Invest in land in Canada

Hi Mr. Tan,
I was approached by a marketing manager who gives me an interesting investment proposal. Can I asked your opinion. Will it be a good investment to put some money on land in Canada near Vancouver?

REPLY
Go to Ask Mr. Tan or www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx and search for "Land Banking". You will see a FAQ written by me previously.

Make your personal financial plan

Make your personal financial plan here. You will get a PDF report showing how much your savings will accumulated at the time of your retirement (you can specify the age or leave it at the default age of 65) at various investment yields. This is converted into a monthly sum, assumed to be withdrawn over 20 years - which is the typical life expectancy after age 25.  It also shows the monthly sum adjusted for inflation - to give you an idea of the real value of the retirement income, so that you can see if it is adequate. You can make changes to the savings and see the impact.

This financial plan shows the importance of the following:

• To earn  a yield of at least 4% per annum, or 2% above the rate of inflation
• To have adequate savings to supplement the CPF (say 15% to 20% of your income)

If you need advice on how to understand the financial planning, you can refer to an expert who can provide guidance for $50 only. This can save you from wasting a few thousand dollars in a bad life insurance policy. It is important for young people.

Here are some examples of the financial plans for people at various ages:

Age 25
Age 35
Age 60

However, you should prepare a plan that suits your personal circumstances.
You can buy my book, "Get value from your Life Insurance" to know the insurance policies to avoid and a better way to manage your financial planning. It is available at a discount on the soft launch on 19 February.

Tan Kin Lian

Do you have a good boss?

Read an article in SGEP, www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx. Search for "good boss".

Financial Planning book in Chinese

Wobao printed this article about the financial planning book (in Chinese) by Tan Kin Lian
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=402. It will be available in the bookstores by the first half of March.

Financial advisers can benefit or destroy consumers

I met a marketing director of a computer software to be used by financial advisers. He wanted to see how we can collaborate. I told him that there are two types of advisers:

• Those that benefit consumers by helping them to take advantage of tax incentives and earn a better yield, net of tax and charges
• Those that mislead consumers into buying a life insurance policy that gives a poor yield

He agreed with my views. He was previously a financial adviser in Holland. He told me that Holland had the same bad experience of mis-selling and that the regulators had to impose fines on insurance companies and advisers. I told him that, to my knowledge, no fine was imposed on insurance companies, although the case of malpractices is quite bad in Singapore. He agreed to write to me and share some of his perspective as a financial adviser.

Tan Kin Lian

TOC Budget Forum - 19 February 2011

Survey: Give your views on my paper in this survey.
Read my views in this paper

I have accepted an invitation to be a Guest Speaker at the Budget forum as follows:

Date: 19 February 2011

Time: 2pm to 5pm

Venue: Azea Personal Coaching,  24 Raffles Place, Clifford Centre #07-04 Singapore 048621

There will be three guest speakers. The purpose of this forum is aimed at giving people a platform where they can listen to the speakers’ views and discuss about the government’s Budget which is released the day before.

The format is such that the speakers will be given about 20 minutes each to speak on their respective topics before the floor is opened to the audience for a Q&A session.

I will be speaking on the following topics

a) Taxation and GST
b) Use of tax revenue for social benefits

c) Keep housing affordable

d) Moderate the cost of living

Look forward to have you join the event. (TOC will be putting up a registeration form soon at www.theonlinecitizen.com).

Read my article here:

Tan Kin Lian's latest

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=401

Google Map - Directions for public transport

I have just moved to my new office in Midview City. My office staff lived in Sengkang, Yishun, Toa Payoh and Bukit Batok. They only know how to get to the office on the MRT. I go to Google Maps and get alternative directions for them on public transport. In all the cases, the best option is to go by bus which takes a shorter time. The buses are less crowded.

You can try Google Maps. But if you want me to help you, just send the postal code of your home and workplace to inbox@tankinlian.com. I will train my staff to send the directions to you on a PDF.

Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/

Discount on "Wisdom on How to Live Life"

On 19 Feb and for one day only, the 'Wisdom on How to Live Life' books are also sold at discount (i.e. $20- each). See http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=396

Term to 99 years

This term insurance policy looks attractive, but has high risk. You pay twice the premium (of a 25 year term) and stand the risk of losing the excess premium due to many factors beyond your control.


Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=400

This is an example of many evaluation of investment and life insurance products that will be available only to FISCA members when the new website is launched on 1 March 2011. We invite the public to join FISCA an benefit from these evaluation. It is easy to search for a specific product.

Latest postings

The latest postings in SGEP and TKL website can be found from the "Latest" tab in these websites. I usually refer people to this page, so that they can view the other articles that have been posted. If you visit after the same day, you may not be able to find your article in the top page. In that case, try to seach for the article by entering the keyword in the Search button. You will usually get it quickly.

Some readers have asked me to post the direct link to the article. I will do so selectively. My aim is to get the readers to read the latest articles daily, rather than rely on the direct link. It is best for you to keep a bookmark and visit the latest page daily. 

Tan Kin Lian

We help the dictators to steal

There is an article in SGEP about how Britain helps dictators to rip off and steal from their people. Singapore should also be careful that we are not seen to be playing a similar role.

Democracy vs the Elites

Read this article about American democracy and the elites
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/opinion/12herbert.html?_r=1
Sounds like Singapore.

Sites that answer your money questions

Here are some websites that have FAQ on money issues or an expert who will answer your question. In the future, this type of information will be available to FISCA members only - after the login to the FISCA website.


Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=399

Poor yield on Vivo-life

This case study shows the low yield on the Vivolife policy. The reduction in the yield is too high.  The insurance agent sells this policy on the point that the policyholder needs to pay premium for a limited period, but does not explain that the deductions are too high, giving a poor yield.


Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=398

This is an example of the evaluation of financial products that will be available exclusively for FISCA members after the new website is launched in March 2011. There will be many examples of life insurance policies, structured products and bonds. We will build up a databank of more than 100 evaluations within a year, I encourage consumers to wait until March to join FISCA, as we are now busy in revamping the website .

Tan Kin Lian

FISCA Talk on Financial Planning

FISCA is organizing a talk on financial planning on 28 February 2011.  Register at www.fisca.sg/events
Attendees can buy the following books at up to 50% discount. Orders have to be submitted in advance to kinlian@gmail.com.

FISCA Evaluation of Products

FISCA will be launching a new website from 1 April 2011 (perhaps earlier). An important section of this website is the "Evaluation of Financial Products" and will be kept strictly for members. 
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=395


With a more active website, retail investors will find it more attractive to be a member of FISCA. Please wait for the new website to be launched before you apply as a member, because are quite busy now getting the new website to be ready.


Tan Kin Lian

How to secure our future

Ngiam Tong Dow shares his views and concerns about Singapore. SGEP

Hard facts on Singapore - Dr. Foo

LKY has written a book on "Hard Facts on Singapore". Dr. Foo has presented his perspective of the hard facts. I agree with Dr. Foo's perspective. Read SGEP

Family Life 1.1 - more players

Over 20 people played the Family Life game yesterday. The number has been increasing daily since its soft launch last week. This game teaches the participants about making the decisions in life that affect their work, health and family life. It can be accessed at www.easysearch.sg (Family Life).  Read the Guide on how to play the game. 120 prizes will be given to the players who achieve the top 5 positions in each of 24 games daily.

Direct link: http://projects.easyapps.sg/fl/

Better benefits on a new life insurance policy

Be careful when a life insurance agent recommends a new life insurance policy with better benefits, to replace an existing policy.
Find out from Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=178

Impact of reduction in yield

Many life insurance products reduced the yield by 3% to 4%. this is a large reduction and can take away 50% of your accumulated savings. It can amount to several hundred thousand dollars!
Find out from Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=393

FISCA - Financial Services Consumer Association

Learn about the activities of FISCA and why you should join as a member and attend the educational talks
Ask Mr. Tan
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=394

M V Land - no reply for 2 weeks

M V Land (developer of Midview City) has been giving me a lot of hassle, asking for one deposit after another. If I don't pay the deposit, they will refuse to allow my contractors to deliver the furniture. This is like extortion.
I faxed this letter to them on 26 January. There is no reply for 2 weeks. They reflect the behavior that is quite common in Singapore - give a lot of hassle to other people, and do not reply to their letter. When asked, the usual excuse - we did not receive your letter. I know that this is not true - they don't know how to reply.

Anyway, I shall send them another letter.

SingTel - we charge what we like

After a week and a reminder, the customer care manager of SingTel finally called me regarding my complaint on the high charges to relocate my telephone and broadband line. She explained the reason for the delay (i.e due to missing e-mail - it happens all the time!) and the need for the charges. It was nice of her to call - which is quite unusual based on the service standard in Singapore.

She followed up with a detailed written explanation on the work that has to be done to make the change (i.e. the re-allocation of resources - just to sound technical and complicated. I know that it is quite a simple matter of making an entry into the computer system.

I wrote a reply, "Can Singtel confirm that the charges reflect the actual cost that is being incurred to make the change?"

Here is the reply, "I wish to reassure you that the charges for both number retention and ADSL relocation fees had been carefully assessed; taken all the resources/ costs into consideration prior to setting the fees."  In simple English, it means "We look at our cost and charge what we like.  Wish you a great year ahead"

Tan Kin Lian

Free market and choice

The coffee stall in the canteen of my office raised the price of a cup of coffee from $0.80 to $1 (25% increase). The stall holder said that this is a permanent increase and is not only for the festive season.

I did not complain about the price increase because I have the following choices:

• Buy package drink
• Drink coffee (3 in 1) in my office
• Drink water

It is different from the exorbitant charge levied by a telephone company to relocate a telephone line or the broadband line. I do not have any choice as I am tied into a contract. 

I hope that our regulators know the difference between a free market (such as the cup of coffee) and the exorbitant changes levied by telephone companies and banks - where the customer is locked into a long term contract or relationship.

Tan Kin Lian

Top 5 avatar in Family Life

Can you reach the top 5 positions in a Family Life game and win a prize? See this screenshot of the final results:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=387

Watch the cartoons of the activities and events. These cartoons will appear in the mobile device that access the Family Life game:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=389

Reduction in yield

You can use this approach to calculate the reduction in yield on your life insurance policy and see if it exceeds the acceptable benchmark of 1.5% per annum. See Ask Mr. Tan

Term insurance to age 99 years

Some insurance companies are marketing a term insurance policy to age 99 years. It looks attractive, but consumers should be aware about the risks involved in this type of policy. Find out from  Ask Mr. Tan

Family Life 1.1 - More winners

Hi Mr. Tan,
Thank you for making such a great simulation game filled with many life twisting events, which could influence the success in the outcome. I learnt a lot from the game such as balancing out resources in improving all areas, especially work and social in early stages. This leads to higher probability in promotions and early marriage! With some luck, I manage to get 3rd in one of the game in the screenshot.




Dear Mr Tan,
It is my first time playing and I managed to come in 5 in the final year! I found the game interesting but perhaps some modifications can be made to the game to make it more realistic and meaningful, however i am certain you would already have thought of it.

Hi
Just out of curiosity and wanted to try how different it would be if i had fine-tuned my approach and am surprized by the results. Would you consider signing your autograph on the book for the top 10 highest score for the month? That would be much appreciated although i am assuming the score i have received is high enough.

Family Life - Fast Game

I have created a fast game starting every hour. Each avatar year takes 1 min. The game can be completed in 40 mins.

Family Life Cartoonos

Here are some interesting things that you can do or can happen to your avatar in Family Life
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=389

Family Life 1.1 - Two winners

There are 24 games each day, one starting every hour. Each game comprises of 40 avatar years and can completed in 2 hours (3 mins per year). You can play the game at www.easysearch.sg (Family Life).

If you are new to the game, you can read the Guide at the home page of Family Life. There is also a guide on how to win the 120 prizes that can be won each day. Each person is entitled to win only one prize for the entire contest, but you can teach a family member or friend to win the prize also.

A new version of the game, with better artificial intelligence, will be introduced later this month. So, if you know the technique of this game, you should try to win the prize before the new version is introduced !!!

Here are the comments of the two winners:
1) I would like to say this web game is pretty interesting and I believe has a lot of possibilities to expand into. Perhaps the players can have a selection of various areas of career paths/education. Looking forward for an update. 
2) Thanks for the great game!

Join the fun now: www.easysearch.sg (Family Life)

Family Life 1.1

About 10 to 15 people play Family Life each day. It is getting popular. A few have played the game several times. They will surely reach the top 5 positions (and win the Tangram book prize) soon. They should be able to catch the technique of making the right "family life" decisions.

Try now at www.easysearch.sg (Family Life). A new version with better artificial intelligence will be introduced later this month. Over the next two games, the game can be played on the mobile devices with better graphics, animation and sound. This will be more interesting at that time.

SGEP - In search of young voters

Read this editorial in SGEP.

Pedestrian scam - is this real or fabricated?

Received this e-mail.
With so much foreign workers in Singapore (some from the villages - having spent a fortune to come and work here), many will try to make money from unsuspecting Singaporeans and the insurance companies.


Is this real or fabricated?


Hi my dear friends,
I am very much still in shock by an unscrupulous SCAM I encountered earlier today. Yes, I have seen similar cases on TV drama but having experience it first hand personally was horrifying.

This morning, on the way to Tiong Bahru Market along Seng Poh Road, as I was preparing to turn into the carpark, I heard a loud bang coming from the back of my car. I quickly pulled my car along the side and saw a young man, early thirties sitting on the side of the road. He was wearing a red polo tee, I believe bearing a constructing company name.

I was puzzled how the back of my car could hit anyone when I was driving not at a quick speed preparing to turn into the car park. Nevertheless, I asked the man if he was hurt, I saw a few scratches on his knee. He started screaming, rang his work reported he was in an accident and could not go to work. Fortunately, I saw a GP clinic behind us, I offered him to see the GP together, he refused and said he preferred to see a government clinic. I said to him, let’s see the GP first, if need to the GP will refer us to the hospital, he refused fiercely, I offered to call for an ambulance instead, I offered to ring his boss to explain what happened and said to him we should ring the police to make a report. He started screaming and asking me to compensate him with money instead. I was at wit’s end, I asked if he could let me have his identification so that I could ring the police. I am pretty sure he is from the mainland, with his heavily accented mandarin, he insisted he is a local but said he misplaced his IC. I told him, even more so we should report to the police that he lost his identification?

At that time, I was very much in shock, I felt bad and was tempted to give him money but was afraid he might go to the cop and reported that I gave him money to pacify him. In no time I went to the coffee shop behind us and begged anyone what I should do if he refused to see a doctor or refused help?

One elderly couple came up to me and said they witnessed everything, they saw him, hit my car and fell to the ground, they insisted that I should call the police to protect myself. Another man said to me it’s a scam and told me to leave him alone.

At that time, the man was still on the ground asking for money, I told him I can’t give him money and I have decided to call the cops, I told him it’s better we have everything documented in a report. He left very quickly and shouted I was heartless after hitting someone and said he was in the worst of luck to have met me.
Seriously I felt very bad, during a situation like this, I was totally embarrassed with a crowd around us! In any case I rang the police to make a report and was asked to go to the police station later to make a statement. (BTW, I’m using this as my report to the police later.)

I wrote this just so to let everyone know and beware of such a SCAM. In such a terrorizing event, keep calm and best to report immediately to alert the police. What is becoming of Singapore?
Pam

Family Life - (game restarted)

The Family Life game has restarted, after rectifying a problem with the server program. Please try the game and win one of 120 book prizes in the day.

Is life insurance good or bad?

Life insurance is inherently good. It allows people to pool the risk of premature death and to save for their future needs.

It becomes bad when insurance companies and agents takes away too much of the accumulated savings (i.e. as much as 50%) to pay for expenses and the cost of insurance and gives a poor deal to the consumer. The actual cost of insurance in most cases is less than 10%. It becomes worse, when the insurance agent tells lies and half truths to mislead the consumer into investing their hard earned savings in a poor yielding product.

In the old days (i.e. prior to this century), most life insurance companies and agents acted honorably and deliver fair value to the consumers. Today, the situation is quite bad, and it seemed that many products are designed to rip off the unsuspecting consumers.

I wish to educate consumers and the practitioners, so that the practitioners realize that they are not doing the right thing, and will change their practice and make life insurance a good product for the consumers.

Tan Kin Lian

Track intrusions and suicides

Dear Mr. Tan,
I searched on other cases of wastage of public funds by the government. Here is what i found from the internet. I think the government should have spent the money building the half-height platform screen doors in a better manner.

It seems 'about 20 to 30 cases of track intrusions' are 'occurring for each of the past few years'. I wonder if anyone has statistics about how many track intrusions happened before the past few years?

Maybe the opposition parties can have an inquiry on the true number of suicides in Singapore, interview the coroners in Singapore. It seems there are so many so-called 'track intrusions' which are actually suicides or suicide attempts which have gone unnoticed by the average Singaporean.

Spa Victim


====================================================================
Date of Reply : 27/10/2010
Reply : Dear Sir/Madam,

Installing Half-Height Platform Screen Doors (HHPSD) at elevated stations eliminate system downtimes caused by accidental track intrusions. HHPSD are found to be the most reliable, proactive and cost effective way to reduce the overall levels of track intrusion and thus significantly increase passenger safety at the station platform.

Although there are warning signs to discourage track intrusions and there are also in-station announcements to remind passengers to stand behind the yellow line, there are still about 20 to 30 cases of track intrusions occurring for each of the past few years. These have caused train service disruptions and affected the travelling of other commuters. The provision of HHPSD will reduce significantly train service disruption caused by unintended track intrusion.


Land Transport Authority

High cost of motor repair

Dear Kin Lian,
I got involved recently in a minor accident with an SMRT taxi. It was my fault as I followed too closely from behind and bumped into the back light of the old taxi. The resulting damage was a hole in the plastic of a back light. I agreed to pay for the repair. I repaired my own car for $230.

SMRT wanted to charge me $1,635 for the damages to be repaired at their own workshop. I asked them to fix the repair at my nominated workshop but they refused. I felt that it was an extortion. I did not want to make an insurance claim as it would affect the NCD.

I called the Traffic Police, General Insurance Association of Singapore and CASE. None was willing to help. I called the Police as it was a case of blatant extortion and cheating. They advised me to engage a lawyer. Are there any other avenues that I can get help?

REPLY
It is a shame that a big company like SMRT can resort to this type of bad practice. It is also a shame that CASE does not wish to take up this case, as they do get a lot of funding from the government to do their work. I suggest that you offer a fair sum, say $500, to SMRT.

I also suggest that you write to the newspaper about your case.

Growth fund vs STI ETF

Dear Mr Tan KL,
I would like to ask your advise on a good investment strategy for my CPF special account, since the money is for the long term. Is there a safer product that gives a better return than the 4-5%) offered by CPF? Would you consider NTUC Income's Gowth Fund as a good investment?

REPLY
The Growth Fund has an annual fee of about 1% p.a. and an upfront cost of about 3%. The STI ETF has an upfront fee of 0.3% and an annual fee of 0.3%. The risks of both funds are similar. Over a 20 year period, the STI ETF should be able to get a yield that is about 15% higher than the Growth Fund, based on similar risk profiles. It is better to choose the STI ETF than the growth fund.

If you do not wish to take the risk and uncertainty, it is better to leave your money in the special account as the interest rate is quite attractive.

Lessons from Cairo

There is an interesting article in SGEP about the lessons that Singapore can learn from the events in Egypt.

Trading in Forex

Many people trade in foreign exchange. They buy or sell US dollar, Euro or Japanese yen. Many talks are being conducted, with high fees, to teach people how to trade in these currencies. But these novice traders are not aware about the risks, and the likelihood of losing in the long run, against the big institutions that trade against them and have the potential to manipulate the market. Read an article in SGEP called Forex Folly.

FISCA Talk on Structured Products

Many investors have lost a lot of money by investing in risky structured products. They did not know the risks and have been burnt.  Others had the money stuck for several years at a miserable rate of return,.  While they did not lose the principal. they have lost 10% to 20% in potential return that they could be earned from other investments of similar nature.

Financial institutions have started to launch new structured products. Do you know the good from the bad products? Do you want to be caught in the next round of bad products?

To avoid a risky or poor deal, you have to understand what are structured products, what to look out for and the risks to avoid. 

FISCA has invited an expert on structured products, Paula Tan, to give a talk on 19 February 2011. An outline of the talk and register for the talk can be found at www.fisca.sg/events. You can also register for the talk at this website.

Do attend this talk and be wiser, and avoid a big potential loss in the future.

Tan Kin Lian

Difficulty in contacting M of Manpower

I login to the MOM website (WP Online) to check for my firm's quota to employ work permit holders. It was quite difficult to understand the mess of information. I had to call the call center. I searched the website of MOM and even tried the "search" field. I could not find it. I know that there is a call center - as I called them before, but I don't understand why MOM made it difficult for the public to reach their call center.

Tan Kin Lian

A chat with Dr. Shetty

Dr. Shetty is a world renown heart surgeon. Read this article, sent to me by Robby Tulus.

Prize for Family Life Game

Read this Guide on how you can win any of 120 prizes for Family Life each day. The prize is Practical Guide on Financial Planning $12. 

Prize for Family Life

I am giving away the book, "Practical Guide on Financial Planning" ($12) to any player who has achieved any of the top 5 positions in any game of Family Life. A game is created each hour, so you have the chance to win any of the 120 books in a day.

Each player is entitled to win the prize only once. To claim your prize, you have to take a screen shot of the final year, showing the results of your avatar and its place within the top 5 positions for the year. This is to be sent to kinlian@gmail.com. An example of the screen shot is found here.  In this example, the avatar #1 (current player) has achieved the 3rd position and is entitled to a prize.

This prize will be awarded until further notice.

Electronic Queuing

I read in the newspapers that a grandparent queued for several days for a place in the kindergarten for a grandchild. They felt that it was worth putting in the sacrifice for the grandchild. We also read about several day queues for places in primary school and for new property launches.

The several day queues have become ridiculous but is a feature of Singapore life - the outcome of our kiasu syndrome. There is a more sensible way to handle the queue. It is the electronic queue.  It is possible to develop a portal to allow a queue to be formed for any type of high preference activity and for electronic balloting to be conducted to find the priority in the queue among all the applicants who submitted their application by a closing date.

Tan Kin Lian

Here is my letter printed in the Straits Times Online Forum.

SGEP Editorial on Election Year

SGEP has an editorial on Election Year 2011. We also welcome contribution from readers. Go to www.easyapps.sg/sgep.

Family Life - compete with your friends

You can play the Family Life game here:
http://projects.easyapps.sg/fl/

Read the guide for instructions on how to play the game. You can invite a few friends to play the same game, so you can compete against each other. It is fun. This game can be accessed on the mobile platform in a month's time, so you can play on it while in the train or during a break.

Overcharging for replacement parts

The remote controller for my Carrier air conditioner failed. The price for a replacement is more than $150. Fortunately, I was able to find a universal remote controller from Korea that worked with the Carrier air conditioner for $10.

It is quite unfair for a company to levy an excessively high charge for a spare part that they designed specifically for their product. The motor car manufacturers also charge a high price for their keys.

As the manufacturer chose to have a special design for the remote controller or their key, they spare parts should be considered as a monopoly item and should be subject to anti-monopoly laws. The law should dictate what is a fair price and what is an excessive price.

CPFTA now applies to financial services

The Consumer Protection and Fair Trading Act now applies to financial services. I urge consumers, who have been misled into bad investment products, to prepare your case to lodge a complaint under the CPFTA. The fact that you have signed a form does not absolve the financial adviser or the financial institution from their culpability under the CPFTA of misleading the consumer.

Read this FAQ carefully to see which category of wrongdoing the act or negligence may fall under: http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=384

I also wish to ask lawyers to come forward and help to take some of these cases on behalf of consumers. Please charge modest fees as the consumer is not able to pay high fees. You may get a chance to make a name for your firm as doing good for consumers and for society. If you are interested, send an email to kinlian@gmail.com.

Tan Kin Lian

Dishonest financial advisers and culpable insurance companies

I encountered the following two cases recently.

Case One. A consumer was advised by the adviser to invest a single premium of $50,000 as an investment in a life insurance policy, on the promise that it could give a better return than interest rate on CPF. She was not well educated or savvy. She was sold a annual premium policy with an annual premium of $50,000. When the second premium became due, she asked the adviser to explain why she had to pay another $50,000. He told her to ignore the request for the payment. The consumer learned later that there was a large deduction from the accumulated savings, which became clear only after one year. She complained to the insurance company. She had to go for interviews and encountered a lot of delays. I understand that the case has still not been solved.

Case Two. A foreigner, working in Singapore, was sold a life insurance policy on the misrepresentation that it was an investment product. The monthly premium was $3,500. She discovered to her horror, that 5% of the premium was deducted every month from the savings after 18 months. The financial adviser deliberately lied to her that the deduction was only 0.7% (which must be the fund management fee). The other deduction, to pay the distribution cost, was hidden from the consumer, who had asked about it.  The consumer asked for my advice on what she can do now to recover her loss. I asked her to write to the newspapers.

In both cases, I have used "she" to refer to the consumer and "he" to refer to the adviser. This may not be the real genders in the actual cases.

The culpability does not lie with the financial advisers alone. They also extend to the insurance companies that designed the products to levy a high upfront charge and hide the charge from the consumers. This allowed the dishonest agents to mislead the unwary consumers.

Tan Kin Lian

Are all financial advisers bad?

Are all financial advisers bad? The truth is - they belong to different categories.

Some financial advisers are honest, and do take care of the best interest of their clients. Some are crooks who knowingly tell outright lies and half lies to con their consumers. The majority fall in between, i.e they think that, having put in the effort to achieve the insurance qualifications,  it is only right that they should make a living by doing what they are trained to do. Many are not aware that the products give a poor deal to the consumers - some know but do not really care - they have to make a living.

There are quite a few financial advisers who are outright crooks. Some consumers who were conned by them have sought my assistance. These crooks are able to carry out their misdeeds with impunity. When the consumer complained to the insurance company, they received excuses and encountered delays. Some consumers give up trying to lodge the complaint.

It is this bad situation that prompted me to advice consumers to avoid all financial advisers. It is difficult for an unwary consumer to tell an honest financial adviser from a crook. They are likely to be give a bad product anyway, even from the advisers who may not be acting dishonestly.

Singapore had been following the practice of UK and Australia in the regulation of life insurance sales. The regulators adopted the approach of requiring the financial advisers to act honorably and professionally - whatever that means. UK and Australis have decided to abandon the professionalism approach and have taken the drastic step of banning the payment of commission on life insurance products. They found that it is impossible to manage the conflict of interest.

Some financial advisers do not like my message and have resorted to making personal attack against me in other blogs. They claimed that, when I was in NTUC Income, I had been using agents to sell life insurance products. These people are either ignorant or malicious in distorting the truth. They should know that the commissions paid to the insurance agents in NTUC income during my time were much lower than the market rates and the insurance products offered fair value to consumers. This is how despicable the crooked financial advisers can be.

Tan Kin Lian

Family Life 1.1

A new game is automatically created every hour. You can ask your friend to join and compete with you in the same game. You can watch the progress of the human players under the tab "human avatars". It is quite fun and additive. www.easysearch.sg (Family Life).

Apple iPhone and Android developers

I have several apps developed on the Windows Phone and have been tested and uploaded into the Marketplace.

I wish to look for developers to convert these apps to Apple iPhone and to Android. As the apps have been tested, it is quite easily to port over the use the code and convert them to the new platforms.

If you are interested to do the conversion, please send an e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. We can discuss the projects and the fee.

Family Life Game #184

In game #184, I competed with Jason. His avatar got a child at age 32 and shot ahead of me in the success score. My avatar is trying to get a child soon, to catch up.
www.easysearch.sg (Family Life)

Beauty of Lappland

Lappland is the northern part of Norway, Sweden, Finnland and Russia. It is the land of the midnight sun. Here are some beautiful scenaries, contributed by Mike Hansford.

www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

The beauty of Egypt

Egypt is a beautiful country with a rich, ancient heritage. Watch this powerpoint contributed by Mike Hansford.

www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx

Balance rights of consumers and business

A view posted in my blog
Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Australia follow a similar legal system. Laws are passed to balance the rights of consumers and businesses. The aim is to provide an environment that businesses can innovate to improve their products and services and make a profit, and, at the same time, ensure that consumers are fairly treated. Thanks a lot! Keep it up!

Family Life # 182 - Avatar died

In game #182, my avatar died at the age of 27. It was unexpected. Quite sad, but it is life!
www.easysearch.sg (Family Life).

Behavior of a thief [3]

Two people were quite angry that I described the behavior of the banks as "like a thief". They probably work for the bank. Perhaps they are even involved in the practices that are described as being dishonest.

Some people find my words to be too strong. I agree. Normally, I do not wish to make judgment on other people. In this case, I avoid mentioning any specific person or bank. But I have to use strong words, so that people wake up from their slumber and do not think that the current behavior is acceptable, especially as the practice is quite common - in the pursuit of profit.

My aim is to make people realize that the behavior, which they think is quite common place, really amounts to dishonesty. If they shocked about the description, perhaps they should ponder about the truth of my words. (And accept my apology if they feel offended - as I do not wish to be personal).

Tan Kin Lian

Family Life Game # 179

I played Family Life game #179. I was able to achieve the top ranking (among 200 avatars) at the mid-point of the game (around age 40). However, due to the competitive nature of the game, my ranking dropped to the 4th position by mid 50s. It is quite fun, but not easy to stay at the top. There are other players out to beat you.
Try the game at www.easysearch.sg (Family Life).

Read this book

A THOUGHT FOR THE LUNAR NEW YEAR.

Here’s a question that was posed to the Dalai Lama:
“What thing about humanity surprises you the most?”
His answer was as follows:“Man”
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money
Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health
And then he is so anxious about the future that he doesn’t enjoy the present,
And as a result he doesn’t live in the present or the future
And he lives as if he’s never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.

www.easysearch.sg

I have updated this portal to show the projects that are under development and those that are ready for viewing by the public. Some of these applications are useful to the consumers. Try them.
http://easysearch.sg/

SGEP and minimum wage

SGEP has a few articles about the minimum wage. So people say "it is not the best solution". Of course, it is true - that it is not perfect. But, it is the best of all available solutions - that is why so many countries have adopted it, including Australia (remember - they were able to achieve an increase in fertility rate, compared to the decline in Singapore's fertility rate).

Read the continuing discussion in SGEP: http://www.easyapps.sg/sgep/latest.aspx

Increasing the fertility rate - Australian experience

SGEP has an interesting article (from Today paper) on how Australia was able to increase its fertility rate to 1.0 (from 1.7) while Singapore continued to suffer a decline in the fertility rate. It analyses the difference in approach of Australia and Singapore.

We have often been quite proud (some people say that we are arrogant) about the Singapore approach - so here is an example of one approach that has failed quite badly. We need to be able to respond more positively to the facts (i.e. be pragmatic) and not dogmatic about our approach.

One important quality of Singapore is pragmatism. It seemed to have been abandoned when it come to "baby bonus" and fertility rate.

Tan Kin Lian

http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC110205-0000138/More-babies,-but-was-it-the-bonus?

Family Life 1.1 is now launched

Family Life 1.1. is now ready to be played. The link can be found at http://projects.easyapps.sg/fl/

You can login and click on "Guide" to learn:

• How to register, login and play a game. 
• Strategy to win in Family Life
• Compete with your friends.

Try it. It is fun. A new version 1.2 will be introduced by 1 March 2011. It will have a significant improvement.
Tan Kin Lian

Video on Family Life

FISCA Talks

Many people have lost a lot of money on structured products. New structured products are being introduced and more people will be snared in the future. To understand what are good and bad products, you should attend the talk by a risk management expert, Paula Tan. The talk is on 19 February. Details are available in www.fisca.sg/events.

I am giving a talk on financial planning on 26 February. This is specially suited for young people, to avoid being conned into buying a poor life insurance policy. Register at www.fisca.sg/events.

My new book, "Get Value on your life insurance" will be available on sale to participants at $8 (usual price $12). You can buy several copies to give to your friends. I will sign a copy.

Consumer Protection & Fair Trading Act (CPFTA)

The CPFTA now applies to financial services. Many financial advisers may be guilty of infringing on the provisions of CPFTA and may be providing misleading information to the consumers, especially in the form of verbal representations. If the consumer is able to provide evidence of the representations, they will be able to get the financial adviser to be charged for infringement of the CPFTA.
www.tankinlian.com
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=384

Read the article shown above. You can share your personal experiences on how you were misled by the fianncial adviser and get a lawyer to see if you can have a case to bring the financial adviser to court for infringing the CPFTA.

Behavior like a thief [2]

I wish to share this personal experience. I was given an infinite credit card as a special privilege with fee waived for 5 years. I was not told about the annual fee and I did not keep track of the expiry of this waiver period. I authorized the amount due to be deducted from my bank account by GIRO (as I wish to avoid the exorbitant late payment charge).

As I received "tons" of letters in my mailbox, it was difficult for me to keep track of all the statements and letters. One day, I checked my past statements and found, to my shock, that an annual fee of $1,500 for the renewal of the annual fee. The bank did not call me to check if I wish to renew the card and pay this exorbitant fee.

I called their call center. Before I could tell them my issue, the call center staff offered to refund my annual fee, as he noticed that I have a lot of spending on the card. Is this the behavior of a thief - to levy a large annual fee and hope that the customer does not notice it? If they knew that I had sufficient spending for the waiver of the fee, why charged the fee in the first place?

I just went to the website of the bank to see if the annual fee for this card is stated. I was NOT able to find the annual fee, after searching through a few webpages. I got a lot of other information about the benefits offers, but NO INFORMATION about the annual fee. I had to get to the call center to get this information from the staff. I deplore this type of behavior - make it difficult for the customer to know the fee and levy it on the customer when he is not aware about it.

I have just written to the bank to give specific instructions that they are NOT to renew my credit card without my specific approval of the annual fee. We are dealing with people who behaves like thieves!.

Tan Kin Lian

Tangram and Shape Quiz puzzles

I am giving a talk on tangram and shape puzzles at Tampines Library on 19 March 3 pm to 4.30 pm. Keep the date free. Details can be found at NLB website soon. Attendance is free.

Behavior of a thief

It is quite common for a bank to impose dubious charges and fees on unsuspecting customers, such as a hefty fee for renewal of a credit card, or a fee for late payment. When the customer finds out about the charge and protests, the bank waives these charges.

The bank hopes to earn the hefty fees from customers who did not notice the charges and did not protest. This is a behavior similar to a thief. It is now quite common for respectable institutions to engage in this type of dubious behavior in the pursuit of greed and profit. Integrity, honesty and ethics have gone through the door!

I wish to send this message to our business corporations to be true to their statement on corporate social responsibility and to act honorably and make an honest profit, not by adopting behavior that is similar to theft.

I also ask our regulators and legislators to step forward and do their duty in upholding integrity and honest behavior in our society. Do not pretend that these bad behaviors can be left to be sorted out by the market. Even the USA, that has promoted the concept of the free market, has now decided that legislation is necessary to control the bad behavior.

Tan Kin Lian

Best wishes for the Year of the Rabbit

Inequalities in Singapore

Hi Mr. Tan
I am becoming concerned about the issues of inequality in Singapore (e.g. widening income gap, bad vs good parenting, greater sense of selfishness amongst Singaporeans, etc.).

The many issues of inequality are due to our pursuit of economic growth and treading the lines of political correctness. In this respect, we are acting with an Asian value of 'we' as opposed to a sense of 'I' like in the West. But with each person so caught up with the overwhelming concern of survival, there is a sub-culture of individualism.

How can we possibly achieve a sense of belonging and maintain our nationhood when the working class man feels under siege by society and government? Are we wasting our money on National Education in schools when the roots of our nationhood are rotting away as we pursue political correctness and try to get into the upper strata of society, always overworking, always stressed.

I hope you and your readers can comment on this.
Spa Victim


REPLY
I share you concern and has expressed it in my blog on many occasions. I will post your views in my blog for other readers to comment.

Jason and Janice Plays Family Life App

Video on Family Life.

Janice said "This is like Sim City but is more relevant and realistic:.
Jason said "It allows a young person to experience life in a short time and learn how to make the key decisions in life".

Malay song win singing contest in Taiwan

Dear All,
The following is a link to a singing contest in Taiwan where a Malaysian Chinese won by singing this superb Malay song. Our great vision extraordinaire, MM Lee would never believe a Malay song could win any contest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnQ0zeuRr84&feature=player_embedded
Enjoy
Wing Lee


Translate: The song title is Gemilang - translate to "Brilliant".

Poor customer service from Singtel

I sent this e-mail to Singtel 8 days ago. I did not receive any reply or acknowledgement or even a telephone call. This is  a deplorable standard of customer service that is typical of most big organizations in Singapore. These are organisations that pride themselves on excellence. What excellence, when they refused to give a reply to a customer?

According to CNA, Singtel wants to build a cloud computing business. Perhaps they should start by replying to e-mails promptly.

SGEP and events in Egypt

Read SGEP for a good coverage of the events in Egypt and other relevant issues in Singapore and around the world. It summarizes the top news in the international and local media and in the new media (i.e. blogs) on the social issues that are relevant to Singapore.

Personal accident insurance

A policyholder is unhappy with the change of practice by an insurance company which decided to stop giving 15% discount for a 3 year insurance. He asked for my views on how to convince the company to continue the past practice.

The insurance company has already decided on the new practice and will not accommodate his views. I advised him to check the personal accident rates and cover quoted by other insurance companies and consider moving to a new insurer. As personal accident is offered by many insurance companies, it is easy to find a competitive quote.

Here are two websites that offer personal accident insurnce:

• Direct Asia: www.directasia.com
• EQ Insurance: http://www.eqinsurance.com.sg/home

Tan Kin Lian

Legislation to protect consumers

Update: I need to know the provisions of the specific legislations mentioned below. Please help me to do some research.

I wish to research the various legislations in Singapore that were aimed at protecting consumers. Some of them that I could remembers are:

• Fair treatment of consumers by financial institutions
• Unfair contract terms
• Competition Act
• Consumer Protection and Fair Trading Act
• Public Transport Council

With these legislation, consumers are supposed to be well protected in Singapore. However, in reality, consumers are given a poor deal. Examples are:

• Sold toxic products by financial institutions
• Exorbitant charges by businesses for services charged under long term contracts by telephone companies and for late payment by banks and credit cards
• Poor deal on long term life insurance policies

The problem is the lack of effective enforcements.

I like to get your help to identify the specific legislation, the agency that is responsible to enforce the legislation and, if possible, examples of their failure to act on infringement of the letter or spirit of the law. You can post your comments here or send them to kinlian@gmail.com.

Tan Kin Lian

Cartoons on Political Life

See some cartoons on Singapore political life at:
http://www.sg-quitters.blogspot.com/

FINANCIAL PLANNING TOOL

You can use this tool to prepare your personal financial plan. You have to enter your past savings and your regular monthly savings from now. The tool will project your savings at your retirement age based on different yields. This is then converted into the monthly amount that you can draw down over 20 years of your retirement.

The figures are shown before and after adjusting for inflation. The adjusted figures show you what what your retirement income is really worth.

You will also see the impact caused by different investment yields. It is important for you to earn a yield that is 2% higher than inflation rate. Do not be trapped in a low yielding investment.

This financial plan is suitable for people of all ages. It is important for the young people to follow the right financial plan and make the right investment for their future. Those nearly retirement can also adopt the right approach for their past savings.

The tool is available here: http://projects.easyapps.sg/life21d/Planning.aspx. Please introduce your friends and family members to
use this tool. It is critical for their financial future!

Tan Kin Lian
President, FISCA (www.fisca.sg)

How to find a good lawyer

If you need to find a good lawyer who charges a reasonable fee, you can follow the guidance given in this FAQ:
www.tankinlian.com/latest.aspx
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=376

Climate of Fear

Dear Mr. Tan
I wish to share the following:


1) " When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)- 3rd President of USA
Source: http://jpetrie.myweb.uga.edu/TJ.html
and also 
Source: http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes.nsf/quotes_author!ReadForm&Start=81&Count=20&RestrictToCategory=thomas+jefferson

2) " Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories."
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)- 3rd President of USA
Source:
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quotes.nsf/quotes_author!ReadForm&Start=21&Count=20&RestrictToCategory=thomas+jefferson

Weak consumer protection in Singapore

The legal system in Singapore benefits the lawyers and business corporations that can afford lawyers. Consumers are badly treated in Singapore and they do not have redress. This leads to poor social justice in Singapore.

Here are the legal systems in other countries that have protection for consumers:

a) In USA, they allow lawyers to act on contingency fee. If the consumer has a strong case, the lawyers are willing to take up the case (and incur the risk of losing the case) to help the consumer to seek redress. They usually take 30% of the damages, but they will not act for a frivolous case as they waste their time. The court will not require the litigant (usually the consumer) who loses the case to bear the legal cost of the defendant (usually the business corporation).

b) In the UK, the Legal Aid Bureau will engage the lawyer to fight for the consumer (but perhaps only for cases with merit). The bureau pays the legal fees, and not the consumer.

Most countries have agencies that fight strongly to protect the consumer rights. In the USA, the attorney generals (employed by the government)  will take up cases on behalf of consumers, if they consider that consumers have been cheated. Their legislature (or Parliament) has law makers who spend time to look into these matters. The attorney general and legislators know that they are accountable to the people.

The situation in Singapore is bad for consumers. Even if consumers have a strong case, they are afraid to take it up as the legal fees are exorbitant. They are also worried that, if they lose the case, they will have to pay the legal fees of the big corporations (and these are even more exorbitant). Consequently, when consumers are badly treated and are ripped off, they can only suffer in silence. Such is the state of social justice in Singapore.

Business corporations are imposing excessive charges and selling bad products to consumers - with impunity. They know that consumers (except the multi-millionaires) cannot afford to take them to court. Our MPs are too busy to take up these matters in Parliament.

I hope that the next general election will produce a different kind of political system in Singapore and that the weakness in the legal system can be addressed.

Tan Kin Lian

Citibank survey - Singaporeans like whole life policies

 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1108237/1/.html

Hi Mr Tan,  looking at the responses to the survey, many still depend on whole life plans for retirement funds. More Singaporeans should read your blog!


REPLY
It is true that many people are still buying whole life policies. I need my blog readers to help spread the message through facebook, twitter, etc. Are you able to spend time to help me in this task? 


MESSAGE TO OTHER READERS OF THIS BLOG
You can tell your friends through Facebook to get them to read specific articles in my blog. And ask them to spread the message to other people through their Facebook contacts. All you need to do is to read my blog daily  and identify the articles that you can spread around through your channels. We need more people to work together to spread the message.

The Quest for Dignity

Read this article
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/opinion/01brooks.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

It seems that there are some similarities between Singapore and the governments that have fallen, i.e. governments that stay too long in power, ignore the opinion of their citizens and do not practice democracy and openness. But there are also differences, so will the Singapore system continue to survive?


Also, read SGEP

Income inequality - a lesson for Singapore

14:54 01Feb11 RTRS-UPDATE 1-Global imbalances returning, could fuel unrest: IMF chief

By Kevin Lim 

   SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The world economy has begun improving but is beset by problems such as high unemployment and rising prices which could fuel crippling trade protectionism or even lead to war within nations, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday. 

   Rising food and fuel prices in recent months have already hit poorer countries and are one of the factors behind massive anti-government protests in Egypt and in Tunisia, whose president was ousted last month. [ID:nLDE71000N] 

   
Read the article in:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/singapore-imf-idUKL3E7D10C420110201

UPDATE 2-Joblessness, rising prices could spark war within nations: IMF chief

Climate of Fear

"First They Came for the Jews"
By Pastor Niemoller

 
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Family Life 1.1

Learn the skill of making the right decisions to lead a successful life.
http://projects.easyapps.sg/fl/

Bad experience with M V Land

I sent this letter by fax to the directors of M V Land on 26 January. They did not acknowledge or reply to my letter after 5 days. They have been imposing a lot of troublesome requirements to other people, but when it comes to giving a reply, they are not able to cope. This is typical of many organisations in Singapore, and  reflects a culture of high handedness and arrogance.

I had another bad experience today. They told my staff that I had to submit a copy of my log card to apply for a season pass. Many places do not need the log card, but they insisted "as it is their policy". I do not know where I kept my log card, so I visited their office to offer my certificate of insurance.

I had to wait for half an hour as their staff was busy attending to another owner. When I was attended, the staff did not bother with the log card or the insurance certificate, If this was not necessary, I could have sent my application by mail. I protested about this waste of my time. The staff was apologetic, but nothing will be done to change this bad practice.

This is typical of Singapore - troublesome requirements, unnecessary work, blind adherence by the staff who follow instructions set in the ivory tower. This used to be the purview of the government agencies, but commercial organisations have now caught this disease!