Dividend Magic

Saving and Investing towards Financial Independence in Malaysia

Other Investments

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.

A Review of CapBay – P2P Lending in Malaysia

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Filed Under: FI/RE, Investment Portfolio, Other Investments 13

CapBay Referral Code (RM100)

If you’re signing up and registering with CapBay, don’t forget to use my code and link for a free RM100. To qualify, you’ll have to make the RM10K deposit and select one of the Auto Invest profiles (Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive). The full terms and conditions can be found here.

Register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC

CapBay Portfolio Update

An important note: First started investing in May 2021.

July 2023

No defaults yet on my side and it’s amazing that the portfolio has been maintaining 11.1% for like.. forever. I’m going to check how this is calculated or if it is a bug..

As I only put in RM10,000 so far, since May 2021, this comes up to 17.95% returns in 2 years.

CapBay is also having a few promotions on and off recently so if you’re looking to start investing, make sure to capitalise on that. Also, my code, for an additional RM100.

Register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC

Nov 2022

Still happy with CapBay!

CapBay is also having a few promotions on and off recently so if you’re looking to start investing, make sure to capitalise on that. Also my code above for an additional RM100.

I’ll be adding in a little more money the next time they have a promo.

June 2022

I’m pretty happy and satisfied with CapBay. With the markets in turmoil, CapBay is the one that outshines my other investments for the year at an 11% annual return. A little lower of course once you take into account the fees.

CapBay is also having a few promotions on and off recently so if you’re looking to start investing, make sure to capitalise on that. Also my code above for an additional RM100.

May 2022

Many of you have been asking for an update on my P2P lending portfolio on CapBay. The good news is that there are still zero defaults! And the even greater news is that the annual return is still above 10% right now.

I prolonged the update a little because this month marks the 1 year anniversary of my investment in CapBay. We put in RM10K back in May 2021. And now, we’ve got a net return of RM780.51. That is a 7.8% return. Not too shabby compared to the markets now.

In light of the decent returns and zero defaults, I’ll be placing another RM10K into CapBay. I wish I could spare a little more but I don’t want to spread myself too thin.

If you’re thinking of giving CapBay a try, register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC and get RM100 for freeee.

Read on for the step-by-step guide to register and how to choose your portfolios.

January 2022

I invested RM10,000 in CapBay back in May 2021. The first update (as below) was in September 2021 in which I got RM262.77 back, amounting to a 2.62% ROI in 5 months.

Fast forward to January 2022, from the same RM10K in investment, we’ve got a net return of RM525.15. That’s a 5.25% return in 8 months.

Not sure if we’ll be able to reach 10% in returns at the end of one year. But we’ll check back again in May 2022! Still pretty happy with the returns AND of course, no bloody defaults.

If you’re thinking of giving CapBay a try, register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC and get RM100 for freeee.

Read on for the step-by-step guide to register and how to choose your portfolios.

September 2021

I invested RM10,000 in CapBay back in May 2021. Here’s how the portfolio is doing almost 5 months after.

I’ve gotten back RM262.77 which was of course reinvested again. That comes up to about 2.62% ROI in 5 months. It does seem a little low right now but bear in mind that due to the nature of financing, it’ll take a few months for each note to mature. We’re looking at an average time period of 6 months per note. Below is an example of a note that took about 2 months to mature.

For now, I’m happy with the 2% return in 5 months. And I’ll probably keep the money in for 1 year or maybe 2 then re-evaluate CapBay’s performance.

The best part, however, is the zero defaults so far. That has always been a concern when investing in P2P lending. With no defaults in 5 months, I’ll be continuing with CapBay for the foreseeable future.

The P2P Lending Scene in Malaysia

I’ve been receiving inquiries on and off on what P2P platform I’m currently in. And if you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’d know I had some money in Funding Societies. However, due to their increasing defaults, I’ve pulled out most of my capital.

Over the past few months, I’ve been looking to re-invest in the sector. I’m on the lookout for lower risks and default rates, somewhere my money can grow steadily at a reasonable rate of return. Which lead me to CapBay.

Types of Loans – Business Term vs Invoice Financing

During P2P’s infancy days, the loans offered by most platforms consisted of mainly business term loans. Which is, of course, the essence of P2P financing i.e. You lend money directly to businesses for a fixed period, typically between 12 to 36 months.

However, it is when the defaults came in that investors realized just how risky it was to hand out loans willy-nilly. And of course, the importance of really diversifying and not putting your capital into a few loans. Instead, when it comes to P2P financing, diversifying over many loans is advisable.

Fortunately for me, my returns today are still in the positive region. I’ve almost withdrawn 100% of my capital with a net return of 10+% per annum.

Right now, I’m looking to get back into the P2P scene as the industry as a whole matures. And I’m looking to lower my default risk by going for primarily Invoice Financing. There is lower risk here because investors are essentially lending money in the short term to SMEs based on a transaction.

In short, when an SME sells their services to a buyer on credit, they often must wait up to 6 months to get their payment. Invoice Financing allows these SMEs access to upfront payment. With Invoice Financing, the SME has already made the sale and the risk of default is actually transferred to the corporate buyer. Typically, Invoice Financing is for the short term, you’ll normally see a loan term of not more than 6 months.

Why CapBay?

CapBay specializes in providing Invoice Financing to SMEs who supply to blue-chip companies and government-related entities. Among the few P2P players in Malaysia, CapBay currently has had no defaults SO FAR since their launch in February 2020. This is no easy feat and caught my attention right away and got me digging for more info about them.

As reported by Fintech News Malaysia, CapBay is the fastest platform to hit RM100 million in P2P Financing. Typically, fast growth leads to problems with risk. The fact that they’ve managed to achieve this growth while still maintaining a 0% default rate is impressive.

How CapBay Works

CapBay works a little differently from the platforms I’ve used. They’re encouraging ”Auto-investing” whereby you let the platform pick the loans to invest in. As you all know, I’m a big fan of automating investments and so I will be using their Auto Invest feature all the way.

You choose from 3 different Auto Invest Profiles based on their respective risk profiles and potential return – Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive. If however, you want to have better control of your capital, you can choose to customize.

Within these 3 different profiles, you’ll find a further 3 categories of notes:
1. Select: Safer and lower return notes
2. Motor: Dealer financing notes
3. Diversified: Riskier and higher return notes

There’ll be a section for you to read up on these on the platform itself.

Another thing to note: Your uninvested funds will earn an estimated 1.7% per annum. This is a special feature called CapBay Plus that ensures you continue to generate returns on uninvested funds if you utilize their Auto Invest.

Simple Steps to Get Started

CapBay Registration P2P

You’ll need RM10,000 to start

This one here got me thinking a little and I know RM10,000 is a huge amount to start with for many, myself included. But after looking at the 0% default rate for a year, as well as the expected net return of up to 10% per annum on their investment opportunities, I’ve decided to go ahead. I’ll be posting updates on the performance here, probably on a regular basis.

Registration

CapBay Registration

Registration took me about 5 minutes. All the usual KYC are required. I.e. pics of your IC and a 5-sec video upload.

If you don’t have a webcam, make sure you download the app and register there as you’ll need to upload a video during registration as part of their KYC requirements.

CapBay Referral Code

And finally, if you’re signing up and registering with CapBay, don’t forget to use my code and link for a free RM100. To qualify, you’ll have to make the RM10K deposit and select one of the Auto Invest profiles (Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive). The full terms and conditions can be found here.

Register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC

End.

My Portfolio

CapBay Registration P2P

I’ve added in RM10,000 to the Auto-Invest feature and selected the Aggressive profile.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image.png

The Auto-Invest feature was quick and my funds are 40% invested in a few days. Returns range from 7.3% to 9.7% currently.

Look forward to future updates to my P2P portfolio.

Risks of P2P

Please understand that I consider P2P investing a high-risk venture. Even with CapBay’s focus on Invoice Financing, I still consider this to be a risky investment. But how else can you expect a potential net yield of up to 10% per annum.

This is why I’ve been doing a lot of research and looking around the Malaysian market. I’ll be testing the waters with CapBay and will let everyone know how it goes via my updates.

Best Premier Banking in Malaysia

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Filed Under: Fixed Deposits, Savings Accounts etc, Other Investments 10

Premier Banking vs Priority Banking

The article is a work in progress and I’ll be updating it as and when new information becomes available. Thank you everyone that messaged and emailed me with your experiences.

First, let me clarify that premier banking and priority banking aren’t the same. They are miles apart. You need to have RM250K and above to be eligible for premier banking. For priority banking, it is at least RM3 million.

In this article, we will be talking about premier banking primarily because I am only eligible for that and have experience with it. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we can talk about priority banking. I’ve also spoken to some of my friends as well as readers to collate their experiences here for you to make a decision.

If you’re thinking of upgrading from being a mere standard customer to joining the higher ranks in premier banking, let me start by telling you that premier banking isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Premier Banking in Malaysia Ranked – The Good and the Bad

The reason I’m writing this article is because I myself am looking to switch away from my current bank – Maybank to one that offers better services. And since I’ll be doing my research on premier banking in Malaysia anyway, I might as well jot everything down here and share this with everyone.

The list below is based on my 1-year long experience with Maybank’s Premier Banking as well as the experiences of my friends and colleagues with other banks as well. The general good and bad are listed here and we will go into each bank’s good and bad later in the article.

No long queues

Let’s start off with the good first. In the day to day running of my businesses, I require weekly (sometimes daily) cash deposits over the counter or through ATMs.

I get to skip ahead of the queue to conduct my usual banking. Oh, and you also get to park in a designated spot for premier banking customers. But this isn’t great because, at my branch, the parking is always occupied.

Better and faster service

With a premier banking card, and at branches where they have premier banking, I’m allowed to head to a specially designated floor to do my banking, deposits, and whatnot there. At some branches, you get coffee and canned drinks while you wait. You get WiFi if you’re lucky.

I’ve also seen some branches where they provide newspaper, a tv that reports on financial news. Some even have PCs for you to do your online banking or stock trading if you choose to.

Better mortgage and loan rates

You’re able to procure slightly better rates when applying for mortgages and hire purchases. As a premier banking customer, you’ll also be afforded a less stringent loan approval process.

A personal relationship manager

I’ve been a premier banking customer with Maybank for about a year now. As a premier banking customer, you’re assigned a personal banker, also known as a relationship manager (RM) that acts as a liaison and caters to your banking needs. Instead of having to head over to the branch directly, you’re able to make certain transactions over the phone.

Your experience as a premier banking customer is highly dependent on the RM that’s assigned to you. Unfortunately for me, I’ve been assigned one that is very pushy and sales oriented and sees fit to constantly bombard me with product offers every other week. And being the nice person that I am, I have to come up with excuses to politely reject his proposals.

The products offered to me have always been unit trusts, packaged products that consist of unit trusts and more unit trusts.

Idle Cash

Now this is the worst part for me. All banks in Malaysia will require you to either have cash/investments or loans with them to be eligible for premier-ship.

Personally, I place my cash in fixed deposits and treat this as my emergency fund. I practice FD Laddering. Yes, you often are able to get slightly better FD rates but still, I don’t like the idea of RM200K or more sitting in the bank generating measly returns.

1. Maybank Premier Banking

  1. Service: Good (Sitting area)
  2. Parking: Designated spot, no sticker was provided to me, had to show my debit card to prove I’m a customer.
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: Didn’t opt for it.
  5. RM: Pushy
  6. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)

I’m fortunate enough to be able to be eligible for premier banking. I park the minimum amount in fixed deposits as emergency funds and invest the rest.

The best thing about Maybank’s premier banking for me is actually being able to conduct my banking transactions quickly. What usually takes me 30 mins to an hour can be done in probably 10-15 mins.

Perhaps I got a pretty pushy RM and also it is because I’m well versed in finance and investing that the products offered were of very little interest to me. The only time I put money with my RM is when he offered the bundled ASM product to me where I managed to get some of the coveted fixed priced units. I write about it hERE.

All in all, premier ain’t nothing much to shout about so the next time you see someone walking up the stairs or to the premier banking section, you know that it really isn’t that big of a deal.

2. Alliance Privilege Banking

  1. Service: Good
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park no questions asked.
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: Lifetime fee waiver
  5. Products and services:
    1. CASA (2.25% for deposits more than 350k)
    2. FD Slightly higher compared to standard board rates.
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Foreign currency retail bonds

This one was provided by one of Alliance’s own RM.

3. AmBank Signature Priority Banking

  1. Service: Posh waiting area.
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all AmBank branches.
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: No particularly attractive benefits
  5. RM: Standard
  6. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)

Special products: Yet to be discovered.

This one was provided by Mr. T, a fellow reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

4. OCBC Premier Banking

  1. Service: Excellent
  2. Parking: Designated spot
  3. Requirement: RM300K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: Platinum credit cards
  5. RM: Pushy, salesman
  6. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)
    3. Bundled UT with FD (FD slightly higher rates but high UT fees)
    4. 24hr loan approval status!

This one was provided by my good friend and fellow financial blogger Siva at sivasathish.com.

5. HSBC Premier

  1. Service: Good (Free WIFI, sitting area, financial channel, coffee, tea. Self-service coke, sprite, packet drink.)
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all HSBC branches, 2-hour limit.
  3. Requirement: RM200K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: HSBC Premier Master Card (Free access to airport lounge)
  5. RM: Professional
  6. Products and services :
    1. CASA
    2. FD (mediocre rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Unit Trust (Birthday month 1% sales charges)
  • Special products: When you are an HSBC Premier customer, you are automatically a premier customer overseas as well. USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China without having to meet their overseas’ minimum requirements. When you transfer your funds between countries, it is a real-time transaction and does not include service charges. You can get a credit card in that country as well.
  • Oversea banking benefit: If you get an HSBC HK bank account. You can trade shares in the HK market (high fees). However, you can apply for HK IPO using margin. E.g. Ant Financial. You can apply for a 90% margin and pay only a 10% investment fund. This will increase your chances to get the IPO share as HK IPO is base on the size of the application to allocate the IPO. For E.g. If the allocation rate is 10% and 1 lot is 100 shares. If you apply for 100 shares, your chance is 10% to get 100 shares. If you apply for 1000 shares, your chances are 100% to get 100 shares. However, to use margin to apply, your address must be HK address.
  • You can get a credit card in other areas like HK. You get the credit line of HKD 200K. The bank requires no collateral.

This one was also provided by Mr. T, a fellow reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

6. Standard Chartered Priority

  1. Service: Good (Free WIFI, sitting area, financial channel, coffee, tea, hot chocolate
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all SC branches, 2-hour limit.
  3. Requirement: RM250K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: Standard Chartered PB Priority VISA Infinite (Free access to airport lounges. Free airport taxi. Hotel dining 50% cashback until 30 Dec 2020. Must maintain AUM of RM250K)
  5. RM: Professional
  6. Products and services
    1. CASA (Privilege account gives the best current account interest rate – 2.6% T&Cs Apply.)
    2. FD (Mediocre rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment
    4. Discount on safe deposit boxes
  • Special products: When you are an SC Priority customer, you are automatically an SC Priority customer in other countries such as the UK, HK, and Singapore without having to meet their minimum requirements. When you transfer your funds between countries, it is a real-time transaction and with no service charges. You can get a credit card in that country as well.
  • Oversea banking benefit: Same as HSBC HK for IPO. Need to go over to HK to open an account. For SC Singapore, no need to go to Singapore to open an account. Can trade world stock (USA, Germany, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia). For priority banking customers, 0.2% with no minimum. No custodian charges and no charges to receive dividends.

This one was also provided by Mr. T, a fellow reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

7. UOB Privilege Banking

  1. Service: Never been to the branch.
  2. Parking: Designated spot, able to park with car sticker, no questions asked. Usable in all UOB branches. Limousine service available to pick up from home to the branch and from the branch to any other place in KL. (Contact RM to apply.)
  3. Requirement: RM500K AUM
  4. Special Credit Card: No particularly attractive benefits
  5. RM: Professional
  6. Products and services :
    1. CASA (InvestPro account which gives 1.7% interest p.a. for deposits over RM50K)
    2. FD (Slightly higher rates)
    3. Dual Currency Investment

Special products: Yet to be discovered

This one was also provided by Mr. T, a fellow reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

The Best Premier Banking Service in Malaysia

These are all personal experiences, from different customers, at different branches, with different RMs. Your own experience will very likely be different.

So I won’t do you the injustice of naming the best in Malaysia. BUT, based on everyone’s experiences, I’ll want to go for UOB if I had RM500K. Right now though, I’ll probably give HSBC a try. Will be updating this page with my experiences with them in the near future.

Final Thoughts.

As a final conclusion, premier banking is a nice thing to have. But treat it as a bonus and an extra. Don’t go pooling all your money into your saving accounts and FDs just to meet the required AUM to be eligible. Build up your assets first, and if your emergency funds come up to RM200K and above, opt for premier banking. At the end of the day, you’re parking a huge amount of money with them, earning very little returns when you can for example invest in stocks or bitcoin. Opportunity costs.

Another thing to note is that the banks themselves won’t always offer you premier banking even if you reach their requirements. So take the initiative and ask your bank for it if you’re eligible.

These are all the banks I’m able to write about from first-hand experience as well as from my friend’s and readers’ experiences. I’ll be looking to finish the list and have all the banks in Malaysia listed. Do drop me a comment or email if you’ve got experiences you’d like to share.

Oh, and if you’re thinking of signing up for premier banking, look out for referral and reward programs with said bank. If they have one, drop me an email or comment and I can hook you up with readers who are already clients and you can both enjoy the rewards.

Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who messaged me and shared your experiences. If you have experience with other banks not mentioned here, do drop me an email!

ETFs vs Unit Trusts / Mutual Funds in Malaysia

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Filed Under: Investment, Other Investments 4

This is an an article for Malaysians who are looking for:

  1. A better alternative to Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds
  2. Exposure to equities
  3. An easy way to invest without having to do too much research
  4. Long term, low fee investing

If you do not have the know-how and/or time to do the research and valuations on individual stocks and equities. Fret not, there are a few options out there for us Malaysians. Some better than others.

The Choices

1. Trade Yourself

First off, I’ll have to have this option here. This is what I do, I invest and trade stocks myself. I pay no annual fees or management fees. I only pay brokerage which comes to about RM8 or 0.1% whichever is higher.

This option is available to everyone. If you have the time to do some research and think logically, anyone can do it. To start investing in stocks, you can head hERE for a guide.

2. ETFs

Exchange-Traded Funds would be my choice and recommendation if you don’t want to trade and invest in stocks on your own. Depending on the ETFs you invest in, you can be exposed to all sorts of asset classes in different sectors and regions. There are tons of ETFs around the world, so take your pick.

Specifically, I’d recommend passive index funds if you’re looking to invest long term. Most noteworthy ones can be found in the US ie. the Vanguard S&P 500 index fund. You can learn how to invest in US stocks hERE.

Unbeknownst to many, we have a few ETFs here in Malaysia. The closest we can get to an S&P 500 fund is the MyETF Dow Jones US, which provides you the exposure to the US equity market. Somewhat similar to the S&P 500 ETF that mainly indicates the performance of the US market, there is FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ETF (FBMKLCI-EA). Where the S&P 500 fund tracks 500 shares, ours tracks only the top 30 largest companies in Malaysia.

3. Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds

Last but not least, mutual funds & unit trusts. I don’t like unit trusts because of one huge factor – FEES.

If you take the time to dig in and do some research, you’ll find that most of them don’t even beat the market/index’s returns over the long term. So why pay more fees?

Malaysians are still stuck in the unit trust era with the older generation and I think younger more financially literate investors are starting to realize that there are other options out there.

I’ll have some facts and figures below to demonstrate.

The Actual and Long-term Cost of Fees

Unit Trusts vs ETFs

Mutual Fund Fees

Firstly, I’ll be using unit trusts and mutual funds interchangeably. For the purpose of this article, they are one and the same.

Secondly, we’ll be mainly comparing ETFs vs Unit Trusts here. I do this because I want to draw more attention to our local ETFs in Malaysia which are the closest and better options compared to unit trusts. I want to get Malaysians off high fees and unit trusts.

For those that don’t know what unit trusts / mutual funds are, let me explain it simply. Mutual funds are managed by a fund manager(s) who claim to be able to procure superior returns for investors. You put your money in a mutual fund and they invest it for you, for a fee. That’s it.

The only and most logical question an intelligent investor would ask is:

  1. Can they beat the market’s rate of return?

The short answer? No.

Unit trust holders would argue that there are funds out there that beat the market. Yes, there are but there aren’t many. The fact is that the global majority of actively managed funds just don’t beat the market. And the small number that does, they may be taking higher risks. Sometimes, it’s even down to pure luck.

The next factor would be the fund managers themselves. Funds are only as good as the fund managers that run them. Which is a problem itself because fund managers come and go. A good fund manager does not stay long at a particular fund. This means – a fund does not stay good for long.

The KLSE isn’t a very efficient market when compared to other countries which is why UT funds are still able to outperform our benchmark. This is the only reason they’re still in business. Because some still generate decent returns. However, if you think about it, when there are so many other cheaper alternatives out there that can do the same thing and beat the local KLCI index, is it necessary for you to pay the high fees for a fund manager to do the same thing?

Which is why we find ourselves comparing ETFs to UT funds.

Fees

I’ve written a previous article on the impact of fees which is a tad bit outdated. I realise that front-load charges (or sales charge) have gone down since that article.

To compare the cost of Unit Trusts vs ETFs, we assume the following:

  1. An initial investment of RM100K with no further reinvestment.
  2. A 30 year long term investment period.
  3. 10% return per annum.
  4. A conservative industrial average total expense ratio (TER) to be used. 2% for UTs and 1% for ETFs. Calculated below.
 Unit Trust FundExchange Traded Fund
Sales charge2.50%0.00%
Brokerage fee0.00%0.30%
Clearing fee0.00%0.03%
Initial cost 2.50%0.33%
Yearly TER2.00%1.00%
Initial investment cost
in the 1st year		4.50%1.33%
Subsequent year cost2.00%1.00%

Conclusion

Over a period of 30 years, just from the impact of fees alone, you will lose approximately RM340K or 35% of your returns. The difference in fees is only 1%.

Bear in mind that we are working with very conservative figures here. I know of many unit trust funds that charge much higher fees. And if we take a low-cost fund like Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF instead, we will be looking at a much, much bigger difference.

The above example is only taking into account the fees you’re paying. I hope the simple comparison above makes the case for seeking lower fees.

If, after looking at the data and reading this, you still find yourself wanting to invest in unit trusts and mutual funds (you’re crazy), I’d ask you to look at online platforms like Fundsupermart. They are the cheapest as an online platform. Please do not get yours with agents who charge high sales charges.

ETFs Available in Malaysia

Back to ETFs, your choices for ETFs in Malaysia are actually many. These are all local ETFs available on Malaysia’s KLSE exchange and can be traded just like individual stocks.

Account opening can be done easily online with brokerages like Rakuten Trade. I list a comparison of all our local brokerage firms hERE.

ETF Malaysia Returns

Above is a list of ETFs found in Malaysia with their returns calculated based on NAV.

In terms of fees (which directly correlates to your returns), ETFs are superior to UT funds.

You may have other concerns with local ETFs. One of which would be their liquidity. You’d be happy to know that as a requirement by regulators, Malaysia’s ETFs are backed by market makers. So, liquidity issues? Check.

While researching local ETFs for this article, I was actually pleasantly surprised to find so many ETFs listed on the bourse. Looking forward to see more innovations and choices from ETFs in the future.

If you are looking for something to track our KLCI index, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI ETF tracks the top 30 companies in Malaysia by market cap. Another interesting one is TradePlus DWA Malaysia Momentum which uses smart beta (technical analysis) to select the top 20 Malaysian stocks with the highest momentum.

Looking for local ETFs in Malaysia that have foreign exposure, for example, China? TradePlus’ S&P New China economy, and Principal FTSE China 50 ETF both provide you with exposure.

To get exposure to the gold industry which is well known as a safe haven and good for hedging, we have the TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker.

Choices of ETFs listed on Bursa Malaysia may not be as broad as those found in other countries, we do however still have a relatively good range of selection.

End.

Another similar investment product that I didn’t mention above is actually Robo-advisors. They’re similar in some ways to UTs and ETFs but not so similar that I can compare them all in this article. If you’re interested in Robo-advisors, you can read about my Stashaway portfolio hERE.

As with all investments, be it UTs, ETFs, or Robo-advisors, I’d caution everyone to do their own due diligence and research before making an investment.

It is my sincere hope that Malaysians are more educated and just a little more financially literate after reading this article. May you make better financial decisions in the future.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

Luno Malaysia Review (highest RM75 Promo Code) and Portfolio Update

By
Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment, Other Investments 29

Good news everyone! We’ve got a new sign-up promo from Luno starting 1 March 2023. New sign-ups with my code: HFCCY will now receive RM75 worth of BTC when you make a transaction of RM250 or more with the instant buy feature. It was RM50 for RM500 previously so it is a huge bump!

This is a full-on review of Luno Malaysia. If you’re here looking for a referral and promo code to use for your sign-up, you can use my code HFCCY, you will get RM75 worth of Bitcoin when you buy RM250 or more. That’s an instant 30% return on your investment. This is valid forever as of now so don’t worry. I will update this if and when it is no longer available. Sign up hERE.

Do remember to use my code HFCCY, you will get RM75 worth of Bitcoin when you buy RM250 or more.

My Crypto Portfolio on Luno

My latest Luno portfolio, which makes up the bulk of my crypto assets will be updated here. Previous updates can be found at the end of this article.

Moving forward, I’ll be updating my crypto portfolio on a monthly/bi-monthly basis here.

July& August Crypto Update

July & August update 🚀
Gross investment: RM25,733
Market value: RM38,738
Capital gain: +50.5%

Not a good few months for crypto. You’d have noticed a lot of FUD. Added about RM2.5K throughout the 2 months to my BTC holdings. Overall portfolio value still dropped. Not a good sign. Will continue adding bit by bit though to see how it goes.

Another big announcement is that Luno has upped its sign-up rewards. It is now RM75 for new registration and you only have to spend RM250 on an instant buy transaction when you use my code: HFCCY. That’s 30% guys!

We were at RM50 for RM500 previously. Please take advantage of this if you haven’t signed up.

You can find my previous portfolio updates at the bottom of the page.

My Take and Review on Luno Malaysia

Who Is Luno Malaysia?

If you’re into cryptocurrencies and you live in Malaysia, chances are you’ve heard of Luno Malaysia. They’re the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Malaysia.

As of May 2021, Luno Malaysia offers the following cryptocurrencies:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Litecoin (LTC)
  • Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Is Luno Safe? Is Luno Legit?

Safety-wise, Luno is the first regulated cryptocurrency exchange in Malaysia. And that’s saying something.

They’re regulated by SC so there’s really nothing for us to worry about fraud from Luno as an exchange.

A cyber attack however is something entirely different. Attacks and hacks on an exchange can happen and has happened in the past. But then again, there’s really nothing we can do about it.

As of now, if you’re a Malaysian and looking for a crypto exchange, I’d say Luno is your safest bet. I have the majority of my coins stored with Luno.

Moving your Crypto to Luno

I have recently moved all my coins – Bitcoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash to Luno’s platform.

The process was surprisingly simple and easy. Bear in mind that this is my first time sending / receiving coins.

It took around an hour for all my cryptocurrencies to arrive as they require confirmations on the blockchain.

As of today, my total crypto portfolio stands at RM3,808. For a roughly 1.5 year period, my return is about 200%.

I’ll be using Luno as a wallet to stash all my cryptocurrencies from this point on as well as an exchange to buy/sell.

The user interface is spot on and the support I’ve received from them with my inquiries has been outstanding.

Luno’s Wallet

Keeping your hard-earned bitcoins and other cryptos on Luno Malaysia itself is something all users can do. I myself do that but as my holdings grow in size, I will be thinking of moving them to a standalone wallet, maybe even an offline one.

Luno’s wallet is what is known as a custodial wallet. This means that your private keys are stored by a third party, in this case – Luno. Placing your coins in a custodial wallet is similar to the principles of placing your cash in a bank. The money remains yours, but you do not fully control your money when it is in their hands.

Advantages

  • Interest generating. Some exchanges/custodians are giving you money to store your coins with them. Think of your coins as being used as a sort of money market fund. Hoping to see this come to Luno in the near future.
  • Convenience. You’re able to manage all your funds in one place and at any time.
  • You won’t lose or forget your private key and access to your coins.

Disadvantages

  • The custodian has control over your money.
  • Your coins can be seized by a court decision.
  • If the wallet gets hacked, you may lose your coins.

Before you cry foul and move all your coins to your own private wallet, Luno actually has three layers of security for their wallets and your coins. The first layer is the industry standard where an external custodian secures the keys. This is for practical reasons otherwise moving funds would take too long.

The second and third layer is where the security intensifies and where the bulk of the coins are stored. Luno actually practices what they term ”deep freeze storage”. Essentially, the private key is broken up and stored in different places around the world.

For the reasons above, you may want to have a percentage of your coins with Luno and another in your own private wallet. If you plan to just hold for a very long time, keeping it on your own wallet would make more sense. Just don’t forget your keys.

However, if and when Luno announces the interest bearing feature, I think a lot of bitcoin holders will see value in keeping their coins with Luno.

As for security on your own side, please, please set up 2-Factor Authentication for your accounts. Better safe than sorry especially if you’ve got a significant percentage in cryptocurrencies.

Luno Malaysia’s Fees – Post Order Only

First off, sending and receiving your cryptocurrencies. When you receive, Luno doesn’t charge a fee. When you send, you’re charged a fee.

When actually buying and selling on Luno’s exchange, to save on fees, forget instant buy/sell and instead, do a post order. Tick the ”post-only order” and you’ll see the difference in your fees.

Right at the bottom, tick that. You won’t instantly get your coins if you’re buying, instead, set a price close to the market price. Creating a post-only order ensures that you won’t have to pay a taker fee. An order will only be added to the order book if it does not match with a pre-existing order. If it does, it will be canceled.

Besides that, to get a full picture of other fees, you can visit Luno’s page on it hERE.

Why Bitcoin?

As always, prior research and due diligence on your part is required before making investments. For any asset class.

I’ve been monitoring cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin on and off for a few years now and I have my reasons for investing in it.

My first venture into cryptocurrency was back in December 2018. I invested USD 288 (or approximately RM1,256) back then.

Back in August 2020, my portfolio stood at RM3,808.

Cryptocurrency investment has been one of my biggest regrets. I regret not having put more money here. Of course, hindsight is always 20-20 but nonetheless, it is one of many regrets for me.

BITCOIN AS A STORE OF VALUE

Firstly, I see bitcoin as digital gold. As we transition to a digital economy, bitcoin will eventually challenge gold as a global store of value.

Like gold, bitcoin is limited in its supply. Bitcoin is limited to only 21 million. Forever. Not only is bitcoin scarce and durable like gold, but bitcoin also improves upon many of physical gold’s characteristics. Bitcoin is divisible, verifiable, portable, and transferable.

If bitcoin were to take just a 10% share of the physical gold market, we could see its value increase 5X to $1 trillion.

With the continuous printing of money, bitcoin has been viewed as an asset similar to gold in the modern world as a hedge against inflation. A good article on this can be read hERE.

BITCOIN’S POTENTIAL

My next reason for investing in bitcoin is its sheer potential upside. There are many theories and thoughts on bitcoin’s adoption as a currency. Or even as a global settlement network for banks as businesses.

We’ve already seen PayPal recently move in that direction. Payment systems like Square Inc have bought into bitcoin. The potential is there. Unlike gold, gold has already plateaued whereas bitcoin’s potential is still vast.

I’ll be looking closely at Bitcoin and Ethereum especially moving forward. Although volatile in nature, with bigger upside potential, I’ll prefer buying Bitcoin to Gold when it comes to hedging.

Luno Malaysia Best Referral Code (RM75)

Luno Logo Dividend Magic

As part of a collaboration with Luno Malaysia, we’ve come up with the perfect promotion for new users wanting to invest in Bitcoin.

Using the following referral code – HFCCY, you will get RM75 worth of Bitcoin when you buy RM250 or more. That’s an instant 30% return on your investment. Sign up hERE.

If you’ve been wanting to own some Bitcoins, now is really the time to start.

Unfortunately, this promo and referral code is for new users only. Also, make sure you use Luno’s instant buy (instead of a post-order) function to be eligible for this code.

After signing up, you enter the promo code as follows:

For mobile users, head to the Rewards tab at the bottom and enter the code: HFCCY

For desktop users, the Rewards tab is on the top right, enter the promo code: HFCCY

In short, to be eligible for the RM75 promo and referral code, you have to:
1. Register as a new Luno Malaysia customer;
2. Enter my Luno promo code: HFCCY (BEFORE you make a deposit into your Luno account);
3. Make a purchase of at least RM250; and
4. Make sure the purchase is through Luno’s Instant Buy feature.

The full promo rules can be accessed hERE.
Please go through them carefully to meet the criteria for that RM75.

End.

I’ll be moving more of my cash into Luno and increasing the size of my crypto portfolio in the future when the price is right. At least that’s the plan right now.

Just as how I prefer to purchase a mother share over warrants and how I prefer to buy shares of the main company over its subsidiaries, I’ll be focusing more on Bitcoins compared to other coins.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

Update 30 April 2020

As of 30 April 2020, my crypto portfolio worth RM3,808 consists of the following.

  1. Bitcoin – RM2,763
  2. Ethereum – RM1,039
  3. Bitcoin Cash – RM4

Update 30 April 2021

Damn a year has passed and looking at my 2020 numbers, I just cannot believe the run crypto is on. I’ve gone from RM3,808 to RM72,058.

December update 🚀
Gross investment: RM10,273
Market value: RM72,058
Capital gain: +601.43%

Let’s see where the next wave will take us.
Onwards and upwards!

Previous Updates

May & June 2023

May & June update 🚀
Gross investment: RM23,558
Market value: RM41,188
Capital gain: +74.84%

Added about RM2.2K to BTC in the past 2 months. 74% increase! As always, I’ll continue to add until it reaches about 5-10% of my total investment portfolio. That’s the sweet spot for me. As for selling, I do not have a plan for that currently, but it will be around the 100% mark, and I’ll sell of a portion to lock in them profits.

March & April 2023

March & April update 🚀
Gross investment: RM21,308
Market value: RM32,794
Capital gain: +53.90%

Added about RM3K to BTC in the past 2 months. Glad we’re seeing a bit of an increase! We’re past the 50% profit mark again. As always, I’ll continue to add until it reaches about 5-10% of my total investment portfolio. That’s the sweet spot for me.

Another big announcement is that Luno has upped its sign-up rewards. It is now RM75 for new registration and you only have to spend RM250 on an instant buy transaction when you use my code: HFCCY. That’s 30% guys!

February 2023

February update 🚀
Gross investment: RM18,608
Market value: RM24,444
Capital gain: +31.37%

So, big changes, I’ve sold all of my ETH for now and will be holding BTC. Added about RM588 to the portfolio into BTC in February. Had big numbers for ETH and I’ve more than recuperated my capital on that. Numbers have been adjusted accordingly!

Another big announcement is that Luno has upped its sign-up rewards. It is now RM75 for new registration and you only have to spend RM250 on an instant buy transaction when you use my code: HFCCY. That’s 30% guys!

January 2023

January update 🚀
Gross investment: RM24,685.22
Market value: RM45,163
Capital gain: +82.95%

Added about RM2K to the portfolio into BTC.

Also, I’ll just be calculating the raw simple gains (or losses) for crypto.

October 2022

October update 🚀
Gross investment: RM22,379
Market value: RM35,827
Capital gain: +60.1%

Alright! As you may or may not have noticed, added about 2k worth of BTC in October. Didn’t pan out so well as BTC dipped again. But I’ll be continuously adding in monthly or bi-monthly for now.

I do believe we are almost at the bottom already and that crypto has established itself as an asset class over the years.

December 2021

December update 🚀
Gross investment: RM10,273
Market value: RM67,004
Capital gain: +552.23%

December 2020

RM111,907 per Bitcoin. I actually made a short term trade, selling at RM79K and buying again at RM77K. A little profit there to add to my crypto portfolio.

Gross Investment: RM13,808
Market Value: RM34,424
Capital Gain/Loss: +149.30%

Of course, a little remorse and regret at not having put a little more money in. But, seeing as it is within my target of 1-10% of my investment portfolio, I’m grateful.

September 2020

I’ll calculate my gross investment as RM3,808. It’s a rough estimate as this includes mining and unfortunately, I did not keep track of those properly back when I started in 2019.

Gross Investment: RM3,808
Market Value: RM5,528
Capital Gain/Loss: 45%

Bitcoin’s price today is at RM44,876 per bitcoin.

My total crypto portfolio stands at RM5,528.

It comprises of:

  1. 0.083395 BTC – RM3,742
  2. 1.200000 ETH – RM1,781
  3. 0.003866 BCH – RM4

Mining in the Past

Older readers of mine may also remember my crypto mining days.

My most recent update of cryptocurrencies was back in December 2018 when had about USD 288 (or approximately RM1,256). I have not made any additional investments since then.

Emergency Funds & Fixed Deposit Laddering

By
Filed Under: FI/RE, Investment, Other Investments 15

I’ll teach everyone how to set up your emergency funds using fixed deposits right here.

I know some of you veteran investors will already know all about FDs, but this one is for the newcomers.

You wouldn’t believe the number of inquiries I’ve had on FDs from readers. FDs are, by large the first form of investment everyone should have. They are a risk-free, interest generating financial product offered by the good banks here in Malaysia.

In this article, I’ll show you how to set up your Emergency Fund with FDs.

What are Fixed Deposits?

Fixed deposits or FDs as we will call them is, first of all, a financial instrument. Here in Malaysia, they’re provided by banks and gives a higher interest rate than a typical savings account.

The usual terms of a Fixed Deposit here in Malaysia:

1. You place a fixed sum with the bank for a fixed period of time.
2. The bank agrees to pay you a fixed interest rate.
3. You don’t touch that money. After the said period, you get your money back PLUS interest.

What if you were in an emergency you say?
And you needed to uplift the FD before it matures? Well, you’ll most likely lose all your interest. But your initial sum will NEVER be touched.

This right here is a liquidity problem with fixed deposits. Don’t worry I have a solution.

My Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a certain amount of money, easily accessible and put away in case of an emergency.

Exactly how much to put away? You’ll first need to know your average expenses and spending per month. After figuring that out, you’ll want at least a 6-month emergency fund.

Using myself as an example – On average, I spend around RM5,000 per month. All in.

So, a 6-month emergency fund would be RM30,000. But I try to keep a 24-month emergency fund going. Just cause. Which gives me around RM120,000 in liquid cash.

Now, the key ingredient for a good emergency fund is LIQUIDITY.

My emergency fund is 90% Fixed Deposits and 10% Savings Account and/or Cash. But an FD isn’t that liquid. So here’s how you make it liquid.

Why an Emergency Fund?

An emergency fund in my opinion serves two purposes.

The first one is to help you avoid a situation where you have to liquidate your investment assets in a crisis. As an investor, your portfolio can take a huge hit if you sell at the wrong time.

Imagine having to sell your stocks or that investment property due to a medical emergency.

The second reason is psychological. Knowing you have a safety net gives you a sense of security and peace of mind. It’ll give you a boost in confidence and has helped me as an investor focus on investing. I don’t have to worry about my expenses or my needs during an emergency.

I am genuinely positive that my emergency fund has helped me make better investing decisions.

Fixed Deposit Laddering

FD Laddering. This should address all the liquidity problems you have with your fixed deposits. Here’s how I do it.

Remember that RM120,000 emergency fund? It won’t make much sense if you put the whole chunk of it into one FD.

Say next month you needed to get your car fixed and it’ll cost you RM1,000. Uplifting that RM120,000 FD would mean you lose your interest. 3% on 120K is RM3,600 in interest per annum. That’s no chump change.

Solution? Break that RM120,000 up. I personally use Maybank so I’ll be giving you an example of it. The minimum FD placement is this – RM5,000 for 1 month.

My FD Ladder

If you’re up for it, you can go right ahead and break them up into 24 tiny chunks.

I differentiated mine into RM10K and RM20K FDs, with a mixture of 1-month and 3-month periods. It’ll look something like this:

The longer you place your money in an FD, the higher the interest the bank pays you. It is, however, a negligible difference because you’ll be compounding your money if its a monthly one anyway.

Also, try to make sure you place your FDs on different days of the month. I have them in the beginning, the middle and the end of the month. This will allow you to eventually uplift the one that’ll cost you the least in interest in the event of an emergency.

Fixed Deposit Perpetuity

I always select the following 2 options whenever I place an FD.

1. Credit interest earned to the principal.
This essentially means you’re compounding your interest automatically.

2. Renew FD at maturity.
This means I never have to look at my FD Ladder again. It’ll run by itself.

End.

I know most of these are common sense to some, but I still hope I managed to bring value to everyone reading this.

I’m sure some of you have more sophisticated FD hacks and tricks. Please, do share!

For the next article of the FI/RE and Savings Series, check out article 005 – The Seven Stages of Financial Independence.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

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