Everybody looks at the price movements of their investments. Some have the bad habit of doing so everyday while others only look at it once in a while. There is another part of investment that is unseen which have a far greater impact on the total return. In this article written for INVEST magazine Dec 2009 issue, Wilfred Ling examines the sources of profit in equity investments and why many investors are not benefiting from these. The full article can be downloaded HERE

Many people do not differentiate between value and price. Price is what you pay and value is what you get. For financial services, one must determine the value of an advice otherwise any price you pay (whether in fees or commissions) will be exorbitant. From my experience, most Singaporeans do not understand this and as a result make two serious mistakes: either (1) Paying for worthless advice through gigantic commissions or (2) penalizing professional financial services by not paying for it despite their capability of creating high value. Consistently rewarding worthless financial advice and penalizing valued advice only degenerate the industry further. From empirical observation, majority of Singaporeans have never experience valued advice but only worthless one. I wrote this article - which first appeared in INVEST Oct/Nov 2009 issue – that examines the difference between value and price. You can download this article HERE

A professional financial planner/adviser has 4 qualities namely:

(1) One who possesses specialized knowledge not generally understood by the public;
(2) one who has qualification which acts as a threshold entrance requirement;
(3) one who has a sense of altruism; and
(4) one who subscribes to code of ethics.

What are these qualities and why most financial advisers and planners not able to fulfill these qualities? Read the full article written by Wilfred Ling publish by INVEST magazine HERE.

Upon graduation and finding a job, the first thing a new graduate would like to spent is their first paycheck. However, is this the right way to do? We advocate that the young person starts making a financial plan. For young graduate, financial planning need not be complicated. In fact, it is quite simple. In this issue of INVEST FEB/MARCH 2009 edition, Wilfred Ling tells us how young graduates can make simple but effective financial plan for themselves. The full article can be downloaded HERE.

What has Vacuum Cleaners salesperson and the Financial Adviser has in common? You'll be surprise there are many similarities. First publish in The Online Citizen, Wilfred Ling tell us what the solution should be: 

Absolute Return Investing sounds like some mystical investment strategy that is difficult to comprehend and that the returns should be fabulously better than traditional way of investing.  In this INVEST June/July 2008 issue, Wilfred Ling attempts to explain what Absolute Return Investing really means and what kind of returns an investor can expect from such strategies. The full article can be downloaded HERE.

What is the difference between Unit Trusts and ETFs? What are their advantages and disadvantages? In this April/May 2008 issue of INVEST, Wilfred Ling writes about this subject. The full article can be downloaded HERE

What are the various instruments available for the retiree? How should they make their money work hard for them? How can they get a perpetual income other than traditional annuity? I had been asked to provide the answers frequently but the number of products suitable for the retiree is limited. Through much research, we introduce an innovative investment portfolio for the retired personnel so that perpetual income can be obtained.  This article appeared in Feb/March 2008 issue of INVEST and can be downloaded HERE.

In the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Q Magazine cover story, Wilfred Ling writes on how to have improved returns and at the same time decreasing risk. Illustrations and real examples are shown on how to achieve this using index funds. The full article can be downloaded HERE.