From the phrasing of your sentence where you emphasis more to investment. I will touch on that point first.
Investment always sound very sexy and its like the "in" thing that many blindly follows. In this current time and age there are so many platforms, so many instrument that you can choose from. Bitcoins, ETFs, Reits, Fx, Unit Trust etc. BUT WHICH TO CHOOSE?
First ask yourself what's you RISK appetite and HOW long are you willing to hold these investments. Being in this line for sometime now, I have seen many customers who are attracted to High returns investment but did'nt know what the investment that they do were actually Ponzi scheme or aliken and got burnt by those.
Expectation is also very important. "I want principle protected, I want high return, I want to make the most in the shortest amount of time". These are those that eventually will be conned by their so call investment "gurus" Friends. There is never such a thing call high returns and principle protected instrument". So set that expectation right. If you find the investment returns too good to be true, then yes its too good to be true.
Now you have set that expectation of your own risk appetite and the tenor you are looking for. Next is to know how much of the investment that you are willing to place are actually excess of your savings. Because there are times where you invest and the market turned and you may lose the entire amount. So thats the ratio that only you can answer.
To start off, you can try OCBC bluechip investment plan (BCIP) where you can contribute on a monthly basis and select some counters that you are familar and have confidence in. ie Banks Shares, Telcom etc. The monthly contribution helps you to do Dollar Cost Averaging which is especially useful at this current time and market condition.
https://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/investmen...
Alternatively you can chose Unit Trust (Mutual Funds) * take those with a steady stream of income/dividends and select the markets that you have some knowledge of or interested in ie. ASIA EX Japan, Multi Assets, ETFS. There are those that have payout dividends of up to 5-6 %. But do note that there are costs involved when you buy into these funds. Find a good advisor that help you choose one that suits you. What I am referring is UNIT TRUST NOT Investment linked Policies (ILP) don't get that part wrong
As for savings wise, the general idea that most have is to find the best saving account in Singapore and part all your money there.
But asked yourself this question " I save 1000 dollars a month and I have already set aside 6 month of the salary as emergency fund. Do i really need to place that full1000 a month in a saving account that can only generate a 1% p.a interest or I can do better by placing say 300 of that 1000 that i saved in other instruments such as endownment and retirement plan that has gives a IRR of about 3 plus % returns =/-?"
Yes it may not be as flexible as saving in the bank account because in the bank you can withdraw as and when you want to. But if saving is your idea to have it withdrawn as and when you want then its not actually saving.
Save for a goal, Save for a purpose and be Discipline about it so as to achieve that specific goal. Saving the money to make the bank account look good does not serve any purpose. Saving the money so that you can enjoy your retirement early, to save a big sum for a tour tour etc. is a meaningful purpose so that what you should establish first.
I know I am long winded but hope its helps you to make an informed and clearer decision to what you should do.
Cheers
From the phrasing of your sentence where you emphasis more to investment. I will touch on that point first.
Investment always sound very sexy and its like the "in" thing that many blindly follows. In this current time and age there are so many platforms, so many instrument that you can choose from. Bitcoins, ETFs, Reits, Fx, Unit Trust etc. BUT WHICH TO CHOOSE?
First ask yourself what's you RISK appetite and HOW long are you willing to hold these investments. Being in this line for sometime now, I have seen many customers who are attracted to High returns investment but did'nt know what the investment that they do were actually Ponzi scheme or aliken and got burnt by those.
Expectation is also very important. "I want principle protected, I want high return, I want to make the most in the shortest amount of time". These are those that eventually will be conned by their so call investment "gurus" Friends. There is never such a thing call high returns and principle protected instrument". So set that expectation right. If you find the investment returns too good to be true, then yes its too good to be true.
Now you have set that expectation of your own risk appetite and the tenor you are looking for. Next is to know how much of the investment that you are willing to place are actually excess of your savings. Because there are times where you invest and the market turned and you may lose the entire amount. So thats the ratio that only you can answer.
To start off, you can try OCBC bluechip investment plan (BCIP) where you can contribute on a monthly basis and select some counters that you are familar and have confidence in. ie Banks Shares, Telcom etc. The monthly contribution helps you to do Dollar Cost Averaging which is especially useful at this current time and market condition.
https://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/investmen...
Alternatively you can chose Unit Trust (Mutual Funds) * take those with a steady stream of income/dividends and select the markets that you have some knowledge of or interested in ie. ASIA EX Japan, Multi Assets, ETFS. There are those that have payout dividends of up to 5-6 %. But do note that there are costs involved when you buy into these funds. Find a good advisor that help you choose one that suits you. What I am referring is UNIT TRUST NOT Investment linked Policies (ILP) don't get that part wrong
As for savings wise, the general idea that most have is to find the best saving account in Singapore and part all your money there.
But asked yourself this question " I save 1000 dollars a month and I have already set aside 6 month of the salary as emergency fund. Do i really need to place that full1000 a month in a saving account that can only generate a 1% p.a interest or I can do better by placing say 300 of that 1000 that i saved in other instruments such as endownment and retirement plan that has gives a IRR of about 3 plus % returns =/-?"
Yes it may not be as flexible as saving in the bank account because in the bank you can withdraw as and when you want to. But if saving is your idea to have it withdrawn as and when you want then its not actually saving.
Save for a goal, Save for a purpose and be Discipline about it so as to achieve that specific goal. Saving the money to make the bank account look good does not serve any purpose. Saving the money so that you can enjoy your retirement early, to save a big sum for a tour tour etc. is a meaningful purpose so that what you should establish first.
I know I am long winded but hope its helps you to make an informed and clearer decision to what you should do.
Cheers