Dividend Magic

Saving and Investing towards Financial Independence in Malaysia

Investment

Tiger Brokers Review

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Filed Under: Dividends, FI/RE, Financial Independence, Investment, Investment Portfolio, Sponsored, US Stocks 2

I have had an account with Tiger Brokers since 2020 but have yet to utilise it apart from trying out their interface and depositing a small amount in there.

If you are looking to trade international stocks and have yet to open an account with Tiger Brokers, you will be glad to know that there are huge perks to opening an account now.

Tiger Brokers Account Opening Referral and Promotion

Account Opening Rewards

  • 1 unit of Grab share
  • Unlimited commission-free trades for HK, SG, and China A-Shares for 365 days.
  • Unlimited commission-free trades for US stocks for 180 days. 

Account Funding Reward (Initial Deposit of SGD1,000 or more + execute 5 BUY trades)

  • SGD88 cash

The full T&C can be viewed hERE. The promotion lasts till 12 October 2022.

Why Tiger Brokers?

Fees

First off, as always, fees. Tiger Brokers’ zero-commission trading is huge and beats many other international brokers.

Now, zero commissions do not mean that trading of US shares is totally free because there is, of course, a platform fee of USD0.005 per share or a minimum of USD1 per trade. It is a fee, but it is cheaper in comparison to many other brokers. So, keep that in mind.

As I’ve mentioned many times, fees are important because they eat their way into your investment and you’ll find yourself paying a lot more than 1% at the end of day, say, 20 years.

You may think a 0.1% or a 1% fee is of no significance but with the compounding nature of long-term investing, we, as average investors, are looking at hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in our investments at the end of the day.

Regulation and Protection

Tiger Brokers (Singapore) Pte Ltd is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Elsewhere, they’re also regulated by the SEC in the US, ASIC in Australia and HKSFC in Hong Kong. They’re compliant in all the countries they operate in so they’re safe. Apart from that, customer funds are held in a segregated trust account with DBS Bank Ltd. Custodian of investors’ shares is with the Central Depository (CDP) as well as overseas brokers.

Another important safety factor is that Tiger Brokers is listed on NASDAQ and under the ticker TIGR. This, in my book, adds credibility to Tiger Brokers as a brokerage platform. Their books and reports are easily accessible should you feel the need to refer to them as well.

Rewards

There’s a built-in rewards system for users of Tiger Brokers – Tiger Coins. By completing certain tasks (which aren’t all that hard) you’ll be credited with Tiger Coins which can be used to redeem rewards such as commission-free trades.

Account Opening and Registration

So, you’ve decided to open an account. Two types of accounts are available at Tiger Brokers – Margin and Cash Upfront. I’ll always recommend a cash upfront account to start with. If you’ve been trading and investing for a long time and are confident in your abilities, you can always move up and open a margin account.

Link to register hERE.

Funding Your Tiger Brokers Account

The are many ways to move your funds to Tiger brokers but the best I’ve found and that’ll save you fees in the future is this: You’ll have to open a bank account in Singapore. Basically, you transfer your monies to an SG bank account (you can use services like Transferwise etc to save on fees) and then from there into your Tiger Broker’s account.

Another transfer method to note is to use Wise which is integrated directly into the Tiger Trade APP, as part of a collaboration with Tiger Brokers. This method is fast and easy once it is set up. More info can be found here: https://www.tigerbrokers.com.sg/help/detail/87168024.

What I’ll be Using

Because of Tiger Broker’s low fee structure, I’ll be looking to add a ton of long-term international stocks here. Especially US shares.

Love the rewards I get from trading as well in the form of Tiger Coins.

End.

Account opening rewards are looking good and you get rewards as you trade and invest.

If you’ve yet to sign up and want to, use the registration link hERE. Check out the full details of the promotion hERE.

This post is sponsored by Tiger Brokers.

Carsome Review – My Experience Buying and Selling My Car with Carsome

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Filed Under: FI/RE, Financial Independence, Financial/Life Hacks, Investment, Other, Travel, food and the finer things in life 1

So I bought a car!

I love cars and I’ve never bought a brand new vehicle in my life. The car I just sold off was a 21-year-old BMW e46. I got the car back in 2013 and have been using it as my daily drive.

The reason I had to let go of the car was the cost of maintenance. I had been consistently spending thousands of ringgit a year for part changes and enough was enough. This is why you shouldn’t ever keep an old continental car as your daily drive.

The options available to me were to sell the BMW and get another newer car or sell the BMW and use Grab. I decided on getting another vehicle as I actually like driving and after doing some simple calculations, owning my own car made more sense.

Selling my Car

I had been getting ads on Instagram from both Carsome and myTukar regularly by this time. Went car-browsing on both sites and spent hours sifting through.

Some stuff to take note of, myTukar doesn’t accept cars over 20 years old. Carsome does.

Also, both of them gave me much higher prices compared to the local dealers you can find on Mudah. I predict a swift and timely death to 2nd hand car dealers all over Malaysia soon. They just can’t compete anymore.

So, took the plunge, sold my car to Carsome and got the best possible price (it was still a really shit price) and went browsing for my next car at Carsome.

Buying my Secondhand Car.

For years now, I already knew the brand and car model I wanted (it is a hatchback). And that’s about as much as I’d like to disclose about my vehicle for now.

All I had to do was look out for one that had low mileage and was in good condition. I had already done my research on the car with all the known issues and what to look out for. There were only two real choices for me. The hatchback or the very compact and fuel-efficient Perodua Axia. Also a low mileage and good condition one of course.

I was in no rush to sell the car so I think I spent about a month or two just sifting through and browsing cars on Carsome and myTukar. I had about 6 tabs open on my browser every day on cars. The car I wanted came on sale in January on Carsome. It was the model I wanted and it had done about 50k in mileage. Same models were at 80-100k mileage and priced the same on sites like Mudah.

Made the call, went through the process and paid a refundable deposit of RM1,000 for the car. I had the salesperson bring the car over to KL all the way from Johor for a viewing.

Steps to Buying a Secondhand Car

Now I’m sure there are plenty of resources on buying secondhand cars online you can go through. Heck, some of you here may even be veterans and are better at it than I am. But here is what I did.

1. Inspection

One of the reasons I chose Carsome was for its inspection and checking system. There is a detailed report on the problems found on each car listed on their website.

Despite this, the very first thing I did was bring the car to a friend’s workshop and garage for a full inspection. Did an Onboard diagnostic (OBD) to make sure the car wasn’t tampered with. Paid RM150 for the inspection.

We checked for rust at the bottom and made sure no rust was found on the car’s mainframe. We noticed significant rust on the car’s front right absorber and mounting.

The salesperson from Carsome was a really good one and a friend of a friend. He agreed to have the car sent back to their workshop and to change the parts if there were issues found.

2. Test Driving

After waiting for about a week for the car parts to be fitted, I brought along a very kind friend who was a mechanic for the first viewing and test drive. Let him take the wheel and right off the bat we heard weird sounds coming from the front whenever the car went over a speed bump.

And guess what? It was back to the workshop again! In total, I think I went for 3 test drives because of the sound from the front. Carsome changed: Absorbers, Mounting, Dust Covers, Bearing and even did the alignment for the wheels. At the end of like 4 test drives over the span of a month, there was still some sound coming from the front over speed bumps but it was significantly less, I was already feeling really embarrassed for the back and forth and decided to just go ahead with the purchase. I decided that I will refit the parts on my own time later.

I think only companies like Carsome and myTukar will do this for you. If you’re purchasing from a secondhand car dealer, forget it.

3. Loan Application and Payment

I got the salesperson to submit my hire purchase application to a few different banks, and settled on CIMB as they offered me the lowest rate at 3.1% for a 7-year loan. The loan came with a few conditions.

  1. Open a savings account with CIMB;
  2. Take the first year’s motor insurance with them; and
  3. Snatch Medz for one year.

Snatch Medz is a sort of life insurance where if I were to die or suffer a total disability, the loan would be paid off. This one cost me RM430 for the first year.

Used my credit card for the deposit, had a problem increasing my credit limit with Maybank so I had to delay the purchase for another few days. Managed to get it settled eventually so a tip here is to get a hold of your bank earlier if you’ve already decided on the car. Get your points from the deposit! It is worth it.

Additional Stuff I Asked For

If you’re going to get a vehicle from Carsome or myTukar, don’t forget to ask for additional freebies!

You can check out Carsome hERE.

Change all faulty parts!

Change in parts that were broken. As mentioned earlier, I got a lot of parts replaced. If you’re getting your car from a dealer like Carsome, you should do your inspection and ask for a change in faulty parts. Ask for everything!

Car plate number interchange

I got a discount for the exchange of my car plate number. I bought my own number through JPJ’s auction and had Carsome replace it at a discount. I think it was around RM200 cheaper to do it through their agent.

Promotions

Always remember to check what promos the dealer is having. It so happened Carsome was having a TnG wallet promo and I asked for that.

They were also giving a RM1K discount if you sell your car to them and subsequently buy from them after. I qualified for that and got RM1K off as well.

Petrol vouchers

And after getting everything sorted, I got my guy at Carsome to get me petrol vouchers! I got about RM300 worth of it.

End.

So I’ll most likely be using this car for at least another 10 years. Will be keeping it in good condition. I have still yet to buy a new car for myself. This article has taken a pretty sharp turn away from investing, but hey, buying a car costs money and making a good decision here is vital to investing too.

If you’re looking to sell or buy a car, head over to Carsome’s website. I’ve had a good experience with them. I can even get my salesperson to give you a call so drop me an email or a DM on Instagram.

Aaaaand, if you’ve been following me on Instagram, you would’ve noticed me posting pics of another vehicle occasionally. I invested in an old classic car and I’ll be posting much more about it soon!

Kenanga Digital Investing

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Filed Under: Investment, Robo-Advisor 7

Fully Automated Robo Advisor

Another new addition to the Robo-advisor stratosphere! This time from Kenanga and it is called Kenanga Digital Investing (KDI). The platform is fully A.I.-driven with little to no human involvement. Most of the Robo-advisors we have in Malaysia right now are a mix of A.I. plus fund manager’s decisions. The only other similar one is from MyTheo.

Is Kenanga Digital Investing Safe?

First off, they’re licensed by the Securities Commission (SC). In terms of governance and licensing, that is as safe as it can get.

As for its execution, the algorithm used by Kenanga Digital Investing is fully A.I.-driven with machine learning capabilities. In the online briefing I attended, Kenanga mentioned that they’ve backtested all the portfolios from 2004. The results shown and presented to us were positive.

Kenanga Digital Investing – KDI Save and KDI Invest

KDI Save – Cash Management Fund

KDI offers two main products to clients and investors. The first is their Cash Management Fund (CMF) – KDI Save. They’re offering fixed returns at 3.0% p.a. with zero fees and calculated on a daily basis. This is one of the highest I’ve seen. And, you don’t have to start off with a huge amount, the minimum is RM100. However, it is capped at RM200,000, anything above that, it’ll be a 2.25% return p.a. Still decent.

KDI Invest – A.I. Driven Investing

KDI Invest is further broken down into five different funds based on your risk profile.

  1. Very Conservative
  2. Conservative
  3. Balanced
  4. Growth
  5. Aggressive Growth

From the backtesting results (from 2004 to 2021) I sighted during KDI’s briefing, the annualized return for the five funds ranges from 6% to 14%. The maximum drawdown was in the range of 10% to 16% for all five funds. Which is pretty damn good.

Kenanga Digital Investing – How to Start?

The steps from registration to execution are simple and straightforward. Before that, there is a special promotion for Dividend Magic readers.

Click Here to Sign Up
Referral code: 100108

Using the above link, you’ll receive RM20 for free upon successful activation of your account with a minimum transacted amount of RM100 into KDI Save or RM250 into KDI Invest. This RM20 will be paid out within 30 days.

Do also note that this promotion is only applicable to the first 500 successful referrals and valid up to 31st May 2022.

The next step to registering is to key in your personal details and to take a clear picture of the front and back of your IC.

You then answer a few simple questions regarding your investment goals and horizon. You’ll be recommended with one of the five portfolios based on your answers. However, you’re still free to pick one on your own. As I’ve still got a long time-horizon ie. 20+ years, I went with the KDI Invest – Aggressive Growth portfolio.

Benefits Kenanga Digital Investing (KDI) – What sets it apart?

Their cash management fund – KDI Save is currently one of the best I’ve found. No fees, a 3% return, and one-day withdrawals. It is perfect for my emergency funds now instead of placing them in fixed deposits or a savings account. I plan to move my funds here. Keep in mind that funds over RM200K earn a lower rate of 2.25%. Which is still higher than FDs!

As for KDI Invest, I’m happy with the returns shown from their backtesting. Would love to see them go further back than 2004 though. I’ll be trying this out for a year and then compare it to my returns from my investments in StashAway.

The fully A.I.-driven approach sounds good to me, and the maximum drawdowns, even for their most aggressive portfolio was only 16%.

Lastly, FEES! I know how everyone, myself included is always concerned about fees. KDI Invest employs a tiered system.

The fees are in line with other Robo-advisors, even cheaper at some tiers. They’re also not charging anything for investments RM3,000 and below.

Also to note, the minimum investment amount is RM250.

End.

I’m definitely going for their cash management fund – KDI Save. And I’ll be testing the waters first with RM3,000 in KDI Invest for a few months. If all is good, I’ll be doing DCA via Kenanga Digital Invest for the long term.

Applying for an IPO in Malaysia

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Filed Under: Investment 2

An Initial Public Offering, more commonly known as an IPO is when a private company is listed on the stock exchange and sells its shares to the public for the first time. They are usually met with much fanfare and anticipation.

To put it simply, there are 3 ways for Malaysians to apply for an IPO:

1) Manual via application forms;
2) ATMs; and
3) eIPO via online banking

I have never done number 1 and I don’t think anyone is doing it this way anymore. Maybe the older generation of stock investors used to do this. Applying via the ATM was the easiest method up until a few years ago. Now, I think the go-to and most convenient way to apply for an IPO in Malaysia is through online banking.

Most local banks offer this service and I myself use Maybank. I’ll be giving you a step-by-step guide below using Maybank because it can get a little complicated.

eIPO Application via Maybank2U

Things to Note When Applying for an IPO in Malaysia.

  1. It goes without saying but you’ll first want to make sure that you have a sufficient amount of money in your account before applying. Take note that some banks require you to maintain a minimum balance.
  2. Fees. I was charged RM1 by the bank as a processing fee.
  3. Only apply once. Duplicate applications are not allowed.
  4. Take note of the closing date and apply before 5pm that day.
  5. Take care to input the correct CDS number when applying.
  6. Only Direct CDS accounts can apply for IPO, nominee accounts unfortunately cannot.

CTOS DIGITAL BERHAD IPO

If you squint hard enough at the image earlier, you can make out HAILY GROUP BHD and CTOS DIGITAL BHD. And as you might have guessed, I’m actually applying for CTOS this time around. I’ve tried applying for a few companies prior to this and never got any shares. So I’m not keeping my hopes up.

End.

Keeping this article short and simple for those of you who want to apply for IPOs in Malaysia. Hope this helped and thank you for reading!

Tudor Black Bay GMT – My Investment in a Luxury Watch

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Filed Under: Investment, Other Investments, Travel, food and the finer things in life 4

Brand: Tudor
Model: Black Bay GMT
Reference Number: 79830RB
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire
Movement: Cal. MT5652
Case Diameter: 41mm

This will be more of an unconventional and personal article detailing my recent purchase and investment in a luxury watch.

Why a Luxury Watch?

I’ve always loved watches and had throughout the years taken to wearing my dad’s watches. As most of you know, I’m not a big spender but I think watches are my kryptonite. But, I do have the following justifications.

A Goal

Getting myself a quality watch has always been a goal of mine. I promised myself a long time ago that when I have the financial means to own one, I would get one.

Some go for cars, some yatches, mine was a watch.

Lasts a Lifetime

I wanted something that was of high quality and can last me my entire life.

At the same time, it appreciates in value over time. In fact, I’ve come to see quality timepieces as perhaps the best heirloom to pass on to the next generation.

Investment

I love the feel of a good solid watch on my wrist and in the case of a luxury watch, they retain their value over time. The latter appeals very much to the investor in me.

Instead of having my cash in stocks or placed in FDs, I wanted one on my wrist. In fact, my Tudor GMT, after wearing it for about 6 months, has appreciated by about 20% in value.

How I Purchased a Tudor

With the above reasons, it was about time I got myself one.

Tudor Black Bay GMT

To be totally honest, I looked at a Rolex initially but it was just too expensive for me. I couldn’t justify having RM50,000 on my wrist that I know that I wouldn’t wear often. So until my net worth goes up by about 5X, a Rolex would not suit me.

A Tudor isn’t a Rolex but as some of you may know, Tudor is the sister company of Rolex. You get the quality of Rolex at a more than 50% discount.

They’re a brand that I can get behind and they do increase in value over time. Also, with their lower price tag compared to a Rolex, I can comfortably wear a Tudor every day.

With Tudor in mind, I spent days diving through watch forums and reading articles on the company and I was torn between the Black Bay GMT and BB58. I finally settled on the GMT because I love the Pepsi bezel and the GMT feature is useful for me when I travel.

Tudor was actually introduced to me by a new friend I met through one of my readers. Sean, from ssong watches.
Ssong is a great place to look for and to learn about luxury watches. Sean answered ALL of my many many queries as I was doing my research on watches. He’s a veteran in the industry and has years of experience with luxury watches. I was fortunate to have been acquainted with him before making my first purchase.

Ssong did not have Tudors at the time I was looking to buy so I told Sean to reserve one for me if and when a unit becomes available. I then went ahead and booked one from Mid Valley’s Tudor boutique store as well, as per the advice from Sean himself.

As a side note, I actually had a very bad experience when I went to The Hour Glass at the Gardens. Didn’t get good service there. On the other hand, I had a wonderful experience at Tudor’s boutique store in Mid Valley though.

Purchased!

Finally, towards the end of 2020, I was finally able to get myself my first ”somewhat” luxury watch – a Tudor Black Bay GMT.

Lady luck was actually on my side and Sean gave me a call I think a few weeks after I met him to reserve a Tudor GMT. I didn’t purchase a brand new one but instead got one that was in mint condition and barely worn a few times at a slight discount.

Till today, I still feel a sense of joy putting on the watch every day. =)
It may be tough to explain my love and appreciation for a good watch to someone that doesn’t like one, so I won’t.

I’ve heard from so many around me saying they’d just wear an apple watch or a Casio as it was just to tell time. I’ve got nothing against Casio btw. An Apple Watch can even measure your heartbeat and health. They may be right in their own way, but god damn I still love my watch.

I’ve been wearing my Tudor GMT for half a year now, almost every single day. This is an investment for me but at the same time, it is an investment I can fall in love with. The price has already gone up in the 6 months that I’ve owned the watch.

End.

As mentioned earlier, I know this article is a little out of the norm from the usual stocks and dividends. But hey, I think it is a viable investment and I really do consider it one.

Hopefully, you’ll continue to see updates on watches from me periodically. And I promise to not spend above my means. If you’ve got views or comments or even advice on watches, please do leave your thoughts in the comment section of this article. I know many of you are enthusiasts and veterans.

Binance – Crypto Savings and Staking

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment 7

So I’ve recently sold about RM20,000 worth of bitcoins. It was just sitting in my Luno account for a month or so as MYR because I did not know what to do with it. I have since moved that amount to Binance. I converted to XRP and then transferred it to Binance.

At the same time, I was also doing my research on DeFi and staking. A really good place to start if you’re looking into this is CoinGecko’s book – How to DeFi. It took me a few days to get through the whole book the first time, and another few days for me to kinda-sorta understand it. And even now, I think I’ve barely scratched the surface. If you guys have other recommended readings, please do share them with me.

My Crypto Portfolio on Binance

Space reserved for updates.

Binance vs Coinbase

So my interest is actually in staking my coins. I don’t like my assets to just sit there and staking actually generates a lot of returns in the form of interest. So I had to look for platforms that supported staking and savings. In the end, it boiled down to Binance and Coinbase, I went with Binance mainly because they’re the biggest and the cheapest.

Is Binance Safe?

Some of you may remember the Binance hack back in 2019. The company actually absorbed the losses sustained then and no users were affected.

Another one of my concerns with Binance was with China. Binance was founded in China but they’ve since taken measures. Their servers were moved to Japan back in 2017 and they’re now headquartered in the Cayman Islands.

What I Did on Binance

As mentioned earlier, I had about RM20,000 of Bitcoin profits sitting in my Luno account. I decided to move this amount to Binance to try out its savings and staking. I wanted to move my funds with the lowest possible fees and decided to move it using XRP. Bought the maximum amount of XRP in Luno, moved the funds to Binance, and then converted my XRP to USDT.

The total transfer cost of XRP? 0.8313165. Which translates to about RM4?

As you can see, I’m holding 3,811 USDT right now and earning 5.80% p.a. using Binance’s savings feature

Earning Interests on my Crypto

Savings

So the safest of all the various forms of earning a return on your coins is Savings. Of which there are two types – Locked Savings and Flexible Savings.

An example would be Bitcoin’s savings. You stand to earn 1.2% p.a. Which isn’t too bad considering I’ve been earning zilch previously.

Another personal example of mine is my USDT Savings which is currently netting me 5.80% p.a.

Staking

I’ve yet to actually stake my coins but I’m really looking into it. Right now, there’s a sort of first come first serve situation with the more popular coins.

So, what is staking?

Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation (similar to mining) on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. On these blockchains, anyone with a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency can validate transactions and earn Staking rewards. 

– Coinbase

For example, for USDT, the interest rate for staking is almost double its savings rate at 10.67%. But it is sold out.
I’ll definitely be selling my USDT at some point to invest in other coins and then staking them. Updates will be done on this same page so keep an eye out.

The Risks of Savings and Staking

As we are all too familiar with, the higher the risk, the higher your potential reward. Naturally, that means staking carries a higher risk when compared to savings.

One risk that both savings and staking share is the risk of the value of your coin falling. If that particular coin experiences a huge drop, all interests earned will be wiped out.

Savings and Staking are very new in the world of finance and cryptocurrencies. Essentially, you’re lending your coins out to a process.

Usually, in Savings, your coin is loaned out to a holding company that then lends it to its various clients. These clients may want to borrow cryptocurrency for financial trades or for arbitrage.

In Staking, your tokens are used in its respective verification process. By helping out the network, you earn a reward.

A key thing to remember – Do not risk your whole stack of coins. Not in savings and not in staking. Don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose.

Sign Up

If you’re looking to sign up with Binance and explore the world of DeFi, use the link or manually enter my code: GGRMJQWA

You get a small 5% kick back and discount on fees when you make transactions there.

End.

I’m moving a relatively small portion of my crypto portfolio from Luno to Binance. Luno is still where the bulk of my portfolio will be held as it is the safest for me as a Malaysian.

The main reason for testing out Binance is to try out their savings and staking. If you’re new to cryptocurrencies and looking for a place to start, my advice is to stick with Luno as a Malaysian. Safety will be the biggest priority. My review and my cryptocurrency portfolio on Luno can be found hERE.

Risks, risks, risks

There are huge. huge risks to investing in cryptocurrencies. Even more when you’re moving them out of Malaysia’s regulatory space and into unknown, literal international waters. You then further risk it by staking/savings said coins. So please, understand the risks you’re taking before taking the dive.

The above being said, I’m extremely excited right now and I feel like a kid all over again dabbling in a whole new world of finance. I’m still very new at this and would love to hear from experts or anyone with more experience with this.

Onwards and upwards!

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