Posts Tagged ‘Unit Trust’
CPF warns: Stiff fines for rebate scams
Posted by: admin in General, Unit Trust on January 2nd, 2010
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
CENTRAL Provident Fund members have been warned they face fines of up to $10,000 if they take part in a scam that has just come to light.
The CPF Board issued the stern warning after a report in The Straits Times yesterday exposing a practice adopted by unscrupulous financial advisers who plunder members’ CPF investment funds.
Some CPF members who are desperate for fast cash have agreed to take part in the scam, which involves the rapid buying and selling - or ‘churning’ - of investment products using CPF money.
The members dip into their retirement savings to buy and sell investment products under the CPF Investment Scheme - and in doing so they become eligible for cash rebates used as a carrot by errant financial advisers.
The advisers get to pocket healthy commissions.
CPF rules prohibit members from pocketing such cash rebates. All gains or rebates from CPF investments must be put back into members’ CPF accounts, to ensure they have enough for their golden years.
A CPF Board spokesman said: ‘CPF members found guilty of working with errant financial advisers to pocket cash rebates which amount to premature withdrawals of CPF monies may be fined up to $2,500. For second or subsequent convictions, the fine may be up to $10,000.’
The scam typically involves frequent buying and selling of unit trusts and investment-linked insurance policies for no good reason. In the process, the customer gets hit with charges while the financial adviser pockets extra commissions. Over an extended period of churning activity, the customer suffers as the savings in his CPF account - used for the transactions - inevitably dwindle, particularly in a falling or flat market.
Advisers typically entice CPF members to ‘churn’ by investing their retirement funds in return for monthly cash rebates. In most cases, CPF members are given blank forms to sign, authorising the advisers to transact these products on their behalf.
The cash rebates come from the sales charges tied to each transaction. The sales charge works out to 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the sum invested, of which the customer receives a cut. The balance is pocketed by the adviser, a person who may have introduced the member to the adviser, and the investment firm.
Singapore Insurance Institute council member, Mr Stanley Jeremiah, urged CPF members to be more careful about safeguarding their retirement funds.
‘People should be aware that by participating in churning they are cheating themselves because they are dissipating their retirement funds and committing a criminal offence,’ he said.
Mr Jeremiah said that even if a CPF member wants to take a chance, he would be making a big mistake because if he is caught, the penalties would be bigger than most of the cash rebates. With continued churning, the fines can be very substantial.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
Source: AsiaOne Business
Fools rush in, or the early birds catches the worm?
Posted by: admin in General, Unit Trust on May 12th, 2009
To quote an article by IFast in Fundsupermart.com,
“However, we have recently seen a change in sentiment and increasing investor risk appetite, and this has benefited most equity funds and even higher-risk fixed income funds.”
There’s certainly a hint of optimism among the investors out there. Being a forward looking individual like myself, the storm will eventually subside as they always do. Unless you’re talking about the end of the world that is..
Is it still safe to be in “safe” funds now?
Posted by: admin in Unit Trust on May 11th, 2009
Have you realized that the Bond Funds prices has been consistently dropping lately?
The Insider understands that Equity and Bonds generally in opposite directions to each other, like a magnet’s South pole and a North pole. The big difference is that the Equity fund is a bigger “magnet” then the Bond fund.
So we see how the Equities, a.k.a. the Stocks, have a BIG influence in how the Bond funds would react.
I took a couple of Bond Funds to compare against a popular Equity Fund, the DWS China Equity Fund in the past 6 months. Do you see the “magnetism” between them?
bonds movement against the equity fund
I don’t think anyone would like to be invested on a fund that is dropping, but channelling 20% of your investment into an Equity Fd for a small start could be rewarding in the long run.
Why do we see stocks picking up while RECESSION is still all over the news?
Posted by: admin in General, Unit Trust on April 27th, 2009
Why does the stocks sky-dived when the economy was going strong, and why lately does it seems to defy gravity when it’s still doom and gloom in the economy?
An Insider understands that stocks movement is the first indicator of the direction of economy. In the process, it also dictates the fall of the property market as we are experiencing right now.
Stocks trend first indicator of the economy (source).
Unit trust investors have seen an average spike of 30% return back then when the world recovers from the Asian Financial crisis. Though no-one truly knows when will be the start of the recovery until it is too late, we have seen a sustained growth over 6-8 months after the Asian Financial Crisis was over.
Question is, will you be one of them who will catch the wave?
The Secrets of Investing in Unit Trust
Posted by: admin in Unit Trust on April 9th, 2009
There are 3 common strategies used in unit trust investment.
1. Dollar Cost Averaging
Regularly invest a fix amount in a unit trust fund regardless of market trend is called the Dollar Cost Averaging strategy. The actual market performance is fluctuating. When the equity market is high, you buy fewer units with the same amount. When the market is low, you buy more units. For long term, you will get much more unit in the lower price range.
2. Portfolio Re-balancing
Portfolio re-balancing is the process of bringing the different asset classes back into proper relationship following a significant change in one or more. More simply stated, it is returning your portfolio to the proper mix of stocks, bonds and cash when they no longer conform to your plan.
Example:
You start investing 50% in equity and 50% in fixed income fund.
1 year later, the equity rises and now your portfolio consists of 80% equity and 20% fixed income fund. To re-balance your portfolio, you should sell 30% of your total fund in equity and invest it in fixed income fund so that the portfolio is maintained. This is the simple principle of buying low, and selling high.
3. Switching
Switching will lock in the gain you made in your unit trust investment. When you are making profit from an equity fund, you can switch it to some lower risk fund to lock the gain instead of selling it for cash. When the market turns low, you can switch it back to equity fund.
I don’t believe in Unit Trust until I found this..
Posted by: admin in General, Unit Trust on February 17th, 2009
Performance of stocks from year 1925 to 2000
Some of the top reasons I’ve encountered by the people who don’t invest (or re-invest) is that it’s too risky, or it’s not a good time to buy in. There are another group of people who consistently see no “luck” in their investments, always losing the moment they go into that new fund/s.
These people usually have one thing in common - they usually see Unit Trust and its counterparts as a short term investment instrument.
Stretch it to a 10-years period or more and you’ll begin to see the opportunity right up there in the chart, almost regardless of when you come in. This is the most ideal period for accumulating funds for children education funds or retirement/old age funds.
Can’t manage your own investment? Working with a competent adviser with a cool head would be a good idea. Though the volatility nature of this investment can be a roller-coaster issue, one will eventually come out a winner with time on his/her side and sound investment fundamentals. I will discuss more about unit trust investing tactics and strategies in the near future.
View the full chart here (this will appear in a new window).
Have a burning question? Let it out here.