Month: <span>July 2022</span>

5 Investing Mistakes to Avoid During a Downturn

Posted on 14/07/2022 by admin

A market downturn can be scary. In the past few months, we have seen one of the most volatile swings in stock market history that can unnerve even the steeliest investor. But many forget that we have been through this before.

Whether it is selective memory or a case of financial amnesia, many investors might give in to their worst instincts which often leads to poor investment decisions. Here are five common investing mistakes to avoid that could set you back even further in a downturn.

1. Panic Sell

It can be painful to see a sea of red in your portfolio. But giving in to fear and panic selling would only crystallise your losses and making them permanent. Instead, take a long-term view of your portfolio by realising that markets move in cycles and that downturns are temporary.

History shows that each bull cycle tends to end higher than the previous top. For example, during the 2008 crisis, global markets plummeted as the subprime meltdown spread carnage around risk assets. However, the markets found its bottom in March 2009 and eventually recovered to former levels and goes even higher.

More recently in March 2020, stock markets cratered as the COVID pandemic shuttered the global economy with the MSCI World Index plunging by 34% in a span of 6 weeks. However, the recovery was equally swift with benchmark gauges retracing back their losses in April and notching new highs since then.

2. Trying to Time the Market

Another common mistake is that investors may attempt to time the bottom by selling entirely and then piling back in when markets start to rebound. Unfortunately, investors even professional ones rarely get both the timing right and ended up in a far worse position than they were before.

Instead, practice dollar-cost averaging by continuously investing in fixed sums through regular intervals. This helps lower the purchase price of your investments over time by taking advantage of market dips as well as reducing the risk of bad timing or investing according to one’s emotions.

3. Did Not Rebalance

Investors are advised to rebalance their asset allocation at least twice a month to correct portfolio drifts back to its target allocation. However, a major market movement such as a downturn could also throw it off balance.

In a downturn, the returns from an equity portfolio would tend to fall much more than the target allocation as global stocks are down. Jittery investors may neglect to rebalance it back and increase their exposure in equities because they are worried of the volatility in the markets. After all, it sounds counterintuitive to invest when market conditions are shaky.

However, it is important to do so in order to stay on track towards achieving your long-term goals. Rebalancing is also important to ensure that you are taking the desired level of risk that you have set out in your investment plan.

4. Cutting Your Winners and Hanging on to Your Losers

An important investment maxim is to ‘ride your winners and cut your losers’ from your portfolio. It sounds logical, but during a downturn, investors tend to do the opposite as they attempt to stem losses. Thus, they lock-in gains from their winners in order to compensate for losses in other areas of the portfolio.

But this only digs a deeper hole for the investor who could be worse-off in the future by hanging on to the portfolio’s losers. Instead, establish clear parameters for corrective action where needed in your investment plan to avoid mistakes such as these.

5. Monitoring and Doing Too Much

Young Investor Looking Hopefully Charts Cryptocurrency Stock Market

In a downturn, investors are often plugged-in to news alerts and social media to keep up-to-date with what is going on with the markets. This could prompt investors to buy, sell and sometimes even take advice from unscrupulous ‘financial gurus’ with a hidden agenda.

Looking at your portfolio 24/7 and tinkering with it too much does not usually end well for the investor. Financial anxieties kick-in and you start to lose sight of your goals which includes why you have decided to invest in the first place.

Learn to filter out the noise and take every sensational headline with a pinch of salt. Media outlets rely on eyeballs for advertising revenues and clickbait articles are their go-to tactic.

Instead, stick to your investment plan through regular contributions and practice diversification. Ensure that your portfolio is geared towards it stated purpose with an asset allocation that matches your risk tolerance.

Keeping Perspective

The first rule in any market downturn is to stay calm. We may not always be in control of any given situation, but we can control how we respond to it.

This is especially true for investing where success has little to do with how much you know, but rather how you behave. Thankfully, it mostly involves inaction, staying the course and lots of patience.

About the Author

Lee Sheung Un is a communications officer at Affin Hwang Asset Management. A millennial, he is still finding that balance between wealth, freedom and purpose. Views expressed are his own.

Preventive Health Screening

Posted on 14/07/2022 by admin

Going for regular medical check-ups goes a long way in maintaining your health. A medical condition or onset of disease can actually be slowed down or even averted if discovered on time, particularly if there are no symptoms.

Smart Investor talks to Dr Hilwani Kaharuddin of Ara Damansara Medical Centre on why timely intervention can make all the difference.

SI: What is the purpose of Health Screening?

Dr Hilwani Kaharuddin (Dr HK): Many diseases are “silent” meaning they have no symptoms or the symptoms are very vague. For example, you may have hypertension (high blood pressure) and not know it unless you specifically

check your blood pressure. Many people associate hypertension with headaches. However, hypertension only causes headaches when the blood pressure is severely high. You may have had hypertension for years without knowing and all the while the constant high pressure is damaging your kidneys, heart, eyes and so on.

Another example is diabetes. People with diabetes will usually feel thirsty all the time and pass urine more frequently than normal. However, these symptoms may come on so gradually that the person does not notice the change.

Many patients have told me, “I drink a lot of water, so of course I go to the toilet often”. It sounds logical, but these are actually symptoms of diabetes. So, unless you test for diabetes, you will not know.

The idea of health screening is to detect problems or diseases early, when treatment is usually easier with a higher success rate as complications of the disease have not yet arisen.

SI: What Tests does one need to Do and When?

Dr HK: It is never too early for a health screening. I have diagnosed diabetes, hypertension and cancer in young people. Talk to your health care provider. Based on your lifestyle, family history and symptoms (if any), he/she will advise the necessary screening tests. Of course there is basic general screening, but it is best to get one that is tailored to you.

For example, someone who has a family history of Thalassemia may need to be tested for that. A young 30-year-old female with no health concerns but is sexually active may be advised to have a PAP smear.

SI: In Malaysia, what is the prevalent disease? Is it Diabetes? Or High Blood Pressure? Or something else?

Dr HK: We are seeing an increasing number of non- communicable diseases in Malaysia. This is largely due to our stressful and unhealthy lifestyle. It is difficult to estimate prevalence of a disease because many are not reported. It is estimated that one in three Malaysians above 30 years has hypertension.

For diabetes, the figure is estimated to be one in 6.5. More importantly, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study, the top five diseases leading to disability or death are:

Top 5 Deadly Diseases

Coronary artery disease
Road traffic accident (which is not a disease but included here due to its significant impact)
Cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
Lower respiratory tract infection
Diabetes mellitus

We need to be cognizant of the fact that both coronary artery and cerebrovascular diseases share the same risk factors, that is hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia (high cholesterol), cigarette smoking and so on. These risk factors are easily picked up and addressed with health screening.

SI: Can you give an example where early detection has saved someone’s life?

Dr HK: I don’t know about saving lives, but we do frequently pick up things that need further evaluation. I was attending to a young man once who came in with a heart attack. He was unusually tall and had some physical features which suggest a certain genetic disorder.

He had never noticed he was any different from others because he has always looked like this since young. Then his brothers came in and I noticed they ALL had the same features. Therefore, we arranged for screening and all turned out to have this genetic disorder, which although there is no cure, there are things we can do to reduce their risk of complications.

There are also young people with abdominal pain who eventually turn out to have colon cancer, or an overweight young man who we diagnose with diabetes and so on.

SI: What is Pre-employment Health Screening and why is it important?

Dr HK: Pre-employment health screening is used to evaluate a person’s fitness to perform the duties he/she will be employed to do and that he/she will not put other colleagues at any health risk.

SI: What will happen if the employee fails the test? Does it mean he cannot be employed?

Dr HK: If a test is abnormal in the first instance, the potential employee may be advised for further tests or treatment. He/she may be asked to repeat the test at another time or after the completion of treatment. If he/she fails the test a second time, the duty of the doctor is to advice on the potential employee’s fitness to practise. It is up to the employer if they want to proceed to employ the candidate or consider a more suitable position.

SI: Are there risks involved in these tests? What are they?

Dr HK: Screening tests are generally low risk tests. They usually involve an interview with your healthcare practitioner, a physical examination, certain blood tests and may or may not include urine test, imaging such as chest X-ray or ultrasound and ECG.

SI: How long will the tests take generally?

Dr HK: A basic screening test usually does not last longer than half a day in centres where they have their own lab and imaging facilities such as ours in Ara Damansara.

SI: Are there certain things that one should not do/consume before a test?

Dr HK: For most health screenings, you are advised to fast for at least eight hours for your blood test and if you will be undergoing an abdominal ultrasound. However, you are advised to continue your usual prescription medications except diabetic medications despite fasting.

Dr Hilwani Kaharuddin is an Emergency Physician and the Head of Emergency Department at Ara Damansara Medical Centre, Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care.

Loosening Cash Flow when Money is Tight

Posted on 14/07/202231/07/2026 by admin

There are times when one has to spend money even when there is little to go around. Arguably, there are three areas where money has to be spent. The areas are: Parents’ Allowance, Education and Giving Back to Community. Even though this may eat into existing funds, with Smart Spending Techniques and Money Allocation, the situation can be managed.

Must Spend Money

In one’s life, ‘Must Spend Money’ falls into three possible categories:

1. Parent’s Allowance

No matter how wealthy or poor the family may be, taking care of one’s parents – whether financially or physically − is part of a child’s obligation, at least in eastern culture. After all, we have enjoyed the great sacrifice, financial support and care of our parents and when we start to work, we should contribute a portion of our money to our parents as a token of appreciation.

The parent, in turn, should accept the child’s money even when it is not needed. This can help to shape the child into a more grateful and responsible human being. This, however, doesn’t mean that we should depend on our children’s financial support, if the situation allows it, we should be fully responsible for our own daily expenses.

A psychology counselor once told me that a lot of family crises arise from financial problems (or a lack thereof) caused by the husband’s failure or patial failure to fulfil his financial obligations to the wife or family. Tracking the root cause behind each case, she found that many of the individuals were not educated on the responsibility of giving money to the parents when they were single. It explains why they do not contribute to their families when they got married.

2. Learning Fund

Learning is life-long. Always allocate a portion of your money (plus time and effort) to learning, travelling and exploring as this will help you grow and acquire knowledge. If you want to have a better life and wisdom, or upgrade from your current level, you should always continue to improve your mindset, knowledge and soft and hard skills, no matter what age.

3. Community Give Back or Charity

Different People Doing Volunteer Work With Food

Open your eyes and you will see so many people living far below their basic means and opportunities. When compared to them, we feel blessed about what we have and don’t have (such as bad weather, environment, natural disaster, lack of opportunity and so on). We are a part of community, enjoying its benefits and effort so never forget to lend your helping hand to give back to those who need money, effort, time and knowledge. If you agree with the concept of the power of giving, you will understand that the more you give, the more you will receive. The rich know this concept and that is why they keep on giving out and yet, still remain very rich. Warren Buffet once said he became what he is today (Super Rich) and is able to do what he wants, because he was born at the right time in the USA. His fate would have been very different if he had been born in another country.

Smart Spending

When it comes to spending wisely, how do you do that? Here are some cost-saving pointers:

Compare, Research, Make Informed Choices

Perform two to three comparisons before purchasing. Only buy when there is a promotion or large discount and only purchase necessities. Purchase items that have been re-packaged under the departmental store or supermarket label as they are usually 20 − 30% cheaper buit just as good.

Has anyone purchased their own engine oil instead of letting the car workshop decide everything for you? You might be interested in my experience about buying engine oil. A normal brand of fully synthetic engine oil can cost above RM200 (at promotional prices, it can be around RM170++). After reading many positive comments on an online forum, I purchased a departmental store brand engine oil (imported and repackaged locally) that only cost RM80-RM100 during the promotion period. I have been using this oil for several years now and it has, to date, not caused problems. You can apply the same technique too, to almost any other item to save money (but of course, you must also take the risk).

Bulk Purchasing

Let me share with you one of my uncommon practises. Normally, I will purchase another set of shoes or clothes or necessities (during offer periods) to prevent having to purchase a replacement at the normal price when the item is worn out/broken/lost.

Another way to save cost is to skip the intermediaries like a supermarket and deal directly with the factory where you can get the items at distributor’s price. Of course, some factories don’t deal with retail or the public. However, I have purchased baby diapers from the factory where I enjoyed more savings than even the supermarket promotional prices. Of course I needed to purchase 12 packs in three boxes but I knew the items would be fully utilised within nine months. I also enjoyed the free delivery that came with the bulk order.

For daily and heavy use items, you can do the same but do not over purchase until you need to keep the items in store for a few years; you will be losing your purchasing power by storing the goods over so many years.

Purchase Pre-Owned Items

Yet another way of saving is to purchase branded second hand but in good shape items. A statistical survey on self-made millionaires in the US during 80s and 90s (The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko) showed that a majority of them preferred to buy branded, high-quality but second hand cars. Their methods can be replicated, but when applying it here, add another requirement of low mileage. (Generally speaking, the second-hand car that gives the best value is aged between three to six years).

Money Allocation

Here are some money allocation techniques according to the book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T.Harv.Eker. It advises you to adjust according to your situation. As a rule of thumb, we should maintain 50% of our money on necessities, 10% on investment to work towards financial freedom, 10% on Long Term Savings which you can use for future big spending like house renovation, car and so on, 10% on education-life long learning, 10% on recreation, play or any self-rewarding activities and the last 10% on giving back to community or charity.

The other guideline is to maintain a healthy cash flow by making sure our monthly debts servicing ratio (DSR) for housing, car, education, personal and credit card loans over monthly income is kept below 40%, while 10% of the positive surplus is used for savings and investment in order to grow your wealth. The money spent on purchasing insurance should be within 15% of your monthly salary.

Yong Chu Eu is a Licensed Financial Advisor/ Head of Education Division of Fin Freedom Sdn Bhd (CFP, FAR, CMSRL, HRDF Certified & SIDC CPE Training Provider). He can be reached at ceyong@financialfreedom.com.my

In a World Where Common Sense is a Rare Commodity, What’s Going on?

Posted on 14/07/2022 by admin

Investment scams involve promises of big payouts, quick money or guaranteed high returns. In this part of the world where I live and work, investment scams in the forms of Ponzi and pyramid schemes are getting increasingly common.

Ladies and gentlemen, investment scammers are so convincing. You know who they are actually targeting. Have you lost your job because of COVID-19? Are you desperate for money? Are you a victim of one scam and looking to recover your lost money? With so much debt, what are you going to do?

According to Investopedia, with Ponzi schemes, investors give money to a portfolio manager. Then, when they want their money back, they are paid out with the incoming funds contributed by later investors. With a pyramid scheme, the initial schemer recruits other investors who in turn recruit other investors and so on. Late-joining investors pay the person who recruited them for the right to participate or perhaps sell a certain product.

Business Career Placement Concept Three Executive Directors Head Managers Sitting Table Office Interviewing Woman Teamwork Company

Over the years, even highly intelligent and educated people who do not understand how things work have been ruined by investment schemes that turned out to be fraudulent. Unbelievable?

All investment scams will eventually collapse. There were cases where the company disappeared with investor funds, or scammers claiming to be “fund managers”, advertising in the social media, collecting money from people, without any proper fund structures. This is all very concerning, because it creates a poor image for the industry in general.

Some of these pitches are so convincing that even I take a look from time to time and the entry cost levels are so low. It is time to give myself a slap. What have I been smoking all these years? I must have been one of the biggest idiots in the world not knowing that making money can be that easy.

Sweet! Some people know what they are doing. Over the years, I have come across people who do not mind investing in any investment scams as long as they are giving them high returns. I have heard before of people quitting their proper jobs or businesses to focus on their investment scams. They took the “bait”, got their capital back and recruited others to join the gravy train. There is no feeling of guilt, no responsibility involved whatsoever for them.

They will compromise moral values and ethics for money. They always look for loopholes to overcome the rules and regulations that have been put into place to protect the system. This is how terribly low our modern society has become. Yeah, not everyone can be rich. Why should not everyone be able to earn money so, so, and so easily?

As long as any investment scams which claims to invest or trade in anything from forex to cryptos are expanding at a healthy rate, their “fund managers” are able to keep the fraud going. Once investments begin to contract, then the house of cards collapses.

A fake investment can go on for months or even years as long as it is able to suck in more investors or suckers. You will be able to see the profits you have made on a webpage or an app.

Portrait Cheerful Man Showing Ok Sign Holding Money White Background

According to Dr. Stephen Greenspan, the University of Connecticut psychology professor who is also an internationally known authority on Ponzi schemes, the basic mechanism explaining the success of Ponzi schemes is the tendency of humans to model their actions (especially when dealing with matters they do not fully understand) on the behavior of other humans.

This mechanism has been termed “irrational exuberance,” a phrase attributed to former Federal Reserve’s chairman Alan Greenspan (no relation), but actually coined by another economist, Robert J. Schiller. Schiller employs a social psychological explanation that he terms the “feedback loop theory of investor bubbles.”

The fact that so many people seem to be making big profits on the investment, and telling others about their good fortune, makes the investment seem safe and too good to pass up. In Schiller’s words, the fact “that others have made a lot of money appears to many people as the most persuasive evidence in support of the investment story associated with the Ponzi scheme.

While social feedback loops are an obvious contributor to understanding the success of Ponzi and other mass financial manias, there are four factors which can be used to understand acts of gullibility and also other forms of what Dr. Stephen terms as “foolish action.” The factors are situation, cognition, personality and emotion. Obviously, individuals differ in the weights affecting any given gullible act.

Situations. Assuming that the decision to proceed would be a very risky and thus foolish act, a gullible behavior is more likely to occur if the social and other situational pressures are strong and less likely to occur if the social and other situational pressures are weak, or balanced by countervailing pressures (such as having wise heads to warn you).

Cognition. Gullibility can be considered as a form of stupidity, so it is safe to assume that deficiencies in knowledge and/or clear thinking often are implicated in a gullible act. By terming this factor “cognition” rather than intelligence, one can have a high IQ and still prove gullible.

Personality. Gullibility is sometimes equated with trust and niceness leading to impulsive decision-making, but the late psychologist Julian Rotter showed that not all highly trusting people are gullible.

Emotion. Emotion enters into virtually every gullible act. In the case of investment in a Ponzi scheme, the emotion that motivates gullible behavior is a strong wish to increase and protect one’s wealth.

About the author

YH Wong has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry. His clients include high net worth investors and boutique institutions such as family offices and investment partnerships in the region. He is currently a senior partner with Satori Consultancy Ltd, a financial services company regulated by the Mauritian Financial Services Commission. He can be reached at yhwong@satoriconsultancy.com.

5 Things You Will Get From The Estate Planning Malaysia Academy

Posted on 14/07/202231/07/2026 by admin

Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person’s life, for the management and disposal of that person’s estate during the person’s life, in the event he or she becomes incapacitated or dies. Estate planning involves determining how an individual’s assets will be preserved, managed, and distributed after death.

Assets that could make up an individual’s estate include houses, cars, stocks, artwork, digital assets, life insurance, pensions, and debt. Individuals have various reasons for planning an estate, such as preserving family wealth, providing for a surviving spouse and children, funding children’s or grandchildren’s education, or leaving their legacy behind to a charitable cause.

Smart Investor recently got an early access to Estate Planning Malaysia Online Practice Academy that was just launched to the public. But before we begin, let’s look at what it is all about shall we?

What Is Estate Planning Malaysia Online Practice Academy?

5 Things You Will Get From The Estate Planning Academy1

It is a video-based learning that you can learn at your own pace. There’s also a section where you can read articles that was published on Smart Investor’s website as well.

All-in, there’s 7 modules with 80 lessons contained in the platform.

SECTION 1: Weekly Zoom LIVE Tutorials with experienced estate planner, Lee Khee Chuan

SECTION 2: FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions with short answers (Questions asked by Certified Financial Planner@ CFP students and Participants in Estate Planning talks)

SECTION 3: Estate Planning Sales/Advisory Process

SECTION 4: Topical Discussions in CFP Module 2 Lectures (Insurance & Estate Planning)

SECTION 5: Estate Planning Awareness Talks by Sifu Lee (recorded & presented by Lee Khee Chuan)

SECTION 6: Estate Planning Avatar Short Videos

SECTION 7: Smart Investor Articles Previously Published

The number of contents will increase over time, so that’s a bonus.

Here are 5 things that you will get from the Estate Planning Malaysia Online Practice Academy.

1. Integrated Approach To Estate Planning Course

For the first time in Malaysia, insurance agents, will-writers/estate planners/legacy planners, and CFP/RFP students/graduates who want to acquire practice knowledge of Integrated Estate Planning can now learn via this online practice academy.

From the differences between MRTA and MLTA, to preparing a will yourself, to many other short videos that are easy to understand, all grounds are covered in this course.

2. Experienced Trainer

Lee Khee Chuan @ Sifu Lee brings with him his unique blend of academic background and experiences. He holds a B.A. with double majors in political science and psychology, and double minors in economics and Malay Studies from National University of Singapore (NUS). Since 1992, he has been in personal selling, as well as a company sales trainer, practitioner, lecturer, and columnist in estate planning.

He is a trainer, practitioner, and lecturer in the financial & estate planning industry since 1995. He has much to contribute to the industry with his writing, lecturing, practice, and training. His forte is in practice management focusing on integrated approach to estate planning. He brings his many years of practice experiences to this Online Academy and to impart and transfer his knowledge to his students.

He is the first financial adviser in Malaysia who advocates and promotes the integrated approach in estate planning. Hi strength lies in the integrated and practical aspects of estate planning. Many of his CFP students like his practical teaching and training methods in estate planning.

Made by the expert in the industry himself.

3. On A Platform That Is Very Easy To Use

5 Things You Will Get From The Estate Planning Academy2

You get to see everything at a glance and click on the content that you want to learn the most. Or you can follow step-by-step, completing it at your own pace.

Once a lesson is completed, it will be marked as complete which is useful so that you can track your own progress.

5 Things You Will Get From The Estate Planning Academy3

You can easily watch the previous video or click next to continue with the lesson.

4. In Layman Terms

It doesn’t get any simpler than the explanation by Sifu Lee himself. Don’t worry if you don’t have any financial background or estate planning in general, it is being presented in layman terms that is very easy to understand by everyone.

The practical knowledge combined with easy-to-understand lessons, makes for a very well-equipped understanding of the subject at hand.

5. Weekly Zoom Meeting

After you’ve gone through all the modules, you can always ask Sifu Lee via Live Zoom meeting every week. Should you have any queries about a particular topic or if you have a particular case study that you need help on, feel free to ask during this online meeting.

There will be a minimum of 40 weekly live sessions in a year with 2 hours duration per session. The value that you get from this personal touch is just amazing.

Smart Investor interviewed a few students who have enrolled in the online estate planning practice course and are learning the subject online. Angel Lee, a life insurance planner from Malacca was excited when learning it using the online portal.

She really loved the way those courses were prepared and presented, starting by highlighting the issues in estate planning insurance agents and estate planners often overlook. And then the video-ready lessons would provide the answer those questions. The master trainer’s teaching was clear, yet detailed, and she loved the many examples discussed in the online course. The examples are invaluable and help discover how estate planning can be applied to meet clients’ concern.

Adrian Lean, a unit trust and PRS consultant from Penang, found the estate planning course a comprehensive program and contains practicable knowledge typically sought by not only those interested in estate planning, but also for those who wish to expand their knowledge in this area. The course curriculum contained many gems, and he especially liked the unique integrated approach and the solutions presented in the course.

Overall, the course is a value for money package, and carries a distinction above other programs in the market today. He congratulated the academy and the master trainers who have done an excellent job in raising the benchmark for the estate planning industry in Malaysia.

Early Bird Discount If You Start Now

We all know how Malaysians love discounts, fret not. Estate Planning Malaysia Online Practice Academy in partnership with Smart Investor now offers a SPECIAL discount for 1^st year for those who act now.

All you need to do is:

1. Browse Estate Planning Malaysia Online Practice Academy website.

2. Fill in your details and put in the coupon code: SmartInvestor (non case sensitive)

3. Complete the purchase by credit card

That’s it, a huge discount from RM2,600 to just RM1,196 first year fee. But it’s only for those who start now.

See you there!

Crypto And Digital Asset, Learn Before You Earn

Posted on 08/07/2022 by admin

With the recent crypto market crash, investors are now very fearful of the market. Who would have thought Luna can lose almost 100% of its value in just a few days. Even the big boys like Bitcoin, Ethereum and BNB are not spared either, with huge losses all across the board.

Smart Investor spoke with Wei Zhou who is the new CEO of Coins, Philippines’ leading crypto and mobile wallet to find out more on this topic. Coins.ph is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and is the first ever crypto-based company in Asia to hold both Virtual Currency and Electronic Money Issuer licenses from a central bank. One of its uniqueness is that it has a crypto license by the regulators and by becoming a bridge between virtual and real-life, accepting crypto and fiat along the way.

A brief introduction about Wei Zhou, he formally served as Chief Financial Officer of Binance, Zhaopin.com, and Charm Communications. He also led the landmark acquisition of Grindr, where he served as Vice Chairman. He started his career at Goldman Sachs, and he graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and East Asian Studies.

According to him, everyone needs to learn about digital asset, since it is the future. Start by taking the time to understand the blockchain technology behind it. Then move on to the digital assets itself, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Understand what it is, why it was created, what are the benefits and what causes its price to move up and down.

It’s Easy To Get Started

Closeup Shot Two Coins Placed Top Mobile Phone

Start opening up your own account by creating your own crypto wallet. It is now so much easier whereby most onboarding process can be done online. Some can even be done using only your smartphone. There are also platforms that did not even require its users to undergo a KYC (Know Your Customer) process.

Next up, get to know more about Non-Fungible Token or NFT. A non-fungible token is a financial security consisting of digital data stored in a blockchain, a form of distributed ledger. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain, and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded.

We may have seen an NFT in the form of pictures, digital art. As the adoption rate of NFT gets higher, so does the NFT market value in general.

What’s The Reason For The Crypto Market Crash?

Crypto is still in its early stage and is highly speculative. There may also be an element of the Greater Fool Theory, where the next person is willing to buy more for crypto despite it not having any clear fundamentals.

But in all honesty, it is not only the crypto that is suffering from the bears. The world’s stock market is also crashing down.

For those who are suffering huge losses now, you need to go back as to why you bought them in the first place. Do you believe in the digital asset? Its ecosystem? Or do you simply buy because everyone else is buying?

That’s the reason why it is so important to be doing your own research. But the take-up rate for crypto is considered to be still low. With more people coming in the crypto market, the price will start going back up.

Upcoming Trends?

Asian Young Male Wearing Wearable Goggle Headset — asian young male wearing wearable goggle headset virtual online meeting digital space working with 3d augmented dimension at home,cyber virtual working with virtual vr goggle and pc desktop device

The blockchain is definitely the future. It is a proof of ownership for digital assets. There will be more games and metaverse taking the spotlight in the years to come. For content creators, NFT are good for them to able to earn an income.

But there must be a huge effort to build up the community, build up your trust and brands.

In the sports industry, national associations such as for basketball and football are partnering with the blockchain players.

Plans For The Future?

Wei Zhou is set to come out with additional tokens that has its own value in the market. Also, there are plans to come out with new NFTs with utilities that can benefit the holders.

He is also keen to embark on play-to-earn games which lets gamers earn money while playing their favorite games.

Start Small But Start Now

Cryptocurrency Coding Digital Black Background Open Source Blockchain Concept — Cryptocurrency coding digital black background open-source blockchain concept

The easiest way to get started is by going on social medias and following influencers on their Twitter account. Next is to listen to podcasts so you are able to understand the terms and jargons that is being used.

Once you are in, there’s nothing better than getting your feet wet by joining in the crowd as community managers and engage the audience directly. At Coins, there’s the Coins champion for this purpose.

Making Money From Digital Asset?

Finally, Wei Zhou advises us to have a diversified portfolio and not to put everything in digital assets. Make sure you invest in real estate, stocks and start-ups, before going into digital asset.

Also invest in time as there are a lot of opportunities out there, waiting for it to go boom. This is true in the metaverse space where there’s a lot of hardware and software involved.

Financial Planning Lessons That I Learned From My 72-Year-Old Customer

Posted on 08/07/202231/07/2026 by admin

When I joined the financial industry in 2017, I was so lucky to meet my first customer. Not just because of the first investment business he gave to me, but also the lessons that he taught me.

I remembered the day when I first met him, I was introducing a unit trust fund to him, and he agreed to invest immediately after I finished my explanation. Since he was my first customer, I was being extra careful to avoid any mistakes in the process.

I asked him every question in the suitability assessment form:

Do you have investment experience in the past?
Do you understand about the investment risk?
How many percent of fluctuation can you accept?
Do you read and understand English?

The customer suddenly slapped the table, and said: “Why do you need to ask so many questions? Other banks did not ask all these questions when I invest with them! I told you, I’m ready to take risk when I invest. I can even accept the RM100k investment becoming a total loss.”

Knowledge Is Power

People may think that when one gets older, he/she should be less aggressive in investment. But this customer taught me that when one is fully equipped with knowledge, he/she will be able to make an informed financial decision despite of his/her old age.

Later, the customer topped up his investment after his first investment made profit within five months. But this time, the market was not going as smoothly as the first time. The unit trust fund was badly hit by the US-China trade war in 2018. The fund dropped ~20% in the first year of investing.

I asked the customer whether he want to switch his investment to other funds that were not affected by the US-China trade war?

Surprisingly, the customer did not worry about the paper loss of 20%. He told me that it is normal for the market to be up and down. He does not want to switch the fund because he has belief in China, and he is confident that the fund will rebound; and he has the holding power and patience to wait for it.

A year later, the fund recovered and the investment broke even at the end of the second year. 6 months later, the fund then made a 20% return. The customer was very happy with the annualised return of 7.63% after waiting for two and a half years.

Patience Is Key

Hourglass Dark Background — Hourglass on dark background

In reality, most investors might quit the market and cut loss when the fund is at ~20% loss. Some investors might withdraw their investment when the fund finally breaks even at the end of second year. Only a few are able to see the return after waiting for two and a half years.

The customer taught me another lesson that when one has a clear investing goal and strategy, he/she will not worry unnecessary about the market’s volatility, he/she will always stick to the initial plan without making emotional decision.

It has taught me the importance of financial literacy and it resulted in my faith to become a licensed financial planner a few years later.

Thanks to my customer, I’m now a licensed financial planner currently and I’m also conducting financial management workshop regularly to educate Malaysians on financial literacy.

About the Author

Angel Chan is a Licensed Financial Planner attached to UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd. Besides providing comprehensive financial advisory to her clients, she is also committed to educate the public about the correct financial management mindset and methodology through article, YouTube video and Financial Management Workshop conducted by her and her team. Do reach out to her for more information.

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Interview with Maybank Asset Management Sdn Bhd, Winner Of The FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023

Posted on 08/07/2022 by admin

Overcoming the rising interest rates and weakening credit profile

Smart Investor: Congratulations! Can you tell us more about your winning fund in the FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023?

Syhiful Zamri: Thank you for honouring MAMG Global Income-I Fund as one of the selected award-winning funds. We are humbled by this achievement as a reflection of recognition from industry peers. The Fund is a unique feeder fund, where it feeds into a target fund AZ Islamic – MAMG Global Sukuk, which is co-managed by Azimut Investments S.A. and our Maybank Asset Management Group’s investment teams.

It combines the best of each team’s experience and geographical expertise when it comes to credit selection for the target fund. Thus, MAMG’s team focus was on Asia sukuks while Azimut’s team focused on global sukuk outside Asia, mainly the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region.

Though we are committed to a semi-annual distribution to reflect the regular income distribution strategy as per the fund name suggests, currently the fund is distributed on a quarterly basis to match the consistent quarterly distribution by the target fund.

SI: What are the challenges you faced in the past 12 months?

SZ: The main challenges over the past year would be the rising interest rates environment and weakening credit profile of some of the high-yield sukuks due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery.

Aggressive upward interest rate adjustments by the central bankers reduced the price of sukuks massively, while credit downgrades or default on certain weaker credits will have a more permanent devaluation of the sukuks.

SI: What are the market trends that an investor should look out for in the near future?

SZ: For fixed income or sukuk investors, they should be mindful that the current high volatility may not last long as the central banks have already started their aggressive interest rate hiking action. Therefore, we think that most of the hawkish posturing by the central banks have been
priced in, especially when some of the treasury yields are already above recent year’s pre- pandemic highs.

Hence, we should be on the lookout for potential recovery options in the fixed income or sukuk market when the central banks start to become less hawkish due to the potential economic slowdown in the coming months.

Syhiful Zamri Chief Investment Officer Maybank — Syhiful Zamri, chief investment officer, Maybank Asset Management Sdn Bhd

Interview with RHB Asset Management Malaysia, Winner Of The FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023

Posted on 08/07/2022 by admin

Smart Investor: Congratulations! Can you tell us more about your winning funds in the FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023?

Mohd Fauzi Mohd Tahir: Thank you! We are indeed honoured and at the same time humbled to be awarded FSMOne’s Recommended Unit Trust. The RHB Big Cap China Enterprise Fund aims to provide quality and large cap exposure to China equity. The Fund is able to invest flexibly in multiple sources of “China alpha”, from onshore A-Share exposure to Hong Kong-listed China shares and even China ADR “American Depository Receipts” listed on the stocks exchanges in the United States.

The RHB Emerging Market Bonds Fund is feeding into United Emerging Markets Bond Fund, which aims to maximise returns, with high yield and capital appreciation over the longer term, by investing primarily in Emerging Markets debt investments and products.

The RHB Global Allocation Fund is feeding into BGF Global Allocation Fund. The Target Fund seeks to maximise total return by investing globally in equity, debt and short-term securities, of both corporate and governmental issuers, with no prescribed limits.

SI: What are the challenges you have faced in the past 12 months?

MFMT: Some of the key challenges over the last 12 months include the intense governmental and regulatory scrutiny on the different industries. Global growth was revised lower because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 situation in China. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is far from over and any drag or escalation would further exacerbated commodity prices and thus negative implications on global inflation and growth.
In addition, the zero-COVID policy of the China government is also causing some concerns on the potential growth rates in China. Lockdowns in China in pursuit of zero-COVID policy has further disrupt the supply chain and add to production constraints.

However, we do think that we are at the tail end of these well-flagged governmental and regulatory scrutiny. In fact, the China market is at an important inflection point in terms of the change in government and policy stance, from intense scrutiny to loosening of numerous sub-sectors. Furthermore, we also believe that the Chinese government is well aware of the economic impacts of the zero-COVID policy in China and is already
implementing policies to counter these impacts.

SI: What are the market trends that an investor should look out for in the near future?

MFMT: We believe that China is a structural growth story that will persist over the medium- to long-term, despite the current short-term volatility. China is set to be the largest economy in the world, within the next one or two decades. In this current rate hike and tightening environment that investors are seeing in most parts of the world, China is in fact doing the opposite – cutting benchmark interest rates and easing on multiple fronts, including monetary, fiscal and regulatory loosening.

We remain opportunistic as the rate tightening moves are seen to be gradual and at a much more managed pace to support economic recovery. We recommend buying bonds if the market weakens, albeit short-term market dynamics remain volatile mainly due to market sentiment. However, economic and technical fundamentals remained intact.

Mohd Fauzi Mohd Tahir Chief Investment Officer Equity RHB Asset Management Malaysia — Mohd Fauzi Mohd Tahir, chief investment officer, equity, RHB Asset Management Malaysia

Interview with Principal Malaysia, Winner Of The FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023

Posted on 08/07/2022 by admin

Smart Investor: Congratulations! Can you tell us more about your winning funds in the FSMOne Recommended Unit Trusts Awards 2022/2023?

Munirah Khairuddin: Principal Asia Pacific Dynamic Fund Growth invests primarily in the Asia Pacific excluding the Japan region, such as companies that are domiciled in, listed in, and/or have operations or businesses that focus in the Asia Pacific ex Japan region. With effect from 14 May 2021, the Fund may also invest up to 20% of its NAV in companies that are listed globally with some operations or businesses within the Asia Pacific ex Japan region to capture growth opportunities.

Principal Islamic Asia Pacific Dynamic Equity Fund: The Fund is predominantly an equity fund which invests through securities of companies domiciled in, listed in, and/or have significant operations in the emerging and developed markets of Asia Pacific ex Japan. Significant operations translates to major businesses of the company. For example, the Fund can invest in a company with significant business and/or operations in Thailand but listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Principal Asia Pacific Dynamic Mixed Asset Fund: The Fund is managed with the aim to provide investors with income and capital appreciation over the medium- to long-term through investments in the Asia Pacific ex-Japan region. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective through a diversified portfolio investment in equities, debt securities, money market instruments and/or Deposits.

Principal ASEAN Dynamic Fund: The Fund is managed with the aim of achieving stable and positive investment returns over the medium- to long-term through investments in the ASEAN region regardless of market conditions. The companies invested in must be domiciled in, listed in, and/or have significant operations in the ASEAN region. The Fund has the flexibility to adjust its investment exposure to equity and/or debt securities
and money market instruments depending on market conditions.

Principal Greater China Equity Fund: The Fund is a feeder fund that invests at least 95% of the Fund’s NAV in the Schroder ISF Greater China, a fund of the Schroder International Selection Fund, an open-ended investment company registered in Luxembourg. The Target Fund invests primarily in equity securities of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan companies; hence, investment risk is expected to be higher than a
globally diversified fund.

SI: What are the challenges you have faced in the past 12 months?

MK: The biggest challenge last year was still very much the pandemic which continued to cause widespread concern and economic hardship for consumers, businesses, and communities across the globe. Our firm spent the bulk of our time responding to the effects of the global pandemic on our workforce and business continuity. One of the challenges we faced is to operate both safely and economically at the same time and we have been able to do so through the means of technology.

We continue to ensure our clients are handheld by establishing ongoing communication through educational materials, online webinars, relationships call and social media.

SI: What are the market trends that an investor should look out for in the near future?

MK: In Asia, we have a slight preference for equities over bonds. The outlook for Asian equities is turning more positive since China has reopened, internet regulation is turning more benign and PE multiples have de-rated. Our conviction in risk assets would rise after we go through the current round of earnings downgrades, the first month of Quantitative Tightening and inflation shows some signs of peaking. Within bonds, we prefer local and regional to global developed market fixed income.

We like characteristics like quality, earnings resilience, growth visibility and reasonable valuations. We like companies that have scope for self-help, for example, on adjusting service/product offerings, managing costs, optimising their capital structure via share buybacks and/or higher dividends. We continue to look for opportunities include reopening beneficiaries (internet platform giants, consumer) and infrastructure spending plays. Factors and themes include high dividend yield, quality, inflation-hedges (selective staples, healthcare, materials, agriculture), decarbonisation (renewables) and beneficiaries of previous under-investments (energy, materials).

The comments that US Federal policy could go beyond neutral and into restrictive territory may keep US Treasuries (UST) elevated and volatile. We expect the 10-year UST yield to trade in a wide range but should find an anchor once the inflation outlook stabilises. Following the recent rally in the local government bonds in the month of May, we will look to pare some position in government bonds as the long-end of the curve remains volatile and would switch into the belly for better risk-reward opportunities.

We are also looking to the primary market for corporate bonds as liquidity and yields are generally attractive compared to the secondary market. For now, investors need to be prepared for continued volatility as market noises could dominate economic news over a few weeks or couple of months. In our base case, we think inflation will fall but remain above central bank targets, economic growth will slow but stay above zero and markets will ultimately shift focus to economic fundamentals.

These are the investment philosophies we are adopting for the near future:

Risk Management is key
Stick to funds that are focused on quality and income-generating feature
Diversifying to funds that also have an exposure to value and sustainable growth

Munirah Khairuddin Chief Executive Officer Principal Asset Management Berhad3

Munirah Khairuddin, chief executive officer and country head, Principal Malaysia