Market is falling, now what?

In this wake of the political drama after the rise of oil prices and now the turbulence of the stock markets. The world markets are crazy, the outlook is dicey, but there are also plenty of ways to profit, if you keep your cool.

So what can I do? Do I sell my funds? Do I buy? I have butterflies in my stomach….

Here's some quick tips:

1. Focus on you're a long term goals and practice dollar cost averaging.

2. Use the buy-and-hold principle, the funds will generate reasonably good returns over the medium to long term.

3. Don't time the market, as we will be exposed to much higher risk.

4. Practice of portfolio allocation or asset allocation will give us potentially higher returns whilst reducing our risk.

For further information, do read this excellent article on how you can keep your cool in a volatile market situation.

http://www.publicmutual.com.my/page.aspx?name=art_remaincalm_pg01

Winning an award

What does winning the Morningstar award mean?

My first question was what's Morningstar? So like the usual inquisitive me...I went on to do my research.

Morningstar Asia, established in April 2000 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. It is a leading independent provider of investment information and analysis for mutual funds and stocks in the US.

Maybe it counts for something, maybe it doesn't, it's in fact a matter of opinion. My simple opinion, quite simply is like buying a new hand phone, car or computer. We do a survey from various sources, the internet and some leading magazines. An of course if the budget permits, we always want that recommended item, the 5 star rated review. So for me in the complex enough world of investments and stock picking, I can be satisfied when there are experts out there who's conducting extensive research, data analysis and top it with a review and ranking of the possibly good potentials. Of course there are no guarantee that past performance is an indicator of future achievements. Well such as life, at least I'm making my choices on some fundamental data that I can be satisfied with in making my investments decisions.

You can read and download a write up on it at my company link.

January 2008 Unit Trust Industry updates

EPF Investment

Effective 1 November 2007, EPF under its ”Beyond Savings” strategic initiative has introduced various enhancements to member’s benefit structure in stages. These enhancements are in accordance to the EPF Act 1991 (Amendment 2007) . One of the enhancements is the introduction of the basic savings concept that will be used to determine the minimum sum a member is allowed to withdraw from Account 1 for Investment Withdrawal.

Effective 1 February 2008, members can invest not more than 20% of their credit in excess of Basic Savings in Account 1 in products through approved external fund managers.

A member needs to have a basic savings amount at the predetermined age levels. Amount in excess of the basic savings can be invested in products offered by external fund managers approved by the Ministry of Finance.

For details please refer to our financial representatives.
You can also find out more details from EPF's website at www.kwsp.gov.my

What is unit trust

Unit trust is an investment vehicle that pools the financial resources of many individual investors who aim to achieve similar investment objectives.

To take a quote from Peter Lynch in his book "One Up On The Wall", "The mutual fund is a wonderful invention for people who have neither the time nor the inclination to test their wits against the stock market, as well as for people with small amounts of money to invest who seek diversification."

However, having said that, it does not mean you take whatever offer that comes your way. It is equally important to work with a trusted adviser and understand the risk and rewards associated to investing in mutual funds.