SUNDAY STAR, 2 AUGUST 2015

special

MONEY & YOU

Learn to grow your wealth

THE digital investment magazine The Fifth Person is hosting an investment summit in Kuala Lumpur The Level Up Your Wealth 2015 summit, which aims to bring real-life investment knowledge and financial literacy to Malaysians.

It will be held at Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, on Aug 8 and will feature speakers Victor Chng and Rusmin Ang, full-time investors and international authors of the book, Value Investing in Growth Companies, who will share their insights and strategies on how to invest profitably in regional stock markets.

Chng and Ang are regulars on the CIMB Securities speaking circuit and have spoken about the securities broker on multiple occasions, including in Penang, Sibu, Miri and Kuala Lumpur.

They also appear regularly on programmes on Singapore radio station 938LIVE and their investment articles have been published on The Business Times online and in Business Insider Singapore and Business Insider Malaysia.

Chng and Ang will be speaking about value-growth investing and dividend-growth investing, the two areas of investing that they specialise in. They will also talk about why investors who seek solid capital gains and stable dividends should utilise these two proven investment methods to grow their wealth and generate multiple streams of passive income.

The summit will also feature renowned wealth coach and professional investor Adam Khoo who became a self-made millionaire at the age of 26, making him one of the youngest millionaires in Singapore.

He now runs Adam Khoo

Learning Technologies Group, one of Asias largest private educational institutions, which organises educational seminars for more than 80,000 people annually in seven countries.

Khoo is also the bestselling author of 13 books, including Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires, Secrets of Millionaire Investors, and Winning the Game of Stocks, as

Have your best interest in mindIN the face of the rising cost of living and currency depreciation risks, investors are seeking strategies to protect their purchasing power.

To combat these risks, a right mix of investment strategies may be employed to accelerate returns.

However, many still lack understanding of essential investment principles or how to apply the correct tools to meet their investment objectives.

One of the most misunderstood and often misapplied principles is compounding, which is capable of creating the best advantage in meeting your financial goals.

To appreciate the power of compound interest, you should understand how simple interest works.

When you make an investment, the amount of money paid is called the principal and any investment that pays simple interest calculates payments based only on the principal.

An investment of RM10,000 principal that pays 10% simple interest means your investment earns on 10% of the principal, therefore generating RM1,000 annually.

This means that your investment will come up to RM11,000 at the end of the first year, RM12,000 after the second year, RM13,000 in

the third year and so forth. Investments with compound

interest work differently. They pay a fixed percentage, 10% yearly in this example, on the entire balance accumulated. In other words, you earn interest on both the principal and the interest.

Compared with the earlier example of the simple interest investment, the investment with compound interest will give you RM11,000, RM12,100 and RM13,310 at the end of the first, second and third year respectively.

Compounding is the greatest asset to grow your egg nest, says William Ng (pic), chief executive officer of TFDC Asiacorp Berhad, who is also a Certified Financial Planner and Islamic Financial Planner.

Simply stated, compounding is the idea of earning interest on interest. As the interest grows, the interest on the interest grows.

At some point the interest-on-interest portion becomes bigger than the initial investment.

Similar to a snowball rolling downhill, the more times goes by, the bigger the interest-on-interest portion becomes. Hence, compounding can be seen as an

well as a member of the Singapore Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization, membership to which is available only to business owners below age 50 who run businesses with a minimum annual turnover of US$9mil (RM34.3mil).

Khoo, who focuses on stock market trends and momentum investing, will be at the summit to

share his unique strategies for investing in stocks that have an upward trending price momentum. He says that he can receive 50% to 60% returns annually by using his method of identifying the best times to enter and exit an upward trend to maximise returns in a short period of time.

Khoo has been teaching his methods to investors through

accelerating force to grow your investment.

The understanding of compounding and its application allows you to leverage on its acceleration power to help realise your financial goals, particularly if your objective is to plan for your retirement.

However, not all types of investments are inherently structured to facilitate the effective application of compounding.

For example, in a stock market where pendulum swings of equal size occur, investing RM10,000 will allow you to earn 10% in the first year but lose 10% in the second year, meaning you will not break even and may end up with RM9,900, a loss of 1% of your principal.

The key to successful application of compounding is to seek investments that grow the principal sum and interest over time, says Ng.

Therefore, investments that are structurally suitable to optimise the application of compounding are those that provide auto-reinvestments of the returns along with the principal, or those that provide the short-to-medium

education seminars held across Asia for the past 10 years.

Entry to The Level Up Your Wealth 2015 summit is free but limited to the first 200 people on a first-come first-served basis on the day of the event.

n To book a seat, visit notice.shareinvestor.com/LevelUpWealthSummit

payback of the capital and returns, hence providing reinvestment options.

TFDC Asiacorp is a boutique property development investment firm that promotes property bonds and luxury community properties in Forest Lakes Country Club, Halifax, Canada.

The company is a subsidiary of Terra Firma Development Corporation Limited, Canada, which is the master developer for Forest Lakes.

TFDC Asiacorp promotes structured investments and lifestyle properties to grow wealth using a mix of compounding, global diversification, and inflation and risk control applications.

TFDC Asiacorp conducts regular investment seminars and financial

talks. Its next event will be held on Aug 9 at the One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya. Registration is required.

n For more information, call 011-1222 1998.

This plan also allows for flexible access to your savings. Partial withdrawals of cash value are possible if you need access to funds.

l On protectionIt is only prudent to shield

against the risk of economic fluctuations. With the 5 Years Guaranteed Coverage, this plan shields you against policy lapsation

MCIS Insurance Berhad (MCIS Insurance), a leading life insurer in Malaysia, has 61 years of experience under its belt.

A proud homegrown brand, it has amassed significant understanding of local market needs. MCIS Insurance takes pride in going for the mass segment of customers and working to realise the full potential of this segment.

Driven to serve all Malaysians, it continuously designs products that not only suit the needs of its customers but also ones that complement customers stages of life.

In collaboration with its international association by way of shareholder, South Africa-based Sanlam Emerging Markets, MCIS Insurance offers its latest innovative investment-linked product, the MCIS Premier FlexiInvest (PFI).

This product was a result of comprehensive knowledge sharing between the local product development team and its counterparts at Sanlam Group.

In essence, PFI is a comprehensive protection and savings plan meant to grow with the ever-changing needs of customers.

New developments are meant to fulfil the needs of customers as well as realise the potential of entering newer market segments while not forgetting its focus on its core target audience.

Kevin Jones, chief executive officer of MCIS Insurance, talks about the insurers offerings:l On target market segmentsThrough PFI, we target young

working professionals and professionals who seek protection and wealth accumulation as well as retirement solutions.

This caters to different life stage changes and most importantly, helps build a solid financial safety net to assist them in achieving long-term financial goals.

l On the nature of PFINaturally, we seek to protect

what we hold dear special life events such as the birth of a child, marriage, starting a family or purchase of a property leads us to be more protective. We celebrate your special life events together with you by granting you the privilege to increase your protection coverage up to 20% of your basic sum covered, subject to a maximum of RM500,000, free of underwriting requirements.

All you need to do is to inform us of your change in status (supported by relevant documents) to increase your protection coverage.

l On its special features We also believe that rewards

and loyalty go hand in hand. In reflection of this philosophy, this plan rewards loyal customers with an anniversary bonus as early as the beginning of the second policy year right up to the golden age of 80.

This bonus will be in addition to the cash value gained from the investment fund.

If you enjoy ad hoc windfalls such as bonuses or salary increments, you can also perform ad hoc or regular top-ups to your favourite investment-linked funds and witness the potential growth of your savings.

2 money & youSUNDAY STAR, 2 AUGUST 2015

Flexible investments guarantee your future

Features of the MCIS Premier FlexiInvest.

MCIS comprehensive investment product caters to all your different life stages.

even if your policys investment funds falter during unfavourable economic climate.

The 5 Years Guaranteed Coverage starts at the inception of your policy until the fifth policy year, subject to terms and conditions.

You may further enhance your protection by adding our available features ranging from medical, hospital benefit to critical illnesses

and other protections. Your wealth should be protected

too and this plan not only safeguards the wealth that you have worked hard to create but also protects the lifestyle and aspirations of you and your loved ones.

With this plan, you can rest assured that your retirement plans, property, dream car and childs education funds, among others, are well protected in the event of death or other unfortunate events.

Kevin Jones, chief executive officer of MCIS

insurance.

l On the fund options available

The product also boasts of four funds from which customers can choose the Balanced fund, the Equity fund, the Jati fund and the Dividend fund.

By having a variety of funds, we cater to the different risk tolerance level of customers.

We enable you to switch between funds depending on your financial needs and investment appetite and waive any fund-switching fees.

The company also has plans to introduce more funds to meet customers evolving investment appetites.

We want to cater to everybody regardless of age, status or current circumstances. In other words, the everyday Malaysian.

With the array of options provided by MCIS Insurance, you can be assured that you and your family members are being taken care of.

Giving you the instruments you need to shape and secure your

financial future is the aim of MCIS Insurance.

n For more information, visit www.mcis.my

It is only prudent to shield against the risk of economic fluctuations.

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4 money & youSUNDAY STAR, 2 AUGUST 2015

Manage your creditYOUR credit score can have a major impact on your life and finances. Everyone should take time to review, manage and boost their credit score.

Your credit score will not only affect whether you can get mortgages, credit cards and loans, it can also affect attainment of mobile phone contracts, monthly insurance premiums, opening of bank accounts, job applications and more.

Every individual has a unique credit score. It is a three digit number calculated based on the credit history from your credit report. A credit score makes it easier for individuals to comprehend their credit standing.

Five components determine the outcome of your credit score payment history, length of credit history, credit limit utilisation, new credit applications, legal history trace.

In many instances of interactions with consumers by RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd (Ramci), an accredited credit reporting agency in Malaysia, consumers shared that credit reports can be a bit confusing as they contain a huge amount of data.

It is also sometimes difficult for an individual to determine which part of the data is considered important to lenders.

Nonetheless, a numerical expression in the form of a credit score can help explain how a persons credit standing is categorised.

The credit score developed by Ramci ranges from 201 to 781. A higher score makes a consumer more credit-worthy. Generally, a score of 621 or higher indicates that you have managed your credit well.

When it comes to locking in an interest rate, the higher your score, the better the terms of credit you are likely to receive.

Your credit score is a key indicator of your credit risk, used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness at the time of any related applications.

Good credit management leads to higher credit scores, which in turn lowers the cost that you need to borrow. Living within your means, using debt wisely and paying your bills consistently and on time are smart financial moves.

Good credit management helps improve your credit score, reduces the amount you pay for the money you borrow and puts more money in your pocket to save and invest. It is always a good idea to make monitoring your credit score a part of your financial routine.

This will allow you to be better prepared to work with your credit standing when you are about to make major purchases such as buying a house, car or taking a loan to start a business. If you are interested to determine your credit score, you may request for a credit report from Ramci.

n For more information, call 03-2615 1191 or 03-2615 1128 or www.mycreditinfo.com.my

It is important to maintain a good credit score as part of your financial routine.

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