Where will you put $5000 a month?

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  1. #11

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    How long will you invest? How much do you expect?? Think about before you invest....

    Right now, the stock market doesn't look too good....either...


  2. #12

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    A bit of background

    I'm 37, single, no relationship at the moment, looking to stay in Hong Kong for at least 5 years. Think of the $5000/month as money I want to forget and that I will not touch for at least the next 3-5 years. I'm looking for moderate gain at moderate risk. The thing is I have no idea what is considered moderate. The alternative is for the money to sit in a savings account. Any suggestions that I can consider will be very appreciated.


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by cdtan99:
    The thing is I have no idea what is considered moderate.
    Until recently that would have been something like HSBC shares. But they've moved 15-20% per day recently!

  4. #14

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    Yes - I nearly recommended HSBC shares but these days there are no shares that are 'safe' - hence the suggestion to put it in the bank for a while until things settle down. Besides, I don't think 5000 is sufficient for a minimum lot of 400 HSBC - even at hkd100 it's 40,000!


  5. #15

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    So can we say that MovingIn07's suggestion would be the best for now. Invest in term deposits for a year until the market settles down? Anybody else have other ideas?

    Last edited by cdtan99; 28-10-2008 at 10:35 PM.

  6. #16

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    Well to be realistic, you can't buy decent stocks with that kind of money. Even things like MTR are well over your budget for a month. If you use a time deposit, you'll have your 60K plus a few crumbs at the end of the year(less than 1K). On the other hand, the market may settle down by then and you can use the 60K to buy something.

    Or you could take advantage that funds are quite low at the moment and take a risk. You may end up with 30K at the end of the year but you could also end up with 70-80K... The facts that the funds are lower means there's a greater potential for gain but no one know where this financial crisis is going yet.

    Maybe you could do half of one and half of the other... There's no right or wrong answer here. Greater risk, for greater rewards or safety of capital... In the end, you have to be comfortable with your decision and no one else but yourself can make that call and you shouldn't let yourself be influenced.

    Never forget that most financial advisors are in essence salespeople and have a vested interest in their vehicle. Very obviously if you go to a Toyota car salesperson, he/she won't advise you to buy Nissan.


  7. #17

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    What is your end goal? What are you saving the money for? If you want to buy an apartment in 3-5 years, your risk profile is very different to if you just wanted to invest for the long term (retirement).

    Everyone would like moderate gain at moderate risk, but really, there is no such thing. Diversification is best. If you feel you are a novice, read up heaps and ask questions. Don't believe what one person says. Form your own decisions. At the end of the day, remember, it is your money.


  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by gilleshk:

    Or you could take advantage that funds are quite low at the moment and take a risk.
    I really need to bone up on the suggested books first as I don't really understand what you mean by funds. Are they really less expensive than stocks that I can buy decent funds while I cant purchase decent stocks?

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Crocodile:
    What is your end goal? What are you saving the money for? If you want to buy an apartment in 3-5 years, your risk profile is very different to if you just wanted to invest for the long term (retirement).

    Everyone would like moderate gain at moderate risk, but really, there is no such thing. Diversification is best. If you feel you are a novice, read up heaps and ask questions. Don't believe what one person says. Form your own decisions. At the end of the day, remember, it is your money.
    Hmmm... Funny as I've never really thought of the end goal. My immediate objective would be to not to let the money idle in a savings account or worst a checking account. If I were to push for an end goal, I guess it would be for retirement.

    This post is really just one of the ways I'm trying to generate immediate ideas on what to do. I intend to read up more before doing anything drastic.

    Based on the responses I've had so far, however, I'm leaning towards MovingIn07's suggestion regarding term deposit on the first year.
    Last edited by cdtan99; 29-10-2008 at 12:13 AM.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by cdtan99:
    I really need to bone up on the suggested books first as I don't really understand what you mean by funds. Are they really less expensive than stocks that I can buy decent funds while I cant purchase decent stocks?
    If you don't know what you are investing in, don't invest. It's that simple. So reading up is your priority or you'll end up like those people who put their entire life saving in Lehman mini-bonds!

    But basically mutual funds pool money from lots of investors to buy securities, such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments, etc. A couple of advantages of mutual funds is diversification and professional management.

    Now go and getting reading; then you'll be able to ask specific questions. Happy reading!
    Last edited by Claire ex-ax; 29-10-2008 at 12:01 PM.

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