Friday, December 29, 2006

Am I buying the right financial product?

Mr. Tan,

Although I've working in the public sector for the past 13 years, is still a lay person who knows very little when it comes to investment.

Recently was introduced to a wealth consultant from X by a very close friend and have invested our (wife & I) OA & SA from CPF in equities, bonds & trusts. We are still quite blur on their performance since then.

I would like to seek your expert advise on:

a) Are we investing in the right products?
b) How can we monitor the performances of these products?

On top of these, we have been both holding whole life policies from NTUC & ManuLife and also a term rider (NTUC) to cover my housing plan and our only child has yet to have any plan at her age of 8.

a) How much coverage is sufficient at my age of 36 & my wife (33)?
b) After hearing from my adviser from X that there isn't any priority to purchase any educational plan for our daughter, what's your advise? &
c) Last but not least, how to improve my level of understanding with regards to the funds, equities, bonds and otyher instruments of investment in our local context?

Your blog is definitely one of them....!

TYG

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Dear TYG

You should ask the wealth consultant from X to give you an update of your investment. It is his or her responsibility.

You can ask the following questions:

- what is the returned earned by the fund that you have invested in, compared to benchmark
- how much does the fund charge as initial and annual fees?

You can read the FAQ in our website on our Flexi-link plan and Combined Fund an our Ideal plan for a child. It can be easily accessed from www.income.coop/faq.

http://www.income.coop/insurance/flexilink/faq-FlexiLink.asp
http://www.income.coop/insurance/combinedfunds/faq.asp
http://www.income.coop/insurance/ideal/faq-4child.asp

You can also call my salaried consultant at our business center, 6788 1111. They do not earn any commission.

You can switch your investment to our combined fund. My consultant will advise you on whether it is better for you stay with your current investment or make a switch, considering charges and other relevant matters.

I usually recommend a person to have life insurance for 5 to 10 years of the earnings. You can buy an i-Term to provide the cover. The premium is quite low.

http://www.income.coop/insurance/term/faq.asp

You can learn more about insurance and financial matters from this website:

www.knowyourinsurance.com.sg

Best wishes for 2007.

Tan Kin Lian

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