I am a fresh grad who is keen on starting my investing portfolio as soon as I earn my first paycheck. What should I invest in and how much capital should I have before opening an account?

Don't be hasty to jump on the investment train. You're still young, there's so much you have to know. Invest in yourself first. Read up on basic investment strategies. Our public libraries have some excellent materials (seen some ads at train stations that showcased some good books like the intelligent investor). Set aside emergency funds first. Start small and get your feet wet before jumping into the deep. Small bite sized investments you can consider for a start are sti Etf or the abf bond fund offered through posb's invest saver, maybank ke's monthly investment plan (Blue chip, sti etfs and reits). Consider these if you have more of a risk appetite; starts at $100 a month. Robo advisories can be considered as well for $50 a month from Smartly - these allow you to create portfolios based on your risk profile. We were all once like you are now, and it's not easy. Take your time, think a lot, do your due diligence. Then take the first step. All the best!

It is important that you first figure out your finances! Think about how much you would need for your emergency funds, which should be 6-12 months of living expenses that you cannot go without. Put that amount into a high savings account like Jumpstart.

After that is settled, as for beginners, you may look into investing in ETFs as they are lower risk investments as you are investing in the market as a whole, compared to individual stocks, mutual funds and other securities. One recommendation I always give is the S&P500 ETF which has historical returns around 10%.

The amount of capital you have does not need to be a lot as you can buy in smaller divisions. It just needs to be the excess amount you have!