Accident Photos

If you meet with an accident, please take photos of the damages to both vehicles and send them to your insurance company. You should also keep the photos in your e-mail server for future retrival. If you like an additional place to store the photos, you can use the e-mail account indicated in this document. Read the instructions.

Donation to FISCA

An anonymous reader criticised me for asking for the donation of $1,000 (in return for accepting an invitation to listen to a presentation by a land banking company) to be given to the Financial Services Consumer Association (FISCA). He said that I headed FISCA and that it is more proper for the money to be donated to a charity.

FISCA is a volunatary, non-profit association of members, with the goal to educate the pubmic on financial matters, so that they can void being cheated on their investments in bad financial products. It needs funds to operate and pay its expenses.

I hope that the public will donate to FISCA and also be its members.

Go to http://www.fisca.sg/.
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Selective repayment

A land banking compay paid off an investor who gave them a lot of trouble earlier but had agreed to cool off for a month. This amount invested was less than $30,000. Other investors in the same product had been waiting for more than one year, without being repaid. Presumably, they were not so troublesome or had invested a large sum of money.

This company is practicing "divide and conquer". By paying off some investors, who would then tell the other investors, it might motivate the other mitigant investors to be more compliant, in the hope that they would be repaid.

This seemed to me like highway robbery.

A month ago, another investor wrote to me to tell me that she had invested in land banking plots and was quite convinced about the merits of land banking. I knew this investor to be quite sound in financial matters and was quite surprised at her views. I wonder if she was also being paid off in this manner, in return for being an ambassador?

What has become of Singapore, for a company to take large sums of money from the public, to act in this manner, to be protected by a reputable lawyer firm and to practice selective repayment of their obligations?

Tan Kin Lian

Flood at Orchard Road

Someone wrote to me to link the flood at Orchard Road to the Marina Barrage. I do not understand how this could be the cause of the flood. However, it does appear that there were two serious floods in Singapore in recent years, i.e. the flood at Bukit Timah and now at Orchard Road. We used to have good drainage sysem in Singapore, but this seemed to have deteriorated. Can the experts share your views?

Tan Kin Lian

Blogs and ballot box

Question: Voters may complain on many issues but when they are at the ballot box, they will vote for stability and economic progress. Do you agree? (The survey is now closed).

Here is the final report based on 100 replies. The results are almost the same as the earlier report based on 50 replies.

The survey suggests a 37% swing against the PAP but this is from a group that is largely unhappy with the PAP. If this is extrapolated to the general population, the swing could be (just my guess) between 10% to 15%.

Invitation by Land Banking Company

INVITATION TO X GROUP, SINGAPORE


Dear Mr. Tan,
I would like to personally extend a warm invitation to you to visit our office so that I can introduce you an objective insight to X's business model.


With your keen interest to help educate Singaporeans on land investments, I believe this session will provide you with a more in depth understanding of X's expertise in pre-development land investing and what distinguishes and sets us apart as a company from the rest.


REPLY
Thank you for your warm invitation.
I will attend your invitation on the following understanding

1. X will donate $1,000 to the Financial Services Consumer Associatoin
2. The presentation will be for up to two hours.
3. I can bring along three other persons to attend the presentation - they are from the Association and from land banking investors
4. I will keep an open mind to listen to your business model but will be free to form my own independent opinion
5. You will answer our questions transparently.
Let me have your views.

Keep your existing life policy

Hi Mr Tan,
I bought a poilcy in 1998 to cover critcal illness for 100k. I pay $2200 yearly ( $1600 and $600 for the rider) under a Prime Life policy.


I have to pay till the end of time (i.e. death) for this coverage. Recently was shown another policy which I only pay 20 yrs ... for about the same coverage.


It is strange that the investment outlook was better 12 years ago compard to now and interest rate was much higher, and yet the insurance company can introduce a better produuct now..


If I terminate the plan, I will lose 10k.... but if I keep paying I will breakeven estimated at year 25. Should I change to the new policy?

MY REPLY
My advice is: never terminate an existing life policy to buy a new policy. You will be paying the high upfront  cost all over again.You are right that it is not a good idea for the consumer's point of view. It is sad that the insurance agent want to earn commission at the expense of the customer, by asking the customer to switch to a new policy.

I have explained the reason in my book, Practical Guide on Financial Planning. I hope that you have bought it and will read it. Also, you can introduce my book to your family and friends and encourage them to read it. The book can be bought at www.easysearch.sg/ishop