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Question from a complete newbie - what to do with cash

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  1. #1

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    Question from a complete newbie - what to do with cash

    My wife and I are a bit late to this investment thing ie we haven't done a thing up to now. We have recently purchased a property in our home country which is being rented out so there is a small rental income. My question is about making some kind of saving/investment in HK though.

    Neither of us have any idea what to do or how to do it. As we have left this quite late (we are mid-forties) I guess we will need to be quite aggressive in terms of risk.

    Ideally, what we would like is to be able to transfer an amount every month (a variable amount as this would come from our free cash each month) to someone/something and they would invest it for us. Some months we may not be able to transfer anything.

    Every month we get a statement showing what we have paid in and how our investment is doing.

    Possible?


  2. #2

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    Few dozen threads you could start with in this forum. Look for anything started by pin.

    Your investment while "in HK" can be in assets (stocks, bonds and like your case real estate) virtually anywhere in the world.

    Are you a US citizen? For tax reasons, any strategy you take will depend on that one issue.

    Lastest: https://geoexpat.com/forum/newpostinthread353953.html

    In most cases, in my humble opinion a DIY approach of buying a broad basket of ETFs is better than putting money into an opaque and often expensive fund.

    Once you have the broad basket setup and are able to match the market, you can always optimize a little bit by adding some risk with ultra-blue-chip type individual assets for either growth or income or both.

    Last edited by shri; 22-08-2019 at 08:22 AM.
    LifeInHK and Jackie1 like this.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by simon:
    My wife and I are a bit late to this investment thing ie we haven't done a thing up to now. We have recently purchased a property in our home country which is being rented out so there is a small rental income. My question is about making some kind of saving/investment in HK though.

    Neither of us have any idea what to do or how to do it. As we have left this quite late (we are mid-forties) I guess we will need to be quite aggressive in terms of risk.

    Ideally, what we would like is to be able to transfer an amount every month (a variable amount as this would come from our free cash each month) to someone/something and they would invest it for us. Some months we may not be able to transfer anything.

    Every month we get a statement showing what we have paid in and how our investment is doing.

    Possible?
    You need some serious help beyond seeking advice on a general social board like this one IMO. Read some basic investment books and get a financial advisor who is a good match for your needs and that can create the right investment plan for u. I don't think u have the ability nor aptitude to seek, vet and monitor stock tips passed around on the internet at this time.

  4. #4

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    Also wondering about investments but do you own your income property or is it mortgaged?

    We were thinking about investments but then saw paying down mortgage would give us guaranteed returns in interest savings.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by RMDNC:
    You need some serious help beyond seeking advice on a general social board like this one IMO. Read some basic investment books and get a financial advisor who is a good match for your needs and that can create the right investment plan for u. I don't think u have the ability nor aptitude to seek, vet and monitor stock tips passed around on the internet at this time.
    On the contrary, how do these people manage to have a living that gives them the free time to post online all day? Good investments!
    @shri how does being a US citizen change things?

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Elegiaque:
    @shri how does being a US citizen change things?
    Taxes and where you can open accounts and where you can buy/sell freely?

    U.S. citizens/residents/whatever have a lot of options not available to non U.S. in terms of low cost mutual funds etc, etc etc...
    Elegiaque likes this.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Elegiaque:
    On the contrary, how do these people manage to have a living that gives them the free time to post online all day? Good investments!
    @shri how does being a US citizen change things?
    I'm not saying it's not possible to be a successful self directed investor. I'm one of them. However the OP has absolutely no experience and should not jump in IMO. Needs training wheels IMO.
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  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by RMDNC:
    I'm not saying it's not possible to be a successful self directed investor. I'm one of them. However the OP has absolutely no experience and should not jump in IMO. Needs training wheels IMO.
    There is a sticky thread on this forum which has amongst a lot of things, a lifetime's worth of reading and research material, from the basics to the nitpicky esoteric stuff.

    https://geoexpat.com/forum/155/thread345176.html

    Having said that, the last thing one should do is to visit a "financial advisor" without knowing the basics of the cost of having someone else manage their funds.

    Forums like this one, in my highly biased opinion are always a good starting point to collect some crowd-sourced information. No one here will or can force someone to do anything they can or cannot - the crowd wisdom prevents that when you have the right sort of crowd (unlike some highly exotic trading communities).
    Elegiaque, Jackie1 and Andy SNK like this.

  9. #9

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    My suggestion, if you are from Australia, read "Barefoot Investor" esp if you intend to retire back home.


  10. #10

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    Jul 2014
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    It's great you guys are wanting to do this. It's never too late!

    Unfortunately, Hong Kong has no financial planning advisor system ( something like in the US). All you have are fund salesmen with the banks. These funds come with hefty expense and commissions and poor advise from so called advisors/ relationship managers. Please stay away!

    As shri mentioned, what you can do or cannot do depends whether you're a US citizen. If you are not then there are investment options in HK with discount brokerage firms. ( I use Charles Schwab, but there are others maybe even better).

    You would need help choosing the right ETF ( exchange traded fund) and making the right portfolio. For that maybe you need to do some reading.






    Quote Originally Posted by simon:
    My wife and I are a bit late to this investment thing ie we haven't done a thing up to now. We have recently purchased a property in our home country which is being rented out so there is a small rental income. My question is about making some kind of saving/investment in HK though.

    Neither of us have any idea what to do or how to do it. As we have left this quite late (we are mid-forties) I guess we will need to be quite aggressive in terms of risk.

    Ideally, what we would like is to be able to transfer an amount every month (a variable amount as this would come from our free cash each month) to someone/something and they would invest it for us. Some months we may not be able to transfer anything.

    Every month we get a statement showing what we have paid in and how our investment is doing.

    Possible?
    UK/HKboy likes this.

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