The Problem With Investments

The problem with investments is that many expect money put in today make money tomorrow or very quickly. Thats not investing, its speculating. It does not help that many people are drawn into advertisements that tell you, you can make millions with just 15 mins everyday. They claim they found the success formula in investing and they are here to share their knowledge bacause they feel good things must share. Their sharing cost $3000 plus. Eeerrr since when did sharing become a commodity?

I knew of somebody that paid that kind of money and when I asked them for their lesson notes, I saw them using charts of companies during 2003 and 2004 period. Any idiot with a dart and a list of stocks during 2003-2004 can make money in equities. Stick the piece of paper on the wall, throw the dart at it. Whichever stock the dart hit you buy, to make it more challenging do it blind folded.

I started to realise that many "investors" is running on greed and these marketers of these programs are capitalising on it. You will notice that these advertisements will be the most rampant when the economy is at a slump and the only way for the economy is up.

And greed caused problems to these "investors" too. Many have bought into technology stocks or funds in year 2000. In 2003 when I was in the bank I met numerous customers that have a negative return on their investments and 99.9% of them has most, if not all, of their portfolio in technology. Why?

Greed has driven the mass buying of technology as tech stocks in 2000 was in favour. Tech funds was doing almost 10% a week! And people were optimistic of the new era of internet. If you think about it, in 2000 if you were a startup company with a laptop and called yourself something.com your shares will be flying off the shelf. But what assets is supporting these share value? You and your laptop....

So whats the difference between investing and speculation. We all know speculation, put money today and try to make a reaping in a very short time. But investing is putting your money in and knowing it will give you a return in a longer time frame because of good fundamentals in a company or fund. Those of you who have watched Forrest Gump will know what I mean. At the ending sequence he said he found some piece of paper his grandfather left behind and it had a picture of an Apple on it. Thats investing but still kinda high risk cos his grandfather may have just put his money in one company. What if it had failed?

There were many more lessons in investments like asset allocation, diversification and time horizon. These I picked up through many discussions with my clients. And some of these lessons are hilarious. I remembered doing road show and when an uncle walked past, i casually asked if he did investments. Yes he said. Wa uncle good! What you invest in? He replied, 4D, toto, big sweep, soccer. Wa uncle not only you invest you also know how to diversify ah? He never became my client but its people like these that makes my job so much more interesting and enriching.

Photo by www.stockmonkey.com

2nd Leg Again

I have just resigned after my manager threatened me by asking me to leave. I start work at another bank in the mobile sales team and taking a pay cut to join this team but I know less salary means more commission.

The new bank was family oriented. They have not gotten their qualified full branch license and therefore had branches in obscure places.

I remembered on my first few days of joining I closed $80,000 worth of investments and it was cheered! While at the older bank it was jeered and probably spat on... stepped on and spat on again.

The team was new and many of the colleagues I had was fresh graduates just joining the workforce. The dynamics was fantastic and work did not feel like work anymore.

I looked forward to going to work again and hate it when it was time to go home. We stayed back in the office to do calls challenging each other with the most number of appointments made.

Roadshows were fun too! Sure or not? Roadshow? Yes! We practically was trying ways and means to get to talk to anyone before each other but it was fun!

You cannot believe how much people are enjoying work while getting paid $1,000 basic. 

I eventually got promoted as sales manager there. The team worked on a needs based approach. We started moving away from closed ended products that gave protection or guarantee on the capital. We started to focus on open ended investment products as it gave much better returns than closed ended ones. 

I started to study how the green and red arrows you see at the corner of any news channel affect my investments. I started to get a finer grasp of how world macro and microeconomics affected investments. I started appreciating economics while in school I use to question why we bothered what happened anywhere else but here. I knew how certain events affected equities and made phenomenal returns from Asian countries.

I became an advocate for investments and mind you I mean investments not speculation.

Second Leg

I have just left the insurance industry and starting out on my 2nd leg of my journey in the financial industry in the banks. And I am about to find out that there is so much more learning in store.

I started my 2 months (2 months!?) training in the bank in 2002 with fire in my belly. I wanted to serve. I wanted to sell! But by the time the 2 months training was done the fire is dead. I was eventually seconded to an obscure branch with no banking support. Just 2 sales person sitting in a branch calling existing clients and serving walk in customers and I was introduced to the whole new world of structured products. 

These products had capital protection or capital guarantee features (which the authorities has banned these names to be used in these products after the Lehman incident). This was served to us and customers on a placemat where we just put on our desk. Anybody who walks in to do anything we just introduce and see if they wanted. 

Everyday my manager branch manager will come and ask me: what appointments I have? How much have I closed? How much will I be closing? You see the other branch or not close 1 million you know?

I go to work every morning full of motivation but eventually get demotivated by my manager that ask me questions about my figures. It became so pressurising that having an interest in my clients is secondary. Sales first.

I forgot my advocacy in financial planning. I remembered one particular incident when a customer walked into the branch. She had fixed deposits and wanted to withdraw part of it. After passing the cheque of the amount she requested for, I asked her what she wanted to do with the rest of the money. She said: put back fixed deposit lor. Kaching! Sales opportunity! Attack! But you do realise the interest rate is very low right? We have this plan give you potentially 3% but you have to lock it in for 5 years. You using the money in the next 5 years? She said no. I explained the feature of the product to her and she said ok. Transaction done! Feeling happy that today got sale.

2 months passed and the same customer came into the branch and said she wanted to withdraw the money. WHAT?! Withdraw money? But mam you said you did not need the money for the next 5 years? Yes I did say but now need. But if you take money out now from the plan, you will lose money. Huh.. like that ah? Wait ah. Customer exit branch. Enter branch with husband. Oh no....

WHY YOU ASK MY WIFE PUT MONEY INTO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!!???? This is my money!! BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!

From the corner of my eyes, I saw my manager slink into a corner and disappeared up the stairs into his office.

WTF?! Sales you want! When sh*t hits the ceiling you don't want any part of it. That day forth there was no more respect. 

The husband gave me a piece of his mind and told me to take the money out of the plan even if its going to be a loss. Sheepishly, I said ok. He then stormed out of the branch after I let the wife signed some forms. 

In the evening after the branch has closed and the transaction done, I decided it was only right that I should give the husband a call just to let him know the transaction has been done. I picked up my phone dialed his number knowing its going to be another trashing he is going to give me. I so wanted to hang up the call at the ring tone when.... hello? the husband answered. *Gulp!*

Sir? I am Tang. I just wanted to let you know I have done the transaction and you should be receiving your money in a few days time. I braced myself for the lashing when he said: Young man..., in the most calming voice. Next time when you want to do something like that please find out where the source of money is from. The money is mine. My wife is a housewife where got this kind of money? Anyway thanks for calling but don't do it again to somebody else. 

I almost cried! My financial planning advocacy suddenly flowed back to me and I knew I cannot stay here any longer. I did not join the financial industry to be an errand boy! I did not join the financial industry so that I can be a cashier to complete transactions for my manager or the bank! I am a consultant! And I refuse to be pressurised into doing things that neither I nor my clients want. 

I started to be more client focused but being client focused the sales process was longer. Sales is not immediate as we have to do a proper fact find, generate solutions that are suitable and fit my clients' needs. I studied and researched more into the world of investments, learnt about the concepts of investments, put money into the structured products that I suppose to advocate (never made money in them) and started to explore investments that did not have any capital protected element. But this was frowned upon as it did not generate figures as fast as the management wanted to see.

Manager set me down one day, Tang, upper management said that if you don't produce they have to ask you to leave. Ok, by the end of this month I got no sales, I resign. That shut him up. 

Next morning my manager walked into the branch, Tang yesterday I talked to management and they say if you got no figure they can ask you leave anytime. Then tomorrow I give you my letter, I replied. Tang don't be so rash, they only saying... 

Words are so cheap! But not for me, my letter was sitting on my manager's desk the next day. He did not know I was already in talks with a friend of mine who was working in another bank that was more family oriented. 

Tang you want to reconsider? No...

The Journey Continues

I started my financial career in an insurance company, I had just done CPF investment with my friend's mom. My boss had told me that CPF monies have just been allowed to invest from the first dollar up and there is a huge potential in getting CPF monies for investments. And after doing the investments with my friend's mom, I started feeling that I should concentrate on doing investments. Its easier and people tend to prefer to talk about investments than insurance.

I myself, on the recommendation of my boss have taken out my own CPF monies and threw it all into Technology. The year is 2001 and Tech was moving down. My boss said, its just a correction. I turned the newspaper and 9 out of 10 analysts said the same thing, its just a correction. They were wrong...

September 11, 2001. I remember this date very clearly. I was sitting down at Fullerton's Gloria Jean's having coffee with my friends when one of them exclaimed. A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center in US. She showed us her SMS. It must have been a flying stunt gone wrong. And soon after another plane. Wa! this stunt very big, I thought. 

I rushed home that night turned on the TV and was glued to it till 7am the next morning. It was unbelievable this act of war in modern times. I thought about my investments and those that have invested with me. How ah? This was also going to be a lesson for me in future. 

I still carried on with my work after and eventually got the 'Most Number of Case' award in my agency. Money was coming in and times spent studying for my final paper for my Degree became less. I was focused on my career instead of my studies. When the results of my examination came, I failed. 

Not surprising... I never studied. I can still remember the times when I got High Distinction for my exams and I was proud to show my parents my transcript though I do not have to. In Primary and Secondary school we needed to show parents our report cards and I dreaded it. I was not a great student. 

The times when I was studying my degree was the time I actually felt proud of my grades. It was the time I was able to shove my transcript in my parents face with a smug look and thinking: I don't have to be scolded by you to score in my exams. 

But damn I just failed my final paper. I had prioritised before and I had told myself education comes first, career second for now. But now I have failed! FAILED! I went home sat down and reprioritised told my boss the next day, I am gonna take 6 months off to study my exams and get my degree. 

I studied full time and 6 months later came back to the industry. By this time, the fire in me has died down. I was like a car that has not been started for 6 months. Batteries weak, engine cold. I went to the office with not much motivation. My boss walked out one day and said, Tang you are going to be a degree holder your opportunity cost sitting in office very high. You better buck up. 

I thought I was becoming a burden to my boss and I quit. I left and eventually joined a bank. And boy was the bank another whole set of crazy experiences. The year 2002.

Looking back, my boss was probably trying to motivate me, guess not everyone is motivated the same way...