apart from the SSB, I recently found out a new savings plan by the Maybank Group's Etiqa Insurance which provides relative short term plans with guaranteed interest rates. The shortest term is 6 years with 2.02% p.a. guaranteed return. They also have longer term plans which offer higher interest. The good thing about it is that it is capital guaranteed so no matter what, you will get your initial savings back and will not lose a single cent. At this point, maybe some of you may have questions on how does it work, is it risky and does it seem too good to be true? I went on to probe further and got more information as much as possible.

Before we go deeper into the details, let's take a look at the 2 plans which are offered:

eEasy Save - Guaranteed 2.02% pa for 6 years

This is the simplest of all plans which pays out guaranteed 112% upon maturity after 6 years. We only need to pay for the premiums for 2 years though. There is also death protection of 105% of total premium paid throughout policy term and additional accidental death protection at 100% of premiums paid throughout premium term.

There are other similar plans such as the one from FWD insurance which also gives 2.02% p.a. Even though the term is shorter at 3 years, it is important to note that FWD’s credit rating is BAA3 which is lower than Etiqa’s A- rating.

eEasy Savepro - Capital guaranteed and up to 4.02% pa

This seems like an enhanced version of the eEASY save with higher interest for those who want to grow their money further. To get 4.02% p,a,, we will have to go for the 15-year plan. The capital is still guaranteed for eEASY savepro plan so we are assured that we will not lose our money. The lowest is still the 6-year plan which gives 2.65% p.a., slightly higher than the eEASY save although interest is projected. The same death protection and additional accidental death protection apply.

For a summary and more details of the plans, you can refer to their websit.

Who is Etiqa?

Before putting our money into any place, it is important that we know more about the company. Some of us may know Etiqa when we buy our fire insurance for our HDB flats. They are the (only) HDB-approved Fire Insurer and have been protecting more than 300,000 homes since 2009. They also have competitive travel insurance which some of you may have bought before. Their travel insurance even has automatic flight delay notification which will send us a sms text if our flight is delayed and once we qualify for a claim, it will also be automatically be processed without the hassle of making the claims ourselves. Etiqa is 69% owned by Maybank and AGEAS, a multinational insurance company, and is regulated by MAS.

In view of the above, Etiqa is credible and is a safe place to put our money. Let's take a look at some of the life goals we can save up for.

 Life Goal 1 - Saving for Wedding

Getting married requires some savings to begin with. Maybe you're in your 20s and thinking of getting married in the near future. A 6-year savings plan can come in handy with guaranteed return and guaranteed capital. Maybe we can look at eEASY save’s $45,000, 6 year plan which will pay out a guaranteed $50,404 at maturity.

Here's the benefit illustration which I managed to get from Etiqa:

It's that simple, just pay the premiums for 2 years and get 2.02% p.a. guaranteed return on your money in 6 years’ time. The premiums will be $30,000 for first year and $15,000 (half of first year premium) for second year. It may be quite hard though if you do not have that much savings in the first place. If you have some savings already, it will be good to park it somewhere to use for your marriage later. At the same time, you can earn some guaranteed interest on your money.

Some may say the returns are quite low which I agree to a certain extent. However, I will think it is good to save our money which is critical for future use. This will be a good financial planning consideration where our money is assured to be safe and is not left in the bank earning close to no interest. A normal savings account only earn us about 0.05% interest which is exceptionally low.

Life Goal 2 - Saving For Child's Education

Another important life goal is saving for your child's education. Some of us may have bought endowment plans for this purpose as well. However, we will realise by now that endowment plans are not capital guaranteed and the investment returns are not high too.

Many times, we will be locking our money for 25 years and getting only about 3% projected returns. I've checked Etiqa's eEASY savepro 15-year plan, which we can get 4.02% p.a.. The investment return is projected only but your capital will be guaranteed.

Looking at the $50,000 plan, here's the benefit illustration:

This can be slightly complicated so let me summarise. For the plan, we will pay $5,000 every year for 10 years. The plan will mature at the end of 15 years. The maturity yield is listed on their website as 4.02% p.a. which is a projected value. The maturity value is the amount we see under the "projected at 4.75% investment return", S$76,091. 4.75% investment return here refers to the investment return on the participating fund while 4.02% p.a. is the projected return to the customer.  The maturity value is also calculated using compound interest of the projected 4.02% p.a. interest.

They have other plans with policy terms of 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 years and premium sizes of $5,000, $10,000, $30,000, $50,000, $80,000 and $100,000. It is quite flexible to plan for our life goals with some certainty that we will not lose our money.

How are returns generated?

By now, some of us may be concerned of whether the plans can deliver its projected returns. This applies for the eEASY savepro plan. I managed to get some information on Etiqa’s overall participating fund's asset mix where 65.6% is invested in bonds, 21.4% in equities, 11.3% in cash & deposits and 1.7% in loans and others. While eEASY savepro is part of this participating fund, this asset mix is not representative of eEASY savepro’s specific portfolio as premiums paid are pooled with those of other participating policies offered by Etiqa.

The top 5 equity holdings is in OCBC (12%), DBS (10.6%), UOB (10.1%), Singtel (5.8%) and Keppel Corporation (4%). For bonds, the top few are the Singapore Government bond, Australia & New Zealand bank bonds and also Dai-ichi Life. In 2016, the fund generated a return of 3.97%.  


Guaranteed savings for life goals

I am still a firm believer in investing my own money but at the same time a portion of it should also be in a safe place for any future goals. Better returns with capital protection is a safe way to save for our life goals. We do not want to end up losing money and jeopardising our future and the future of the people around us.

Currently, for eEASY savepro, they are giving out vouchers based on 1.5%  of the 1st year premium size, and up to $1,500 worth of Takashimaya vouchers. While, for eEASY save, the deal involves up to $1,300 worth of Takashimaya vouchers which will increase the interest rate to 2.18% p.a. from 2.02% p.a. instantly.. Each of these deals are limited to 5 coupons per day. Just head over to their website to grab the coupons.

If you like to take a closer look at the plans above, you can refer to their website . The good thing is you can do everything online and get immediate approval so it saves the time and hassle of meeting an agent and possibly overbuying on plans which you do not really need.

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This article is written in collaboration with Etiqa Insurance. All ideas portrayed are independent by SG Young Investment. 

A New High Interest Savings Account To Multiply Your Money – The New DBS Multiplier Account

I've been constantly sourcing for a high interest savings account to park my savings as I always believe in making my money work harder for me. Many of my friends have done it too and transferred their savings to OCBC 360, UOB One, Standard Chartered or even CIMB. I opened a few accounts too just to ensure my savings earn a higher interest.

Where did I transfer my savings from? The answer is POSB/DBS. I have been using a POSB/DBS savings account for a very long time since I was a child. As they have the most ATM machines in Singapore, most people have a POSB/DBS account as their basic savings account. And for the longest time, I've been trying to find out if POSB/DBS has a high interest savings account so that I could consolidate all my money in one bank.

Finally, the time has come!

They have joined the competition to provide a high interest account in the market right now with the revamp of the DBS Multiplier account. This is definitely a game-changer! It is attractive, flexible, easy to use and most important of all, many of us would already have a DBS/POSB savings account which makes it easier to integrate.

The much awaited higher interest account - New DBS Multiplier Account (up to 3.5% pa)

Removing the pain points to get higher interest

The new DBS multiplier account is quite different from the other banks as they have removed most of the pain points to getting higher interest. This is also different from their previous multiplier account which is not that attractive.

Most of us would know that you need a minimum salary credit of at least $2000, pay 3 different bills, meet a minimum credit card spend just to get higher interest from banks such as OCBC, UOB etc. Now, all these will change with the new DBS multiplier account.

DBS allows you to earn higher interest with NO minimum salary credit, NO requirement to pay any bills and NO minimum credit card spend. The minimum interest you can get is 1.55% p.a. just by fulfilling 2 simple requirements with total eligible transactions at $2000 or more per month. You can get up to 3.50% p.a. too by fulfilling more conditions.

Let's see how it works:

1) Basic Requirement - Salary Credit

The first thing you need to do is to have your salary credited into any DBS or POSB savings account. This means if you already have your salary credited to your existing DBS/POSB savings account, you don't have to make additional changes to it.

Remember there is no minimum salary credit to enjoy higher interest.

2) Salary Credit + Additional 1 Other Requirement - Enjoy min 1.55% p.a. and up to 2.08% p.a.

Once you have your salary credited to any DBS or POSB savings account, you just have to meet any one of the following additional requirement:

• Credit card spend
• Investments
• Insurance
• Housing loan

As long as your salary credit and 1 other requirement meets a minimum of $2000, you will enjoy higher bonus interest on the first $50,000 balance.

• For credit card spend, it is applicable to any DBS/POSB credit cards (not applicable to debit cards).
• For investments, it is applicable to unit trusts (including POSB invest saver), online equity trades etc.
• For insurance, it is applicable to any purchase of insurance with DBS/POSB.
• For housing loan, it is applicable to any monthly instalment payment for housing loan with DBS/POSB.

*For insurance and investments (unit trusts lump sum/RSP/invest saver only), it is only applicable to new purchase after opening of DBS multiplier account

These are the different tiers for you to enjoy higher interest for salary credit + additional 1 other requirement:

For example, if you have a salary credit of S$2400 with any DBS/POSB savings account and you have some spending on your DBS/POSB credit card, you'll be eligible for the 1.55% p.a. interest. Even a $1 credit card spend will allow you to earn that higher interest.

If you have a higher salary credit plus credit card spend adding up to S$2,500 and above, you will get even higher interest at 1.85% p.a.

3) Salary Credit + Additional 2 Other Requirements - Enjoy min 1.80% p.a. and up to 3.50% p.a.

If you have salary credit + additional any 2 other requirements (as above), this will be the different tiers for you to earn higher interest:

For example, if you have a salary credit on any POSB/DBS savings account and some spending on any DBS/POSB credit cards plus you have either monthly investments on POSB invest saver or monthly home loan instalments with DBS/POSB, you will get at least 1.80% p.a. For this segment, I believe if we have a salary credit + additional 2 other requirements, we can easily get more than 2% p.a. Not too difficult to have a total transactions above S$2,500 for this.


How Much Interest Can You Typically Earn?

I think this new multiplier account from DBS really makes it easier to earn higher interest. Its easier and more flexible than the other existing products out there in the market. Let's do some scenarios and see how much interest can one typically earn?

Scenario 1 - Fresh Graduate with $2000 salary credit + credit card spend

Most fresh graduates are likely to have at least a $2,000 salary credited into their bank. Some might even earn more. For an additional 1 other requirement, the easiest will be the credit card spend. As the new DBS multiplier account doesn't require any minimum salary credit or spending, once you have $2,000 salary credited, you've already fulfilled the minimum criteria.

For the credit card spend, there is no pressure to spend a minimum just to meet the criteria to get a higher interest. Let's just assume that the spending is just $100 and total eligible transactions will be $2,100 which enables one to earn an interest of 1.55% p.a. For a savings of $10,000, total interest earned will be S$153.30 annually.

If this fresh graduate spends more and chalks up $500 in credit card spending per month, total eligible transactions will be $2500, which enables one to earn an interest of 1.85% p.a. For the same savings of $10,000, the interest earned will be S$182.50 annually.

*Note: Most credit cards application require annual gross income of $30,000. If you still hold a student credit card, it is eligible for higher interest criteria as well. 

Scenario 2 - Young Working Adult with $4900 salary credit + credit card spend

For a young working adult, he would have rose up the corporate ladder and gotten a higher salary by now. Assuming he has a salary credit with DBS of $4900 and $500 credit card spend, total eligible transactions will be $5400,  which translates to an interest of 1.90% p.a. For savings of $30,000, the interest earned will be S$569.40 annually.


Scenario 3 - Fresh Graduate with $2500 salary credit + credit card spend + Investment

Now, if a fresh graduate also makes monthly investments with either DBS or POSB apart from salary credit and credit card spend, he or she will be able to get min 1.80% p.a. For investments, it includes any trading/purchase of stocks done on DBS vickers account or any monthly investments with POSB Invest Saver.

If this fresh graduate has a salary credit of $2500, a credit card spend of $200 and an investment of $100 with DBS/POSB, he or she will get 2.00% p.a. This is higher than most other bank accounts out there currently.

Comparing to other high interest bank accounts

Now, the most important thing is whether the new DBS multiplier account is the best in the market?

I've looked through the account and various interest rate tiers which they have and concluded that they offer the highest interest in the market currently. Just 2 criteria and you will get a minimum of 1.55% p.a.

Let's look at some scenarios to compare against what they would get from other bank accounts such as the OCBC 360, UOB one, BOC smart saver, SCB bonus saver and Maybank SaveUp account:

Scenario 1 - First Jobber with S$2,700 salary credit + $500 credit card spend

For scenario 1, the interest earned on DBS multiplier account is 1.85%. The only bank that match up to this rate is BOC. However, for BOC, the minimum salary credit is $2000 and minimum credit card spend is $500 which is quite restrictive. For DBS, there is no minimum salary credit or credit card spend. Only need to meet above $2000 to get higher interest.

It seems like even the more popular ones like OCBC and UOB does not match up.

Account balance	DBS	OCBC	UOB	BOC	SCB	Maybank
S$5,000	1.85%	1.55%	1.50%	1.85%	0.88%	1.01%
S$10,000	1.85%	1.55%	1.50%	1.85%	0.88%	1.03%

Scenario 2 - Young working adult with S$4,900 salary credit + $550 credit card spend

For scenario 2, the interest earned on the DBS multiplier account is 1.90%. All the other banks fall behind with only SCB being the closest at 1.88%. 

Account balance	DBS	OCBC	UOB	BOC	SCB	Maybank
S$5,000	1.90%	1.55%	1.50%	1.85%	1.88%	1.01%
S$10,000	1.90%	1.55%	1.50%	1.85%	1.88%	1.03%

Scenario 3 - Lower waged worker with S$1,800 salary credit + $200 credit card spend

For scenario 3, the other bank accounts clearly does not benefit anyone with less than $2000 salary credit but for DBS, they still give higher interest as long as you can meet a combined eligible transactions of S$2,000 per month. This is a life saver for those who could not qualify for higher interest from other banks due to their salary. 

Account balance	DBS	OCBC	UOB	BOC	SCB	Maybank
S$5,000	1.55%	0.05%	0.05%	0.275%	0.10%	0.25%
S$10,000	1.55%	0.05%	0.05%	0.275%	0.10%	0.25%

Conclusion

The new DBS multiplier account clearly distinct itself among the competition of higher interest bank accounts. This will cater to new groups of people who prefer flexibility and avoid the trouble of having to meet minimum credit card spending or pay 3 bills etc.

This will also cater to those who have not been able to meet the minimum salary credit or the pay 3 bills or minimum credit card spending requirements from other banks. Its time to let this group of people earn higher interest too.

For existing POSB/DBS account holders, you just need to open a new multiplier account and put your savings into it to start earning higher interest. You do not have to change your salary crediting arrangements if your salary is already credited to any of your existing POSB/DBS account. It will automatically be detected subjected to T&Cs of eligible salary credit.

To find out more about the new DBS multiplier account click here.


This article is written in collaboration with DBS. All ideas portrayed are independent by SG Young Investment. 

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• Only 1 MRT Station ride to upcoming Singapore-Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System (RTS)
• No ABSD. No SSD.

* This is a sponsored post 

Getting Insurance Advice Without An Insurance Agent with Selfcheck

Have you heard that technological advancement will disrupt the financial advisory industry? We can now buy property without a property agent through an app. How about getting a Selfcheck on your insurance needs online? Now it is possible with a new digital “adviser” on DIYInsurance.

Insurance is a tricky maze where most people are confused on what they actually need. Who can we trust to give us the most unemotional advise without any sales talk or hard selling? Feeling pressured to buy any insurance is not the way to go. We have the right to really think about what we need without any hard selling.

With a digital "adviser", all the hard selling, and the pressure to buy are all gone. We can now assess our own insurance needs at the comfort of our homes, making decisions with a clear mind without any distractions.

How Selfcheck works?

I've tried out this selfcheck and I would say I'm quite impressed at how easy it is to use and the quality of the recommendations which are given. I don't even need to spend 1 hour of my time to listen to sales talk. All it takes is just 5-10 mins to key in my personal data and then the system calculates my insurance needs and recommends the best insurance plan comparing various companies in the market. If you did not know, DIYInsurance is also an insurance comparison web portal.

My Selfcheck results

I tried to key in my details and got some results which I'm quite happy about. Here's how simple it is to do a selfcheck and the results which I got:

First, they will ask for some personal details such as your name, date of birth and annual income

After which, there will be some questions on assessing our financial needs and health.

Thirdly, will be some basic questions on our employment status and expectations

And lastly, the results are generated out

For my protection needs, the digital adviser recommended 4 main insurance:

1. Death
2. Critical Illness
3. Disability Income
4. Healthcare

If you realise, all the recommendations are for insurance needs only. There are no savings plans, endowment or investment link policies involved. This is in line with what I believe that insurance should just be for insurance coverage and not be complicated with savings or investment. I don't have to pay high fees to save and invest when I can do it myself at very low fees. 

Honest advise and trusted service

Talking about fees, in case you did not know, DIYInsurance staff are not commission based which is very different from normal insurance advisers out there. They are all salaried base which means they do not get extra money from recommending any insurance plans you do not need. 

However, the quality of service still maintains the same. There is a dedicated adviser assigned to each person and in the event of a claim, they can approach their adviser to process it. They also have a Client Service Management team to help on any needs which you may have. 

Save on your insurance?

Because of the selfcheck digital adviser platform, processes become more efficient which allows DIYInsurance to pass on greater cost savings to their clients. They are increasing the rebate of agent’s commissions from 30% to 50% back to you. This is a straight 50% cost savings on the commissions which is paid to the company. As mentioned before, DIYInsurance staff are salaried so the commissions are actually paid to the company like a referral fee which all other insurance companies pay to their agent too.

As what I understand from them, the commission rebates are not just for 1 year, they are for as long as the insurer pays them (usually 3-6 years along). This is really a good initiative from them to pass cost savings to their clients.

DIYInsurance is MAS licensed since 2003 and is a trusted place to be insured. I've personally interacted with their staff before and know that they really want to serve people well. Try out the new selfcheck digital adviser and see for yourself the new era of financial advisory.


This article was written in collaboration with DIYInsurance. All views expressed in the article are the independent opinions of sgyounginvestment.blogspot.sg

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A New Era With A New US President - How Will The Future Change?

As we all have heard, Donald Trump's winning the US presidential election was quite a shock to most people. It was a shock because people are afraid he will do drastic changes to policies affecting trade around the world which causes instability.

Just last week, President Obama backs off Pacific trade deal vote effort, which is known to us as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. This is an important trade deal and if it does not come true, it could be a big set back. In October this year, PM Lee warns of harm to US' standing if TPP isn't ratified. The TPP, co-founded by Singapore, aims to create a giant free-trade zone and give the 12 countries access to 800 million consumers, representing one-third of global trade. It is a key thrust of the US' foreign policy in Asia aimed at balancing China's rising influence in the Asia-Pacific. There have been lots of talks during the APEC summit in Peru where details are still being sorted out for the trade pact.

There are many questions to how the world will change. In particular for us in Singapore, how will it affect us? Singapore is a small country and we have depended on trade to survive for the longest time now. If trade is affected, some jobs in Singapore may be lost. We may find ourselves unemployable as jobs we are familiar with begin to disappear.

LinkedIn published a report on the most in-demand skills in 2017 globally. It was quite interesting to see what kind of jobs are in demand now and you'll be surprised a lot are in fairly new areas.

Here are the hottest, most in-demand skills around the globe according to LinkedIn:

1. Cloud and Distributed Computing

2. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining

3. Web Architecture and Development Framework

4. Middleware and Integration Software

5. User Interface Design

6. Network and Information Security

7. Mobile Development

8. Data Presentation

9. SEO/SEM Marketing

10. Storage Systems and Management

From what I see, the jobs that are in demand have changed quite a lot from the past. Most of the skills are not even taught in our traditional schools which we graduated from. I understand why cloud computing and statistical analysis are at the top. These 2 skills are very important for the future technologies which will be the forefront of what is to come globally.

Even in Singapore, we are embarking on many technology changes to increase productivity and also the smart nation project. The recent forming of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) also shows how serious the government is in future technologies.

More data analysts will be needed as we will have more data in the future in our super connected world. Data is a resource which can be used to generate new business and profits and economic growth for the country. Cloud computing will change how we do business as hardware becomes virtualised in the cloud.

The labour movement in Singapore, NTUC, leveraging on its extended network of partners, also announced that they will set up a new unit next year to identify work opportunities of the future to help better match workers to up-and-coming jobs. The first five sectors they will start pilot projects in by 2019 are financial services, infocomm technology and media, precision engineering, healthcare and education. This seems to send a signal that these sectors will see increased demand in Singapore for the many years to come and that workers should continue to upskill to remain relevant and future ready. 

Singapore's non oil domestic exports sinks 12 percent in October as reported just last week. This is not good news for the Singapore's economy as US is more likely to shrink trade further. I've never been through a bad recession in my life since I started working. The closest was the European sovereign debt crisis which was averted because help was rendered out to the few troubled nations. I've heard of people being retrenched and even hear from my colleagues that my company freeze annual increments and decrease bonus payouts when times were bad back then.

Are you ready for the new era? Are your skills ready for the future? In this dynamic economic climate, it bodes well to ask yourself if you are adequately prepared for technological disruptions that might take away your job.


This article was written in collaboration with the National Trade Union Congress. All views expressed in the article are the independent opinions of sgyounginvestment.blogspot.sg

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Practical Ways To Increase Our Income

The road to financial independence is sometimes not an easy one. Many people in the past such as my parents' generation born in 1950s-1960s were savers. They work hard, they save money and never really had much luxuries. Life was simple back then. However, you would have realised that the baby boomers generation still did not have much savings. This is after working hard and saving money all their lives. Why is this so?

The reason is simple, most of them could not increase their income due to circumstances back then. Some of them had to quit school early to work in order to supplement income for the household. Singapore was also transforming fast during the 1980s and 1990s which means jobs were changing fast too. Some were left stranded with their skills and experience being made redundant and this caused them to suffer wage cuts or stay stagnant in their career.

Income is an important factor on the road to financial independence. You can be saving 50% of your income but if you earn only $2000, that is just $1000 savings which is not a lot. Furthermore, if you want to start a family or have kids, it is quite hard to save if you have a low salary. I have been focusing on increasing my income which I see it necessary if I want to achieve financial independence earlier. It may take years and a lot of hard work to increase income but it will all be worth it in the end.

If you're looking at a career switch or to upgrade your skills for more income, this is the post for you.

Ways to increase your income

Find A Job You Really Like - Mid career switch is possible too

If you hate your job, most likely you're not going to do well in it. Passion has created success for many people as they no longer feel a burden to work. People with passion tend to excel in their work and create more income for themselves be it in their career or business.

The problem with finding a job you like is when we were younger, we may not have chosen the right course to study and thus not able to enter the industry we want. We may have spent $25,000 on a university education which we realise we didn't like at all. When we enter the industry we don't like, we may want to change.

With the most recent statistics by Ministry of Manpower that the unemployment rate has risen and more workers have been retrenched, it is all the more vital to know how and where to acquire the right skills. Some sectors are still lacking in manpower and in this competitive environment, without the relevant qualification, it may be hard to change industry. However, we can actually get some help in this. I too may want to change industry so I've been looking at some relevant courses to gain better competitive advantage. To my surprise, I found various schemes which are really quite useful. In this blog post, I'll list down some schemes which I found that will help us progress better in our career:

U Future Leaders Programme 

(U Future Leaders Summit 2015 speaker line up) 

This is a programme where there are a series of seminars, conferences and mentorship sessions to help us up-skill and even gain access to useful networks.

It comprises of:

1) Future Leaders Summit - The  flagship conference featuring speakers such as the CEO of DBS, Managing director of LinkedIn, vice president of amazon etc.

2) Future Leaders Mentorship - Where industry leaders conduct mentoring sessions in a small group setting behind closed doors to help PMEs in their personal and career development.

3) Future Leaders Sectorial Programmes and Series – These are sector specific such as young engineers leadership programme, aspiring HR leaders programme, finance operations development programme and many more.

Funding for courses

This to me is the best funding for courses I've ever seen. On top of the $500 SkillsFuture which we know of, there are actually a lot of courses which are heavily subsidised for Singaporeans and PR.

Let's take for example you're seeking a career in project management, you would most probably need to be PMP certified which a lot of project management job position requires. PMP stands for project management professional. The PMP® designation is recognised worldwide as the standard of the profession.

The normal course fees for a PMP certification course would cost $2675. I did a search and found the course on NTUC learning hub website with the breakdown of the course fees. Here is a snapshot for your reference:

As you can see above, if you're a Singaporean or PR, the course fees reduces to $1129.75 as compared to the original course fees of $2675. If you're age 35 and above, you get even more subsidies that the course fees comes down to just $100-$200+ dollars. Don't forget we still can use our $500 skillsfutures credit to offset the course fees so in the end we don't really have to pay much for the whole certification course.

To remain relevant in the workplace, Singaporeans have always been encouraged to upskill. Labour chief Chan Chun Sing even said “As our economy transforms, more and more of our people will be in the PME sectors, and it is also NTUC's job to make sure that we help our PMEs remain competitive and stay ahead of the competition."

Aside from the $500 SkillsFuture credit given to all Singaporeans which can be used on a range of 10,000 courses, there are actually so many schemes to subsidise course fees for us. Some of the schemes are workfare training support scheme and SkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy. If you're an NTUC member, you can also get further funding under the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP).

If you're interested in short courses such as communication skills or WSQ certified courses, I saw some by NTU which are quite interesting. Courses such as negotiation skills, or even WSQ Apply Statistics for Lean Six Sigma. More information on the short courses by NTU can be found here. There are also subsidies and SkillsFuture credit can be used.


Place and Train Programme

Lastly, I also noticed that there is this place and train programme under WDA where it enables companies to hire workers first, then to provide them with structured training to equip them with relevant skills and knowledge.Under the programme, the trainees do not pay any fees as their training will be supported and co-funded by their employers and WDA. These trainees will also receive their salaries as usual, as they are already employed once they join the programme.

There is a whole list of conversion programme where we can switch our career to. We get employed and we get the training without any cost.

Since 2008, NTUC’s e2i has also worked with various industry partners to create over 50 Place-And-Train programmes.

Getting relevant certification will help us to increase our income. The courses will also help us if we want to make a career switch into something we feel more passionate about. With the heavily subsidised courses, I think all of us can look to upgrade our skills and increase our income. Also, with programmes such as the place and train programme, switching career is no longer just a dream. There are many ways to increase our income. By just knowing more about the schemes available, we can see a better light for our career and also able to seek a passion which we yearn for.

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Having A More Secure Financial Future Not Only By Saving And Investing

I started working 5 years ago as a fresh young polytechnic graduate after serving my NS. To be honest, my starting pay was not very high, it was below $2000. Today, fresh young polytechnic graduates are getting higher pay than 5 years ago. It was reported that the graduating class of 2015 who landed full-time jobs were hired on a median monthly salary of $2,100.

In my short 5 years of working full time, I've seen my fair share of complaints from my colleagues and friends that their pay is low, career progression is slow etc. I have seen more foreigners coming in, taking up management positions. There will always be feelings of unfairness among Singaporeans when it comes to the rights of us as citizens.

Then, there is also chatter about unions in Singapore. That the unions do not do much and they support the government. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is our union in Singapore and has over 60 unions affiliated under its umbrella.

The 1st of May, which is also known as May Day or Labour Day is celebrated in many countries as a traditional springtime festival or as an international day honoring workers. This day seeks to honor the hard work which workers put in. Many workers in various countries stage protests because they feel that they are being treated unfairly. But how is it like in Singapore?

I have mentioned in my previous blog posts that increasing our income is important. Planning for our financial future is also important as we really do not know what will happen in the future. We can be retrenched and lose our jobs the next day. Besides focusing on growing our money, setting aside emergency funds etc, there are other factors which I think is very important to have a more secure financial future.

I always think that I am very fortunate to live in Singapore. Besides having a safe and peaceful environment, we also have many opportunities to learn and grow and fulfill our dreams. Let’s see the opportunities we can grab hold of to have a more secure financial future for ourselves.

A Cautious Outlook Ahead

On May day this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made his speech at the May day Rally. You can read more about it as reported on Straits Times and other news portal here and here. A big part of PM Lee's speech was to address the concerns in this current economic outlook and how the government is working together with the labour movement to cope with the issues ahead.

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/teegardin/6093699369

As we all know, many countries are still experiencing slowdown including China while Europe and the US are still struggling to recover. Unemployment is high in many countries and youth unemployment is worrying as well.

PM Lee said that a person from the Singapore Port Workers Union told him that there was one day when for two shifts out of three, PSA's Tanjong Pagar Terminal did not receive a single ship. There is certainly a slowdown in the marine, oil and gas industries which will cause many workers to lose their jobs.

With the cautious outlook and headwinds ahead, the government will deal with changes in three areas namely:

1. In our industries
2. In our jobs
3. In our workforce

You may have heard many of your friends are buying things online now such as on Taobao. Taobao is an online retailer website owned by Alibaba and is the world's most valuable retailer. However, it does not have any physical shops or own any stocks.

Airbnb is now the world's largest accommodation provider but it does not own a single property!
Uber is the world's largest taxi firm but it hardly owns cars.

The industries around the world are definitely changing and if we don’t change the way we do business, we will definitely fail. Look at past big companies such as Kodak or even Nokia. They get taken over by companies who embrace change and technological advancements.

Jobs are changing

Jobs will change as industry transforms. With current technological advancements going at even faster pace, we need to be prepared that our jobs may be replaced and the skills we have now will become obsolete. For those who are at risk of losing their old jobs, they can get help to make the transition by reskilling and upskilling. NTUC provides training courses which you can find out more below. This is unique as very few countries actually have trade unions providing courses for the workers.

For example, the ICT sector is growing currently and will need a lot of workers in this industry. The government set up the Tech Skills Accelerator to train Singaporeans so they can be matched to these jobs. It is estimated that there would be as many as 30,000 new jobs in the ICT sector by 2020.

I was in a seminar 2 weeks ago listening to the technological advancements which will happen from now to 2020. It is a big WOW as I listen to the speakers. Our current mobile internet connectivity is amazing with 4G speeds of up to 450 Mbps. We will have 1 Gbps speed very soon and even 20 Gbps speed with 5G coming in 2020. 5G is a key technological advancement which will make automation and smart cities a reality. This is also a project which the Singapore government is embarking on. With automation, many jobs will be replaced. For example, I heard they can even automate hospitality and construction sectors. A worker can control a machine in a construction site located in another country using real time robotic hands with haptic feedback to sense the pressure and force of the digging work. A cleaner can control several robotic cleaning machines in a control room without having to do the manual work. All these will certainly replace manual labour and it is timely to retrain these workers so they can continue to be employed and even get a higher pay in the future.

It was announced that NTUC will partner with NTU to support mid career workers, including PMETs, to learn new skills. Currently, NTUC has been partnering with the Polys and ITEs for trainings. NTUC intends to raise $50 Million to work with Universities and the government has decided to support by matching $3 to every $1 which NTUC raises. This means $200 Million more in the NTUC Education and Training fund. This is how our trade union is different from other countries where we focus on the bigger picture instead of the now.

The partnership with NTU will focus on short courses to help working people keep up with technology and industry development. NTUC will expand the programme to more universities in time to come. Courses will include digital electronics, molecular genetics and enterprise and innovation which are key growth sectors to come. SkillsFuture credits can be used to offset course fees, and NTUC members will enjoy an additional subsidy of up to $250 a year under the Union Training Assistance Programme.

With jobs changing, I think it is necessary for us to have more skills on hand so that not only we will stay employable but our income will also increase. This is important in having a more secure financial future. Imagine if we lose our jobs and can't find another job because our skills become obsolete, how much impact will it have on our life and finances?

Workforce is Changing

Lastly, the workforce is also changing with times. In Singapore, more than half of the workforce are PMEs (54%). By 2030, it will be two-thirds. The labour movement needs to adapt to meet new needs and stay relevant. The needs of workers are changing. Therefore, for unions to stay relevant to workers, they need to expand their services. This also includes growing their networking because this is something that workers are interested in, networking for better opportunities.

Not only will unions provide collective bargaining, they will also provide other services such as career counselling, networking, skills upgrading etc. As more of us progress better in our careers, it is important to network and explore more opportunities. I think this is a very good move and a platform for us to develop further. Furthermore, the labour movement will be exploring a pay-per-use model with PMEs instead of their usual pay-per-month model. This is also disruption as the traditional operating model of unions is broken down to meet evolving needs of the working people.

To me, Singapore has a unique model where businesses, unions and the government can work closely together to ensure a more sustainable economic environment for its people. Taking care of workers' rights and balancing it with the long term view of the economic structure has always been tricky. I think that there are certainly opportunities in Singapore as long as we work hard for it. If we want to increase our income, we have many opportunities to upgrade our skills. We also have opportunities to learn new skills so as to boost our employability and make us more relevant to the industry needs. No longer is the working environment the same as 20 years ago. We have to embrace change and be prepared. Having another skill on hand will help when we realise our current skills become obsolete. Losing our jobs can be a very painful experience. Are you prepared for a more secure financial future ahead?


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