CJH Financial Planning

As I approach my tenth year in the life insurance and financial advisory business, it has come to a point in my career where I am embarking on a new challenge, that is to groom and train young people into successful financial consultants. As such, I have been away from writing articles for a while, busy juggling both client consulting and mentoring responsibilities. All newly minted financial consultants have to undergo intensive product training, mastering one product at a time, until they reach a level of proficiency and experience where they can flap their wings and fly on their own. While I was training the new blood of our industry, it is inevitable that that the new consultants ask which products do our clients like the most. Although financial planning is a highly customised affair, and no two persons' financial needs are exactly the same, some products are indeed in higher demand than the rest. This may be due to a greater awareness for certain types of policies. And du...

Last week, a client asked me to help examine a very affordable type of term life insurance policy that all Singapore NS-men are entitled to purchase - Aviva SAF Group Term Life policy. He wanted to know if it is a better deal as compared to the other term insurance plans out in the market. First and foremost, it is a common misconception that all term life insurance policies are the same. It is also incorrect to assume that since all term policies are the same (which is not true), then the one with the cheapest premium is the best. Different insurance policies have different wordings, and what may be claimable from one policy may not be claimable from another. Also, different insurance companies differs in claim experience, cost of operations and distributions, size of their life funds, and investment performance. When it comes to service, different insurers also differs in continuous client engagement, speed and ease of claims, and personalised custo...

Just came across a thought provoking video on TED about how humans often make illogical financial decisions. Little did we know that we aren't so different from monkeys after all... Check out the video below:

You may have heard that Donald Trump, the billionaire real estate developer, has decided to run for the President of the United States of America. Beside his undisputed success in the real estate world, Donald Trump also boasts an impressive track record as a businessman, investor, and reality television star. Admittedly, his skills in influencing people, negotiation and cutting deals are second to none. However, I was more keenly interested in how he got started, and how he had the money to go into real estate development, which is extremely capital intensive. Therefore I did some research on his background. Donald’s life might have been very different if not for the financial support and tutelage from his father, Frederick “Fred” Trump, who born in in 1905 in Queens, New York City to German immigrants. Fred was also an entrepreneur and real estate developer, and this rubbed off on young Donald, who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. By the time of his death, Fred Trump ...

You may have already heard  about the upcoming launch of MediShield Life. I have received many enquiries about how it would affect policyowners of private Shield plans. In this article, I’ll share with you what industry practitioners know about MediShield Life so far, and its impact on you. To understand the situation better, we have to first understand how MediShield Life, and its predecessor MediShield works.

Yes you read the title correct. In time to come, our children may have to fork out over a $100,000 just to get a piece of paper that grants them an interview for an entry level job. Well, that is not the problem. The real problem is you, the parent, is going to pay for it! So how can a university degree cost so much? Let's see the following breakdown. For illustrative purposes, we shall use a NUS (National University of Singapore) Business degree for a new-born baby girl as example. Here is the current tuition fees charged by NUS: According to NUS's tuition fee schedule, a Business degree costs $9,250 per annum.

During yesterday's National Day Rally,  PM Lee highlighted a few key changes to the existing CPF system. 1)   CPF members reaching 65 will be   allowed to withdraw a lump sum from their Minimum Sum savings   if they need. There will be a limit, perhaps 20%, to ensure that there is still sufficient savings left for their later years. 2)  The Government will be launching the   Silver Support scheme   to give lower-income Singaporeans with little or no CPF savings an annual bonus from the Government. Details to be announced. 3)  CPF minimum sum scheme will be raised to   $161,000   from the current $155,000 on 1 July next year. 4)  Minimum sum scheme is here to stay. However beyond the increase next year, PM Lee sees no need for further major increase. 5)  An advisory panel set up by the Ministry of Manpower will study a range of retirement issues such as how the Minimum Sum should be adjusted to provide adequate...

Last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high of 16,588, totally overshadowing the previous high of 14,000 in 2007 (pre-financial crisis). Does it mean that the US economy is out of the woods? US Markets Hardly so. As we all know, the Federal Reserves has been printing more the US$3.5 trillion of fresh money over the last 5 years to try to revive their struggling economy through their 3 tranches of Quantitative Easing (or ‘QE’ in short) programmes. Also, Federal Reserve has set its interest rates to almost zero, allowing institutions to borrow more and cheaply, in a hope that more spending would spur the economy. As such, there are lots of ‘hot money’ floating around, waiting to be deployed. And it is no surprise that most of this ‘hot money’ are in the hands of banks. 

Unit Trusts (UTs) or mutual funds seem like investment vehicles for the layperson with little or no investing experience. So how do they fit into a savvy investor's portfolio? Firstly, let's examine the unique characteristics of UT investing: - UTs pool together investors' money to buy assets such as shares and bonds. This allows investors with small capital (even $100) to start investing. - There are thousands of UTs in the market, covering a variety of asset classes, geographical regions, sectors, and industries. - UTs are professionally managed by a Fund Manager, and relieve the investors of the active monitoring and trading of their investments. - UTs charge annual management fees, usually about 1 to 2 percent of the asset under management (AUM). This fee is taken out from the AUM, which cause the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the fund to go down. Most funds are priced based on their NAV, and therefore annual management fees indirectly causes the value of an inve...

Getting married involves financial commitments, so get them right to ensure a harmonious life journey together. Here are some findings from a survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs. More than half of couples argue over unexpected expenses More than one-third of couples fight over insufficient savings Couples aged 45 to 54 argue an average of 4 times a month about finances As you can see, money worries can be a strain on a relationship. Hence, sound financial planning and good money management is integral to a successful and harmonious marriage.