CPF is one of the most important assets for retirement planning in Singapore. But it is often under invested. Although CPF board pays you an almost guaranteed interest rate for your savings, you can still invest your CPF to earn a potentially higher return. There are a variety of instruments approved for CPF investment, such […]
New Temasek Bond Issues – 50 years!
Would you buy a 50 years bond with only 2.7% interest? Probably not. But when Temasek issues such bonds, they are oversubscribed. I explained before that contrary to many false beliefs, Temasek doesn’t invest CPF’s money, given the good reputation, they have their own way of sourcing for cheap funds. And this is a good […]
Is Singapore Spending Too Much National Reserves?
Are we drawing down the national reserves too fast? With President Halimah’s assent, Singapore is withdrawing another eye-popping $31 billion from its reserves to fund Covid-19 support packages, you may justifiably wonder: “Is there a limit to this?” By now, Singapore has used close to $100 billion from its reserves to fight the “deepest economic crisis […]
The Last Relay – Ivan’s Reflection in January 2020
2020 started with some interesting notes. The dynamics of the market have made some swift shifts but most are within the expectations of my earlier GMC updates. Let me summarize the key investment opportunities this year. Recession is NOT coming One rule that I obey faithfully is that when there is too much consensus in […]
Astrea V Private Equity Bond: Why I am not thrilled about it
The latest buzz in Singapore’s financial market is the launch of Astrea V PE Bond, a retail private equity bond by a Temasek unit. If you have not heard about it, you do not have much to lose. But if you are contemplating to subscribe to it, you should continue to read. Just google “Astrea […]
Investing for Retirement: Why you should not over-rely on REITs investment
Real Estate Investment Trust, a.k.a. REIT, is a popular income-generating investment nowadays. It is also one of the 5 core Income Generating Assets that I recommend for retirement planning. But the risks of investing in REITs are not well understood. In the course of my work, I realize many people have these common misconceptions: I don’t […]