Singapore Government Bonds

http://www.theedgesingapore.com/the-daily-edge/business/24765-singapore-government-bonds-to-trade-on-sgx-by-mid-2011-update.html

Singapore government bonds will begin trading on the Singapore Exchange (SGXL.SI) by the middle of this year, providing retail investors with a safe but higher-yielding alternative to bank deposits, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Monday. 
He said retail investors concerned about the low savings rates can also participate in government bond auctions or buy high-quality corporate bonds that are now traded in smaller lot sizes on the exchange.

Singapore’s annual inflation hit 3.8% in November, the highest since January 2009, and analysts said the rate could accelerate further in the first few months of 2011, prompting the central bank to maintain or further tighten policy.
In contrast, Singapore banks currently pay less than 0.2% per annum on savings deposits.

Yield on life insurance policy

This article explains how to calculate the yield on a life insurance policy and to know if the yield is attractive, acceptable or too low. The reduction in yield should not exceed 1.5%

www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=360

New ways to mislead consumers

A life insurance company has launched a new product with a new angle. They claim to provide an income to the policyholder during retirement.

I saw a benefit illustration given to a young man at age 30. The life insurance policy has many complicated features that baffle me. The consumer asked for my views. Frankly, it is a waste of my time to analyse these types of products that are designed to distract consumers from the poor yield and to benefit the insurance agents and the insurance companies.

Anyway, I looked at the benefit illustration and found that the cash value at the end of 25 years is less than 60% of the accumulated premiums, i.e. the deduction is more than 40%. The yield is only 1.4%, which is terribly low. The insurance agent distracts the consumer by talking about the monthly income during retirement. The agent pressurized the consumer to decide because the premium rate will increase after the next birthday.

I gave this advice to the consumer:

• Do not buy any insurance product that you do not understand
• Do not expect me to waste my time to analyse these complex products
• Do not buy because the premium rate may increase after your birthday.
• Avoid insurance agents who earn a large income selling poor life insurance policies to you.

Watch this video

If you wish to know how to manage your financial future, without being conned by a life insurance agent, you can start by trying this financial planning tool. You can also pay $50 to the experts to provide guidance to you on how to understand the statement. Do not waste $5,000 of your premium as commission to the agent who sell you a poor life insurance policy.

Tan Kin Lian

Cover for Life Insurance Book

What is your opinion about the cover for my life insurance book? Is it all right to use a cartoon?
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=359
Send your views to kinlian@gmail.com

The Online Citizen

The popular Online Citizen has been gazetted as a political organisation. Read about the implication of this development in SGEP.

Political website

Hi Mr. Tan
Big news of the day. The Online Citizen now has its arms and legs tied up like the crab. Would your blog be the next target,considering that it is much harder to snare Temasek Review. Worried now, as we are used to your blog daily.

REPLY
Don't worry. Que sera sera.

High cost and delay

I wrote this letter to the directors of M V Land, the developer of Mid View City. My experience with this company was bad. They provide bad customer service and adopt inflexibility that caused delay and unnecessary expenses to their buyers.

Three months prior to the completion of the project, I asked them to give me a floor plan of my premises to prepare for the renovation. I had to go through the lawyers. They took a month to reply and refused to give me the drawings, even though it cost them nothing to assist. I don't know what they are scared of! This caused me  to waste a lot of time. It is more than three months after taking possession, and the renovation has not started.

But this is Singapore! Even commercial companies are following the bad example set  by the Government. Scared of taking initiative. Find excuse to say "no". Don't care about the impact on their customers or the public. Plain arrogance.

Tan Kin Lian

Editorial of SGEP

whe editorial of SGEP contains an interesting summary of the articles that are posted in the portal. These articles are extracted from the media and blogs. It gives the readers an interesting summary of the key issues that they have to consider at the General Election of Singapore. Do read SGEP daily.

Who is handicapped?

Here is an interesting story about life.

A terrible place - Singapore

Singapore is a terrible place to do business. I have to pay $3,500 to a professional engineer to certify that the renovation to my office meets "fire safety standards". This is a ransom fee for a simple piece of work, but I paid. My appointed contractor had to get the stamp from the professional engineer and to apply for a permit from the management office (of the developer) before he can start work. After wasting time for more than three weeks, the contractor still cannot start work. Meanwhile, time is running out, as I have to vacate my current office.

Besides paying a big ransom, I have to suffer a long delay. I had written to the Pro-Enterprise Panel on this matter. They replied that they were consuling the relevant department but did not come back with a reply after several weeks. Is this just for show?

Tan Kin Lian

Avoid investment that you do not understand

Dear Sir
My insurance agent has changed line and another agent is in charge of my policies right now. He has been pestering me to stop my endowment policy, to cash out the coupons and to put the monthly premium into a global savings account. At the same time, he encouraged us to leave whatever premiums that I've paid (approx 8 years) in the policy and let the policy run.
1) He claimed the global savings account can generate at least 20% every year
2) he claimed although I am to stop paying the monthly premium, my coverage will be the same and will still continue. I would also be able to draw up some cash at the end of the tenor, ie, 21 years. 
Is he to be trusted? Can I know what is a global savings account and what he claimed in point 2 is true?


REPLY
My advice is to avoid any investment that you do not understand and never to accept promise of high yield (which is not guaranteed). Read my book on financial planning to learn about why you should avoid these types of products (where a large sum is deducted from your savings to pay commission to the agent) and leave you a poor yield. My book also advice you on how you can invest your savings for the long term to get a good yield.

Author of “Wisdom on How to Live Life” on Radio 938LIVE

Dr. Tommy Wong, author of “Wisdom on How to Live Life”, will be interviewed on the 938LIVE programme “The Living Room” on Wednesday, 12 January 2011 at 10 am. The books are currently on promotion and can be ordered here.

Measures to control internet cheating

Most people receive e-mails regularly from people who are out to scam. They are usually from overseas and purport to have some money in some bank account which can be withdrawn. It happens a few times each day.  The message keeps changing, but follows a pattern.

While most people will ignore these messages, there will be a small percentage, say 1% of 1% that may fall for the trick. And they will be cheated. The government will say that there is nothing that they can do to stop this massive scamming. People should be smarter and avoid these scams.

I do not agree with the approach of the government on this matter (and I am referring to not just the Singapore government but governments in other countries as well). The law should make it clear that cheating and fraud is a crime and that criminals will be prosecuted. It may not be possible for the government to catch the criminals if they are overseas, but I do expect the government to put in some resources to do what is possible.

Here are some possible things that can be done:

• Trace the location of the sender
• Have a sting operation to catch the criminal
• Tell the ISPs to help and spam back to the spammers

These actions do not cost much. It only takes a responsible government who is willing to do their duty and pass a message that scams and frauds are not tolerated.

Tan Kin Lian

Closure of spas in Singapore

Hi Sir,
Thank you for posting updates on your blog for the information of your readers. Wikipedia has now published a page on the Spa closures in Singapore, a topic which prompted fierce online responses in numerous forums and a discussion in the Parliament.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa_closures_in_Singapore


I hope the politicians will address the issue of how come the government or law system in Singapore allows unethical directors of businesses to take advance payments from huge number of people and are continued to be protected by the corporate veil/the concept of the separate legal entity.

Spa Victim

Bursting of the bubble [2]

Dear Mr Tan,
Thanks for your blog and sharing the tips on “How to survive the bursting of the bubble”. It has been helpful in many ways. I agree with you on the bubble. The current property anti-speculation measures has certain overlap with those introduced in 1996. This link  from REDAS shows the significant events and historical property price index of the past from 1960 to 2006.
The Asian Financial Crisis in July 1997 is somewhat triggered by inflow of “hot money” targeted at the currency. Nevertheless, China is preparing to combat the inflow of “hot money” 
However, as much as anti-speculation policies can be introduced, all it takes is just a significant event to trigger any short selling such as when the South Korea went ahead with the military drill despite threats of North Korea

I have currently more than S$100k invested in Singapore and HongKong shares of which the values have appreciated from the time which is bought many years ago. The plan is to slowly sell it probably from Feb 2011 onwards to the period of Singapore general election date and wish to seek your advice on the timing.

REPLY
I am not able to give timing advice. But in general, it is better to get out of the market when it is high, and not wait for it to go higher. Wish you all the best.

Benchmark of 20%

A few people have asked how I got the benchmark of 20% for the amount to be deducted at the end of 25 years. This is stated in page 62 of my book on Financial Planning.

I encourage people to buy and read the book a few times to get a better understanding of the subject. They should not expect to be given individual coaching as it is time consuming for the teacher. These difficult questions require an understanding of the principles and the need to make personal judgement - and is not appropriate to be asked as a question.

Tan Kin Lian

Financial Planning Book and Answers

Hi Mr. Tan,
I am an undergraduate who reads your articles with interest as they give me good insights into the basics of financial planning from a relatively unbiased point of view.
You mentioned about distribution costs = 100% of annual premiums and deduction costs = 20% of total premium value as 'benchmarks'. May I ask how did you arrive at these figures? 

I was recommended to a financial advisor. He introduced me to a limited (25yr) whole life insurance which covers 150,000 life and CI rider for $250/month. I rejected it as I have no intention of getting insurance now since it'll eat up too much of my monthly allowance. After reading your articles, I was shocked to realize the true meaning of distributive/deduction costs involved. I'd like to clarify the 'figures' you quoted.
REPLY
you have to find the answers from my book on Financial Planning or the FAQ in my website. I am not able to give individual coaching on these matters.
www.tankinlian.com/ishop

Life insurance policies and benchmark of 20%

Hi Mr Tan,
You always mention that Benchmark for Deduction should not more than 20% after 25 yrs for life insurance.
Do you mind to tell me which are the insurers that meet this benchmark ?

REPLY
None of the life insurance policies in the market now meet my benchmark of 20% deduction. It is better for the consumer to buy term insurance and invest your savings in an indexed fund. The long term cost is likely to be less than the 20% deduction. Read my book on financial planning (available at www.tankinlian.com/ishop).

If consumers reject the existing life insurance products that offer a low yield, the insurance companies will be forced to offer new products that give better value to consumers, i.e. meet the benchmark of 20%. It is possible for them to achieve this goal.

How to survive the bursting of the bubble

The Asian economies are in a bubble. It will have to burst and follow the fate of Japan and America. Here are some tips on how to survive the bursting of the bubble.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=356


Tan Kin Lian

Financial Planning Tool for Fresh Graduates

It is important for a fresh graduate to start financial planning with their first job. They should set aside savings for the future and invest their savings to get a good yield. They should avoid financial products that provide a poor yield. They should also take into account the effect of future inflation on their savings.

Learn about the right approach towards financial planning using the tool created by Prof. Tan Kin Lian in this website, www.easysearch.sg/life21. 

The expats will rule Singapore

Read this article by Adam Khoo in SGEP

Time for a new formula for property tax?

Attached please find my article published in TODAY newspaper about property tax. Just for your info.

 Mr Tan - feel free to publish this in your blog if you think this is useful. There were a few comments attached to this article. see link below.   

 http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101230-0000157/Time-for-a-new-formula?

T C Thian

 

My comment

I agree with the views expressed by the writer. We should not expose owner occupiers from the vagaries of the rental market.

 

World Richest Governments

Singapore government is the 11th richest n the world. It is richer than many countries with larger populations.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=355

Website for professional fees

Published in the Straits Times Forum page on 8 Jan 2011


I refer to the letter from Chan Ban Choon entitled “provide guidelines on lawyers’ fees (ST 4 Jan 2011). Mr. Chan complained that several lawyers have quoted fees varying from $500 to $7,000 for a standard tenancy agreement. He suggested that the law society or relevant government bodies should set guidelines of fees for standard work.


I recall a similar situation a few months ago where the Competition Commission had instructed the medical association to remove their guidelines for medical fees on the grounds that free competition will bring down fees to benefit consumers.


It now seems that consumers are not benefiting from the competitive environment and that professional fees are going up. It is difficult for consumers to know the market rate of fee for a piece of work and to go around asking for quotations.


I suggest that the Competition Commission should set up a website (or outsource the work to an authorised party) to allow professional firms to post their fees for standard types of work This will make it easy for consumers to view the postings, select a professional for the work and negotiate the fees.
This approach is likely to achieve the aim of the competition law to bring down professional fees for the benefit of consumers.


Tan Kin Lian

Windows Phone 7 applications

Update: an article on these applications appeared in Shin Ming papers

I have created new videos of these 4 applications that are now available on Windows Marketplace (to run on the Windows Phone 7). They will be made available on iPhone in a few weeks time:

Entrepreneur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFOxxu25OJo

4D Simulator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi9uKzsR0fI

One in a Million

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6VNGMWWH0U

Toto Luck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aa39k_pP00

Tan Kin Lian

Telephone sales of general insurance

Hi Mr Tan, 
What is your view on the practice of insurance company/bank selling general insurance via the phone ? How can consumer decide if an insurance plan is suitable for him/her in that 5 min phone call?

Personally I feel that it might not be fair to push up General insurance via phone, they should be more transparent and provide email information on the plan. Most of the time they would say this plan is an exclusive plan to you and there is no write up on it. I think it would be more fair to consumer to get more information before deciding on the plan, than to accept and exercise the free-look. 

REPLY
I agree with your views that an insurance policy should not be sold over the telehpone in 5 mins without providing sufficient information to the customer.

SGEP - Singapore General Election Portal

Read a collection of interesting articles from blogs and the media in this portal. The editor will also write an "editorial" every few days. www.easyapps.sg/sgep

Learning tips - Lunar New Year

Here are some tips on interesting things to do during the Lunar New Year.
http://easyapps.sg/learn/

Personal financial plan

You can generate a personal financial plan based on your own financial situation. This statement shows how you can invest your savings to earn a higher yield and get a higher payout on your retirement (which can be 50% more than the payout provided by the usual life insurance policies. This guidance is most important for young people who have just started work, but is also suitable for older people who have to invest their savings for retirement.
You can generate your financial plan in www.easysearch.sg/life21.

Tan Kin Lian

Civil servants and voting

Dear Sir,
I totally agree with the views in your blog entry, Damaged caused by the GRC system.

In my many years of staying in a GRC ward, the MP has done nothing much except for building some shelters here and there, appearing in tree planting events or social events to look good. I've never seen him made any house visits.

This coming election, I'd like to either vote for the opposition or cast an invalid vote. But the problem is I'm a civil servant. Not that I support the govt or PAP, but I think of civil service as a "stable" job and a way to "get back" money and benefits from the govt.

Will there be any implications for a civil servant to vote against the PAP? I've heard stories that they will be able to find out and then either put you in cold storage or assign rubbish jobs to you? Are they true?

REPLY
It is the right of any citizen to vote for any suitable person. There is no requirement to vote for the current ruling party. Anyway, your vote is secret.

Fertility rate and foreigners

Hi Mr Tan,
The letter mentioned in your blog entry "Fertility rate continues to drop" hit the nail on its head. How does the government expect S'poreans to re-produce more when national policies make life so hard for the middle and lower income groups. For example, how does/can one think about having babies when the threat of being replaced by a cheap foreigner at work is very real once a person turns 40?

The scary belief I hold is that the PAP government is fully aware of this, but they are keeping the floodgates open to foreigners nonetheless. Reason being PAP have no solution to restore the national procreation rate. PAP is simply being myopic and taking the easy way out by artificially increasing the population to offset the declining birth rate (I say "artificially" because the foreigners we get are only here to earn their bucks and return to their homeland either once they have earned enough or when S'pore is in trouble). This may lead to short term economic growth, but will undoubtedly result in long term damage not only to the economy, but to social cohesion as well.
TY

TKL book - Get value from your life insurance

My new book will be launched in February. It will contain 20 case studies of actual life insurance policies bought by consumers. These are the policies that are most commonly sold in Singapore. If you have bought a life insurance policy previously, you are likely to find it featured among the case studies.


My analysis will show the effect of deduction taken away from the policy after 25 years. If the deduction is more than 20%, the consumer is getting a poor yield (representing a reduction in yield of 2% or higher). I also tell you what to do about your existing policy, i.e how to decide if you should continue or terminate the policy.

More importantly, it tells the consumer, especially the new entrants to the workforce, on how to manage their personal fiannces and insurance coverage. I describe a new policy that does not have any upfront deduction, i.e. 100% of the savings is invested from the first month. This is the type of life insurance policy that is suitable for consumers.

More details about my book will be given later. (I am now at the airport waiting to board the plane to Jakarta).

Tan Kin Lian

Unfair Train Penalty

I wrote this letter which was published in the Straits Times Forum page today.
My aim is to tell the commercial enterprises that they should balance corporate profits with fair treatment of their customers.
I also intend the same message to go to our government leaders and remind them about their responsibility to the citizens. They should not allow the citizens to bear the burden of higher cost as commercial enterprises seek to increase their profits.
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_620600.html

Tan Kin Lian

Humorous signboards

Have a good laugh with these signboards
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

Editor of SGEP

Read this message from the Editor of SGEP.
Play your part as a citizen of Singapore in making the general election reflects your views.
http://www.easyapps.sg/SGEP/

Fertility rate continues to drop

Here are the reasons:
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110104-0000152/Works-there,-why-not-here

Wisdom on how to live life - on special offer

Tommy Wong’s books “Wisdom on How to Live Life” are currently on special offer.

 The books can be ordered here.

SGEP Editorial

SGEP now has an "editorial" on the home page that contains a summary of the key news for the day. You can visit SGEP home page visting the "Latest" page. SGEP or www.easyapps.sg/sgep  Do make it a point to visit the home page of SGEP daily. Learn about the issues that affect your voting at the general election.

Competition and professional fees

Chan Ban Choon wrote to the Straits Times about the need to provide the Law Society or government to provide guidelines on lawyer's fees. He pointed out that some lawyers are charing fees that are too high and "as they like". 

There used to be a guideline on professional fees set by the various bodies. I recall that the Competition Competition asked the doctors to remove the guidelines, so that the fees can be reduced by free market competition. I heard that this was not the outcome of the removal of fees. Some doctors increased their fees, and charged "what they like".

It is not possible for consumers to know what are the fair rates of fees for professional services, and to know the standard of the fees. This has to be set by knowledgeable people who takes into account the interest of the consumers and the professionals. The old arrangement, where the professional bodies provide the guidelines, used to work fairly well.

I suggest that the old arrangement be restored. It should be clear that the fees are guidelines and that professionals can deviate from the guidelines if they have specific reasons and have informed consumers about the deviation and the reason. 

Another arrangement is for the Competitions Competition to maintain a website (or outsource the work to an authorized party) showing the fees for various types of standard work that are charged by various professional firms, such as lawyers, doctors and engineers. This will be helpful to consumers who can check the website and get to a professional that charge competitive rates. It will encourage competition and bring down the fees to a reasonable level.

Tan Kin Lian

Taipei International Flora Show

Two letters were printed in the Straits Times about the poor standard of the Singapore pavilion at the Taipei International Flora Show. This is unacceptable as Singapore has prided itself for several decades as a "garden city".

This is another example of the bad state of affairs that has occurred in Singapore in recent years. The change to a "hands off" approach and "leave it to the private sector" is probably the cause of this deterioration. It is time for us to change our policies or find new leaders.

GRC and arrogance

Dear Mr. Tan,
I refer to your blog entry "Damage caused by the GRC system". I fully agree with your friend that this system has actually resulted in the typical arrogance (get out of my elite face) we see in MPs nowadays. Our ministers and MPs even publicly called us names such as "daft", "champion grumblers" (LKY), "very very selfish" (Vivian), "lesser mortals" (Charles Chong), etc.


That said, the recent announcement by PM Lee to have smaller GRCs and more SMCs is telling. Basically, the PAP is very afraid of losing a GRC at the next election, thereby knocking down 6 MPs at a sweep. Thus the party wants to reduce the potential damage.


Thanks.

Business cost and SCCCI

The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also expressed concern over the increasing business costs:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1102440/1/.html

Regulation of estate agents

A new body has been set up to regulate estate agents. This body has the goal of enforcing standards of service.

This body should have another role, that is, to ensure that consumers are paying a fair fee for property transactions and that the fees charged by the agencies are advertised. This will allow consumers to get access to the efficent agencies that charge lower fees.

The fees for making property transactions are too high in Singapore. An estate agent can make one transaction a month and earn more than a regular job. This is why this industry attracts so many people, including professionals trained in other fields, to handle the property transactions. It is a waste of resources for the economy.

Some people pointed out that fees are higher in other countries. But, unlike Singapore, these countries are big and have properties located in sparsely populated areas. .

Singapore does not need so many property agents, especially those who are qualified in other fields. The first step to stop this wasteful use of resources and to bring the cost down, is to regulate the fee for property transactions (especially for sale and rental of HDB flats) to half of the current level, or to make it easy for the consumers to handle these transactions directly without going through an agent.

Tan Kin Lian

Advertisement on cataract surgery

A medical center advertised their service on cataract surgery. I looked for the price of the surgery but it was not listed. This is the most important information for the consumers, but is not disclosed.

In the past, there is a ban against advertisements by medical practitioners. This ban has now been removed in the interest of promoting a "free market". What is the point of allowing advertising when the most essential information is not provided? This will encourage unnecessary consumption by consumers, without the benefit of market competition on prices. Consumers seemed to be getting the worst of the situation.

Tan Kin Lian

Regulation of TCM specialists

The papers reported that the Ministry of Health is now investigating TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) practitioners for operating as "TCM specialists" without a licence. Well done to MOH.

I am glad that MOH did not take the stand that this matter can be sorted out by the free market, that the public should be "educated" to decide on TCM  and that the public should "open their eyes" before they buy TCM from the so-called specialists.

It is right that MOH take the responsibility to regulate the practitioners and make sure that they are operating ethically in the interest of the public. I hope that MAS will also adopt a similar approach on financial products, especially those that are toxic and harmful.

Tan Kin Lian

Bank transfer by standing order

The Straits Times Forum published a letter from Stuart King about the time taken by the bank to make a transfer from one bank to another in Singapore. He asked why does it have to take three days, when banks are not connected electronically and can make the transfer instantaneously.

This is just another example where the "free market" does not work. MAS has to come in and tell the banks to improve their service to the public!

Damage caused by the GRC system

A friend who migrated and became a citizen 20 years ago made this observation. In the past, the MPs in Singapore were responsive to the needs and views of the people. They had to serve the people well to get re-elected.

Their changed gradually under the GRC system. They did not have to have to bother with the people and only need to please one or two persons at the top. The situation has got to be quite bad over the years.

As my friend was brought up in a different environment, he was able to see a different perspective from a local citizen. The local people tend to overlook the gradual change in environment, like the frog which was boiled in hot water.

The frog was put into a pot of cold water and felt comfortable. The water was gradually heated up. The frog adjusted to the increasing temperature of the water and did not realize the danger until the frog was finally boiled alive.

If the people of Singapore does not want to face the fate of the boiled frog, they have to get rid of the GRC system and elect MPs who are accountable to the people. The first step is to vote against the ruling party in the GRCs in the next general election so that the leaders realize the harm that is caused by this kind of bad system.

Tan Kin Lian

High cost of doing business

I experienced the high cost of doing business in Singapore. I had to pay a professional fee of $3,500 for an engineer to certify that the renovation to my premises is safe. I saw the drawing done by the engineer. It is similar to the drawing that done by me to ask for quotation. A fee of $500 would be more than adequate.

My staff faced a lot of trouble in applying for a work permit through the online process of the Ministry of Manpower. Each application took more than 10 hours of my staff's time to go through the many stages of the complicated process. Many telephone calls have to be made to seek clarification to go though the computer system.

The application for utility supply to the premises also took many hours. The process is complicated. Many telephone calls have to be made to the utilities company and the building developer to get information for the application. Many telephone calls are not answered.

The time spent by my staff has to be reflected in my cost of doing business. My staff do not work for free.

Each government agency and privatized company, operating under a near monopoly, can impose its costly requirements in time and money on the public, but the government leaders must realize that they add to the cost of doing business, which has to be covered by higher prices to be paid by the citizens.

The situation has become very bad in recent years, and is exacerbated by the high property prices, also an outcome of government policies, which adds to the cost of doing business and the cost of living. Matters have really got out of hand.

Tan Kin Lian

ERP fine

My car pass a ERP gantry point with the ERP card not properly inserted. I discovered it immediately and called to inform LTA. They said, "wait for the notice".

The ERP notice came one week later. The ERP fee was $1 and the fine was $10. I wonder why the LTA refused to collect the $1 from me, when I found the mistake. They wanted to impose the fine of $10 for the oversight. This is inconsiderate. They government wants to make a profit from an honest mistake!

I am aware that the LTA did have some administrative work to print and mail the notice. But this is work that they create for themselves under their system. If they have a friendlier system, they could have taken my report and notify the computer that the matter was settled. But, the LTA preferred to follow their own procedure, for their own convenience, and impost a cost on the citizens.

I hope that our government leaders and civil servants realize that they have to treat the people fairly and not impose a burden on them.

Tan Kin Lian

Fidrec and fairness of its process

An slightly edited version of this letter was published in the Straits Times Forum, 1 January 2011 

I refer to the letter entitled “Fidrec adjudicators’ decision not binding on complainant” by Ms. Eileen Pek, head of Banking & Capital Markets of this center.

Fidrec was established as an alternative avenue for consumers to resolve their disputes with the financial institutions, instead of using the expensive route of taking legal action in court.

It is important for Fidrec to be seen by consumers as being impartial and fair in its decisions. In his letter of 8 December, Larry Haverkamp had pointed out several aspects of the process which were unfair to consumers. These issues were not adequately addressed in Ms. Pek reply. The main justification of her reply seemed to be that the adjudicator’s decisions are not binding on the complainant.

Ms. Pek said that if the complainant is not happy with the decision, the complaint is free to continue with legal action. Mr. Haverkamp had pointed out that the consumer would have been placed in a weaker position after the Fidrec process, as they would have given valuable information for the financial institution to mount its defence in court.

Many consumers, who have gone through the Fidrec process to resolve their complaints of mis-selling of the structured financial products, had told me that the process was unfair, disappointing and biased against them.

It is important that Fidrec built up trust among consumers of its role as an alternative dispute resolution center. I suggest that Fidrec or the Monetary Authority of Singapore should arrange an independent organisation to carry out a survey among consumers who have gone through their process to find out if they felt that their cases have been fairly dealt with through the Fidrec process.

Tan Kin Lian

Family Life 1.1

Here is a book, to be published, that explains how to play the game Family Life 1.1 and learn the skill of being successful in life.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=353

CALL FOR PROMOTERS 

I wish to look for people who are willing to help me to promote this book and the web game. You can help to promote through the social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and other places.

All promoters will be named in the book with their e-mail adderss and website (if applicable) and country of residence.. If there are business opportunities in the future, priority will be given to the promoters who have been active in the promotion. If you are interested, send your name, e-mail address and telephone number to kinlian@gmail.com

Welcome to the New Singapore

Read this article 
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/1/focus/7712093&sec=focus

You can also find interesting articles on social and political issues in SGEP.
Keep reading SGEP to decide on how to vote at the next general election.

DPIS and young people

Spare young people the premium shock

Make DPS an optional scheme for young people

and spare them the shock of seeing their hard-earned money disappear in no time

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_619427.html

 

 Review system

I was surprised to read an insurance company's letter

addressed to my 19-year-old daughter

informing her that a premium of $36 was being deducted

from her CPF account under the Dependants' Protection Scheme (DPS).

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_619447.html

 

Fidrec needs to build up trust

Read this letter published in the Straits Times Forum:
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_619435.html

Family Life 1.1

This game has been revised. The new description of the game is shown here:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=335

This game helps young people to understand the impact of key decisions that they have to make during their lifetime and how it affects their work and family. It will be ready for launch on 9 March 2011.

CPF Life

Here are information about CPF Life, the 4 options and the L-bonus and V-bonus.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=11702093

Happy New Year, all the best for 2011

Refund of bus fares

hi
I don't understand why must every ezlink card holder goes to MRT station to check if they are entitled to any bus fare refund. Since ezlink office knows which card is entitled to refund, cant they just automatically credit the refund into these affected ezlink cardholders? A simple computer programme can do this job.

Ezlink already over-charge... why make any mistake by troubling every Singaporean ? A waste of productivity! It is not right to donate un-claim $$ to charity. We should demand better service from our service providers. If they make mistake they should refund and compensate us.
JS

Social Life 1.0

A game for singles. Let your avatar do the scouting for you. You create an avatar with characteristics that reflect your personality and indicate the personal qualities of the person that you look for as a life time partner. Your avatar will meet other avatars through activities held over 52 virtual weeks and go out on dates with other avatars that meet your criteria. At the end of the game in 7 actual days, you have the option to know the real persons behind the avatars that have dated your avatar a few times.

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=352

Financial Plan - help to promote this tool

Please inform your friends and other contacts, by email or facebook, that they can get a financial plan using the following website:

www.easysearch.sg/life21

http://projects.easyapps.sg/life21d/Planning.aspx

The financial plan is free and is important for consumers to have a feel of their financial future. It will help them to make the right way to save and invest their savings, and avoid getting a poor yield.

If you are an active user of Facebook or other social media, you can these channels and viral marketing to tell your friends and ask them to tell their friends.

Tan Kin Lian

A consumer view about Fidrec

Mr. Tan
Just like the first comment on your blog, both FIDREC and the adjudicator are on the FI's side, be it the Bank or the Brokerage.

FIDREC's expenses in staff and office are financed by annual contributions from the FIs, so this body knows exactly who is their boss,honestly the adjudication stage is just a show, the process and outcome is just the same.

We could only show sympathy for the victims in private, no use bringing up to MAS, all of them work in collaboration for show only.

We put too much trust in this Govt, who let us down in times of need. One investor said that the adjudicator finally said during hearing, that investor should put the entire blame on MAS who allowed the derivatives to be sold to retail investors, not fault the FI who sold them, the FI is only the go between agent.

With such feedback, would it be much help to bring up to MAS attention about the adjudication's process. The buck is being pushed around in a merry go round. Just swallow the humiliation, and move on.
Consumer

Spa victims writes to political parties

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your civic mindedness once again.

I would like ask an open question.

I had written to all the opposition parties about the True Spa Subtle Senses incident, but no one has taken up this issue to be discussed in the coming election. Neither have they responded to me.

Ministry of Trade and Industry recently introduced changes to the consumer protection law, albeit very late. At least they are responding but it is still too little too late. And they are also not addressing the petition that some 400 true spa victims have submitted to MTI.

I being to wonder if when the Opposition comes to power one day, will they also act like the PAP.

Thank you,

Spa Victim


My reply
It is not fair to expect the "opposition" politicians to do anything when they are not in power, and  not even in Parliament. It is the duty of the elected leaders and MPs to address these issues. 

Oil price and US recovery

Hi Mr.Tan,
With the already highest COE price for cars in Singapore and in the World, the next scenario of higher oil prices with surely put a dent on all the prospects of sustained recovery etc. as I can't imagine the impact of higher petrol price here?
$5 Gas In 2012, Ex Shell President Predicts
http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/27/markets/oil_commodities/

Theft of information from credit card

Here are three ways for thiefs to steal information from your credit and debit card and made fraudulent payments. Be careful
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=351

The Property Bubble and Investment Trap

Hi Mr Tan
I wrote this piece on Property in my Blog inconjunction with my last posting and article for SGEP on ""Concepts About Aging - Nanjing YY Li vs Singapore MM Lee" for year-end closing. I have received some positive comments via emails.
http://de-leviathan.blogspot.com/2010/12/property-bubble-investment-trap-part_28.html
C H

Note: This article has alse been published in SGEP

Cars in Singapore

COE prices have gone up due to the cut in quotas. Many people, especially those with children, said that they need a car due to the poor transport system, e.g. overcrowded trains and unreliable bus schedules. Allowing more cars to be owned will not solve the problem, as our roads are too congested and there are insufficient parking spaces in the offices and residential estates.

In brief, we have a bad transport system in Singapore. Our hope is that in 5 to 10 years time, when more MRT lines are opened, it will be better. Meanwhile, the construction of the MRT lines add to the congestion and pain. We have to be prepared to suffer many more years, due to the bad planning during the recent 15 years.

There is something that can be done urgently to improve the situation.  We need the Land Transport Authority and the two Transport Ministers to be willing to listen. They only need to look to Hong Kong and find out why their transport system is so much better than Singapore. Hong Kong has light buses to bring people conveniently to the train stations and an efficient taxi system (compared to the terrible de-regulated system in Singapore). Many people said that the Hong Kong system is convenient and inexpensive, compared to Singapore.

Tan Kin Lian

US economy is still disappointing

There were two bad news last night on the US economy:

• Consumer confidence is low
• Housing prices continue to slump

Economists were expecting things to get better but the US economy continue to disappoint. If the US does not address the underlying issues, they will not be able to get out of the slump. Read my views here.

Snooping on e-mails

There is a news report of a case in America where the husband hack into the e-mail account of the wife and found that she was having an affair. The husband divorced the wife. He was later charged and found guilty of snooping, i.e. reading e-mails of the wife without her permission.

The law in Singapore is not clear on such issues of privacy. There is a need for such clarity. These are important issues governing the rights of people (for privacy) and the free access of information.

We need out laws to be clear on many issues affecting the rights of people  and their proper social conduct. We also need the laws to be enforced. I hope that our elected MPs do their duty to bring up issues in Parliament. This is their duty and what they are elected for. We need MPs to be full time, so that they can do their job well. They are adequately paid now to be full time.

Tan Kin Lian

Accidents in Malaysia

There were two recent cases of accidents in Malaysia that should cause concern to visitors. A bus travelling down from Cameron Highlands went into a ravine killing many tourists. A boat capsized after a trip from a kelong in Sibu Island and 4 Singaporeans drowned.

I want to quote these two incidents about the harm caused by the free market, without adequate regulation. The tour operators had to compete fiercely for business by reducing their prices. They pay low wages to workers who have to work long hours to earn enough to make a living. There is inadequate regulation on working hours, minimum wage and safety standards. The consumers are not able to know about the poor safety standards, until they are in the bus or the boat, and then it is too late.

I am in favor of a regulated market, where there is regulation on fair practices and safety standards. The regulation will apply to all business entities. This may cause the price to be higher, e.g. due to minimum wage levels, but it is better for consumers in the long run. We see this type of regulated practices in the advanced countries of Europe, America and Australia. The standards should apply to Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries. I am impressed that China is giving attention to this type of issues, rather than just leave matter to the market to sort out.

Tan Kin Lian

Fidrec decisions

Fidrec was established to be an alternative dispute resolution center. For Fidrec to gain the trust of consumers, it has to be seen as being impartial and fair to consumers. Has Fidrec met up with this expectation? Please share your experience by sending a confidential e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. I will not disclose your identity, but I need to gather some feedback to pass to the authority. Please share your experience briefly and state why you felt the process to be fair or not fair.

Straits Times Forum 29 Dec 2010

Provide e-mail addresses on websites of govt agencies

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_618187.html

 

Fidrec adjudicators' decision not binding on complainant

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_618445.html

 

Insurer says sorry for lapses

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_618188.html

 

What does it mean being poor?

What does it mean being poor? A young man from a rich family found out that it is not too bad.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=350

Fascination by Night

Beautiful night scenes of cities around the world accompanied by my favorite song Fascination sung by Nat King Cole.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=349

Bus-fare refunds go unclaimed

Hi Mr Tan,
I refer to Asiaone headline today.

After reading the report in Shin Ming Daily news dated 19th Dec, a retiree claimed that he got back only 1 cent refund, though he and his wife take buses almost everyday. LTA reportedly insisted that their computation cannot goes wrong on the same day report.

My personal experience proof that this is not very true. I went to the AVM machine to try the refund on 21st Dec. I was shocked to see a quick flash, indicating that the refund I was entitled was only 10 cents (no details of how the amount was being derived). As I seldom take bus to work, for the 3 days in Nov, I took down the amount that was deducted wrongly from my card. After reading the report that LTA claimed the refund cannot go wrong, I made a manual claim from transitlink website, and got back another 60 cents that were being deducted for the 2 days (3rd day was correct).

My question is, how accurate the refund system is then ? Do they expect all the commuters to take note the amount that was deducted everyday and do a manual claim themselves? The problem is not only the few cents, but the faulty system. Having to even refund wrongly to the customers, then why spent so much money to set up rather then donate this amount of money to the charity ? 

Till date, I still encounter overcharging of few cents, but do not bother to claim anymore. Just wish to share with everyone else who read your blog frequently.


JL

BEST Competition

Join in the competition for 3 industries (insurance, hotel, airlines) each night and win a prize for being the best player. The game starts on 27 December 2010 and three new games will be started every night until further notice.

Details available here: http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=334

Find out who runs the best insurance company, the best hotel and the best airline! Prizes are donated by Tan Kin Lian & Associates Pte Ltd

Watch this video on how th play this game. Login here to practice the game and take part in the competition: www.easyapps.sg/besta

FISCA Talks

Here are the educational talks being organised by FISCA. I will be conducting the talk on financial planning in February and on insurance in March. I hope that consumers will register early for these talks.

http://www.fisca.sg/events

BEST Game - for practice and fun

You can practice the best game at any time against the simulated players. This allows you to learn the technique.
You can have fun by asking a few friends to compete with you. They go at a fixed time and choose the same game as you. After year 5, which takes 50 mins, you will know who is the winner. You can have a friendly bet with your friend and pay $1 to the person who reaches the top of the game. The game can be played here: www.easyapps.sg/besta

Enjoy and learn the skill of running an insurance company, hotel, airline or other types of business. Join the competition at 8 pm, 9 pm and 10 pm each night and compete against other players.

Financial Plan for John Tan

This is a sample financial plan for John Tan prepared from the website www.easysearch.sg/life21. There is a link at the bottom of the document to seek further explanation from an expert.
www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=348

End of holidays

As the December holidays come closer to an end, the visitors to my blog and website are now returning to normal, i.e.
2,500 for blog
400 for website

Unfair contract terms

We have a law against unfair contract terms. How does the law define what is an unfair contract term? Would the following contract terms be deemed to be unfair to consumers?

a) The bank imposes a penalty for late payment that is why above what it cost the bank to process the late payment? If the actual cost is $2, can the bank impose a fee of $200?

b) If an personal accident policy require the consumer to notify the insurance company about a change of occupation, can the insurance company deny a claim due to failure to comply with this requirement, even though the change of occupation did not have any impact on the nature of the risk?

As businesses now aim to increase their profits, they may be imposing penalties and conditions that are onerous and unfair to consumers. What redress does the consumer have under the law against unfair contract terms?

Tan Kin Lian

Utmost good faith and incontestability

The principle of utmost good faith in insurance applies in both directions. The insurer expects the consumer to declare truthfully what he knows or ought to know about the nature of the risk. The consumer expects the insurer to declare truthfully the nature of the insurance contract and also to settle the claim fairly, as was promised.

It would be wrong for the insurer to find unjustified grounds to reject the claim. As it is difficult to monitor the bad behavior of insurers, some countries have introduced the incontestability clause to govern life and health insurance policies. This is to prevent the insurer from finding flimsy excuse to reject claims due to alleged non-disclosure, especially if the consumer does not even know about the condition that they failed to disclose.

I hope that insurers and regulators understand the need for fair treatment of consumers and the correct application of the principles of utmost good faith and the incontestability clause. If consumers are unfairly treated, they will lose trust in insurance contracts.

Tan Kin Lian

Incontestability clause in life and health insurance policies

Read this explanation about incontestability clause in a life insurance policy. And this explanation about its application to a health insurance policy.

I am not sure if there is an incontestability clause in Medishield or a Shield policy issued by an insurance company. There is need for this type of protection of consumers against unfair rejection of claims.

Corporate e-mail address

I looked for the corporate e-mail address of MAS. They do not provide it. They provide the fax number and mailing address. I don't know why they prefer to have the inefficient way of communicating with the public?

MAS can provide a corporate e-mail address such as inbox@mas.gov.sg. They can have a staff to check the inbox regularly and forward the mail to the colleague handling the matter. They have to do the forwarding with mail received by post and fax anyway.

Some corporations allow the public to submit a web form. Maybe MAS has this web form. In most cases, the web form is difficult to find, difficult to use (e.g. ask for many unnecessary information), have a text box that is too small and do not allow attachments.

Why create so much trouble for everyone? Just provide a corporate e-mail address! I hope that corporate IT manager or admin managers are reading this blog!

Read this suggestion:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=47

Tan Kin Lian

Renovating a small industrial premise

I complained earlier that I had to spend $3,500 to get a qualified engineer to certify the fire safety for the renovation to my industrial premise of 1,600 sf. The contractor told me that if I did not get the stamp from the engineer, the building manager would not give approval for the work to start.

I now learned that the process took three weeks for the engineer to do the drawing. What a waste of time! What  a waste of money! I am angry that that the fire safety regulations is adding a lot of unnecessary cost to me. It is why the cost of doing business is so high in Singapore - due to these wasteful requirements. I have written to the Pro-Enterprise Panel. I hope that they are reading this blog.

Tan Kin Lian

Unfair rejection of Shield claim

Here is another case of an unfair rejection of a shield claim. The rejection was based on a medical condition that occurred 5 year previously and was not of a long term nature. The agent had advised the consumer that it was not necessary to declare this condition. The consumer was insured with another company previously but made this change after getting the assurance of the agent.
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=347

My view
The agent is greedy to make a few dollars of commission on the Shield plan. The agent had harmed the consumer considerably through this irresponsible behavior.

Private hospitals

Malaysia is also facing problems with the charges in private hospitals. The journalist advice consumers to insist on itemised bills. SGEP

Best and Worst of Singapore in 2010

What are the best and worst of Singapore in 2010? Be ready for a surprise! Read SGEP

HDB prices and government subsidy

Are HDB flats being sold at subsidised prices? Here is an update. SGEP

Shark's Fin

This article contains photos of how sharks are being killed for their fins. The writer wants us to stop eating shark's fin.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=344
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

Explanation on Financial Planning Projection

Here are some questions that the consumer may ask about the financial planning projection that has been printed from http://www.easysearch.sg/life21 and the expert who can provide the explanation.

www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=342

TKL Website (www.tankinlian.com)

Do this survey. Thank you.

I created the TKL website using the PDF centric format in August 2010, slightly more than 4 months ago. I wish to share my experience with this style of website:
Positive
1. It is easy for me to create content in PDF and to upload them into the website. I create several PDF each week.
2. It is easy to search for the PDF using the keyword. I have to use it often to locate PDF to answer questions from my readers.
3. My reader are able to use the "Enquiry" tab to send questions to me. I receive a few questions daily.
4. It is fast to retrieve information from my website, using the web browser.
Negative
1. Some readers said that they had difficulty in reading the PDF on their mobile device. I am not able to find a solution to this weakness. My intent is that the PDF should be read on a web browser and not a mobile device. I have tried to use the HTML format, but I found it difficult to embed graphics in the HTML format under the database structure of this website.

Overview
I believe that a public or business corporation should have an actively managed website with dynamic content and allow the public to search for information in an easy and fast way. The PDF centric website seems to provide this capability. The ease of creating content on PDF should encourage the corporation to have an active website, compared to the traditional HTML website.

I welcome feedback and suggestions to be posted here or sent to kinlian@gmail.com.
Tan Kin Lian

Private Shield and the well off

Are you well off?
If you are - it is all right to have private shield, as you can afford the higher premium and higher co-payment  and you are assured of a better choice of doctors.
But, if you are not well off, and money is an issue, do read these FAQs:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=183
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=229
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=179

Do not be mistaken that private shield will cover more of your medical bills. They do not. With a private shield, you are likely to end up paying more for your medical treatment. Whether you really get better quality of treatment is a separate issue.

Suzy Orman and Life Insurance agents

Suzy Orman does not like life insurance agents. Watch this video for the reasons.

Life insurance - its useful role

Most of the life insurance policies sold in the market in Singapore are bad for consumers, as they take a lot of money and give a poor yield. But life insurance, as a tool for managing personal finances is good, provided that is is designed to give a fair yield to consumers. It has to be sold directly. See this article.

Find out more about the flexi-life policy in www.easysearch.sg/life21. You can also generate a financial plan and watch the tips on financial planning and insurance.

Motor insurance with Direct Asia

I recommended a friend to check with Direct Asia on the motor insurance for her car. She obtained a lower quote than her existing insurer and moved to Direct Asia. She found their service to be excellent. She preferred to deal directly with the insurance company, rather than go through an agent. See: www.directasia.com

Competing with the experts

When a consumer buys insurance, the consumer has the compete with the insurance experts, e.g. the actuaries, on what is a fair price for the insurance protection. The insurance company will naturally want to make a bigger profit, if they can, and will charge more to the consumer for the protection. There is no way that the consumer can compete with the insurance company as they have the statistics and the expert to do the calculation. The unwary consumer is likely to pay too much and get a bad deal.

The best protection for the consumer is:

• Deal with an insurance company that is pro-consumer, i.e. they will charge a fair price. An example is an insurance company that is not profit-driven. Today, it is difficult to find such a company in Singapore.
• Buy a standard insurance policy that is offered on similar coverages by several companies. The market competition will force the company to lower their margin and make a modest profit. Examples are term insurance, motor insurance, personal accident insurance and fire insurance.
• Avoid a specially designed product, under an exotic name, that is marketed to you by an insurance agent, adviser or consultant.  This applies especially to a life insurance policy that combines protection with investment of savings. You can be sure that this policy cannot be compared, and is likely to be highly priced to give a big margin to the agent and the insurance company.

Tan Kin Lian

Accept low yield or take market risk

We are in a period of low interest rate. Consumers should accept this low yield and do not be greedy. If you want higher interest rate, take the risk of investing in an indexed fund, comprising of equities. Accept the volatility and average out the good and bad years.

The worse investment decision is to buy structured products or unregulated products that seemed to promise high yield. The investor is likely to fall into a trap from cheats and scams or from financial institution that take off a large margin on the structured products and do not tell the real risk of these products.

Do not believe any marketing person who assure you that you can get a good return without risk. They are likely to tell you a lie. When you find out later, you are not able to hold them accountable, as they will deny the statement.

You should read my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning or attend the educational talks organised by FISCA. If you do not put in the time to be educated, be prepared to lose a lot of money from bad investments!

Tan Kin Lian

Risk of long duration bonds

If current interest rate is 0.5% and government bonds for 10 years give a yield of 1.5%, which is better for the investor?

If interest rate remains at the low level for the next 10 years, it is better to invest in the government bonds and earn an additional 1% interest yearly. However, the risk to the investor is an increase in interest rate. If the interet rate increase to 3% per annum, the investor is stuck with 1.5% interest on the government bond for the remaining period. If the investor decides to sell the government bond at that time, there will be a capital loss of about 1.5% times the remaining period. If the remaining period is 8 years, the capital loss can be 12% (or thereabouts). The loss is higher, if the yield goes up to 5% (say).

It is difficult to predict the future interest rate. Even the the fund managers or analysts or the government leaders are not able to predict this trend. So, the investor cannot make this prediction. They should not ask other people, as nobody knows.

If you decide to invest in long term government bonds during a period of low interest rate, you should be prepared to wait out the entire period at the current yield. If you do not want to take this risk, you should invest in a bond for a short duration, say 3 to 5 years, even if you get a lower interest rate compared to long duration bonds.

Tan Kin Lian
.

Investing in equities

Many consumers find it difficult in deciding on which stock to invest in. My advice to them is to invest in an indexed fund or an exchange traded fund. They should not worry about stock picking (which is difficult) and market timing (which is also difficulty). If they are not sure about the timing, they can invest in several installments based on the principle of dollar cost averaging. Read this FAQ

Apple iPad

This writer explains why he is NOT buying the Apple iPad
www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704259704576033941846942596.html?mod=rss_Technology

I agree with his reasons.