Counterintuitive investment methods that can improve your portfolio
By now, most of you know that finance is, well, strange. The basic concepts are easy to grasp, but once you’re ready to plunge into the world of investing, some of the principles involved seem to defy common sense. That causes investors to do what works in their head, but which ends up costing them […]
Why do some new property investors choose old, resale condos?
The standard move for new property investors – who are quite often in the single digit millionaire bracket – is to buy a new launch, one or two-bedder condo unit. This is either flipped as a sub sale unit, rented out, or hopefully sold for gains within the decade. There are, however, single digit millionaire […]
3 financial lessons from the unlikely success of Old Master Q (Lao Fu Zhi / 老夫子)
From 1962 to the present, Old Master Q has become deeply embedded in Chinese culture. Whilst its roots are in Hong Kong, Chinese people in countries all over the world will probably at least recognise the character; even if they haven’t read a strip in years. Old Master Q has appeared in animated series, live-action […]
Lessons from how Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Peanuts Gang made $500 million for Schulz
When Charles Schulz died in 2000, his net worth was estimated at US$500 million. This was primarily from his creation, the ubiquitous Peanuts comic strip (although in Singapore, as in most of Asia, the names Snoopy and Charlie Brown are better known than Peanuts). At its height in 1990, the Peanuts brand generated around US$1 […]
How valuable are your “rare” collectibles?
At the level of a single digit millionaire, it might become viable for you to look at alternatives. One particularly fun and engaging version of this is collectibles: this can range from rare coins, to trading cards, to antiques and toys – the range is limitless. Quite often, investors commit a small portion of their […]
How much does the F1 race improve your life?
From 20th to 22nd September, the F1 races will be back in town. And everytime this happens, we get bombarded with news about the immense benefits it brings. Hotel prices have tripled already, and there’s something of a track record: back in 2022 it was lauded for bringing in 300,000 tourists, and this supposedly results […]
What makes millionaire Singaporeans fall for scams?
On 30th August 2022, a bank’s anti-scam team narrowly prevented a Singaporean from transferring over $1 million to scammers. On 24th October 2023, a Singaporean father of two lost over $1 million to scammers in just 15 days. On 19th March 2024, an 82-year old man was targeted three times in two months, losing $3.7 […]
The risk of raising an Olympic medallist, and why many parents don’t do it
Now that the Paris Olympics are over, we can see some familiar memes and rhetoric. Chief among these is the notion of money and the role it plays – from Arshad Nadeem being Pakistan’s first gold medallist in 32 years, despite not being able to afford a proper javelin to train with, to Turkish “hitman […]