How oversimplifying ETFs cost one investor a small fortune
If you have access to more sophisticated financial products, you may have heard of leveraged ETFs. These are short-term tools, but our investor this week – whom we’ll simply call G – made the drastic mistake of holding on to a leveraged (US-based) ETF for an entire month. The reason? An oversimplified understanding of the […]
Why would someone successful enough to be a loan shark, choose to be one?
Would you pay for risk management? For most lay people, the answer is often “no.” There’s an assumption that, on a common sense level, we understand the right amount of risk we’re comfortable in taking. Among finance professionals and the wealthy, there’s also a sort of swaggering arrogance that goes with it: an assumption that, […]
Having trouble budgeting? Try thinking in terms of trade-offs.
Budgeting is one of the toughest habits to form, because failing even once will undo all your previous effort. Think of it by way of comparison: if you commit to jogging, and manage to do it for a month before you miss a day or two, you don’t lose everything at once: you still retain […]
Why financial services suck for single digit millionaires
Single digit millionaires are targeted more often for toxic products, receive less service than “real” High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), and aren’t poor enough to even get sympathy if they make a bad deal. Sure, there are worse positions to be in, but let’s not kid ourselves: if you’re a single digit millionaire (especially in […]
Retirement is a NEED, but we treat it like a WANT. Why is that?
Oh no, another lecture on retirement planning, etc. Relax, we’re not here to do that today. We accept that, as a single digit millionaire – however you got to this point – you probably have a money-saving mentality, or above-average financial literacy. So you’ve seen all the charts and graphs, seen the “power of compounding […]
How asset rich, cash poor single digit millionaires can survive in Singapore
Singaporeans have a love of certain illiquid assets, chief among these being our homes. As our population ages, this could result in some prickly issues: consider, for instance, about a 70-year old retiree with no income, who insists on not selling a $5 million landed home. Single digit millionaires are especially prone to falling into […]
Insurance versus the lottery: ways of viewing risk
If you had some money every month, what would it go: a more comprehensive insurance plan, or into something like 4D or Toto? Now I’d hope the immediate response among most people is insurance, because that’s generally the sanest response. However, there are a couple of ways to think about, which reflect on issues like […]
Basics of Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) for the single-digit millionaire
Single-digit millionaires have bigger portfolios to manage, and that requires a little more sophistication for the average investor. Plus, some of you may be considering becoming accredited investors; or are at the point where you decide you really need to know what your financial advisors are on about. A good place to start with that […]