Unit Trust Fund Screener

There are thousands of unit trust funds out there, millions perhaps. How do you sift through the garbage to get to the gold?

We all know that it is simply impossible to go through every single fund factsheet to find out which are the best funds out there. Ask a financial adviser and he will probably tell you which funds he recommends and why.

But is there a better way to go about making such an investment decision?

How do you go about choosing which unit trust fund to invest into?

Today, I will let you all in to a little secret which few know about.

A Unit Trust Fund Screener

Lipper Leaders has a fund screener that allows one to screen a whole wide range of unit trust funds based on a few metrices. But before you go off to try it out, let me explain to you what this metrices are based upon.

Lipper Leaders screens funds based on 4 essential metrices. They are as follows:

1. Total Return. Total return denotes a fund that has superior returns when compared to a similar group of funds. This rating best suits investors who want the best historical returns without looking at risk. This measure however might not be sufficient for investors who want to avoid downside risk.

2. Consistent Return. This identifies a fund that has provided relatively consistent performance and risk adjusted returns when compared to a similar group of funds. This might be for investors who are concerned about consistent performance of the fund rather than total returns that the fund gives. Certain funds however will remain more volatile than other funds based on the market sector they are invested into.

3. Preservation. This identifies funds that have been able to preserve capital in a more superior manner in various types of market when compared with other funds in its asset class. This helps limit any downside risk that an investor does not wish to take.

4. Expense. This identifies funds that have managed to keep its expenses low relative to its peers. This is best for investors who want to minimise their total costs when choosing a fund.

But You Still Need to Consider This....

So I have shared with you a very superior unit trust fund screener that will actually help you make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing which funds to invest in. This works well even if you are choosing which funds to invest in for an investment linked plan that are sold by various insurance companies in Singapore.

A good way to test your insurance agent or financial adviser next time will be to ask them WHY they are recommending certain funds to you.

Many times, you will get the answer like"Oh..this fund reached a price of $5 over dollars in 2007. Now it is only at $3, the price is very cheap."

Such financial advice is lame and if anybody ever gives you such advice, RUN!

Past performance of a fund does not guarantee future performance of the fund.

This is what we also need to take into consideration when using the Lippers Leaders Fund Screener. Just because a fund is ranked 5 for all the ratings does not mean that it will give you stellar returns in the next few years. Rather, it just gives you a way to make a much more informed decision.

To Invest in Unit Trust Funds or Stocks?

Should one invest in a unit trust fund or should one invest in stocks? Yes, I know I have brought up another contentious issue and there will probably be no end to the debate.

Unit trust funds are known to charge fees and costs that many people say are not worthwhile. Lots of "experts" out there are thus advising the man on the street to invest in stocks directly so that they need not pay expensive charges that these unit trust funds charge.

Again, I at Sg Financial Freedom will like to take the stand and say that whether a person decides to invest in unit trust or stocks all depends on the person's situation.

A person who has no time to track his investments and has totally no clue about investment should perhaps invest his money in unit trusts rather than let his money sit in the bank and rot.

A person who is savvy in his investments will most probably not opt to invest in unit trusts if he is able to get decent returns from the stock market.

I will still like to think that since these fund managers are working at their investment jobs full time, we ought to give them some credit and it might not do us any harm to just invest a portion of our money for diversification purposes.

Afterall, if you invest your own money, you are your own fund manager. How certain are you that you can beat a person who does it as a 8 to 5 job full time while you might only have the time to monitor your stocks say 10% of your time?

Sometimes, it might also be necessary to invest into unit trusts so as to get exposure to certain markets like China or into the commodities sector. It might be difficult for an individual to buy into so many stocks which a China unit trust fund could probably do more efficiently and at a lower cost.

The author invests in both stocks and unit trusts. He believes in his fund management skills but has decided to diversify some of this risk by letting others manage his funds for him as well. Afterall, he can never be too sure that his stock picking skills are always excellent.

You can visit Lipper Leaders here.

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Are You Wealthy?

Are you wealthy?

The term wealthy means a host of things to different people. Some people define wealthy as having an abundance of material possessions.

In the book The Millionaire Next Door, the definition of wealthy is defined based on one's expected level of networth.

A person who is earning only 1K per month and a person who is earning 10K per month should not be expected to have the same amount of wealth. If they do happen to have the same amount of wealth, it simply means that the person who is earning less is doing a much better job at accumulating wealth that the person who earns more.

What should you expected networth be?

In the book, your expected wealth should be calculated as such:

(Annual pre-tax household income multiply by your age ) divided by 10

So if a person who is 20 years of age is earning $100,000 per year, his expected networth is $200,000. If his networth is more than $200,000, he is building his wealth.

PAWs versus UAWs

PAWs are prodiguous accumulators of wealth versus UAWs who are under accumulators of wealth.

PAWs are simply defined as those whose actual networth are twice their expected networth

7 Factors

Eighty percent of America's millionaires are first generation rich! That is comforting news for us who were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths. The authors also discovered seven common denominators amongh those who successfully build wealth. They are:

1. They live well below their means
2. They allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth
3. They believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status
4. Their parents did not provide economic outpatient care.
5. Their adult children are economically self-sufficient.
6. They are proficient in targeting market opportunities.
7. They chose the right occupation.

Conclusion

I would also like to think that this method of defining wealth might be flawed in some ways. If a person has a sudden change in income over the recent years, this way of calculating wealth might not be accurate. Nonetheless, it still provides a pretty good gauge at how well we are accumulating our wealth.


The author is happy that based on the expected networth calculations and his actual networth, he is actually in the category of a wealth builder. However, he has not reached the stage of being a PAW where his actual networth is twice his expected networth. The author also hopes that he is in the right occupation.


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195 Posts and Counting

It has been a long journey.

When I first started out in 2008 to blog about my journey to financial freedom, I had little clue on what I was going to blog about and whether it would be sustainable.

This post is my 195th post on this blog and I must say that I am glad I have made it thus far.

What started out as a random project to record and increase my passive income every year has become a diary for me as well as a platform where I can engage others who are also striving to financially independent or free.

There are many times when I wanted to simply give up this whole project on financial freedom.

However, I have slowly seen how blogging has helped me to grow clearer in my goals as well as my knowledge.

In the same way, knowing that other bloggers are out there reading and watching just makes me want to be more accountable to the goals that I have set for myself. The knowledge that I have gained from other bloggers are tremendous and I must say that I have grown as an individual because of their suggestions, advice and blogging.

If you have been following this blog for the past one year, I will just like to say a big THANK YOU for taking the effort to read. I know I can write with a sort of "dizzying" effect as there are times when my mind is totally cluttered especially after returning from work.

As my committment to continue blogging, I hope to roll out a new template for this site to make it a bit more reader friendly. I hope to do this at the 200th post but I am keeping my fingers crossed as I can still be pretty busy at times.

Okay, Flash Forward is starting at 10pm and I really hope to catch this episode.

Signing off,

Financial Freedom

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Bank Accounts

I realised that I might be having a bit too many bank accounts and credit cards.

Lately, I forgot to settle one of my credit card bills and ended up with a late payment charge of $40! And that was for a credit card bill of just $80!

Are all these bank accounts necessary? I certainly think so.

Here is how I use all my bank accounts.

POSB Savings Account

This is my primary account which is linked to all the Giro, electronic payment for shares and stuff. It is basically the account which is linked to my ATM card and which I use to pay the bills.

POSB Current Account

This is the checking account which lets me write cheques. I pay $2 each month to maintain this account.

Citibank Step Up Interest Account

This is where my salary is credited. Based on the step up interest, I can earn close to 0.75% interest on my deposits. I will then transfer whatever amount of my pay I need into the POSB Savings Account to spend.

MayBank iSaavy Account

This is my emergency fund account which pays interest of up to 0.5% per annum. I hardly touch the money in here at all. I like this account because of the higher deposit rates it gives compared to other banks.

To Trade or To Buy and Hold

After years in the stock market, I still can't really figure out whether it is better to trade stocks for the short term or to just buy and hold them for the long term.

I have heard both sides of the arguments, have read books like A Random Walk Down Wall Street, and I must say - I agree with both TAs and FAs.

But I guess I will just choose the method that works best in making money.

While a stock might rise from $1 to $1.20 in 1 month, the person who holds the stock for 1 month only stands to earn a maximum of $200 per lot of shares.

The person who trades on the down and up trends might however be able to earn more than $200. By going in and out of the same stock, his POTENTIAL to earn is much higher. The probability that he losses money is of course also much higher compared to just holding on to the stock.

So what I do is to have two portfolios: One for holding and one for trading.

I enjoy the best of both worlds. There are benefits of buying and holding and there are benefits of trading. By doing both at the same time, I enjoy both benefits.

In addition, trading provides a form of income. More income brings me to financial freedom much faster.

The tortoise might win at the end of the day but the hare leads most of the way.

I believe that people can combine both approaches to bring out the best of both FA and TA.

Conversation with A Millionaire

It is not everyday that one gets to speak face to face with a millionaire.

Today, I got the chance to do so.

In fact, I spent one and a half hours with him speaking about various things in life like success, job satisfaction and wealth building ideas.

I am putting it down in words to share with all as I believe that not many people have actually gotten a chance to speak to successful people or millionaires.

About Money

Money does not buy happiness. But it does buy you the time and the alternatives. Basically, money gives you a wider range of options compared to the average person.

About Discouragement

Everyone feels discouraged now and then. It is important to not dwell on it and instead mix with people who are positive and successful.

About Helping Others

Sometimes, it might not be possible to be directly involved in helping others. How much can one help? Instead, use your God given abilities and channel your energies there. Every job essentially helps some one or somebody at some level or another. If you are able to make more money, you could donate to charity and get others to help.

For example, the leaders of our country might be good in terms of defence and security measures. But you don't see them sitting at the customs office right?

About Careers and Jobs

There are no dream jobs in the world. Each job has its pros and cons. The most important thing is to put your heart into it while at the job. Don't work for your boss or the company. Work for yourself and your family.

Being at the top has its loneliness. Even big bosses and CEOs think of quitting their jobs too.

Riches versus Wealth

Having access to riches does not guarantee wealth. Earning alot of money might not bring you wealth if you squander your money away.

Property Investment

The returns from rental property is very low based on his own experience. Instead, buying and selling properties makes money much faster.


Work Hard Play Hard

It is important to work hard and play hard. The reason why you are able to play hard is because you get a good income from your work.

All work sucks. It is how much you are compensated for it in monetary terms that matters.



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Standard Chartered Personal Credit

I have been receiving "cheques" from Standard Chartered Bank lately.

Basically, these cheques are given to me in letters which they have been sending.

So far, I have received 2 cheques.

The instructions states: Simply bank in the attached cheque and enjoy cash at 0% interest for six months with just a nominal fee of 2.5% on the cheque amount.

No gimmicks, No hidden cost?

It says that the promotional rate of 0% interest is valid for 6 months and thereafter, the prevailing interest rate applies. I am not too certain what is the prevailing interest rate for this credit line.

Still, it sounds like a pretty attractive option doesn't it?

I get a cheque for $8000. The 2.5% nominal fee adds up to $200.

So after 6 months, all I need to pay back will be $8200. If I am able to use this money to buy some stocks and the stocks happen to rise in price... I will be using Other People's Money to make money!

But of course, the reverse could happen where the stock prices are depressed after 6 months and I could be stuck in a serious quandry. To liquidate the stocks at a loss and still pay up the $8200.