How to accumulate enough money for retirement

Personal Investing - By Ooi Kok Hwa

Wealth for retirement, How to earn 30-year investment returns with different savings amounts and rates

ON Jan 28, we have written an article on We all need to become millionaires. That article explained that we need to have cash reserves of about RM1mil to be able to maintain our current lifestyle 20 years after retirement.
Some readers responded and would like to know more on how to accumulate enough money for their retirement.

In this article, we will look into 30-year investment returns with different savings amounts and rate of returns. Our computation is based on the assumption that we start investing at the age of 25 and intend to retire at 55.

•Based on how much rate of returns you can achieve
The table shows that if we save RM100 per month and invest the money into fixed deposits (FD), assuming the FD can provide about 3% return over the next 30 years, our investment portfolio will reach RM58,274 when we reach 55.However, if we can generate 5%, 7% and 10% returns, our investment portfolio will achieve RM83,226, RM121,997 and RM226,049 respectively.

The EPF may be able to provide us about 5% whereas unit trust investments may be able to give us 7% to 10% returns over a very long-term period.Assuming that we treat the 3% FD return as our risk-free rate, any extra returns above this rate will be the risk premium for the additional risk that we are prepared to face.

Therefore, we need to understand our risk tolerance level before considering any type of risky investment.We should ask ourselves whether we are willing to accept the uncertainty of return that is inherent in those investments.Besides, we need to understand whether we can afford to have our savings tied up for a long period before we can achieve our investment targets.

•Based on how much you save and not how much you earn
We agree that when you earn more money, you should have more money for your investments. Unfortunately, some investors are unable to save even though they earn high salaries.


From the table, we can see that if we are able to save RM500 per month in FD, assuming a 3% return per annum, our investment portfolio will reach RM291,368 when we retire at age 55, five times higher than the savings of RM100 per month.Hence, if we can cut down on our expenses and live below our means, we should have more money to save.

We should always ask ourselves whether we want to spend money on unnecessary luxury items to keep up with the Jones or be more frugal and spend less to achieve financial freedom earlier.

The question on how to generate high returns is frequently asked by readers. Unfortunately, there is no straight-forward answer to this.We can equip ourselves with strong financial and investing knowledge which helps us in making better investment decision that will eventually translate into better returns.

To do so, we need to be interested in the economic and business activities around us.For those who are beginning to learn about investing, you can go to any bookstore to look for investment books that you can comprehend to build up the foundation.

Remember that there is no point in buying books written by top investment gurus in the world if you cannot understand what it is trying to tell.Once you have built up your knowledge, you should be able to digest the financial information and do your own research in investment.

Is China Still Attractive After The Olympics?

The Beijing Olympics was a spectacular show. The opening ceremony impressed billions of viewers around the world. When it comes to China’s stock markets, however, the situation has been far from spectacular. They have been faring poorly, a few months, prior to the Olympics.

Economic growth measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) moderated to 10.1% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2008. This implies an economic slowdown (as compared with the GDP growth of 11.9% for the whole year 2007, and 10.6% for the first quarter of 2008).

Olympics: Boom and Bust?

Some investors observed there have been boom and bust cycles in Seoul, Sydney and Athens, before and after they organised the Olympic Games in 1988, 2000 and 2004 respectively. However, we do not expect to see such a cycle happening in Beijing. All the previous host cities contributed a large proportion to their nation’s economies. Beijing, on the other hand, contributes only around 4% to China’s GDP last year.

Beijing spent US$ 40.75 billion on urban infrastructure and US$ 1.89 billion on sport facilities, and those numbers add up to less than 1.1% of China’s fixed asset investments between 2005 and 2008 (source: People’s Daily). In terms of the equity market’s performance, although both the domestic A-shares and the Hong Kong-listed H-shares markets experienced a boom from 2006 to late 2007, they have not performed well this year, even during the Olympics. Hence, it is unlikely that there would be a post-Olympics bust.

China ’s economy has slowed down amidst the global economic gloom, but its GDP growth for 2008 may still be above the 8% target set by the Chinese government earlier this year. Inflation, on the other hand, which was at 8.7% year-on-year in February 2008, has been declining since May, to only 6.3% year-on-year in July 2008.

Conclusion

Despite weaker export growth, China’s economy may still grow by 8% or more in 2008. Domestic demand, based on retail sales, remains strong at over 20% year-on-year from March to July amidst the slump for A-shares. Infrastructure investment spurred by reconstruction needs after the natural disasters, will support economic growth, at least for the next two years. Inflation has lessen. Although market sentiment is negative in the short term, opportunities arise for mutual fund investors with medium- to long-term investment horizons.

China or Greater China equities seem attractive at their current valuation levels. However, they should be prepared for short-term volatility. China equity funds are single-market funds which may exhibit greater volatility than regional funds in the short term – we suggest investors place China or Greater China equity funds in the supplementary portion of their portfolio, which usually takes up no more than 20% of an overall portfolio. Nevertheless, the economic fundamentals, especially the Chinese market’s valuations, do indicate a good medium-term outlook.

source : ifast

Recession: What Does It Mean To Investors?

When the economy heads into a tailspin, you may hear news reports of dropping housing starts, increased jobless claims and shrinking economic output. How does this affect us as investors? What do house building and shrinking output have to do with your portfolio? As you'll discover, these indicators are part of a larger picture, which determines the strength of the economy and whether we are in a period of recession or expansion.

The Phases of the Business Cycle
In order to determine the current state of the economy, we first need to take a good look at the business cycle as a whole. Generally, the business cycle is made up of four different periods of activity extended over several years. These phases can differ substantially in duration, but are all closely intertwined in the overall economy.


Peak - This is not the beginning of the business cycle, but this is where we'll start. At its peak, the economy is running at full steam. Employment is at or near maximum levels, gross domestic product (GDP) output is at its upper limit (implying that there is very little waste occurring) and income levels are increasing. In this period, prices tend to increase due to inflation; however, most businesses and investors are having an enjoyable and prosperous time.

Recession - The old adage "what goes up must come down" applies perfectly here. After experiencing a great deal of growth and success, income and employment begin to decline. As our wages and the prices of goods in the economy are inflexible to change, they will most likely remain near the same level as in the peak period unless the recession is prolonged. The result of these factors is negative growth in the economy.

Trough - Also sometimes referred to as a depression, depending upon the duration of the trough, this is the section of the business cycle when output and employment bottom out and remain in waiting for the next phase of the cycle to begin.

Expansion/Recovery - In a recovery, the economy is growing once again and moving away from the bottoms experienced at the trough. Employment, production and income all undergo a period of growth and the overall economic climate is good.

Notice in the above diagram that the peak and trough are merely flat points on the business cycle at which there is no movement. They represent the maximum and minimum levels of economic strength. Recession and recovery are the areas of the business cycle that are more important to investors because they tell us the direction of the economy.

To further complicate matters, not all business cycles go through these four steps sequentially. For instance, during a double dip recession, the economy goes through a recession followed by a short recovery and another recession without ever peaking.

Recession Versus Expansion
Recession is loosely defined as two consecutive quarters of decline in GDP output. This definition can lead to situations where there are frequent switches between a recession and expansion and, as such, many different variations of this principle have been used in the hope of creating a universal method for calculation.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an organization that is seen as having the final word in determining whether the United States is in recession. It has a more extensive definition of recession, which deems the following four main factors as the most important for determining the state of the economy:

1. Employment
2. Personal income
3. Sales volume in manufacturing and retail sectors
4. Industrial production

By looking at these four indicators, economists at the NBER hope to gauge the overall health of the market and decide whether the economy is in recession or expansion.

The tricky part about trying to determine the state of the economy is that most indicators are either lagging or coincidental rather than leading. When an indicator is "lagging" it means that the indicator changes only after the fact. That is, a lagging indicator can confirm that an economy is in recession, but it doesn't help much in predicting what will happen in the future. (Learn more about this in Economic Indicators To Know.)

What Does this Mean for Investors?
Understanding the business cycle doesn't matter much unless it improves portfolio returns. What's an investor to do during recession? Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. It really depends on your situation and what type of investor you are. (For some ideas, see Recession-Proof Your Portfolio.)

First, remember that a bear market does not mean there are no ways to make money. Some investors take advantage of falling markets by short selling stocks. Essentially, an investor who sells short profits when a stock declines in value. Problem is, this technique has many unique pitfalls and should be used only by more experienced investors. (If you want to learn more, see the tutorial Short Selling.)

Another breed of investor uses recession much like a sale at the local department store. Referred to as value investing, this technique involves looking at a fallen stock not as a failure, but as a bargain waiting to be scooped up. Knowing that better times will eventually return in the economy, value investors use bear markets as buying sprees, picking up high-quality companies that are selling for cheap.

There is yet another type of investor who barely flinches during recession. A follower of the long-term, buy-and-hold strategy knows that short-term problems will barely be a blip on the chart when taking a 20-30 year horizon. This investor merely continues dollar-cost averaging in a bad market the same way as he or she would in a good one.

Of course, many of us don't have the luxury of a 20-year horizon. At the same time, many investors don't have the stomach for riskier techniques like short selling or the time to analyze stocks like a value investor does. The key is to understand your situation and then pick a style that works for you. For example, if you are close to retirement, the long-term approach definitely is not for you. Instead of being at the mercy of the stock market, diversify into other assets such as bonds, the money market, real estate, etc.

Conclusion
The financial media often takes on a "sky is falling" mentality when it comes to recession. But the bottom line is that recession is a normal part of the business cycle. We can't say what the best course is for you - that's a personal decision. However, understanding both the business cycle and your individual investment style is key to surviving a recession.

Source: http://www.investopedia.com

Market Statistic

Stay calm during market turbulence

In the wake of the turbulence of stock markets in recent months, unit trust investors may be tempted to either sell or buy. However, investors are advised to remain calm and practice dollar cost averaging with their long-term goals in view.

When regional and global markets succumbed to panic selling in August 2007 and more recently in June 2008, the severity and sharpness of the correction was large enough to make unit trust investors ask themselves whether they should redeem now to stem further losses or buy more units at currently low prices. In fact, if they practise dollar cost averaging, they need not concern themselves with these timing issues. Dollar cost averaging enables investors to automatically buy more units when prices fall and fewer units when prices rise.

It is especially during times of market volatility that individual investors should remain focused on their long-term investment goals and keep their emotions from influencing their investment decisions. A disciplined and methodical approach to investing is the key to long-term investment success.

Unit trust investors are advised to buy and hold their investments for the medium to long term. The buy-and-hold principle is based on the notion that a good investment will generate reasonably attractive returns over the medium to long term. This also means that investors are able to distinguish between daily movements in the market and the underlying long-term value of their investments. Professional fund managers buy and hold for the medium to long term as they are prepared to wait patiently over several years for their investments to reach their intrinsic or fair values. For the unit trust investor, the 'buy-and-hold' strategy can also be applied by holding on to a well-selected unit trust fund over a period of at least three years.

There are some investors who believe they can achieve superior returns by timing the purchase and redemption of equity funds to profit from the stockmarket' s short-term movements. These investors are tempted to engage in timing the market especially in an environment where equity markets are volatile. Such investors who wish to make quick gains in the stock market by switching from one fund into another fund will often be disappointed. Market timing strategies that are often recommended by 'investment experts' have seldom been successful. This is because stock markets are inherently volatile and are impossible to predict with numerous factors, both domestic and foreign, affecting daily and weekly fluctuations in stock prices.

Investors who wish to take a more active approach with their investments by timing the market will expose themselves to many risks. In order to profit from the market's short-term trends, the investor has to correctly predict the market's trend and its turning points.

Public Mutual Funds

Public Aggressive Growth Fund (PAGF)
Public Asia Itikal Fund (PAIF)
Public Balanced Fund (PBF)
Public Bond Fund (PBOND)
Public China Ittikal Fund (PCIF)
Public China Select Fund (PCSF)
Public China Titans Fund (PCTF)
Public Dividend Select Fund (PDSF)
Public Enhanced Bond Fund (PEBF)
Public Equity Fund (PEF)
Public Far East Balanced Fund (PFEBF)
Public Far-East Consumer Themes Fund (PFECTF)
Public Far-East Dividend Fund (PFEDF)
Public Far-East Property & Resorts Fund (PFEPRF)
Public Far-East Select Fund (PFES)
Public Focus Select Fund (PFSF)
Public Global Balanced Fund (PGBF)
Public Global Select Fund (PGSF)
Public Growth Fund (PGF)
Public Index Fund (PIX)
Public Industry Fund (PIF)
Public Institutional Bond Fund (PINBOND)
Public Islamic Asia Balanced Fund (PIABF)
Public Islamic Asia Dividend Fund (PIADF)
Public Islamic Balanced Fund (PIBF)
Public Islamic Bond Fund (PIBOND)
Public Islamic Dividend Fund (PIDF)
Public Islamic Enhanced Bond Fund (PIEBF)
Public Islamic Equity Fund (PIEF)
Public Islamic Money Market Fund (PIMMF)
Public Islamic Opportunities Fund (PIOF)
Public Islamic Optimal Growth Fund (PIOGF)
Public Islamic Sector Select Fund (PISSF)
Public Islamic Select Bond Fund (PISBF)
Public Islamic Select Treasures Fund (PISTF)
Public Ittikal Fund (PITTIKAL)
Public Money Market Fund (PMMF)
Public Regional Sector Fund (PRSEC)
Public Regular Savings Fund (PRSF)
Public Savings Fund (PSF)
Public Sector Select Fund (PSSF)
Public Select Bond Fund (PSBF)
Public Smallcap Fund (PSMALLCAP)
Public South-East Asia Select Fund (PSEASF)

muka hadapan Utusan Malaysia - 21/05/08

Public Mutual emerged as the biggest winner for the 5th consecutive year at The Edge-Lipper Malaysia Fund Awards 2008

KUALA LUMPUR 26 Feb. - Anak syarikat milik penuh Public Bank, Public Mutual muncul sebagai pemenang Anugerah Dana Malaysia The Edge Lipper 2008 dengan memenangi lapan daripada 20 anugerah, termasuk anugerah berprestij Kumpulan Ekuiti terbaik bagi kategori tiga tahun.

Ia merupakan kemenangan bagi tahun kelima berturut-turut.

Pengerusi Public Mutual, Tan Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow berkata, kejayaan itu disebabkan oleh keberkesanan strategi pelaburannya.

Anugerah-anugerah tersebut disampaikan oleh Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Sekurit Datuk Zarinah Anwar kepada Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Public Mutual, Yeoh Kim Hong dan ahli pasukan pelaburannya pada majlis penyampaian anugerah itu, yang diadakan di sini hari ini.

Antara anugerah dimenangi Public Mutual ialah Anugerah Kumpulan Ekuiti Terbaik (3 tahun), PB Dana Fixed Income pula memenangi Anugerah Bon Ringgit Malaysia (5 Tahun), manakala PB Dana Growth menerima Anugerah Dana Ekuiti Malaysia Terbaik (5 Tahun) dan Public Dana Ittikal memenangi Anugerah Dana Ekuiti Malaysia Terbaik (5 dan 10 tahun).

Public Mutual sells RM1b units of fund

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual Bhd has sold about RM1bil worth of units in Public China Ittikal Fund (PCIF) during the offer period which ended Dec 10.

Chief executive officer Yeoh Kim Hong said the company had increased the fund size to five billion units to cater to the overwhelming demand for PCIF.

“The fund received good response as this is the first China Islamic fund in the country that offers investors the opportunity to ride on the solid growth prospects of the greater China region,” Yeoh said in a statement.

Yeoh said PCIF would invest a minimum of 70% of its net asset value (NAV) in the greater China region namely in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan stocks.

In an earlier statement, Public Mutual said it had increased the size of Public South-East Asia Select Fund (PSEASF) to five billion units from 1.5 billion units due to strong demand from investors.

PSEASF is an equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium to long term by investing in a portfolio of investments in Asean markets. – Bernama

Who want to be a millionaire

Dalam suasana aidilfitri nie saya berjumpa ramai kawan2 lama untuk saling bermaafan dan menziarahi.. mereka banyak berceritakan soal kerja, kereta, kawin lagi dan gosip2panas.. tapi apa yang menarik perhatian saya adalah cerita ataupun impian mereka tentang rumah besar, kereta besar, duit besar tapi bini jer yang nak solid..

oleh itu saya hanya bertanyakan kepada mereka 2 soalan iaitu:

1 - mahukah anda mempunyai sekurang-kurangnya RM1,000,000 (sejuta) dalam akaun anda pada suatu hari nanti dengan hanya menyimpan sebulan RM100??

2 - adakah anda ingin tahu bagaimana??

sekiranya kedua-dua jawapan untuk soalan diatas adalah YA, anda bersedia menjadi jutawan.. untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut boleh email/ym saya..

Selamat Hari Raya

Salam Raya dari Tuah Arbaein