Invest in a unit trust

SOMEONE POSTED THIS COMMENT IN MY BLOG

The Ideal plan from NTUC Income is a regular-premium ILP. These kinds of products (including the ones from NTUC Income) have extremely high expense ratios compared to Unit Trusts and ETFs.

Before you decide to invest, remember to ask Income to quote you the expense ratio and compare it to a regular-saving Unit Trust.

You can check the FAQ of the Ideal plan. The plan charges 15% of the savings for the first 3 years and that's not including the loads and management expenses.

This is definitely a bad deal compared to a Unit Trust.

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REPLY:

If you can find a unit trust that accept regular savings that can be invested in a fund with low initial and annual charge, you can send them to me.

I understand that most unit trust have high annual charges and expense ratios (which include a trailer fee payable to the financial adviser).

But, if there is really a low cost unit trust, it will be great for consumers. And I shall be happy to recommend it.

Invest in an index fund

Hi Mr Tan,

I am 30 years old and I have been searching for investment which suits my risk appetite. I finally found your blog and I am quite impressed with index fund. Could you tell me more about it and how to invest in this fund?

My ideal index fund is
1. Global equity which is well diversified.
2. Low sale and annual charge.
3. Modest dividend

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REPLY:

The closest to an index fund that you can invest now is the ST Tracker Fund that you can buy from the stockmarket. The only problem is that the Singapore stockmarket is at a high level now.

You can read my views in this FAQ.

If you are investing your monthly savings for the next 30 years, you can consider the Ideal plan from NTUC Income. You can invest in the Balanced or the Growth fund. Although it is not an index fund, the charges are among the lowest available in Singapore.

I will ask X to advise you.

Difference between Logic9 and Sudoku

Dear Mr Tan

I find that a difficult puzzle in Logic9 is easier to solve, compared to Sudoku, even though the number of initial blanks are about the same. I find Logic9 more enjoyable. Can you explain the difference between Logic9 and Sudoku?

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REPLY:

Logic9 follows the same rules as Sudoku. You have to fill in the blanks with the numbers 1 to 9 so that it does not repeat in every row, column or box (3X3 squares). This puzzle is printed daily in Today (as Sudoku Plus) and MyPaper (as Logic9).

When I generate a difficult puzzle, I make sure that it has a unique, logical solution. If you follow the right steps, you will be able to solve any difficult puzzle. This is why my puzzles are quite enjoyable to solve for people who like to think logically.

You can find out more about Logic9 here.

If you buy the Logic9 book, you will get 4 tips on how to solve the puzzles, including the difficult level. The booklets are available from many bookstores listed in the website.

Learn Logic9 (Sudoku) at Prime of Life Exhibition

I shall be demonstrating Logic0 (Sudoku) at the Prime of Life Exhibition to be held at 13 to 15 July at Millenia Walk.

The demonstration will be held in the afternoon of 13 and 14 July and the morning of 15 July.

At the demonstration, I shall be teaching three tips on how to solve the difficult puzzles. This will take 20 minutes. After that, the participants have the chance to take part in a contest to win prizes.

Here are the advantages of learning Logic9:

* it is fun, especially when you know how to solve the puzzle!
* keeps your mind alert (and keep alzheimer away)
* attendees at my past talks enjoyed my tips!

The exibition is targeted at the older people, aged 45 and older. More details will be announced by the organiser in due course. Watch out for the newspaper advertisements.