SGXcafe - A Good Investment Portfolio Tracker And More

Sometimes, keeping track of your investment portfolio performance is hard work. Most of us use excel sheets to record down our stock purchases manually. Then there are dividends too which we need to keep track. Just this year, I started using a platform called SGXcafe which to me is quite intelligently done. Many people including bloggers have started using this platform to track their portfolios. It even gives me an update of my portfolio performance every day through email.

This is not a paid advertisement for the platform. I'm reviewing this base on my own experience. Furthermore, it is completely free to use and I heard the person who started this paid quite a lot of money in order to keep it alive as it has some issues previously. To spend money on building a platform and still offer it free to use is really very rare nowadays.

So what features does it have? Firstly, it has the portfolio tracker which intelligently calculates your investment portfolio XIRR. You can input the stocks you've bought and it will calculate your investment returns base on historical values and even add in the dividends you received from the time you bought the stock until now.

It also has various stock screeners which is unique from other platforms. The owner of the website has included screeners profile which he is using himself. This includes screeners on growth and income stocks. He also has a screener on dividend strength which forecast how likely the company is able to give the same or more dividends next year. The model does this by learning from history how stocks with certain traits found in its financial statements would influence its dividends payout the following year statistically. Under the dividend strength, stocks which are 90%-100% more likely to give the same or more dividend next year includes Capitaland Mal Trust, Frasers Centrepoint Trust and also banking stocks like DBS and OCBC.

Another interesting part of this platform is the ability to share your portfolio with other people. There are many people who have already shared their portfolios and how it has performed. You can click here to see the shared portfolios. Overall, this is a simple and easy to use platform. Its free to use so no harm giving it a try if you're an investor also.

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Comparing The Best Savings Accounts For Higher Interest Rate In Singapore

Its time to get higher interest rates for our bank accounts now. Interest rates on bank accounts have been very low the past few years at an average of 0.15%. But, all these will change soon as in the past few months, many banks have started to offer good interest rates on selected savings account. This is in line with what the US is doing, increasing interest rates slowly and steadily.

So, which are the bank accounts that will give us higher interest at the moment? I've looked through a few banks and shortlisted 2 banks which have the most attractive rates:

Best Savings Account

CIMB 

CIMB savings account lets you earn up to 1% without any spending required. They have 2 good savings account namely CIMB fast saver account and CIMB StarSaver account.

For CIMB fast saver account, you just need to maintain a minimum balance of $1000 in the account and you can earn 1% on the first $50,000 and 0.6% on any amounts above $50,000. No other conditions required.

For CIMB StarSaver account, you just need to maintain an incremental deposit of S$100 or more monthly to enjoy an interest rate of 0.8% p.a. on the entire account balance.



OCBC

OCBC has the highest and most attractive interest rates so far. The OCBC 360 account lets you earn up to 3.25% on the first $60,000 in your account. Just by crediting your salary of at least $2000 and you get 1.2%. Pay any 3 bills and you get additional 0.5%. Spend at least $500 on your credit card and another 0.5% is given to you. Its easy to get more than 2% interest through the OCBC 360 account.

Furthermore, with their credit cards which has attractive rebates such as the OCBC 365 credit card which gives us up to 6% cashback on dining, 3% cashback on all online spendings, groceries and telecommunication bills and up to 18.3% on petrol, we can enjoy even greater savings on our daily necessities.

Bank Of China

Lastly, we have the BOC smart saver. This savings account is added in due to the suggestions of readers who brought my attention to it. You can earn up to 3.55% interest on this account.

1. Prevailing Interest

Prevailing Savings Interest Rate (SGD)
Below S$5,000	0.25%
S$5,000 and above	0.275%
S$20,000 and above	0.35%
S$50,000 and above	0.40%

This is the base interest in the account which you can earn.

2. Bonus Interest

You can earn bonus interest in the following ways:

• Earn 1.55% p.a. when you spend at least S$500 across your BOC Credit Cards and/or Debit Cards.
• Earn 1.00% p.a. when your company credits your salary of at least S$2,000 into your BOC MCS Account.
• Earn 0.60% p.a. when you transact 3 bill payments or 1 BOC Mortgage Repayment from your BOC MCS Account.

This is on top of the prevailing interest which you earn


For me, I have a special corporate account under Standard Chartered Bank which gives 1.4% on any amount in that account. That account is good enough for me as of now. It really makes a difference as I can get much more interest on a monthly basis. Its much better than leaving my money in an account which only gives 0.15%. For $50,000, the interest is $700 per year on 1.4% but on 0.15%, the interest is only $75. This extra few hundred dollars is enough to go on a short holiday trip or offset some of our expenses.

Being smarter with our money is not too difficult. Try one of the accounts above and take the first step to make money work harder for you.

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Become a Savvier Online Shopper: 5 Tricks and Tips to Note!

It’s time to face up to the facts - online shopping is in. With retail therapy conveniently moving online, physical shopping might very well be on its way to becoming obsolete. Of course, that shouldn’t be a cause for concern - any online shopper will know the satisfaction of placing an order online, and having it doubled when receiving the precious parcel a few days later. And there’s no need to have it all at the expense of your wallet - here are five insider tips to help you turn your online shopping trials into triumphs.

1. Filters

If you haven’t been using filters when you browse online, you’ve been doing online shopping the wrong way. Sort your online goodies from Price Low to High to root out the best deals on the site, and keep everything organized for your browsing ease.


For those frustrated at having to sift through pages of irrelevant but cheap items, that’s exactly where the price range toggles come in. Simply adjust your minimum price to something reasonable of the category and you’ll be good to go. Then again, for those who like challenges, feel free to keep the minimum price at $0 – after all, you never know when an extra value deal sneaks its way into the game.

Price filters aside, you can also play with the various filter options provided to you by the website - in clothing sections alone, filters like size, length of skirts, colours, brands and more can really help to narrow down your options so you can access exactly what you want, instantly and efficiently.

2. Sign up for the newsletter

Believe it or not, the online newsletter exists for a purpose larger than flooding your inbox with useless spam. Signing up for the store newsletter gives you advance notice on sales and updates that could do wonders for your savings account.

In exchange for your elusive email, stores tend to reward customer's loyalty with sneak-peek ‘first looks’ at upcoming sales, and sometimes even the handy coupon code. When that happens, you definitely don’t want to miss it out. For many online stores, if you go the extra mile to sign up for an account, you’ll often be gifted with a special discount code on your birthday.

It’s a worthwhile trade for your inbox space, but if you’re still a little hesitant, here’s a tip –create a separate account purely for online shopping accounts and updates. That way, if you’re ever in the mood to part with your money, you’ll find a whole host of avenues waiting neatly for you in one place.

3. Cash in (or out) on holidays

Public holidays aren’t just good for a free day off from work or school now – online stores have cashed in on the holiday hype (and the fact that people are happier on a break) to entice customers with special promo codes and sales. Take a look around: Zalora, ASOS, Lazada, Groupon are just some of the big names that have taken to offering holiday-specific discounts when the occasion arises. Take your pick from Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Labour Day, and the many other extraneous holidays that bring with them an onslaught of much appreciated discount codes. So if you’ve got your eyes on something, it might help to keep the other eye out for any upcoming public holidays before you place that order. 

4. Resist – curb the urge!

Strangely enough, playing hard to get with your favourite online store works, especially when you’re usually a loyal purchasing customer of the website. From a tried-and-tested perspective, if you refrain from ordering from ASOS for a substantial period of time – whether intentionally or not – this British retailer will very graciously send you a “We miss you, take 20% off!” promo code, exclusive only to you.

Singapore’s Zalora too, has been known to show the occasional act of generosity if you leave something simmering in your cart for a few days. For anyone intending to make a hasty purchase at full price, it might be worthwhile to consider playing the waiting game, because indeed, good things come to those who wait. 

5. Use CashBack Websites!

It’s a little novel to us here in Singapore, but getting money back when you shop has been a popular trend for quite a while now. Most famously done in the US, shoppers can get cashback from purchasing their favourite brands through the particular cashback website. It’s a nifty notion that has thankfully made its way onto our shores  – the cashback sites get their commission, and you get a portion of the money you spent credited back to you.

One such website that offers cashback to the South East Asian consumers is ShopBack Singapore – in addition to cashback on over 500 shops, you’ll get access to current active promo codes and discount codes for those stores including ASOS, Zalora, Groupon, Expedia, Agoda.com, and hundreds more. Once you’ve accumulated at least $10 of cashback in your ShopBack account, you can conveniently cash it out into your bank and PayPal accounts helping you save more online. 

At the end of the day, getting the most out of your online shopping experience comes down to shopping smart. Understanding and knowing how best to work the ways of the websites will help any avid shopper get a good deal - possibly even more than in shopping real-world retail. And honestly, who needs instant gratification when you can have the delayed pleasure of receiving a parcel addressed to yourself, from yourself?  

Amanda writes for cash back website ShopBack Singapore and has 48 pairs of shoes. Other than that, she's pretty good at handling her finances.

This post is brought to you by Shopback. Sign up and start enjoying cashback for your online purchases today!

4 Simple Steps You Must Know To Invest Smartly

- Brought to you by www.stockflock.co 

As a beginner in investing, it can be hard to understand complex financial statements. But in fact, there are only a handful of key points you should take note of.

Here are 4 simple steps for you to have a good picture of a company’s health.

1. Valuation. Is the stock too expensive?

Just like when you do your shopping, you want to find the cheapest store to buy from. The same principle applies for investing. You wouldn’t want to buy a company that is too expensive.

Here is the chart of Amara, a hotel operator of the luxurious Amara Sanctuary Resort in Sentosa. First, we look at the Price-earnings of Amara. It runs at 8.91, the lowest among the 3 competitors. That makes Amara the cheapest company to invest in as compared to its competitors.

2. Earnings growth. Is the company growing?

We want to invest in companies that are growing. Amara’s growth has been stagnant for the past 5 years, hence it does not have an exciting growth story. However, that could pick up once Amara Signature Shanghai opens in China. 

3. Returns for investors. How much can you make as an investor?

There are two important things we look at. We want to know how much returns can the company generate for its shareholders, and of course, the more the merrier. For that, we look at Return on Equity, also known as ROE. 

Amara definitely generates the best returns for its investors as compared to its peers. Over 8% returns for the past 5 years? That is a good business to be in. If they keep this up, the share price should increase year after year. 

The second factor to look out for is dividend yield. Amara gives only 1.87% dividend yield. If you are looking for passive income, then this stock is probably not for you. In fact, all 4 hotel companies give low dividends so investors should be looking for capital gains from rising share price.  

Insolvency risk. Will the company go bankrupt?

No matter how fast the company is growing, you must always pay attention to the risk of a company not being able to pay its debt. History has proven that fast growing companies often borrow too much and when they fail, investors suffer. Therefore you should stay clear of companies that borrow excessively.

As seen from the pie chart above, Amara has almost 50% debt and 50% equity (slightly more equity). This is on the high side. A safer proportion will be 30% debt and 70% equity. Nonetheless, it is manageable for now but investors should be mindful if Amara’s debts keep rising. 

Access to all the information on Singapore listed companies are now available for you to help you invest better. Simply log on to www.stockflock.co for a full suite of resources you need. 

*This is a sponsored post brought to you by the Stockflock Team

Fixed or Variable Rates for Home Loans?

In recent months, there has been a lot of news on interest rates and indeed the rates are changing at a much faster pace than before. Interest rates on the international level are all changing. US interest rates are changing, Singapore's interest rates are changing too.

With the ongoing changes, now it’s a good time to look at the benefits or disadvantages of both fixed rates and variable rates for our loans.Most of us will be taking loans when we buy a house. When interest rates change, we will get affected, big or small, depending on the home loan packages we take.

Credit: pixabay.com

In Singapore, there are basically 2 typical types of home loan packages offered by the banks. The first is short term fixed interest rates and the second is variable interest rates or SIBOR dependant rates. Interest rates are generally low in Singapore so a lot of people go for variable rates packages. But we have to take note that if interest rates rise, the monthly instalment we pay will go up as well.

If you own properties or is planning to buy properties in countries like Australia, the situation is different. Some of the fixed rate packages in Australia actually have lower rates as compared to the variable rate packages for a short period of time. It is important to do our own research to get the best deals when buying properties in Singapore or Australia. Newcastle Permanent is an independent, mutual, retail financial service provider which provides home loan packages in Australia.

Let's take a look at some of the benefits and disadvantages of fixed vs variable rates.

Fixed Rate Home Loan

A fixed rate home loan can provide you a sense of financial certainty because the interest rates and repayments will remain the same for the set period of time of your choosing.

Benefits:

• Consistent monthly payments
• Best for long term loan payments
• For home-owners who expects interests rates will go up and would want to lock in a lower interest rates now
• Protection from interest rate hikes

Disadvantages:

• Monthly payments are higher than Variable rates
• Home-owners cannot take advantage of any interest rate decreases that might occur during the life of the loan
• Most plans incur a fee when breaking out of a fixed rate before end of the loan term. This happens when there is transfer of home ownership due to sale or refinancing over to another lender.

Variable Rate Home Loan 

With variable rate home loan, market forces and the economic climate affect the amount of interest you pay for your mortgages. 

Benefits:

• Monthly payments are cheaper than fixed rate loans
• Best for those who plan to keep the loan for a short period of time

Disadvantages:

• No protection against interest rate changes
• Monthly payments will fluctuate in line with market interest rates

What happens when interest rates change?

$500,000 loan on 5 year fixed rate

If we take a $500,000 loan at 5 year fixed rate, we will not be affected when interest rates increase,. However, when interest rates decrease, we can't take advantage of it. 

$500,000 loan on variable rate

If we take a $500,000 loan at a variable rate in Australia, the variable rate loan will adjust accordingly if interest rates increase and we'll be affected. If interest rates decrease, we can take advantage of it and our monthly repayments will be adjusted lower. 

1% increase on a $500,000 loan

If interest rates increase by 1% on a $500,000 loan package for a 25 years term, the monthly repayment would increase by around $295. Those on the fixed rate package will not be affected while those on variable rates packages will be affected by this rise in interest rate. 

There you have it, the benefits and disadvantages of fixed vs variable rate home loans. Choose your loan packages wisely and you could save quite a bit of money on your monthly home loan instalments. 

*This is a sponsored post by Newcastle Permanent

What are Singaporeans Looking At Outside of Equities?

What are Singaporeans Looking At Outside of Equities?

brought to you by Call Levels - Your Personal Market Assistant

After launching the public beta version with only FX and Metals in late November, we have grown 15% weekly, with several thousand users now using us regularly in Singapore. Thank you for your patience and feedback! We had users thanking us when the Swiss Franc spiked and they were informed via Call Levels faster than any other professional system or person, and we hope to remain as useful and relevant for young investors as they navigate through the world of trading.

We started with a Singaporean core group of users, but as the word spread we have been adding users especially from Europe and the USA, and they now count for 20% of our user base. We expect to grow more internationally now we have added US stocks and even more in the future, but now is a great opportunity to take a look at what our (mostly) Singaporean users have been looking at on Call Levels.

66% of Our Users Look at Forex

This is no surprise as we launched with 930 crosses real time on FX, and indices and commodities came a few months after.

Users have requested for equities, and we are happy to announce that we are offering 500+ US stocks at launch, and this allocation will change in time as we cover many more assets.

Singaporeans Look at a Diverse Array of Currencies

A quarter of our users monitor the SGD on a very regular basis, and against the USD and JPY. Call Levels launched at a time when volatility for commodities and the US dollar was extremely high, with the Euro and Singapore dollar making multi-year lows. Users who have used Call Levels to keep track of their investments in FX would have felt safer sleeping at night knowing that Call Levels was constantly monitoring the market.

Gold and Oil Dominate the Futures Market

With the USD soaring to highs and the Federal Reserve predicting a US rate hike soon, gold prices were in the news, and more than 60% of users’ attention was focused on gold. Oil prices also tumbled to new lows over the past few months, dominating more attention than both US stock indices combined.

Key Level to Watch: USD / SGD @ 1.4000

The recent spike of the US Dollar against the Singapore Dollar has left all Singaporeans concerned about the weakness of the currency. We see a lot of attention placed on 1.40 - 1.41 level in USD / SGD, and there may be a lot of volatility at that level if the US Dollar move continues.

To ensure that you will be notified immediately when USD / SGD reaches 1.4000, use Call Levels now. We’ll watch the market so you don’t have to.

Download the free Call-Levels App on iOS and Android below:

For Android Users, you can download the app here

For iOS users, you can download the app here

*This is a sponsored post by Call-Levels 

Critical and Important Differences of the Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI)

Ever since the announcement by MAS on the 2 new initiatives for insurance products, it has generated quite a bit of activity on social media. I even see my own friends sharing news articles related to the changes. I wrote about the 2 new changes in an earlier post here.

One of the changes was that consumers can now buy insurance directly from customer service counters or websites of insurance companies directly without having to go through a financial advisor. The premiums will be cheaper as no commission will be imposed. Some of us may be all ready to abandon our financial advisers and buy those cheaper premium insurance. But, after looking deeper at the Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) scheme, there seems to be some critical and important differences of the Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) as compared to non-DPI.

Image credit: openclipart.org

DIYInsurance has kindly updated and provided me with good information on this DPI scheme. I will touch on some of the limitations in this post.

Critical and important differences of the Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI)

There are differences between DPI and Non-DPI products. I will touch on 2 of the insurance components mainly Total Permanent Disability (TPD) and Critical Illness.

1. Total Permanent Disability (TPD) Definitions

When making claims for TPD, here are the differences between DPI and non DPI products:

DPI Products
Total and irrecoverable lost of use of any 2 of 6 limbs namely, the eyes, legs above ankles and hands above wrist.

Non – DPI Products
Total and irrecoverable lost of use of any 2 of 6 limbs namely, the eyes, legs above ankles and hands above wrist;

OR

Inability to perform any 2 or 3 Activities of Daily Living, namely, Transferring, mobility, toileting, dressing, washing, feeding.

*This means non-DPI products are more flexible when claiming for total permanent disability (TPD).


2. No. of Critical illness definitions

The number of critical illness definitions varies for DPI and Non-DPI products:

DPI Products
30 critical illness covered

Non – DPI Products
30 to 37 or more critical illness covered

*This means non-DPI products have a wider range of critical illness which we can claim for.


Limitation of $400,000 coverage for each insurance purchased through DPI

If you purchase your insurance through the DPI scheme, the limitation for each insurance policy coverage is $400,000. It is important to note that for any life insurance coverage of above $400,000, it is more cost-efficient and affordable not to purchase through the Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) channel. This is because most DPI products are not as affordable as compared to other offerings out there even though there are no commissions involved with DPI offered by the insurance companies.
Let me show you an example to illustrate what I mean by more cost effective not to purchase through DPI if coverage is above $400,000.

Assuming an example of the following profile:

• A 30 year-old Male
• Requires $500,000 of life insurance coverage (with no critical illness benefit) up to 65 years old

The most cost-efficient way of providing for this coverage is to purchase:

No.	Product	Insurance Coverage ($)	Cost (Annual premiums) ($)	Total Commission Rebates ($)	Annual Premiums ($)
1	AXA Life Term Protector	500,000	633 (Quoted by DIYInsurance)	55 (From DIYInsurance)	633
	Total	500,000		55	633

Making your full-purchase on your own from Direct Purchase Insurance products will incur the following cost:

No.	Product	Insurance Coverage ($)	Cost (Annual premiums) ($)	Total Commission Rebates ($)	Annual Premiums ($)
1	DIRECT–AXA Term Lite	400,000	490 (Quoted on comparefirst)	0	490
2	DIRECT-Z Basic	100,000	187 (Quoted on comparefirst)	0	187
	Total	500,000		0	677

This shows that for any coverage which is above $400,000, buying through DIYInsurance will be the most cost-efficient method. There is a cost savings of $44 in annual premiums together with $55 of total commission rebates. ($633 in annual premiums for the first calculation versus $677 of buying through the Direct Purchase Insurance channel).

Furthermore, this provides you with great convenience. Instead of going to 2 or more insurers to purchase insurance products, you are able to fulfill your insurance needs just by going to DIYInsurance. 

I hope the above information and example gives you a better understanding of the new DPI scheme and when to or not to purchase through DPI in order to get the best cost benefit. Next time when you hear about DPI, I am sure you’ll be more aware of what’s happening out there just like how I have learnt through research and writing this post. I would be smarter not to overpay for my insurance purchases in the future. 

If you want to learn more about insurance, you can also consider attending the following complimentary event organised by DIYInsurance (Click on link below to sign up)

Plan, Compare & Save on Insurance: Using Web Aggregators and Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI)

The following topics will be covered:

• Understanding Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) and their differences
• Understanding how life insurance web aggregators work
• Using life insurance web aggregators to compare and save money
• Understanding yours' and your family's insurance needs
• Crafting your own insurance plan
• Understanding what commission rebates are

*This is a sponsored post by Providend Ltd

Plan, Compare and Save on Insurance: Using Web Aggregators

Do you really need a financial adviser? This was the title of a previous post which I wrote just a few weeks ago. In that post, I recounted my good and bad experiences with financial advisers and how we can make better decisions on insurance purchases. Using web portals where we can compare insurance products is one way to make a more informed choice for our own financial life.


It was brought to my attention that MAS coincidentally announced that they will be launching 2 new initiatives which I believe is going to change the whole financial advisory industry. This will affect the sales which financial advisers earn and even cause them to lose their jobs. Yes, it is that big of a change that will have a serious impact on the whole industry.

So what are the 2 new initiatives?

1. Consumers can now compare life insurance products online.

MAS announced that from 7th April 2015, consumers can compare insurance products from different insurance companies using a website called compareFIRST. This is an interactive web portal which allows us to compare the premiums and features of similar insurance products so we can make better choices on what is best for ourselves. It is similar to DIYInsurance web portal which also offers comparison features. DIYInsurance is the 1st Life Insurance comparison web portal in Singapore.

Most financial advisers will not want their clients to compare insurance products as it will mean lesser sales for them if those clients really find a cheaper and better product. I’ve even heard financial advisers say that it is useless to compare insurance products as they are mostly the same. This is definitely not true at all.

CompareFIRST is a collaborative effort by the Consumers Association of Singapore, MAS, the Life Insurance Association Singapore and MoneySENSE. Looking at it, I would think this initiative aims to protect consumers from buying the wrong insurance products or over paying for insurance products. It is definitely a good move.

2. Consumers can now buy insurance without commissions

From 7th April, we can all purchase insurance directly from customer service counters or websites of life insurance companies. This is called Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI). As DPIs are sold without having to go through a financial adviser, the premiums are cheaper as no commissions are charged.

Alternatively, we can buy insurance online through DIYInsurance web portal.

Benefits of DIYInsurance include:

1. 30% commission rebates on all products
2. You are able to enjoy ongoing promotions on top of receiving commission rebates
3. You are able to seek personalized consultation
4. You will receive assistance in the event of a claim 
5. No limits to purchase of insurance coverage. DPI’s limit is up to $400k.
6. On top of term life and whole life plans, DIYInsurance provides comparison on stand-alone critical illness, disability income, long term care products and annuities for retirement income. It is a one-stop shop to fulfill your needs.

If you want to find out more on how web aggregators such as the new compareFIRST and DIYInsurance can help you in your insurance planning, you can attend a complimentary session on 25th April (Saturday), which will give you a deeper understanding of how you can better plan for your insurance needs.

To learn more or sign up for the complimentary session, click on the following link: Plan, Compare and Save on Insurance: Using Web Aggregators and Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI)

The session will cover the following topics:

1. Understanding Direct Purchase Insurance (DPI) and their differences
2. Understanding how life insurance web aggregators work
3. Using life insurance web aggregators to compare and save money
4. Understanding yours' and your family's insurance needs
5. Crafting your own insurance plan
6. Understanding what commission rebates are

Insurance planning is an important aspect of our lives. The insurance industry is definitely changing now. It is a good time to re-look into our insurance needs and plan properly for peace and security for our future.

The session is organised by DIYInsurance, Singapore's first life insurance comparison web portal.

*This is a sponsored post by Providend

2-3% Principal Guaranteed Investment

I know many of us have been trying to find places where we can put our money in-order to get better returns. At the same time, we don't want to take on too much risk and still get to grow our money. Good news! Just a few days ago, it was announced by the government and MAS that they are going to introduce something called the Singapore Savings Bonds programme to provide individual investors with a long-term savings option that offers safe returns. You might ask, how safe is safe? Are the returns high?


Details of the Singapore Savings Bonds Revealed

Bonds are normally considered safe investments especially when we talk about Singapore government bonds. They are almost risk free if you keep the bond all the way to maturity. You will get back the face value of the bond during maturity. In a way, as long as government bonds do not default (where the government goes bankrupt), we'll always somehow get our principle investment back.

However, the problem with normal government bonds is that it is still subjected to day to day price fluctuations. Yes, bond price can go up and down and if we sell it early, we could make a loss.

Now, this new savings bond is different from the normal government bonds which we often see. In my opinion, it is the safest investment which we can get while still earning decent returns. Here's why:

1. Principal Guaranteed

For this Singapore Savings Bonds, it is principle guaranteed. We can redeem the bond any time and we'll always get our investment amount back in full.

2. Monthly Issuance and flexible redemption

The bonds are issued monthly so we can buy the bonds monthly or redeem it monthly. It is so flexible that in case you really need the money, you can redeem it and still get back your capital without suffering any capital loss or penalty.

Best of all, any interest you get will be yours to keep.

3. Small investment amount

The minimum investment amount is $500 and thereafter in multiples of $500. There will be a maximum investment limit which will be announced later.

4. Step up Interest and term of 10 years

The interest rates paid are linked to the long term Singapore Government Securities (SGS) rates. Interest will be lower for the first year and will subsequently be higher for the next few years until year 10.

If we base on the prevailing SGS bond yield, on the first year, we should expect to get around 0.9%, on the second year around 1.5% and on the third year 2.4% and so forth. The actual rates will be given by MAS at a later date when the bonds are issued.

On average, you'll get around 2-3% (base on the current rate) if you hold the bond for 10 years. Interest rates can be lower or higher.


When will it be launched and How do I invest in it?

The Singapore Savings Bonds will likely be launched in the second half of 2015. MAS will provide more information on how to apply for the bonds at a later date.

I suppose applying for the bonds won't be that difficult. Probably we can do it through most of the major banks in Singapore or even apply it online.

In any case, this would be a good investment for those who want to get better returns for their money. It is principle guaranteed so there is practically no risks involved. I would definitely consider putting any of my spare cash into these bonds.

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Related Posts:
1. 4 things you should know before investing into bonds

Do You Really Need A Financial Advisor?

In Singapore, financial advisers are often associated with the insurance industry. My first encounter with a financial advisor was when I was still a student around the age of 19. I was starting to get curious on financial planning and wanted a higher interest rate for the little money I had in my bank account. You see, many years ago, the interest rates the banks gave were already at a low of less than 1%. One day while I was walking on the streets, a financial adviser approached and asked me whether I'm interested in a plan that will give me 3% (more than 3 times higher than the bank interest rates), it naturally got me interested.

Throughout the years, I've met more than 10 financial advisers from many different companies. Some were good while some were not so good. Some were so well trained in their sales pitch that I've heard different advisers saying the same thing. I started doing sales when I was at the age of 16 so I could recognise that it was just a sales pitch right away. Even though its a sales pitch, one good advise that I constantly hear is that we should have protection before investments.  It is true that insurance is important for us as well as our loved ones.

However, over the years, I've heard some friends saying they were having a hard time paying for their insurance premiums because they bought too much. Some even had to cancel their insurance policies and lose money just because they couldn't keep up with the payments. Having a wrong financial advisor can be disastrous. So, do we really need a financial advisor?

Buying Insurance Online? 

I thought to myself, what if I could buy insurance online? This is possible now with Do-It-Your-Way-Insurance (DIYInsurance), a web portal by Providend Ltd. The web portal allows us to compare different insurance products from different companies and they provide 30% commission rebate on all purchases when we buy from them.

The good thing about this web portal is you get to learn all about insurance and compare the different insurance products all at the comfort of your own home without having the pressure to buy. They are also licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Let's see how DIYInsurance works.

How DIYInsurance Works? 

With DIYInsurance, you have full control over your insurance purchases. The comparison tool gives you access to a wealth of information on a wide range of insurance products in the market, and you are free to compare and choose the lowest premium or best value product for yourself without any pressure from a salesperson.

Compare & Request Quote Online

Use their comparison tool to find the product you feel best suits your needs. Request for a quote from them.

Personalised Consultation

They'll call you to provide you with cost information and answer any questions you may have about the product.

Get Help with Documentation

They'll assist you with application forms and documents required and submit them for you.

Receive Insurance Policy

After the insurer approves your application, you'll get the policy contract via mail. They'll also return you 30% of the commissions they get from the insurance company, where applicable.

Educate yourself on Financial Planning

What I like about DIYInsurance web portal is they also provide educational materials on financial planning in the form of infographics, articles and videos. 

This life stage planning chart shows us clearly what insurance we need at different stages of our lives:

They even have various calculators for protection, for savings and for retirement for us to plan our financial life better. 

Check out some of their educational videos on financial planning here.

With DIYInsurance, all of us can be financial advisers for our own life and decide on what we want without any pressure. You still can get quality financial advise from them any time when you're not sure about any products. From what I know, their staffs do not have any sales incentives so you won't get pressured to buy anything. You get cheaper insurance but at the same time you also get quality advise.

Check out their website and start your own financial planning today!

DIYInsurance Website: http://www.diyinsurance.com.sg

*This is a sponsored post by Providend Ltd

World's Simplest Market Alert Tool - Call-Levels Now Available on Android

In November last year, some of you would have remembered I posted an interview with Daniel Chia who's the co-founder of this new app "Call-Levels". It was only available on the Apple's iOS back then. This week, i got an invitation to try out the beta version of the app on Android. My phone is Samsung so I had waited 2 months before being able to use this app.

The interface was very user friendly and easy to use. A lot of effort has been put into the design of the interface. It is simply a market alert tool which will notify you when prices hit your threshold. You can even add email cc list of people who want to follow your call levels.

Cut the long story short, let me show you some screenshots which I took from my phone when I was trying out the app:

You can choose to set call levels from commodities, Forex, Indices and Equities (Coming Soon)

Just tap on the centre and drag up and down to the call levels you want to be alerted on.

It'll show you the percentage difference from your alert levels. Once you're done, just tap on SET CALL LEVEL and you're done. 

I set an alert for WTI Oil @ 46,046 and it hit on Monday. Oil went up!

I set another alart for USD/SGD at 1.3501. This level hit on Tuesday. US dollar is still going strong. I'm now smiling away as I still have a few thousand dollars worth of USD which I exchanged when the rate was still at 1.24. 

If you're using Android, you can download it for free on the Play store now. For iPhone users, the app is also available on Apple's app store. The limitation is you can only set 3 alerts. You can set more levels when you share the app with your friends on social media. Try it now for free today!

For Android Users, you can download the app here

For iOS users, you can download the app here

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Related Posts:

1. World's Simplest Market Alert Tool - Interview With Daniel Chia, Professional Investment Manager and Co-Founder of Call-Levels

Pocket Wifi for your overseas trips with VisionData Singapore

In Singapore, we're so connected to each other that we can access the internet almost everywhere. We can send Whatsapp messages, surf the net, browse our Facebook news feeds, check emails anywhere. Many of us will realise that once we travel overseas, we're constantly looking for wifi hotspots at our hotel, at cafes and we wish that wifi could be everywhere. Now its possible with the Pocket Wifi from VisionData Singapore.

I was in Jakarta last week and those who read my previous post on what I did during my trip would know that. Prior to my trip, coincidently, VisionData contacted me and offer to sponsor to try out their pocket wifi device. I found it interesting so decided to try it out. I'll be writing a review for the product below.


About VisonData Singapore

VisondataSG (VDS) provides low cost pocket Wifi rental services that covers more than 70 countries.

With the Pocket Wifi, customer will be able to stay connected while overseas.


My review

The internet browsing speed that you can get solely depends on the network in that particular country. Broadband service speed may vary depending on coverage, location, devices used, network traffic and the type of data being transmitted.

The package came in a pouch which was convenient for travel. Inside, there's an instruction sheet, the pocket wifi device and a travel adapter charger. The device is small which makes it easy to carry. You can just put it into your pocket and travel around.

When I arrived in Jakarta, I switched on the device while taking a taxi to the apartment which I would be staying in. On the taxi itself, I could already browse the internet through the pocket wifi device. My friends were actually quite surprised that such a thing can be done.Yes, the device can be used by more than one person. Each device can actually support 4-6 users. We had 3 phones that were simultaneously connected at the same time and it worked well.


Why VisionData Singapore?

Rental of the pocket wifi from VDS will be cost saving. I saw on their website that the price for Indonesia was $9 a day. Typically, each local Telco will charge $15/day for data roaming. Ordering process is simple as item will be couriered to the designated location two working days before travelling. You can also choose to pick up item from VDS office.

 VisonData also offer rental service for their power banks at $2 a day.

For more information about the device and the pricing for each country, you can refer to their website: www.visondata.com.sg

Like VDSG on Facebook: www.facebook.com/visondatasg