Dependent Protection Insurance Scheme (DPIS)

There was a letter in the Straits Times that the insurance company rejected a permanent disability claim from an insured person who was paralyzed from the waist down. The insurer claimed that his person could do sedentary work and does not qualify for a claim.

I checked the definition of the cover from the CPF website and found the following:

This Dependent Protection Insurance scheme provides CPF members and their families with some money to tide them over the initial years should the insured members become physically/mentally incapacitated or die.

The website further states: The member becomes physically/mentally incapacitated and can no longer work as certified by a doctor. The scheme does not provide any further guidance to the doctor how to certify that the member "can no longer work".

The DPIS scheme has been in existence for more than 30 years. It is unsatisfactory that there is no clearer definition about what incapacity meant. There must be many actual cases in the past that could be used to provide guidance on how to deal with some specific cases.

Understanding health insurance

Dear Mr Tan

We will like to share with you our latest article that talks about the fine prints commonly included in health insurance. 

Given the recent ST forum letter from a NTUC Income policyholder, we thought this article might prove useful for readers of your blog (especially those interested in personal finance matters).

Article as attached & link for your reference - http://dollarsandsense.sg/the-fine-prints-of-health-insurance/. Being from the industry and organization previously, we believe you might have some thoughts to this matter. We will be glad to hear any insight that you may have in additional to what we have pen down in our article. 

Best Regards,

Timothy

Handling parents' expectations in our schools

I want to share my views on how to manage issues involving parents in our schools. These issues are similar to customer complaints in businesses.

When a parent contacts the teacher or the school, the type of interaction should be identified as follows:

a) seek clarification, i.e. to get facts
b) lodge a complaint

The type of issue would probably falls into the following:
a) alleged mistreatment by the teacher
b) alleged mistreatment by classmates
c) alleged poor performance by teacher, e.g. not teaching the child properly.
d) school facilities or environment

If the parent is in "seeking clarification" mode, the teacher or school staff can cooperate in giving the relevant information. The parent should avoid the type of questions that amount to interrogation or allegation misconduct during this phase.

If the parent wishes to file a complaint, after getting the relevant facts, the process should be done in a formal manner, i.e. a written and signed statement should be obtained, and relevant facts should be provided.

The handling of the complaint by the school can go through two stages:
a) the first stage is to seek an amicable solution without going through too much trouble for all parties. Often, an apology or acknowledgement may suffice. The case can be closed easily.
b) If the matter is more serious, a more formal process may be carried out, e.g. a disciplinary inquiry. This should be quite rare.

We have to accept that in our daily lives, mistakes can be made and they are not serious. Often, these mistakes are unintended and unexpected, and should be excused. We should not expect perfection.

Most of our schools, with the long experience, probably handle the issues from parents well. Perhaps, it is a matter of making better communication with parents and the public.

I hope that these ideas are helpful to the schools, parents and the public.

Finding the first job

A young man recently graduated with an accounting degree from Singapore Institute of Management. His preference is to work for one of the Big 4 accounting firms as they give good training and salary. He did not mind the long working hours.
So far, he has been unsuccessful as these firms prefer to hire graduates from the other three local universities.
He asked for my advice. 

Here are my views:
1. Look for a job that needs you more than you need the job, e.g. a small company that has messy accounts and administration.
2. Do not worry about the lack of training. You have already spend 4 years in full time university and do not need further training. It is time to learn by applying your knowledge to the job.
3. When you encounter a problem, differentiate between what is important and what is not. Discuss with you boss or colleagues on the important matters. They will appreciate being consulted.
4. Do not bother them with the unimportant matters. Take your own decision, even if it turns out to be wrong. The consequence is small, and you can learn from experience.
5. Do not worry about making mistakes. You won't get sacked. Remember, your boss needs you more than you need the job.

I hope that this approach works for the young man.

A truly mobile website

1.       Introduction

A recent survey showed that 89% of users access the Web using a mobile device. Most of them use a mobile phone with a small screen.

Is your corporate website designed to be easily read by these users? Do you want to reach out to these consumers and tell them about your products and services?

2.       Mobile friendly website

Many businesses are now converting their traditional website (designed to be read by a desktop) to be mobile friendly, but this is a wrong approach. Why?

It is better to design your new website to be truly mobile friendly, and to design every page from scratch.

Remember – many users read your webpages using a 3G connection or shared Wi-Fi in a public place, and the connection can be quite show.

You should design each page to be small, so that it can be loaded quickly.

You should also want to make it easy for them to get the desired information easily – and that means an easy search and fast navigation.

3.       Integration with Social Media

You will also want each page of your website to be easily accessed from the social media – Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Wordpress and other platforms. This requires each page or each tag (i.e. collection of pages) to be numbered for easy access.

4.       Fast to develop

Your new website, which can be truly mobile friendly and comprise of a hundred pages, can be developed quickly in just a few days using the Onyx template (developed by Tan Kin Lian & Associates).

As an example, I want to refer you to my website, www.tankinlian.com/mobile was created in just three days. Currently, it contains more than 70 newly designed pages.

I will be transferring a few hundred pages from my traditional website (www.tankinlian.com) to the mobile website soon. After that, I will take down my traditional website.

You can create a trial website on the Onyx platform (www.c-onyx.com) to see how easy it can be done, and to view how the pages look like on a mobile phone or a desktop.

If you keep you website on this platform you can use a redirection to this website. For example, visitors to be mobile website can type www.tankinlian.com/mobile and will be redirected to www.c-onyx.com/3

5.       Your own domain

If you like the Onyx website, you can transfer it to your own domain.

For example, the Onyx website can sit on www.abc.com or www.abc.com/onyx.

6.       Enquiry

If you are interested to have a trial of the Onyx website, send an email to ceo@tankinlian.com

The heavy cost of neglect

By allowing scams to continue unchecked, the Government is causing more harm than just financial loss to the investors - families can be broken up.

I want to share the cases of two women who were cheated by scams. They dared not tell their husband, as it would lead to a breakup of their marriage. They had to suffer the anguish on their own and keep the secret from their husbands.

It is likely that if the cheated person is the husband, many would not dare to tell their wives.

It is easy for the Government leaders to say - you have to be more careful, but they have to realize that the ordinary folks are easy prey to the crooks. It has happened over the decades.

This is why any decent Government has to take responsibility to make the laws, to investigate and to enforce the law. By doing nothing, the Government is neglecting its primary duty.

Learn to identify the scams

When I post a story about a potential scam, I do not show the name of the company or product. Instead, I give details that explain the circumstances, so that the public will be able to identify the scam, or similar products that may be offered to them. 

I often get requests to disclose the name, so that the public can avoid the company or the product. This request usually comes from a person who is lazy to think, and only wants to be spoon-fed.

It is better to learn how to identify similar scams and avoid all of them. It requires you to spend some time to read, to understand, rather than be given the name of the company. Remember - other companies may be offering similar products to trap you, and you can fall into their trap.

Apart from this reason, I cannot tell you the name of the company - because they will get a lawyer to sue me for defamation. It will be difficult for me to prove my "facts".

To avoid being cheated, it is better for the public to spend some time and money to learn about the scams, and how they work, so that the public can identify similar scams based on the scope of operation.

Learn by doing; trust your common sense

I want to share a story to illustrate an important point - by adopting a different approach, based on common sense, it is possible to get significantly improved results.

In the early 1980s, my company installed a new computer system. It is an in-house online system. Remember, this was long before the advent of the Internet.

I was in charge of computer strategy. I transferred a few internal staff to the computer services department and gave them training in software development.

There were tasked to develop the most common functions required for an insurance company, i.e. the data entry of computer applications, issue of policies, sending out of premium notices, updating of premium payment and payment of commission to agents.

These were the familiar and most common functions, which do not require much analysis. The computer system was ready in less than 6 months and put into operation.

We left out the complicated tasks such as underwriting engine, handling of complicated products and administration of claims. These continued to be handled "outside the system" using manual decision making. They were implemented in the system gradually, at the later stages.

The common approach at that time was to carry out a full system study and discussion with the users and get approval before developing the system. This typically took 3 to 5 years and required a large budget. We did not adopt the common approach.

A computer expert later described the approach used by us as "prototyping".

I like to share these points in our approach:
1. We did what we know
2. What we did not know (i.e. in putting into the computer system) continued to be handled outside the system, by the experts
3. When we had time later, we implemented the additional tasks, one at a time
4. We learned by doing. After implementation, we encountered the real problems and fixed the important ones.

I want to share this story, so that more people will be bold to adopt the prototyping approach, and to implement changes more quickly and achieve better outcomes.

Cost of living and minimum wage

The minimum wage in Jakarta was 1.5 million rupiah per month (about SGD 200) last year. It was raised to 2.2 million rupiah this year by Governor Jokowi.

Even 2.2 million is not enough, as the cost of living in Jakarta is quite high. Some experts have calculated that the minimum wage should be raised to 3.5 or even 4 million rupiah. 

Recently, the Jakarta administration set an example to employsome people at a salary of 4 million rupiah - just to show the point.

While businesses want wages to be as low as possible, they have to realize that the wages should be sufficient to meet the cost of living and give people a decent life, and have some savings for the future.

Singapore should also address the issue of the cost of living and the minimum wage. We cannot just pretend that the problem does not exist, or can be left to be sorted out by the market.

If rentals, government charges, top management salaries and excessive profits can be kept under control, the increase in consumer prices due to higher wages can be moderated.

This will lead to a better balance in our society, and a smaller gap between the top and low income brackets.

Keep in touch with your classmates for a lifetime!

I want to introduce the concept of the Facecard, especially to young people who are still studying in secondary and tertiary institutions.

Facecard is a personal card that you can create and store in the Cloud. You can put in your name, telephone numbers and e-mail and exchange them with your classmates.

The exchanged cards are stored in your virtual contact box that is also kept in the Cloud.

You may want to keep the contacts, especially your closed friends, in your mobile phone, but the Facecard in the Cloud is a useful backup, in case you lose your mobile phone or it get spoilt.

More importantly, you may lose contact with your friend when they change their phone numbers or e-mail addresses and don't tell you, or their message went into your spam box.

Even if you tell your friends about your changed contacts, they may overlook to update their record, so you will lose touch with many of them quite quickly.

These troublesome updating is not required when you use Facecard. When you update your Facecard, all of your friends are notified immediately, without any need for them to do any updating.

When your friends update their Facecard, the updated details appear in your contact box instantly. No need for you to do any updating.

You can also keep in touch with old classmates and friend when they change jobs. You will know their latest title and company, when they update their Facecard.

It is easy to exchange Facecard at a meeting. Go to "Nearly" and see the Facecard of people at the same event and ask to exchange cards. It is better than collecting the physical cards (especially, if you don't have any, or have forgotten to bring them).

You can create your Facecard at www.cfacecard.com. Go to "Register" to create the card and click on the "How to use Faceard" link to read the instructions.

Create your Facecard now, and keep in touch with your friends for a lifetime!

I am advertising this post in Facebook Ads. If you are coming to my Page for the first time, remember "like" my Page, so that you will be notified of new updates. Also, please "share" this post, so that your friends can come in as well.

Important message for young people

Many young people focus on their jobs and do not pay much attention on their financial planning.

Most of them are approached by their friends to take up a life insurance policy to save for the long term.

The life insurance policy is likely to give them a poor yield due to the large sum that is deducted from the premium to pay the high marketing and other expenses, and the profit of the insurance company.

This large deduction is shown as "effect of deduction" in the benefit illustration, but most consumers do not understand what it means. The effect of deduction could be more than $100,000 or even $200,000 in some cases.

If you know how to buy the right type of insurance and to invest your savings, the actual cost of the insurance cover and investment service should be less than half of the "effect of deduction".

It is very important for you, as a consumer, to spend some time to understand this important concept. For a start, you should read the articles posted under "Ask Mr. Tan" in this website, www.tankinlian.com/mobile.

There are about 10 articles here, but the most important is the article on "Financial Planning, which can be found at http://c-onyx.com/page/33. You can also take the financial awareness test.

If you realize that you are quite naive about insurance and investment, you should act immediately to buy the book on financial planning ($6 only) and to attend the FISCA talk on financial planning ($10 for members). They can make a lot of difference for your future.

Do spend the time to read the other articles in the website and to attend the other talks by FISCA.

I am taking an advertisement in Facebook, targeted at young people between 20 to 30 years.  While it cost me some money, I hope to be able to reach out and help some of the young people to avoid being taken for a ride.

If you fall within this group, this message is for you. If you are older, please help me to spread this message to your children or younger siblings (in the target age gropu), so that they become aware of making the right financial decision.

Tan Kin Lian

Learn about financial planning the low cost way

Mr Tan, 
I have a happy family with 2 young teenagers. Both I and my wife are working and our income are at typical sandwich level. As we are growing old, we also feel uncertainty. We like to know how to make a wise financial planing and wise and low risk investment. Please advise. 

REPLY
You can get your answer here
http://c-onyx.com/page/33

Look into http://c-onyx.com/tag/5 for answers to other topics.
If you want individual consultation, my fee is $150 per hour.

Non-regulated products sold by financial adviser

A consumer approached me for help. She had invested $28,000 in an investment plan that was supposed to give her a monthly payment of $375 for 24 months and the full refund of her investment.

The plan was sold to her by a financial adviser working for a large, reputable life insurance company.

After receiving the payment for a few months, the payment stopped. She wanted to ask for a cancellation of the contract and a refund of her money. She was given a post dated cheque and after waiting for the due date, she was told that the company did not have the funds to pay her.

The documents for the contract showed that she had actually purchased 6 magnetic bangles which was supposed to be rented to users and the monthly payment was the rental fee for the bangles.

She had done some investigation and learned that the company promoting the scheme had been operating under various names for the last 20 years. She was surprised that they were allowed to continue for so long, cheating many people.

In her case, she was misled because the financial adviser, which is regulated by MAS, had recommended the investment to her and assured her that it was a safe and good investment to give her a retirement income. Instead, she lost her capital.

She allowed me to share this story to warn other consumers to be careful about the non-regulated products that are being marketed by financial advisers. The consumers could be easily misled.

She is keen to find a way to get back her money. I asked her to file a complaint against the financial adviser and also approach the Small Claim Tribunal to get her money back from the company that promoted the scheme.

Any helpful suggestions will be welcomed!

Class action on the Pinnacle Notes

Here is an update of the class action being taken by Singapore investors against Morgan Stanley on the Pinnacle Notes case.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/morgan-stanley-loses-fresh-bid-dodge-pinnacle-notes-suit-20130827

The judgment, up to now, has been in favor of the Singapore investors. The delaying action by Morgan Stanley is deplorable.

Onyx Website - a truly mobile website

I want to introduce you to the Onyx website, a website that is truly developed for viewing on a mobile phone. It is not a traditional website that is made mobile friendly. This Onyx website is developed to be mobile from the first page. www.c-onyx.com/3

Just think. Two thirds of users now read e-mails and social media content on a mobile phone. An Onyx website make it easy for them to go to your website and view its contents, to make transactions and

Buy TKL books and participate in contest
www.tklcloud.com/opal/public/4

FISCA talk - Investing in REITS

I sent out this message in the morning and another 3 people signed up within a few hours.

This is a new talk on investing in REITS. It is conducted by a FISCA committee member who has a few years of practical experience in analyzing stocks. As this talk will only be held once this year, you should register now. Do not miss it.

Register at www.fisca.sg/events

Members pay a fee of $10. Non-members can join on the spot to be a member and enjoy the reduced fee, together with a subscription of $36.

DO SPEND THE TIME AND SOME MONEY TO BE WELL EDUCATED ABOUT FINANCIAL PLANNING AND INVESTING. IT CAN MAKE A LOT OF DIFFERENCE TO YOUR FUTURE FINANCIAL HEALTH.

Date: 24 August 2013
Time: 2 to 4pm
Venue: Seminar Room 4.1 @ School of Economics & Social Sciences
Singapore Management University
Speaker: Mr. Victor Lee

Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs)

1.When to buy and sell REITs?
2.What are the factors to consider?
3.What are the risks?

This will be the only REITs' talk for this year.

Different focus of financial talks

Many people attend talks on financial planning and insurance conducted by the financial advisers or insurance companies.

In this talk, the speaker will explain the importance of life insurance for risk management and for accumulating savings for the future. These concepts are correct.

However, the speaker will not mention one very important figure - one that can cost a few hundred thousand dollars to the consumer. This figure is shown in the benefit illustration. What is this figure?

Always remember. When you listen to a speaker, you should ask - is this speaker giving me the honest truth that benefit me, as a consumer, or are they hiding the essential facts?

If you want to know the essential facts, you should attend the talks given by a consumer-based organization - www.fisca.sg/events.

If you fail to act on this advice, be ready to lose a lot of money that should be accumulated for your own future!

Medishield Life

t is a good idea to extend Medishield to a lifetime, to cover pre-existing illness and to offer it to those who are not covered now. 

I have made this suggestion a few times over the past years. It takes the Government a long, long time, to understand it and to implement it. And, as usual ..... no acknowledgement of the contribution of the public.

And if there is worry that the cost will shoot out of the roof, it is exaggerated. All the treatment will be in subsidized wards in public hospital, where there is a cost cap. The public wards do not carry out expensive, experimental treatment - so the cost will be kept under control.

For elderly people above 90, most serious illnesses cannot be treated, so there is nothing that needs to be done in public wards. In fact, by attempting to treat, the patient may die faster.

The premium increase for young people should be quite modest, so there is no need to worry about it. For older people, a large part of the increase in cost is likely to be covered by the Government. Wait and see.

Attend the right course on financial planning

Many people are told that it is a good idea to have compulsory saving for the future, so they put in $500 a month in a life insurance policy. They did not realize that the policy yield 2%, while investing in blue chip shares can earn 5% per annum, after deducting expenses and paying for life insurance cover separately.

The difference in maturity amount after 35 years is a staggering $240,000. Yes, it is a large sum of money - because you did not make the right decision!

To learn more about it, attend the FISCA talk on financial planning, www.fisca.sg/events and buy this book also,
http://tklcloud.com/opal/pdfbook/33

Invest $6 and learn how to make the right decision for your future. Even if you have already been committed, you can still terminate the policy and invest your savings differently. It may be a better choice.

Opal Recruiting Software

I wish to share my experience on using the Opal Recruiting software to recruit two software developers. 

I created two pages for the two positions of Software Developer and Trainer Developer. These pages are advertised in my Facebook Page and in classified advertisements.

I received a total of about 50 applications for the two positions. These applications are scored based on the answers given by the applicants to the questionnaire.

I selected four applicants and sent an e-mail (from Opal) to ask them to select a time slot for a telephone conversation. These time slots are selected in Opal.

All four candidates responded to select their time slots. I viewed their replies in Opal and called them at the appointed time by telephone and discussed their applications. One candidate was found suitable, and is visiting the office for an evaluation test.

Another candidate for the Trainee Developer position is under processing.

This is the first time that I am using the Opal recruiting software, I experienced some teething issues. These have been rectified, so the next recruitment should be smoother.

The Opal Recruting software is available for use by other companies or recuriting agencies. Enquiries to kinlian@gmail.com.

Taxes and GST

Some people have the thinking that higher taxes will drive businesses away from Singapore, leading to lower employment. This is the argument put forward by the Government when they reduce income tax and introduce GST.

I disagree with this view. There are many businesses that serve the domestic market and have to remain in Singapore, in spite of the level of tax. These include professional, financial, retail and other services catering to the local market.

The export-oriented manufacturers may be affected by higher taxes, but their decisions are more likely to be affected by other factors, such as rental, availability and quality of labor. The Government grants and tax holidays given to them will be more important than the rate of corporate tax.

When higher taxes are collected from the higher income earners, there is no need to collect GST. The higher tax revenue will enable the Government to provide basic public services, such as health care, education, law enforcement, and transport, free or at subsidized rates.

The chance of abuse of these basic public services is low. Nobody wants to go to hospital or take public transport or take the time of police officers for fun. They will only use it when necessary.

The older people will recognize that I am describing the environment found in Singapore in the 60s and 70s. After 1985, Singapore made many changes towards the market based economy that have led to high cost of housing, high cost of living and the wide disparity of income.

If we are to move back to a better economic or social environment, we need to understand the root cause of our problems and take the correct remedial actions.

Be constructive and open minded towards change

I want to point out the difference between being constructive and being negative.

When I point out some flaws in the current situation in Singapore, I am being constructive. Why?

To solve a problem, we have first to agree that we have a problem, and to agree on what our problem is.

In most cases, I do have some idea about the possible solution. I will put them forward, only as a suggestion. It may or may not work, depending on how it is implemented.

There is no need for smartalecs to evaluate my suggestion and pass judgment on it. Some of these people belong to the brainless group anyway. Some of them are paid just to defend the status quo, and will find dishonest arguments to criticize suggestions for change.

Sometimes, I do criticize our leaders. That is because they refused to see a problem that has been around for decades and still persist on following the faulty policies. My criticism is also intended to be constructive. If they don't recognize the folly, when are they going to change?

I hope that most of my readers understanding my thinking and what I am trying to do. And come forward to help me to achieve the goal of finding alternative solutions to our long standing issues.

Make places more friendly to people

I observed that many parts of Singapore are not friendly to pedestrians and the public.

For example, in Midview City, the whole complex is enclosed and there are two vehicle gates and 1 pedestrian gate. If someone takes public transport to Midview City, they will have to walk a long way to find the gate (and signage is poor), and may find that they got the wrong gate and have to walk a long way to their destination.

This applies also to many other buildings in Singapore.

Somehow, most planners do not appear to look into the difficulties faced by the public in getting directions. The signage is usually inadequate and sometimes misleading.

There is too much attention on security (which I consider to be over-blown) and too little attention to the inconvenience and trouble it is causing to people. But, may I say, this is Singapore style.

Make the Police responsible to enforce the law

10 August 2013

Editor, Forum Page

Straits Times.

I refer to the letter by Adrian Lee Chiew Chaun entitled "Red tape discourages civic consciousness" (ST 10 August 2013).

Mr. Lee reported a case of an overfilled truck spilling sand on the road. His complaint was passed from one agency to another and all of them appeared to be unwilling to act on the offence.

Several years ago, the enforcement of the law was the duty of the Police, who were specially trained to handle violations. I suggest that the duty should be passed back to the Police to remove the current ambiguity.

I have heard anecdotes of how complaints are now being handled by investigators and suspect that there is too much reliance on paperwork. The effectiveness can be improved significantly by changing the focus to more field work and communication. It is likely that the person in charge is not aware of the violation of the violation. A request from the Police for a discussion is likely to result in corrective action being taken by the offender or the employer of the offender. The Police only need to pursue more intensive investigation on repeat offenders.

Let us go back to our old common sense approach to correct some of the problems that have been outstanding for a long time.

Tan Kin Lian

Challenges for Ministry of Manpower

The Minister for Manpower and his ministry had a difficult challenge to solve the following dilemma:

1) We need more manpower for the economy due to insufficient Singaporeans, low birth rate, and an expanding economy.
2) To have to make sure that Singaporeans are not replaced when more foreigners are allowed in
3) There are some jobs that Singaporeans will not do, or do not have the required skills
4) NS reservist training will continue to be a serious impediment in the employment of male Singaporeans
5) There is a high turnover rate of Singaporeans, which makes employers prefer to employ foreigners.

What can be done to solve these challenges?

$100 cash prize

$100 cash prize to be won in this easy contest
http://tklcloud.com/opal/contest/6

Investing retirement funds

8 August 2013

Editor

Forum Page

Straits Times

I wish to respond to Geoffrey Kung’s letter “retirement fund should be risk-free”
(ST 8 August 2013)

Risk-free assets, such as short term government bonds currently provide a yield
that is lower than inflation rate. Over the long term, there is a risk that the
retirement savings will be eroded by inflation.

For long term investors, it is more appropriate to invest in good quality shares
which have historically provided a yield that is higher than inflation. This is likely to 

continue in the future.

Mr. Kung seemed to worry about the chance of a loss in shares, if a person were to retire 

at the time when the market is down.

There is no need for the retiree to liquidate the investments at the time of retirement. If so, 

where does he or she invest the money that has been taken out?

It is better to remain invested in the good quality shares and to draw down from the savings 

a monthly sum that is needed for the living expenses.  This draw-down can come partly from 

the dividends paid on the shares and, if necessary, by the sales of small quantity of shares at

regular intervals.

If the market is bad, this will affect only the small amount that has to be liquidated and not 

the remainder of the shares that are invested for the long term.  The concept of dollar cost averaging 

works after retirement as well, and it applies to the monthly sums that have to be withdrawn.

It is more important for the investor to diversify the investments, so that they are not badly affected 

by the shares of a few companies that performed badly. A good way to achieve diversification 

is to invest in an index fund, such as the exchange traded fund that is created to track 

the Straits Times Index of 30 shares. The index fund has a low management expense.

A long term investor, who is invested in a diversified fund, should not worry about 

the short term volatility of the stock market. They should look forward to the dividends 

paid out regularly on the invested shares, and the long term growth of the shares.

Tan Kin Lian
President
Financial Services Consumer Association

You can create your own personal business card now

You can get a business card, provided by your company, only if you are in a marketing or senior position and that may happen several years after you start work.

Don't wait so long. You can create a Facecard now, i.e. the online version of the business card, while you are a student or have just started work and have not yet got an official business card. 

You can send this card to your friend or business contact. They can keep it in their virtual contact box. Your details will be automatically updated when you move to a new job or change your email or contact numbers.

Build up your network of contacts now. This may come in very handy in the years to come.

www.cfacecard.com.

Search for Facecard in Apple App Store. (Android version will be uploaded by mid August).

Top award for ex-President Nathan

Ex President Nathan is getting the top National Day Award, Order of Temasek (First Class) for exemplary service to the nation.

I have mixed feelings.

I know President Nathan to be a fatherly, friendly and humble person. So, I am happy that he is recognized for this award.

I also share the views of many Singaporeans, that he was paid quite handsomely for his service as President - perhaps more than $40 million over the two terms. So, it is not the same as voluntary or meritorious service  to the nation.

It would be nice for ex-President Nathan to donate a large part of that generous salary to a charitable foundation?

Or, for the Government to give a similar, but posthumous award, to former President Ong Teng Cheong?

These two gestures could do a lot to bring the people of Singapore together again.

There is hope for Singapore.

This thought went through my mind when I read the Straits Times headline, "Govt to play bigger role in building fair and just society".

Reading through the key points of PM Lee's message, I like the following actions:

1. Help children from less well-off family get off to a good start from pre-school
2. Help elderly cope with health care cost
3. Help every family own a HDB flat.

Equally important are the recognition that
4. Jobs are less secure and wages are rising more slowly or even stagnating
5. Families are working harder
6. Parents worry for their children's future
7. Country must remain united and get its politics right.

PM Lee still has to overcome a big credibility gap. Many people have said, "We heard this kind of nice words before, but nothing much had changed. How do we know that you are really serious this time?"

What is the most important single thing that he can do, to overcome this credibility gap?

He has also missed out a few sacred cows that are the root cause of the economic and social problems faced in Singapore. What are they?

Let's have a nice discussion. Happy National Day.

Solving the unemployment problem

To solve the unemployment problem, we need a better way to manage our human resources. This has to be done at a national level. 

Here are my ideas:

1. Those who are unemployed will register in a government managed website. They will be accessed for the type of work that they are capable of doing and the hourly rate of pay that are appropriate for the job.

2. Employers can tap into this pool of workers and employ them at the indicated rate. These employers will enjoy a wage subsidy from the government of 30% for a period of 12 months.

3. If the employer is still not profitable, the employer can apply for extension of the wage subsidy for another 12 months. The aim is to ensure that the employers can continue to keep these workers, and that the workers can enjoy a rate of pay that is appropriate and adequate for the job.

4. Over time, this may create a fair market for labor, where the rate of pay and terms of work are adequate for the workers and affordable for employers. It is better than the uncertain market conditions that is faced today.

I believe that there will be weaknesses in my proposed system, and look forward to contributions on how to make it more robust.

Investment Scam

Here is another example of an investment scam, sent to me by an investor.

Quote: I was introduced to a 2 year saving plan in Dec 2010. I invested $30,000 in company J (recommended by my friend) and received $400 each month for 12 months. Company J stopped payment due to "GST problem". 

I asked for the balance of my invested sum to be returned to me. Company J issued a cheque that is post-dated 6 months later. I banked in the cheque on the due date and was told that there was no money in the bank account.

I lodged a complaint to the Commercial Affairs Division. There were many other victims out side the office of Company J, but they did not lodge any police report. There was no news from CAD abut their investigation.

I got into this problem as it was recommended by a friend, who worked as an insurance agent. I trusted my friend and did not check the background of Company J. Unquote:

Positive experience with Facecard

I created my Facecard and sent to the friends and business contacts. Several of them created their Facecard, including those who has been out of touch with me for a few years. 
I get to know of their latest occupation and contact numbers, and also their latest e-mail address.
When they make changes in the future, I will automatically be notified of the latest information, without the need for my to update the record.
This is the advantage of Facecard.
You can create your card now at www.cfacecard.com and send them to your friends.

US Government sues Bank of America

In the Justice Dept suit, the govt alleged that Bank of America
"knowingly and wilfully misled investors about the quality and safety of their investments"..

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23596662

General education and individual consultation

here is a difference between general education and individual consultation.

For general education, you can read any blog (which is free) or spend a few dollars to buy a book or attend a talk.

For individual consultation on a problem that is specific to your personal situation, you have to see an adviser or expert and pay the consultation fee. This does not come free.

There are many people who do not wish to spend a few dollars on a book or talk, and expect to get individual advice for free. Many of them end up getting the wrong device given for free by people with a vested interest to sell the product.

The consumer ends up with a bad investment decision that will cost them a large sum of money. In some cases, they lose all their money through an investment scam.

This problem will continue to persist, as long as people continue to be gullible, have a mindset to get free advice. You can describe them as "Penny wise, pound foolish".

Easy contest - mobile apps

Here is another easy to win contest
http://tklcloud.com/opal/contest/5

Take part in this easy contest and win a prize

Take part in this easy contest
Win 5 PDF books worth $22 (to be given to 10 winners drawn at random). 
http://tklcloud.com/opal/contest/4

Strong demand for new HDB flats for singles

There is a strong take-up rate of the new 2 room HDB flats by singles. This is a no brainer. 

If there is a big pool of ready buyers with money, and a subsidized flat is being offered, e.g. through a large cash or CPF grant, it will surely attract many buyers. 

While most applicants need it for their own occupation, some may use it as an "investment" to earn rental income. I do not know the details of how the investment opportunity may work, but I will not be surprised if some of these devices are uncovered in time to come.

The positive side is that the new measures will take off the pressure on resale HDB flats. I expect the prices of resale flats to come down, and that will be good for most people - except the speculators.

Edward Snowden and state surveillance

Edward Snowden is being pursued by the US Government for "leaking" information about its surveillance activities. He has been granted one year asylum by Russia. Is Russia doing the right thing?

Should Edward Snowden be considered a "leaker", "whistle blower" or "dissident" ?

Read this article
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/08/2013841016657318.html

Software Developers

I have two vacancies in software development for citizens and permanent residents, or those on dependent pass.

Software developer
http://tklcloud.com/opal/recruit/9

Software developer (trainee)
http://tklcloud.com/opal/recruit/10

Interview with Journalist Chris Hedges

I have watched all 7 segments of the interview. I recommend that you watch them. The issues discussed in "Reality Assets Itself" contain a brilliant analysis of the current issues faced in the world, and to many of the problems faced even in Singapore. 

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=731

Investing for retirement

There is some debate in the Straits Times on how to achieve a good return over the long term.

Leaving the money in the special account in CPF to earn 4% per annum, with no risk, is an acceptable way.

It is equally acceptable to invest in an index fund of blue chip shares. The investment risk is reduced considerably by diversification, investing for the long term, and dollar cost averaging, i.e. investing and withdrawing in small amounts.

For consumers who understand the concept, investing in an index fund is better and can achieve a return that is better than 4% in the special account.

The CPF special account is allowed to be invested in the index fund (or the STI exchange traded fund).

There is no need to invest in a "life cycle" fund, where the proportion of shares is reduced nearer retirement. The consumer can keep invested in shares after retirement and take out each month what is needed for living expenses.

This concept is explained in the book, "Financial Planning for Young People", www.tklcould.com/pdfbook/33

Will MAS do the same?

Someone sent this news to me and asked, "Will MAS do the same?"

China moves to eliminate financial scam advertisements
AFP | Thu, Aug 01, 2013
BEIJING - China kicked off a nationwide campaign on Thursday to do away with advertisements for financial scams promising big returns at no risk, highlighting concern over the potential for trouble as financial know-how lags behind rising personal wealth.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission said the three-month "clean-up campaign" would take aim at the huge number of advertisements in China for wealth management products, no-interest loans, real estate and many other "no-risk, high-return" schemes from planting forests to breeding animals.

A commission statement said the campaign would "protect the legitimate interests of the masses" and "clean up the market environment".

Such advertisements, it said, would be eliminated, advertisers identified and their actions used to educate the people. Preventive policies would be put in place and offenders investigated.

Financial scams have multiplied in China as individual wealth grows, but a lack of financial knowledge and education means many people do not know how to protect their money.

People convicted of big frauds in high-profile cases have been sentenced to death as authorities remain wary of the potential for social unrest.

Last month, police had to intervene after about 1,000 people overran a branch of China's central bank in a southern town as a rumour spread that it was handing out zero-interest loans.

Job vacancies

Try out these fictitious advertisements to get a feel of your suitability for these positions, and win a prize.

Marketing Executive
http://tklcloud.com/opal/recruit/2

Customer Service Representative
http://tklcloud.com/opal/recruit/4

Administrative Asst
http://tklcloud.com/opal/recruit/5

FISCA Talk - Consumer Guide to Insurance, 3 August 2013

Are you buying the right life insurance policy? Are you getting good value for your premiums? Find out in this talk

Consumer Guide to Insurance, Saturday 3 August 2013.

More details of this talk can be found here:
http://www.easyapps.sg/assn/Org/File.aspx?ID=267&Frame=1

Register for this talk at 
http://easyapps.sg/assn/Org/EventRegForPublic.aspx?EvID=718&id=5

Act now. The right decision can mean more than $100,000 in additional payout to you at maturity. 

Falling motor insurance rates

Motor insurance rates have been rising in Singapore for several years.

It is possible for the rates to fall, if the authority and the insurance companies take serious and effective measures to combat the fraud. The UK has shown a good example of what can be done. It is time for Singapore to buck up.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23474426

SingTel's sports package

SingTel has announced a subscription price of $59.90 for its sports package that nearly double the previous price. of $34.90. 

I cannot see any commercial or sensible reason for this decision. It reflects an arrogant attitude and disregard for fair treatment of the public. 

In most countries, there will be demonstrations on the streets and in the public media, and active discussion in Parliament. But, sadly, not in Singapore.

This clearly reflects the weakness of the political environment in Singapore and is bad for the future development of our society. 

I hope that our government leaders will reflect on the harm that is being caused by their social, economical and political policies.

Malpractice in the Public Service

A senior officer of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau has been charged for embezzling public funds to feed his gambling habit in the casino.

This has provoked a decision by the head of the civil service to review the rules on visits to the casino by public officers.

This is a typical reaction in Singapore - to address the symptoms and not the root cause.

There are many opportunities for public officers to gamble, besides vising the casino in Singapore. How about other forms of gambling, such as the turf club, casino overseas, or the stock market?

If the casinos are bad, why only ban public officers? How about other citizens or even foreign workers?

If public officers are to behave properly, we need a better system of oversight and supervision, that is clearly lacking in our system, judging from the many cases of abuse of power that has been observed lately.

Our government leaders have to set the example of being transparent and accountable, so that the same standard can pervade to all levels of the public service and to our society in general.

Masters of Life on Meaningful Life

Masters of Life on Meaningful Living is Tommy Wong's latest books. You can view details here:
http://tklcloud.com/pdfbook/37