We were on the verge of the greatest retirement crisis in history and COVID-19 just triggered it. In the decades to come, globally, we will witness hundreds of millions of people slipping into poverty in their retirement years, not because they lost money in the stock market, but because they saved. Why? If you are […]
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 […]
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 […]
How to Invest Amid US-China Trade War as an Asian Investor
The 2018 US-China trade war is a game changer for the global investment markets. It is a once-in-a-decade investment opportunity that you have to seize. How can you grow your wealth instead of being a victim of the war between two global giants? This article will shed the light for you. But before we start, […]
5 Factors impacting your mortgage interest rates
By now, you should have known that the era of ultra-easy money is drawing to an end for Singapore mortgage holders. Singapore’s domestic interest rates are rising at their fastest pace in a decade. How fast can this continue? how much can it grow? The three-month Singapore interbank offered rate (Sibor) is commonly used to set the […]
Why Is The Ease of Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) Restriction Disappointing
On Feb 10, 2014, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced to ease the restrictive Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) on certain property buyers. What it says is that some of those who bought a residential property before the TDSR measure (introduced on June 29, 2013) will be exempted from the TDSR threshold of 60% […]