Saturday, March 29, 2008
Invest in a diversified fund for the long term
Dear Mr. Tan,
I have just opened an investment account with fund supermart. I wish to begin my first investment in unit trust. I am an moderate aggressive player and high returns are important to me. I am willing to take higher risks for significantly higher returns over time (above 10% p.a.). I am willing to take the risk of downside around 20% in 1 year. Can you please provide me with some suggestion on what fund to invest in the year 2008?
REPLY
My advise is to invest in low cost, diversified funds. You can aim for a more modest target of 6% to 8% p.a. for the long term. You have to deduct about 1% to cover the expenses.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
I have just opened an investment account with fund supermart. I wish to begin my first investment in unit trust. I am an moderate aggressive player and high returns are important to me. I am willing to take higher risks for significantly higher returns over time (above 10% p.a.). I am willing to take the risk of downside around 20% in 1 year. Can you please provide me with some suggestion on what fund to invest in the year 2008?
REPLY
My advise is to invest in low cost, diversified funds. You can aim for a more modest target of 6% to 8% p.a. for the long term. You have to deduct about 1% to cover the expenses.
Read this FAQ:
http://www.tankinlian.com/faq/savings.html
Diplomat and the lady
This story is told by a diplomat.
If you ask a favour from a diplomat and he says "yes", he means "maybe". If he says "maybe", he means "no". If he says "no", he is not a diplomat.
If you ask a favour from a lady and she says "no", she means "maybe". If she says "maybe", she means "yes". If she says "yes", she is not a lady.
If you ask a favour from a diplomat and he says "yes", he means "maybe". If he says "maybe", he means "no". If he says "no", he is not a diplomat.
If you ask a favour from a lady and she says "no", she means "maybe". If she says "maybe", she means "yes". If she says "yes", she is not a lady.
Quotes on History
George Bernard Shaw:
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.
George Bernard Shaw:
We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.
George Santayana:
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
George Wilhelm Hegel:
What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles.
Gerda Lerner:
We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.
Karl Marx:
It is not "history" which uses men as a means of achieving -- as if it were an individual person -- its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.
Kurt Vonnegut:
History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
Mark Twain:
To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours.
Oscar Wilde:
Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.
Pearl S. Buck:
One faces the future with one's past.
Percy Bysshe Shelley:
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography.
Winston Churchill:
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.
George Bernard Shaw:
We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.
George Santayana:
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
George Wilhelm Hegel:
What experience and history teach is this -- that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles.
Gerda Lerner:
We can learn from history how past generations thought and acted, how they responded to the demands of their time and how they solved their problems. We can learn by analogy, not by example, for our circumstances will always be different than theirs were. The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone. They foreclose the possibility of making other choices and thus they determine future events.
Karl Marx:
It is not "history" which uses men as a means of achieving -- as if it were an individual person -- its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.
Kurt Vonnegut:
History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
Mark Twain:
To arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours.
Oscar Wilde:
Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.
Pearl S. Buck:
One faces the future with one's past.
Percy Bysshe Shelley:
Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
All history becomes subjective; in other words there is properly no history, only biography.
Winston Churchill:
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
Medical insurance and large bills
An insurance agent said that a good medical insurance policy will cover the large bill of $150,000.
This may not be the case. Some of the expensive treatments exceed the limits in the policy or are excluded from the policy.
Before you incur expensive treatment, it is necessary to consult your insurance company and check on the items that are covered. This is to avoid the shock of being landed with a bill that you cannot afford.
I have come across many cases of unhappy customers who find that only a small part of the bill is covered by insurance, in spite of what they were told by the insurance agent!
Most importantly, you should spend your money wisely. Do what is best for your loved one, but do not waste money on expensive treatment with a slim chance of recovery.
This may not be the case. Some of the expensive treatments exceed the limits in the policy or are excluded from the policy.
Before you incur expensive treatment, it is necessary to consult your insurance company and check on the items that are covered. This is to avoid the shock of being landed with a bill that you cannot afford.
I have come across many cases of unhappy customers who find that only a small part of the bill is covered by insurance, in spite of what they were told by the insurance agent!
Most importantly, you should spend your money wisely. Do what is best for your loved one, but do not waste money on expensive treatment with a slim chance of recovery.
Escalation of medical bills
Someone asked the question, "Why was the original estimate of $50,000 allowed to escalate to a bill of $150,000?
This is the real, commercial world. This is how some private sector doctors can make millions of dollars in income.
I have high respect for many doctors who earn a modest income and practice medicine in the best interest of their patients.
This is the real, commercial world. This is how some private sector doctors can make millions of dollars in income.
I have high respect for many doctors who earn a modest income and practice medicine in the best interest of their patients.
Evaluate your options
Someone asked me what I would do, if I were in my friend's situation and expensive medical treatment is needed for a loved one.
Here is my approach:
a) I will evaluate various alternatives, from various doctors
b) I seek advice from independent and knowledgeable people
c) I will not depend on the advice of an adviser (doctor) who has a conflict of interest
I wish to share this story.
A few years ago, Dr. Ee Peng Liang, the "father of charity" in Singapore, told me, "Kin Lian, my doctor told me that I had stomach cancer. But I have decided not to be treated as I am already over 80 years. I will leave this matter in the hands of God". Dr. Ee passed away peacefully after a year or two.
There are many ways to "do the best" for a loved one. Spending money on expensive medical treatment, with a slim chance of recovery, is only one way.
Here is my approach:
a) I will evaluate various alternatives, from various doctors
b) I seek advice from independent and knowledgeable people
c) I will not depend on the advice of an adviser (doctor) who has a conflict of interest
I wish to share this story.
A few years ago, Dr. Ee Peng Liang, the "father of charity" in Singapore, told me, "Kin Lian, my doctor told me that I had stomach cancer. But I have decided not to be treated as I am already over 80 years. I will leave this matter in the hands of God". Dr. Ee passed away peacefully after a year or two.
There are many ways to "do the best" for a loved one. Spending money on expensive medical treatment, with a slim chance of recovery, is only one way.
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