I can't sleep despite taken drowsy medicine for my cough and flu... Because I am angry ...
1) I couldn't vote this coming election. a trip was planned way in advance before they decided to have polling day on a Friday ! Why Friday ? If they have it on Saturday as usual, I would be able to vote !
2) I felt betrayed.
Fengshan is carved out from East Coast GRC to be a SMC this time. My house is at fengshan smc for this election, Mr Raymond Lim was my MP. MR Raymond Lim used to be our transport minister, who basically did nothing worth mentioning , except to increase the number of platform to 5 from 3 at jurong east mrt station... And I just found out he did not even speak at all in Parliament for the past 4 years http://themiddleground.sg/2015/08/12/tmg-exclusive-speaking-truth-parliament/
Now, Mr Lim , 59 years old, is retiring as MP in this election. No matter how the media paint the story, I see it as he 输不起。 59 is too young to retire isn't it?.
Ok, fine.. He is probably disheartened.. Just because he was the transport minister, he's blamed.. Look at Mr Lui Tuck Yew, despite being on the ground, working so hard to serve the public, he is still blamed, scolded , and even mocked by the public... I respect Mr Lim's decision to "retire" .. But I would expect PAP to field someone 厉害, they wouldn't want to lose another seat to WP right？ when I saw the list, the PAP candidate is Cheryl Chan.. Who is she?
Ok, maybe I am not involved in the pap grassroot thingy, so I dunno her.. Then I look at WP's candidate, is Dennis Tan... Huh.. Who is he ? Googled him, nothing came out. He was mentioned in the list of new WP candidates, but not interviewed, no quotes from him.. Nothing. He is not one of the featured WP candidates.
So I imagined, PAP strategy is "carve out Fengshan, so WP will have to field a strong, or known candidate in a SMC, so East Coast GRC team will not be so strong, we will have a higher chance to win". WP strategy to counter "we knew you would rather us have one more seat only, so we will do the opposite and make a bet! Field the strongest team we can manage to form in East Coast GRC, and a equally nobody in Fengshan. Voters will decide if they like WP more or PAP more!" 渺小的我。。(not that I get to vote... But still 不爽that we are not cherished by either party)
Maybe I dunno the candidates ... It might be too early to say they are not capable or what.. Ok, We shall see...
3) there are many weird ppl running for election.. What is Roy Nygren and Han Hui Hui doing as candidates ? There are also many ppl blindly supporting oppositions.. Supporting the pension funds, min wage, and all the what-have-not-socialist policies which might be detrimental to Sg economy... I do agree that policies have to be made with Singaporean in mind, not money.. But do we have to be so extreme ??
Policies that please the crowd may not be really beneficial policies for Singaporeans ... I certainly hope opposition parties do not promise these policies just to win votes...
4) many post on fb, something like "we must be appreciative of what pap did. Sg is in a better state compared to many other countries. Opposition party dun expect to form govt, why vote them in? APEHTC cannot even manage the town council fund properly, how to manage a govt ?This sort of blind support for pap..
What pap did right in the past does not mean that they will always be right, right ? Opposition party dun expect to form govt , doesn't mean that they cannot right ? Even Raymond Lim can be transport minister, why say eg. Chen Show Mao cannot ? He is probably equally experienced and educated, isn't he ? Is it wrong to have a realistic goal ?
It is never a level playing ground for the oppositions. Will Straits Times ever report how many of PAP MP own or is related to companies that profited from govt projects ? Were any of our ministry or pap town council scrutinized like how APEHTC is scrutinized ? Is it fair to make a judgement base on what govt-controlled media reports?
XL ask me.. Why am I so upset, I won't be voting anyway... My ans is, precisely because I won't get to vote, so I am upset... I am upset that "my voice will not be heard" this time round... And I am not willing to pay a few hundred dollars and forfeit a few hundred dollars paid to change the dates for the coming trip just for "my voice to be heard". -- Irony of a true Singaporean
My friend shared this link to me this Morning. http://www.bigfatpurse.com/2015/07/how-to-invest-if-you-have-20k-or-more-why-we-think-the-straits-times-is-wrong
You can find the link to the original straits times article in the above article.
Summary (If you are too lazy to read)
Strait Times consulted a few experts, they recommended invest 100% in unit trust if you have $20,000.
Bigfatpurse says unit trust is too expensive so should invest in cheaper ETF.
My view
"Would you pay someone so you can clean your room yourself?"
Buying ETF is exactly that.
Can ETF help you to decide which country is worth to invest more in?
Can ETF help you decide whether it is a better time to invest in high yield bond or government bond?
Can ETF do currency hedge so you invest in a country with potential growth but not risk in currency depreciation?
Just to list some example to show why we cannot compare ETF with unit trust.
You may say some ETF performed better than some unit trust. So this goes back to the first question, who is doing the work?
Because we all know investment returns are not guaranteed, past performance does not represent future performance ... would you have known which country, which stock will do best tommorow? Do you have market information to do analysis and make the analysis? If your answer is yes to both questions, you are savvy you can DIY your own investment portfolio , you should probably invest in that few stocks you are convinced with (instead of just buy ETF which most probably include some stocks that you will not like) . If your answer is NO , then it's probably better to leave with the experts. While experts may make mistakes too ( nobody can have the crystal ball to know exactly what will " win" so there is always risk in investment), but the probability of going very wrong is much lesser than a blind bet.
So, Who are the experts?
This is where I disagree with StraitsTimes.
Consult your Financial Adviser if you have idle $20,000 in bank.
(Financial Adviser is not someone from a bank or an insurance company, find someone professional, who can really do a comprehensive analysis and give a comprehensive recommendation for you)
Because a real Financial adviser will discuss your ST, MT, LT financial goals, will look through your existing portfolio , will help you manage your risk , will map a financial blue print to reach your financial goals. Then will advise what you should do to your idle money best suited to your financial situations.
Maybe it's better to save in bank because you have to pay for your wedding next year?
Maybe it's better to pay off your personal loan so you do not have to pay 20 +% interest?
Maybe it's better to put into SRS to save tax?
Maybe its better to go into endowment ?
Or at least, an adviser who can recommend a portfolio or strategy better than just buying ETF.
Summary of my view (If you are too lazy to read the above)
If you want to and can DIY, research and choose the few stocks you are convinced with
If you don't, leave it to the experts, Find a good financial advisor. Do not invest blindly.
