Novices please start from here

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candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Necessity of Critical Illness Insurance

Post by candy_chia »

Alvin shared an insightful article on the need to buy Critical Illness (CI) Insurance.

My grandma passed away 6 years after suffering stroke which rendered her paralysed from neck down Fortunately, my dad was running a decent business then, so they could afford the hefty medical fees & engagement of maid as well as footing the living expenses of 4 young children then. However, this was compromised with drop in standard of living by forgoing luxury like holidays & visits to restaurants.

Do not buy Critical Illness Insurance
by ALVIN on MARCH 3, 2009

I was quite surprised to find out that Mr Tan Kin Lian does not recommend critical illness insurance, or at least not to a large coverage.

From his website on Personal Insurance, he mentioned this about critical illness:

There is no need to buy insurance to cover critical illness. Your Medishield or private Shield plan can cover most of the medical expenses.

The chance of making a critical illness claim is small. Less than 5% of people make this claim during their working life.

If you wish to have insurance to provide a cash payment, a sum of $50,000 should be adequate. The cost of critical illness cover is high. You should not spend too much premium on this risk, as the return is poor.”


There are 3 points in his argument from his words and I went to investigate a little further.

1. Medishield covers most of the medical expenses


Let us examine what is covered in a basic Medishield plan:

1) Daily ward and treatment charges
2) Surgical operations
3) Implants/approved medical consumables
4) Radiosurgery
5) Chemotherapy
6) Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Cancer
7) Radiotherapy for Cancer
8. Kidney Dialysis
9) Immunosuppressant drugs for organ transplant
10) Erythropoietin drug for chronic kidney failure

It is true that treatment for critical illness is indeed covered in a shield plan.

So Do you NEED a critical illness cover? I would say YES if you Do NOT Have Enough Savings.
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We must always go back to the purpose of insurance when we discuss about such issue.

Insurance is to Provide the money you NEED when you encounter mishap
.


Hence, a critical illness coverage provides the cash payout when you contract the illness and you can Use the Money WHEREVER you wished to.

In this case if you have a Shield plan, your treatment cost is mostly covered. Hence, do you still need a sum of money?

If the Shield plan claim is not adequate to meet hospital bills, the money may come in handy.

~~ But besides settling the bills,

~~~ it is important to note that most probably you will be out of job and lose your income once you contracted the illness.

~~~~ You will be living off your savings for the rest of your life.

~~~~~ It is safe if you have enough savings or investment returns or retirement funds for you to tap from.

~~~~~~ But if you have not been disciplined to build your savings, you would really need the payout from critical illness.



2. Low probability of claim


Based on 2007 statistics from Ministry of Health website, we have a population of 4.5 mil. Here are the top 10 conditions of hospitalization:

1) Accident, Poisoning and Violence
2) Cancer
3) Ischarmic Heart Disease
4) Pneumonia
5) Obstetric Complications
6) Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease
7) Other Heart Diseases
Cerebrovascular Disease (including stroke)
9) Intestinal Infectious Disease
10) Complications related to pregnancy

You may want to compare to the list of critical illness that is claimable here.

Hence, I would say only (2), (3) and (8) qualify for claims. Doing some calculations, the probability is about 1.1% of the population. Of course, this is a very rough estimate since it does not consider all the diseases that are claimable under the critical illness list. However, out of the top 10 conditions, I am quite surprised critical illnesses take a small proportion.

But it is still important to remember Low Probability Does NOT equate to “it will not happen”.
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3. Poor return

You cannot buy critical illness cover by itself. It has to tag along a life policy (either whole life or term). A whole life policy usually have a return of 3%-5% per annum. For 10-20 years, a 8%-9% return from a low cost fund can give you much more returns.

I believe if you do not have enough savings, covering yourself with critical illness is important, especially when you just began your work life. It is important to plan well and determine your true needs. Do not under insure or over insure.
How about sharing your take on critical illness?

Clarifications from insurance agents:

I guess I draw alot of negativity from insurance agents when I wrote this post. Anyway, I should also give a side of what one of them thinks. I have 2 good friends who are also insurance agents and they read all the posts on insurance on this blog. They gave good comments and since I have a very open mind, I do agree with what they said (don’t get me wrong, it does not mean I am easily convinced). Hence, I decided to share it here.
The issue with critical illness is that it usually payout in the final stages of cancer. Hence, if a person is likely to die, he does not really need the money for treatment. Moreover, if he dies, his life policy which the critical illness is attached to will cash out, which his family can use. So what is the point of paying critical illness cover? Then GE came out with an Early Payout scheme which makes more sense to a critical illness cover. The scheme will payout even the cancer is discovered at stage 0. This means that the patient will receive the money and use it to treat the illness from the onset. The drawback is that the additional premium for this scheme is high.

Another friend commented that critical illness may not be terminal. For e.g., coma or Parkinson’s disease. Although each of them has terms and conditions regulating claims, they are likely to be paid out when they are diagnosed and need not wait till the end stage. His point is that critical illness cover is important, especially for such non-terminal cases.


http://www.bigfatpurse.com/2009/03/do-n ... insurance/

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... f=3&t=2620
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Essence of Investing shared by Waterman, Alvin, Mossie (Dennis' sifu) & Dennis.
Waterman wrote:
Investors need to Take FULL Responsibility when they made the investment decision,

i.e. when they called their brokers, or when they clicked the Confirm button on their screen.
candy_chia wrote:Thoughts to ponder on Lessons Learnt as an Investor as shared by Alvin:

=>Don’t believe in stock recommendations.

We have a tendency to listen to others, especially when we are clueless.
~~ When things turn out well, we would want to claim the credit – I decided on the winning stock.
~~~ When things turn out worse, we would blame it on others – the person recommended.

We should take responsibility of our decision as well as doing the necessary RESEARCH to Evaluate the Stock.

The person who told you to buy stocks is NOT going to Pay for your Mistake.



http://www.bigfatpurse.com/2011/04/less ... ar-part-2/
candy_chia wrote:
By Mossie on Friday, June 30, 2000 - 12:08 am:

Folks, let's stop & think about this for a while.

~~ Are we OUR worse enemy?
~~~ What are some trading habits we have that are SELF DESTRUCTIVE?
~~~~ Are we the lazy sort that expects "manna" & rumours to fall from heaven?
~~~~~ Do you expect tips to make you money OR are you the sort that believe in Hard Work, to Find out Facts for yourselves.


==> Do you lay blame on Yourself, the Market & Circumstances? Or do you think you are (attributes of fear & greed) your worse enemy?

As an active investor, I ask myself these questions every week.
I also remind myself,

"BE DISCIPLINED or THE MARKET WILL DISCIPLINE ME".
The Market is forever a disciplinarian, especially against those that are lazy & uninformed.


Folks, please set your own rules or the market will set its rules for you.

http://forum.shareinvestor.com/archive/ ... 399_1.html
candy_chia wrote:Dennis advocated to graduates in the video below:

What’s your homework?

Analyse your OWN STOCK.
Analyse any stock you want to buy using what I teach.

Help Yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzK998SXgx0
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Do I want to succeed? Then I must HELP Others to succeed.

Post by candy_chia »

James Bender, in his book How to Talk Well (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1994), illustrates how it benefits to everyone when we mutually help each other.

He relates a story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his best corn in the regional fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him to learn about how he grew blue-ribbon corn year after year. The reporter discovered something interesting. He learned that the farmer actually shared his best seed corn with his neighbors.
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"How can you afford to share your best seeds with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition against yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

It's a simple and important principle. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves. He cannot succeed simply by watching out for Number One. He succeeds best by helping his neighbors succeed. That's mutualism.

And I am aware that it goes for me, too. Do I want to succeed? Then I must HELP Others to succeed.

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~~ Do I want to live in peace and harmony? Then I need to help my neighbors also live in peace, and the very peace they experience will add to my own.

~~~ Do I want to live meaningfully and well? Then I should help to enrich the lives of others, for my own happiness and well-being is bound up in the lives I touch.

~~~~ In other words, if I want to grow good corn, I need to help my neighbors grow good corn.


Call it mutualism. Call it a principle of success. Call it a law of life. None of us truly wins until WE ALL WIN.

http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/st ... Corn.shtml
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Fans of Warren Buffett, topics that interest you:
(1) Words of Investing Wisdom from Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... ett#p26133

(2) How Warren Buffett is Different from Most Investors
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... =12&t=2742

(3) How Warren Buffett pays less taxes than his secretary
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... ett#p23477

(4) Warren Buffett says his fingers are itchy for Acquisitions..
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... 697&p=6812&
hilit=how+warren+buffett+pay+less+tax#p6812

(5) How Important is Money to Warren Buffett?
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... +tax#p7405

(6) 2010 Berkshire AGM Highlights
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... +tax#p2949

(7) Buffett's Bets—the Good, the Bad and the Unknown
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... +tax#p2947
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(8) Crisis is the Time to Invest, says Warren Buffett in 1974
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... +tax#p1736

(9) Recommended Books on Warren Buffett

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... ett#p13908

(10) Robert Miles shares strategies that work for Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... ett#p12991

((11) Dennis Ng VS Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... ett#p11961

(12) Warren Buffett says Japan Disaster is a Buying Opportunity
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p7645

(13) Where can you learn to invest like Warren Buffett?
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p6246

(14) Warren Buffett: 'Quite Clear Stocks Are Cheaper Than Bonds'
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p4151

(15) Warren Buffett Still Doesn't Expect 'Double-Dip' Recession
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p3914

(16) Warren Buffett defend Credit Rating Agency.
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p3156

(17) Warren Buffett Scandals: Then and Now...
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p3138

(18) Learn the over 100 Investment Rules of Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p2618

(19) Beaten by Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p2523

(20) Warren Buffett's Letters to Shareholders
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p2306

(21) One main thing I learned from Jim Rogers and Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p2124
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(22) Warren Buffett was asked what stocks to buy?
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p1859

(23) Warren Buffett on How to Look at Stocks
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p1845

(24) Warren Buffett: Passion is the Key to Success
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p1567

(25) 4 Secrets of Warren Buffett's Investment Success
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p1541

(26) Amazing Advice on Life from Warren Buffett
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... fett#p1532
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Investing Mentoring session by Ein55 on 12 Nov 2012, Monday

Topic: Standing in the Middle of Bull and Bear
13th Investing Mentoring session.png
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Search under: :

Board index ‹ Discussing Specific Stocks < 13th Monthly Investing Mentoring Session on 12 Nov 2012 (under ANNOUNCEMENTS heading)


For Registration,
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... &start=180
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Sober reminder from valuebuddies forum:

be mindful that there are really NO One in this world waiting to stuff monies into your pockets.
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When something is too stretched, or sound too good to be true, be SENSIBLE and dun get carried away by greeds esp. when longtime illiquid counters suddenly come alive, if you do NOT already have them, it's usually better to give it a miss.

some are superf at mixing facts with half-truths, making anything they said sound perfectly credible. and the counters they shouted, their prices often does move! coz they are "in play" or sometimes being distributed

==> well, its alright to join them at their games, so long as you are aware that you are only gambling, for they control, or at least they know far ahead of you, when the music will STOP playing for these counters... BUT you dun...
and so more likely than NOT - you gonna be the one left holding the babies.



http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... &start=510
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

怎么教孝道?
How to teach Filial Piety?


(1) 以身作则
Set a good example ourselves

小时候冰箱一打开, 我的父母拿水果给谁吃?
拿给父母吃。
拿给爷爷奶奶吃。
Who do we give.png
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When we take out the fruits from the fridge, who do we give to?
Should give the fruits to our Parents First or rather Grandparents of our kids
(instead of giving to our children first, teaching them selfishness)


(2) 亲师配合
Parents-teachers coordination


父母懂得跟老师配合,
孩子行为规范就变特别快。
Parents who know how to coordinate with teachers will see tremendous improvement in the behaviour of their children.

(3) 夫妻配合教孝
Husband and Wife Synergy in teaching filial piety



父亲要跟孩子讲, 你知不知道,
~~ 你母亲怀胎 的 时候, 吐 成什么样子.
~~~ 你母亲在生产 的 时候, 叫成什么样子.
~~~~ 你三岁以前, 抱得那个手臂都要断了
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Father should describe to the children the difficult ordeal that their mother went through
~~ during process of pregnancy (morning sickness
) ,
~~~ at the time of giving birth (screaming due to extreme pain) and
~~~~ raising him up (her hands are in great pain as a result of constantly carrying them before they are 3 years)


母亲要跟孩子讲, 你父亲长期以来,
工作有多辛苦, 佷多亊都点点滴滴为你在规划。
father.png
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Mother should describe to the children how tough their father spends long-term on his work so as to support and plan for the children



蔡礼旭老师讲: 夫妇珍惜恩义 身教孩子孝道
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fdCk03N9eo

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... =15&t=2584
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... =17&t=2583

Board index ‹ All about Personal Development under Topics category - 蔡礼旭老师

Board index ‹ 中文 under Topics category - 蔡礼旭老师
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

The coming 14th Investing Mentoring Session on 10 Dec 2012 will be replaced by the Investing Mastermind Group Presentation!


This is the 'Investing Learning Group' initiative by Dennis, now renamed as 'Investing Mastermind Group' (IMG), which is to help graduates better understand and apply what is being taught in the Stocks seminar.

Investing Mastermind Group Presentation.png
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Search under: :

Board index ‹ Discussing Specific Stocks < 14th Investing Mentoring Session on 10 Dec 2012 (under ANNOUNCEMENTS heading)


For Further details & registration, please click:
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... 297#p26297
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Using GP Hotel to illustrate:

XD for GP Hotel is 15 January 2013.

Record date will be 17 January 2013.
==> meaning that if you Buy the stock on the day Before Ex-Dividend date (ie. 14 January), then by the time your trades settles, you are in the register to be Entitled for the dividend.


http://info.sgx.com/webcorpinfo.nsf/Cor ... endocument
candy_chia wrote:Explanation of :

1) CB (Cum Bonus) - as long as an investor purchases the shares while they are trading on “CB” basis, the shareholder will be ELIGIBLE to receive the Bonus Shares as declared by the company.

2) CD (Cum Dividend) - as long as an investor owns the shares on the last day when it is trading on “CD” basis, the shareholder will be ELIGIBLE to Receive the Special Dividend entitlements as declared by the company.

3) XB (Ex-Bonus) - an investor who purchases the shares will NOT be Eligible to receive the Bonus Shares as declared by the company.

4) XD (Ex-Dividend) - an investor who purchases the shares will NOT be Eligible to receive the Special or Bonus Dividend entitlements as declared by the company.

jamestai wrote:Hi Lewnk,

The CD (CUM Dividend) and CB (CUM BONUS) has not appear in FEO yet. So if you buy the stock anytime from now until the symbol change XD (Exercise Dividend) or XB (Exercise Bonus) you will entitle to the special dividend and bonus shares. You can refer to this link to learn about the stock symbol.

http://blog.shareinvestor.com/bonus-issues/

http://blog.shareinvestor.com/special-d ... dividends/

http://www.moneysense.gov.sg/en/Underst ... creen.ashx

James Tai
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

For those who don't subscribe to shareinvestor, you could extract the latest quarterly/annual reports from sgx website:

Using example of Far East Orchard:

Go to http://www.sgx.com.
Under the heading of Company Disclosure, click Company Announcements ->

Announcement Period: Last 3 months
Company Name: FAR EAST ORCHARD LIMITED
Announcement Category: FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND RELATED ANNOUNCEMENT


Below is the link.
http://www.sgx.com/wps/portal/sgxweb/ho ... ouncements
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Coming Together is a Beginning;

Keeping Together is Progress;


WORKING TOGETHER is SUCCESS.


- Henry Ford
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

投资导师研讨会 (Investing Mentoring session) by Ein55 on 14 January 2013, Monday

Topic: 牛熊之战 (Standing in the Middle of Bull and Bear)



Search under: :

Board index ‹ Discussing Specific Stocks <14th Investing Mentoring Session on 14 Jan 2013 (under ANNOUNCEMENTS heading)


For Registration,
http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... &start=195

Note: This session will be conducted mainly in Mandarin by Investing Mentor Ein55. The presentation slides and Q&A will be bilingual, both in Mandarin and English.
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... &start=195
patap wrote:
I would also like to make a short announcement. As Chinese New Year public holiday falls on the second week of February, we will have a Break in Feb and NOT be having the Investing Mentoring Session. The next Session in Mar will be the presentation by the Investing Mastermind Group 2.
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Books Recommendation by Dennis:
Dennis Ng wrote:
some books are easier read than others. I would suggest "One Up on Wall Street" and "Beating the Street" by Peter Lynch.

Another good book is"Buffettology" by by Mary Buffett and David Clark. (Mary Buffett was Buffett's daughter-in-law, divorced with Peter Buffett (Warren Buffett's son) since 1993).

If you want books with many local examples."Show Me The Money" Book 1 and Book 2 by Business Times Journalist Teh Hooi Ling are good read.

"Building The Perfect Portfolio" by Curtis is also good.

The above books should give you a good "Foundational knowledge" to Fundamental Investing.


After these books, you can proceed to "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham and "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" by Philip Fisher.

http://www.masteryourfinance.com/forum/ ... reet#p1399
candy_chia
Investing Mentor
Posts: 1731
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:36 am

Re: Novices please start from here

Post by candy_chia »

Preference shareholders rank lower than bank deposits, interbank borrowings and other creditors, including holders of subordinated debt, in terms of payment priority.

This means that they will be among the LAST to Get Paid, but ahead of ordinary shareholders, should the company Go Under.

Related reference:

OCBC Bank plans $1b preference share sale

Sources say coupon rate is about 4% and minimum tranche is $250,000
Jul 5, 2012, The Straits Times

OCBC BANK plans to sell $1 billion worth of preference shares to major investors in the next few days to shore up liquidity.

Industry sources say the bank will be offering a coupon rate of about 4 per cent that will be paid twice-yearly.

The payout is non-cumulative, which means that If the bank Does Not Pay Dividends this year, it is NOT Obliged to Make It Up the following year.

The shares will be callable after 5 1/2 years. This placement will be offered only to institutional investors and sophisticated investors, with a minimum tranche of $250,000.

Given current low interest rates, OCBC's promise of a dividend of around 4 per cent may seem attractive to investors, but experts have cautioned that preference shares are riskier investments than fixed deposits or bonds.
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