What's a good investment strategy for an expat living in SG with a moderate risk appetite, S$20,000 in liquid funds, and a ~3-year horizon?

Hey Anon,

If your horizon is only around 3 years there isn't much risk you can take without a chance of loss on this money.

I'll stick with about 60% in short term treasuries/govt bonds, 20% in Investment Grade Corp Bonds, 10% in Cash Deposits, and 10% Gold & Silver.

Just trying to beat inflation by 1% annually would be the max amount of risk/return I'll try to look at. I'll be quite happy with 2.5-3% p.a return on this money with very little volatility.

Hi Anon,

3 years is a pretty short time horizon for investing. If you invest in equities, there's a good chance that you will suffer losses if the market happens to be declining when you wish to withdraw your funds. To be on the safe side, perhaps you should consider investing in money market funds (ie SA Simple, Syfe Cash+) or cash equivalents (ie FDs).

If you're willing to take up more risk, maybe you can consider investing in stable REITs/business trusts. While you will still be exposed to market volatility, they should generally be less volatile than stocks/ETFs. Some you may want to consider are Ascendas, ParkwayLife, Netlink. As always, do your due diligence and make sure you're aware of the risks you'll be taking on if you make this decision.

Hope this helps & all the best!

Regards,

thefrugalstudent