Saturday, April 30, 2005

Happy birthday Mattew

I was so touched that Mattew, remembered me and invite me to his 21th birthday party. To think i don't even save his hp number. Sorry.

I was quite on close term with the drivers. Yes alot are uneducated or lowly educated. However, i find them to be endearing too. They have that kind of humility, the determination never to say die that i think will do them good.

People might say, one should make friends with those who are on par with you or higher. Then you will soar also. True, i believe in that. In terms of value, those friends certainly has much more value. You can learn more from them. And making more of these friends are beneficial.

However, if you are always too occupied with those friends, you will feel sooner or later, you will detact youself with other level of the society and think full of yourself as a high and mighty king.

So while you make friends of high value, making friends of those lower, perhaps in education, will tie you to your roots that one can fail just as easy as one can succeed.

Thats why you see those entreprenuer, they may not have a title, professor, next to their name, but they can still make their mark. Similarly, i believe those uneducated people or lowly educated, as long as you still have that one mouthful of breath, you will also make it.

I am happy for another friend, stephen. I mentioned about him earlier. NUS has grant himself an interview for industrial design. This is a highly sought after course. If stephen has been granted an interview, it means half of the battle is won. And mind you, he is not even a design student as the course name suggest. He is just a poly grad who make good. If a normal engineering student can be granted an interview, it shows that nothing is impossible. You may be good in something, but often, this world always surprises you for in this world, it is the world, the people other than you that dictate you and not vice versa.

Ordinary people can also succeed.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Type of people

Barely 6 mth into my job, i have come into contact with alot of people. Different clients different days. Like our thumbprints, not a single person is alike in terms of thinking, acting and doing things. But i have come to the conclusion that if a person want to avoid you, he can gives all sorts of arguement and excuses which will force a dog to jump over the wall and the pigs will fly. No forgetting, sun will rise from the west.

However i do much love this challenges. Every job has its challenge. When i was a mechanics, my challenge was how to troubleshoot the vehicles, the machines to make it work. Ocassionally still have to beat the time in order to get things done. But dealing with people is yet another story. When you thought you have troubleshoot his worries and queries, he will come up with more questions to worry you! Sometimes these questions are asked to satisfy their inner curosity. But most of the time, the questions are asked in oder to make you stumble and lost your tongue which will they then, say "i am sorry you are not competent". But then, how to answer a questions which you yourself can't even answer?

Sometimes in the line, i wonder, do i really have to con or confuse in order to get the deal? I am not a story teller. Whatever i present is based on 3rd parties facts. Newspapers clippings, report from major independent financial firms, whatever whatever. I have display them as my arsenal. They do pack a potent punch but people still, denied them. Look like Straits Times is not all that convincing in its news reporting! Ha!

Back to the people. Like i say, alot of people i met. I am going to list them below and you all can have a good read.

Overly polite type
Once, at pasir ris while doing a road show, i met this overly polite guy.
"Hi sir"
"thank you thank you"
"would u like.."
"thank you than you"
?? " but i haven't do anything to help you"
"thank you thank you"
"but.."
"thank you thank you"
and he just walked faster and faster with each thank you thank you.

Lie in front of you type
I saw this macik and i approach her.
"sorry lah, busyyy"
And after saying busyyy, she walk slowly to the atm machine, withdraw her cash, and walk past me, very slowly.

Sue you type
I approach this man smoking near a dustbin. He don't look like that kind who could afford the lawyer's fee based on his dressing.
"Hi sir could i do a survey with you"
" go away"
Since you are rude, then lets play
"why sir, i haven't done anything"
"look i am not interested"
"of course you aren't, because i haven't show you anything"
"if you bother me, i am going to sue you"
hm..i should hand my friend name card to him to let him engage him to sue me.

Conspiracy type
Once i was talking to this bus driver at bedok. It was him that i verbal diarrhoea and get a somehow sarcastic talk by my friend boss. Apparently, he is my friend's client. We are talking about unit trust and i was telling him nothing is bound to go up. It will go down. And he actually know why it go down!

"You know why go down?!!"
" i know"
"why?"
" because hor, those stockholders hor, they eat the company money ah!"

i peng.

Merry go round type
This type is what you damn pissed with especially you know your plans are in fact, much superior. When you say A, he will say B. But his B will contridict his A. So you mention about the contridiction in B. He will say back A!

"see, prudential plan is much better"
"but then a difference of 10k is no difference, you know. I can easily earn back" ( This is A)

Here, he sound rather generous with his money. But wait,

"so your worries is about the premium? but then $20 dollar difference is no higher" ( my premium is higher than $20)

"No. $20 is alot of difference" (This is B. He contridict his A)

"but what you put in is what you get. And if 10k is no difference, then what does $20 make any difference. You put in how much, you will get how much" (I show his contridiction)

"10 k is really no difference" ( he go back to A. So here, we have a merry go round)

Alot of other cases also but i am too lazy to type. Ha ha. But i think doing sales, you really need to know the psychological mindset of people. I think this job will prepare me for other jobs in the outside world, for everyday, i am receiving the baptism of fire.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Investment Linked and the financial advisory Industry

Recently there have been some controversies and debates surrounded investment linked products and insurance as a whole. Propositions and oppositions have been fighting like no one else business and mainly the propositions are people who are in the financial advisory industry while as usual, the oppositions are the people who need financial planning and often, the vanguards of this battle are they one whose financial planning go haywire due to the incompetency of their financial advisors.

What is Investment linked policy? Simply put, it is a financial plan where one could have both insurance coverage and also investment at the same time. Invest what? Invest in unit trusts. Here is where lies the problem as the allocation of the investment funds, or premium become murky as investors and perhaps even the advisor do not know how much is being allocated to which and hence it spark off a wide range of issues regarding the financial advisory industry.

For an ILP, usually the first few years, returns can't be seen. As with most investments, you will need a have a period in order to get your capital beef up and earn returns or incur loses. However it doesn't boil down too well with the average Singaporean who do not have the slightest hint of what investment should be. TV program showing fast bucks do not help the situation either.

I have met with several clients who ask me whether can they put in less but generate alot, in a short span of time. They saw investment as the Singapore Mint which can produce notes at an astronomical speed.

But who can blame them as Schools, parents do not teach them the way to safeguard and let their money grow?

ILP work in a way that once premium is received, they are allocated immediately. It mean, they will be converted to units( and hence the name unit trust). The cost and the insurance coverage will be also converted to units after which the premium unit will deduct the cost unit and the remaining unit will be put to work.

The quotation of each plan shows 5 and 9% returns generated. However this is not guranteed. There is no short cut or magic involved. Even if you deposit in a bank, there is no guranteed that the interest rate will stays at the prevailing rate and not rise nor fall.

Some may argue that the fault lies with advisors who failed to mention or show the clients how do this work, how do the cost is being deducted, so on and so forth.

To this question, there are two side of the story. True some advisors are incompetent. They do not bother to keep abreast with the current affairs, especially with the financial news. They do not highlight the cost or do not even know how to calculate it even after being taught how to, to the clients. Worse, they spun fairylike tales to clients like telling them those 5 and 9% returns are guranteed. Yes, we should weed out these advisors.

However being said, i also discovered that it is just a vicious cycle. I tried once to explain to a bus driver, my friend's client actually, on what is a unit trust, how do it work, how is the cost calculated, only to have the bus driver confused and the deal just fall off. Me? I became a thousand year guilty guy who get a bit of sarcasm from my friend's boss.

You see, explaining to a group of people who don't even have the slightest idea of what is financial planning can be a big hurdle. For a start, they are already risk adverse psychologically. They treat all investments are losing money vehicle, especially in higher risk instruments such as stocks. So even before you start to spread your gospel of how the things work, they already have this mindset that it won't work for them and money is sure to be lost.

It is this mindset which prevent them from getting comfortable financially. It is also this group which the government are most worried about, seeing that they won't be retiring comfortably in their old age. And this is the group which the insurers and companies are trying to reach out to. And so, a vicious cycle just keep on repeating.

The delimma surfaced. If i become too technical, the client may be confused and everything just flopped. Yet this is my career, the source of my bread and butter. So should i just make things simple, just illustrate the benefits and forgo the cost and potential lost aspect? I badly need this deal you know. Go figure ladies and gentlemen.

Ever since CPF rates are fixed at 2.5%, government has been hinting and hinting that one need to plan for himself. We are not a welfare state, we can't expect the government to give handouts. And since that the government has been talking about personal financial planning, i speculated that the cut on CPF contribution are going to get more and more and the interest rate may be adjust to even lower than 2.5%( 2.5% is a requirement stated in some sort of law that it is the lowest and couldn't go anymore low in order to protect the people. But law can be change don't they?)

The situation could get worse.

Another aspect of things which i think can be improved is the image of financial advisors. You see them at the bus stop stopping you with surveys form. You treat them as if they are begging you. But if they don't do that, will you be the one to look for them instead? Absolutely not! Assuming that you know financial planning is vital. Yet Singaporean favourite excuse is " not enough time" Yes! You do not even have time to visit the toilet, so what make you have time to visit the financial planning companies?

So instead of you come forward, we come to you.

But having said, why do people are so afraid to visit the planners?

To me, i came up with a conclusion. Uneducated.

Schools never teach us. Worse, everybody say keep cash in your pocket or in your bank is the most sensible way.

You could see the obsession of Singaporean with cash. When ERS is announced, people queue up, to cash out their ERS.

$500 only, yet people are in a hurry to cash them out. If you cash them out and spend, i think its stupid. If you cash them out and deposit in bank, thats even more stupid.

You forgo the potential interest rate of 3 to 5% but rather earn a pittance of 0.125 to 0.25% in the bank. Isn't that stupid?

Last year, the ecoomy soar to 8.4%. As ERS interest is pegged to our GDP plus if i am not wrong, 3% more. So last year, the interest rate of ERS is 11.4%. 11.4% is about $50++. But if you put your ERS inside the bank, u earn only 0.25% which is i think, a few cents?

I think, in order to make people plan for their finances early. We should start educating them. Merely publish books like money sense and all that are no use, no one will listen. Start off in schools with the kids, after which they go home, they can teach their parents and so on.

After 5 to 10 years of successful education where everybody will know cash isn't king.

They won't be so scared when advisors approach them. And 15 years later, advisors need not to go into the streets and hawk their wares. Instead, people will come and look for them.

That should be the real and truthful image of financial advisors.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Know your strength and look ahead

People are the most negatively charged creatures in this world. In my 2 decades of live, i think positively charged people are only a handful. People that can make themselves shine in this world and inspiring other people are so few in the world, they are gems.

I don't understand why actually. People usually feel bad about others, the world, their parents, their friends, siblings and of course themselves. I feel that feeling bad about oneself is really unfortunate. In a world where people snub one another, look down on one another, the last thing is you look down on yourself.

I think in order to succeed in life, one should take note of his own strength, and push forward. Like if you are strong in math, go and do math. If you are strong in arts, pursue it. Perhaps why lots of people feel bad about themselves is they are going on a path which they themselves has no clue, no strength in it. It is just not their forte.

But once said, once you took on the path where you are more well equipped. There are pitfalls, potholes too.

The pitfalls is, one tend to bask in their old glory and never move forward. The earth is continuing turning, everybody grow old day by day. Time and tide wait for no man but you can always see people, still living in their own world, the golden era, the world where they excel and things like that.

I believe to be successful in the future, you must look at the past but not live in the past. Thats my mantra.

Integrated Resort

Applauds Applauds! The cat has been let out of the bag, we are going to build, not one, not one and a half but two integrated resorts. Personally i welcome the move to make Singapore into a Vice city where boozes, sex, gambling rules.

The geylang situation has gone out of hand, so much so that cameras need to be installed at every nook of the streets. But the hookers just fled to the opposite side and continue to do their soliciting, or prospecting. HIV on the rise so much so the government is thinking of testing the pregnant ladies whether they have HIV and of course test the babies as well. And if the babies have, i think they will be aborted and made into "kun-man-tong" ( kun man tong is a thai word for...baby spirit?)

And bars, watering holes open all around singapore. Joo Chiat, a nice peranakan neighbourhood was the copycat of m.sultan road. Teens sex rises, party drugs rules while all are still goody good shoes in their parents eyes.

And now, beside 4D, Score, Toto, Sweepstakes, lottery, underground bookies, cruise boat, batam, we have casino. Indulge in vices Singaporean, do not call NKF anymore but let your money roll!!

Ok serious now. Integrated resorts is build to, like Lim Boon Heng said, 35 000 jobs is at stake and we couldn't say no. However there is a lack of people working in the entertainment and gambling industry. So the question is, are these 35 000 jobs going to be filled by foreigners, again?! I got this feeling that when it is built, Johorean or genting highland people will come here in the doves and filled up all the space available. So i think the best thing is, send a core group of people to be attatched to las vegas or macau or even genting to learn the art of card distributing.

Next, the resorts. Definitely a shopping mall is to be build. But what kind of shops are going to be filled inside? Would it be giordano, bossini, hang ten, bata, bread talk, taka jewellery, SK jewellery, food junction, etc? Or would it be something different, something which the name i never heard of.

I think basically, why Singapore can't attract tourists is because of the usual shops found in Singapore. Go around orchard road and count how many Giordano it has. Aplently. Count how many coffee bean, starbucks it has, alot. So where ever the tourists walk, he is greeted by the same shops over and over again. Its definitely boring.

With plans to make Orchard road a shopping hub, please for whoever sake, don't let those same old shops took up almost 3/4 spaces again!

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Can Men and Women Be Friends?

Came across this: "

Once in a while, I run across a blog entry that reignites the perennial When Harry Met Sally debate on whether a guy and a girl can ever be just friends.

To settle it, here's the rule, as I see it:

If there's attraction with hope = can't be friends.

If there's attraction with no hope = can be friends

If there's attraction and a respect for boundaries = can be friends, so long as boundaries exist.

If there's no attraction = can be friends.

PS. Guys always hope. "

I agree with it...

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Want to say, just say it

I really don't understand. When you read those blog and the writer want to express his frustration but can't find any words to use, due to his limited vocabulary, he will often type the F word. But then, he won't type it as it is. Word like fcuk, fish, frup,etc would come out.

I mean, want to type, just type it lah. Whats the big deal? It just like you want to do it, yet scared. Since you have the intention, then just do it. Still pretend to be gracious, civilised for what?! When you type the letter F plus 4 other letters which when pronounced sound like the real mc coy, then type the real thing lah!

Don't act civilised when you aren't one.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Cuiwen

This name..i believe is the hottest in NUS now. Why? Because she is sort of embarassed by a guy who professed his love for her during one of the maths lectures. And how do i know, because my NUS peeps told me.

Well, i think, if you are reading this cuiwen. Don't feel sad anymore. See, at least you know that there is always people who care about you. Thats important ain't not? Also, you are sort of lucky because there are millions of singles out there like me, who don't even know whether got people like us or not. So don't feel sad anymore ya? And perhaps if you are not talking to him, give him another chance. He use use a wrong method to woo a girl. I don't think he deliberately trying to humiliate you or whatever

Friday, April 01, 2005

Terri schiavo

Exactly 2 weeks as predicted, terri schiavo is with her creator now. If like a true Desperate housewives fashion , what would she say while looking down at mother Earth? This 2 week has been gut wrenching for both Michael Schiavo, terri's family and terri alone. Humans in a persistant vegetarian state may lose their senses but their innate sense of going to die i believe, is not dead. They too can feel that they are going to die, not by the hand of god, but by the hand of human.

Theorically, old age death then, is considered dead by natural courses. However, terri's death is not even old age death, it is inflicted by the wills of the judical systems of america, her husband and her family, indirectly. So can we prosecute the parties which put a foot in for contributing her death? This is still a very complex issue.

Isn't it ironical that America, the country which advocate itself as a world of freedom and human rights, killed terri just in broad daylight. Don't tell me terri do not have a right to live and a freedom to stay alive.

Has the great american theory of freedom, human rights, supremacy of uncle sam went too far into its own head that it began to assume the duties of grim ripper and god? Invading sadaam backyard, accusing iran and north korea without any real evidences, getting itself out of the Kyoto treaty while condemning china for emitting too much carbon dioxide and now, killing its own citizen.

Back to terri's case. Michael Schiavo may seems to be the villian in this whole drama that span 15 yrs. But who know the agony of seeing your love one half dead, while still need to care for her. Human are creatures that need appreciation and reciprocation. He has care so much for his vegetarian state wife but the wife didn't even, or can't even give a loving touch to him. Such one way traffic i believe is what has make Michael on the path to pluck out the tube.

This case also point out to the flaws of the judical system of america. How come Michael is the guardian but not her parents? Is it due to that she adopt Michael surname and thats why the lawful guardian is Michael alone?

Also, i thought with Bush intervention, terri feeding tube could be re-inserted into her. Yet, to no avail. So it means the government is no more like a speck of dust? A figure that could start a war with just merely few sentences, are being drawfed by the judical system? Absurd.

If America still stuck up to its american dreams, i think it is on its way to destruction. Not by terrorist forces or china, but self destruct.

Trading

Long time ago, i have formed a theory in my head. I believe no matter how true and loyal a friendship is, it is based on the basis that either party can get something out of the other party and like a magnet, if they both have the same agenda, then a friendship is formed.

Friendship do not merely form out of nothing. There need to have a corner stone for it. A lot of cases actually do back up my theory. I have came to know this trio of friends whom are close and good friends sometime back. However, as they went on for their individual endearvours, the friendship seems easy to crack. Upon closer look at their friendship, one could notice that the corner stone of it was shopping, gossip and boys.

Therefore, such a weak foundation certainly doesn't build up a solid friendship.

When ever human make friend with another human, it is usually hoping to "fleece" the other party for something. When you are sad, you hope for a shoulder. And if the elements permit, a soul came by and you "fleece" him of his care and concern which he shower onto you.

That is my theory.

Now recently i read my friend post on how in NUS, those top students would form their own clusters and just build an invisible wall around themselves, perhaps even branding themselves as elite. I scoff off the idea that they are really friends. The corner stone i believe is hopping to "fleece" the intelligence. Behind every smile there surely be a knife.

My poor friend, who seems to be belittled by those self elite, find that no one is willing to do a barter trade with him. He, looking for some lifeline to his poor schoolwork. But in a true barter trade sense, one hope to gain from trading. Therefore, no one in Singapore premier school is willing except perhaps for the lecturers.

I do wish i could engage in a trade with him but me too, is on a lower frequency than required.

See.....

See....if you read newspapers recently, suddenly alot of govt men keep saying how people agree to casino, casino ok if can this can that....even MM say youngsters don't really care whether casino build here or not....i tell you...april 18...the ans will be a yes..like what i have predicted in my early entry.

p/s: if not...then this entry...i delete lo...ahha