Calling it quits!

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What whizzard is doing is called a covered call. Useful in sideways market like sg but not for bullish growth stock. I have some sg stocks, so I will check the yield on such calls. I would have thought it will be very low....

The other yield enhancer I do is to sell puts. Essentially it is an eln or FCN. Pls just search it and read to learn what it is. I have done about >10% last 2 years on it using about 600k usd. Purely speculative. Got striked about 5 times but since us market is bullish... Make more.

Whizzard, u may want to option your own accounts to trade options if usd market. The pb I use option trade comms are very high. I get 1% more yield doing my own trades.

For 250k, don't buy bonds. Buy funds so that you diversify. Eg 100k bond funds, 150k equity funds with various themes u believe in like china, Europe, tech etc.

Buying 1 bond is too much risk.

Thanks for your tips.

I don't really trade options. I am merely using it to squeeze some yields out of positions I already own to maximise my returns. In addition, I am also doing scrip lending as well.

In the meantime, I am really long cash ..... was thinking of buying some ELNs but I guess I'll just sit it out and rotate it around the banks which have deposit campaigns to keep my cash yield above 1% without having to commit to any fixed term. This is to offset my negative carry so that on a net net basis, I don't really lose out for holding a large cash balance whilst waiting for the right opportunity/timing to come.

The Fed tapering programme will not be a non-event as it would necessarily entail some adjustments and therefore large flows of money. Despite what analysts and investment strategists say, I don't know where the money will flow when it happens and I don't want to be caught on the wrong end.

[whizzard]

I just wanted to get this off my chest.

I have been maintaining a Citigold account with Citibank in Malaysia for more than 10 years and gradually built up the AUM in the account. I used to have some investments in Malaysia but finally decided to liquidate all of them in recent months.

I decided to take advantage of the current strength in MYR to transfer some funds back to Singapore. So, I asked my RM to quote me a good exchange rate to transact the transfer. Told her that the board rate would be unacceptable because the amount is large and they can square it off easily in the inter-bank market as SGD and MYR are very liquid currencies traded with good volume on a daily basis.

In this day and age, FX rates are fully transparent to everyone. Despite this, she still quoted me a rate which is almost 100bp higher than the interbank rate. Now, I won't make a fuss if I am not transferring a large amount. 100bp off the interbank means that I am paying an extra $20,000 vs the interbank rate (where banks buy and sell currencies with each other) just to exchange my money. That is daylight robbery! I asked her to narrow the spread to 25/30 bp higher than the interbank but she refused to budge. I told her that even with the narrower spread, they would still stand to make $5,000-$6,000 from this simple transaction vs nothing if I don't do the trade with them. But, she refused to budge giving me silly excuses that their Treasury can't do it, blah, blah, blah not knowing that uncle here was a professional FX trader with a bank in my earlier days and I know that the absolute discretion on the quotation lies with the FX dealer. Since she could not explain why the rate is so far from the interbank and chose instead to be greedy, I decided to close off the account there and then. Despite banking with them for more than 10 years, they still chose to be greedy with me!

Now, I still need to do the transfer and with Citi out of the question due to their extortionate pricing, I have to find an alternative solution. Spoke to my UBS RM but she can't help much because UBS doesn't have a MYR banking license in Malaysia hence the exchange rate would be quoted by their correpondent bank in Malaysia and not themselves so they can't control the pricing. My poor BOS RM was also busy calling the OCBC network in Malaysia to assist since it is BOS' mother bank and OCBC has an extensive banking network in Malaysia. I decided to cold-call OCBC's Premier Banking in JB to enquire. After explaining that I am looking to switch from Citigold to another premier banking account, the prospective OCBC RM was very helpful and told me that he can offer a preferential rate which is 25/30 higher than interbank, still a hefty spread vis-a-vis the transaction amount but much better than what Citi was prepared to do it at. This to me, is more reasonable albeit high as corporates transact their large FX trades with their bankers at 1-5 bp off the interbank and I expect to get the same spreads for my FX trades from UBS and BOS in Singapore.

The RM from OCBC JB even offered to come into Singapore to open the account for me. Now, that's service! At the end of the day, a hungry banker is a good banker. A greedy banker will starve to death and I will make sure of it. I will never bank with Citi again other than an outstanding mortgage I have with them in Singapore.

Lol, Whizzard I thought you dropped off the radar.

You can consider using money changers to do the deal as well, my folks use one that seems to gives good service and rates when they fx large funds to uk. That said I can't be sure if will beat the one offered by the bank.

Good to know OCBC has such good service, pal of mine is a client of Bos as well and praises them to no end.

I don't think much of Citigold as well (Or Citibank for that matter). Reckon they have a mandate to milk their clients.

See you around

Originally Posted by whizzard

I just wanted to get this off my chest.

I have been maintaining a Citigold account with Citibank in Malaysia for more than 10 years and gradually built up the AUM in the account. I used to have some investments in Malaysia but finally decided to liquidate all of them in recent months.

I decided to take advantage of the current strength in MYR to transfer some funds back to Singapore. So, I asked my RM to quote me a good exchange rate to transact the transfer. Told her that the board rate would be unacceptable because the amount is large and they can square it off easily in the inter-bank market as SGD and MYR are very liquid currencies traded with good volume on a daily basis.

In this day and age, FX rates are fully transparent to everyone. Despite this, she still quoted me a rate which is almost 100bp higher than the interbank rate. Now, I won't make a fuss if I am not transferring a large amount. 100bp off the interbank means that I am paying an extra $20,000 vs the interbank rate (where banks buy and sell currencies with each other) just to exchange my money. That is daylight robbery! I asked her to narrow the spread to 25/30 bp higher than the interbank but she refused to budge. I told her that even with the narrower spread, they would still stand to make $5,000-$6,000 from this simple transaction vs nothing if I don't do the trade with them. But, she refused to budge giving me silly excuses that their Treasury can't do it, blah, blah, blah not knowing that uncle here was a professional FX trader with a bank in my earlier days and I know that the absolute discretion on the quotation lies with the FX dealer. Since she could not explain why the rate is so far from the interbank and chose instead to be greedy, I decided to close off the account there and then. Despite banking with them for more than 10 years, they still chose to be greedy with me!

Now, I still need to do the transfer and with Citi out of the question due to their extortionate pricing, I have to find an alternative solution. Spoke to my UBS RM but she can't help much because UBS doesn't have a MYR banking license in Malaysia hence the exchange rate would be quoted by their correpondent bank in Malaysia and not themselves so they can't control the pricing. My poor BOS RM was also busy calling the OCBC network in Malaysia to assist since it is BOS' mother bank and OCBC has an extensive banking network in Malaysia. I decided to cold-call OCBC's Premier Banking in JB to enquire. After explaining that I am looking to switch from Citigold to another premier banking account, the prospective OCBC RM was very helpful and told me that he can offer a preferential rate which is 25/30 higher than interbank, still a hefty spread vis-a-vis the transaction amount but much better than what Citi was prepared to do it at. This to me, is more reasonable albeit high as corporates transact their large FX trades with their bankers at 1-5 bp off the interbank and I expect to get the same spreads for my FX trades from UBS and BOS in Singapore.

The RM from OCBC JB even offered to come into Singapore to open the account for me. Now, that's service! At the end of the day, a hungry banker is a good banker. A greedy banker will starve to death and I will make sure of it. I will never bank with Citi again other than an outstanding mortgage I have with them in Singapore.

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by dives

Lol, Whizzard I thought you dropped off the radar.

You can consider using money changers to do the deal as well, my folks use one that seems to gives good service and rates when they fx large funds to uk. That said I can't be sure if will beat the one offered by the bank.

Good to know OCBC has such good service, pal of mine is a client of Bos as well and praises them to no end.

I don't think much of Citigold as well (Or Citibank for that matter). Reckon they have a mandate to milk their clients.

See you around

Hi Dives, hope you are keeping well!

Just a follow-up to the story. True to his word, the OCBC JB RM braved the traffic at the Causeway and drove down to Singapore to meet me tonight, after only receiving a cold call from me out of the blue this afternoon. He arrived at around 9pm with all the forms for account opening, etc. I duly signed all the forms and passed him some cheques to fund the account.

He also offered me a one-time promo SGD FD for 1 month at OCBC Malaysia at 5%+ pa. I told him I will place the SGD with him for that period after I have decided to do the exchange later, when the cheques clear and when the market is favourable. I also recounted to him, for his benefit, why I am closing my longstanding account with Citi to put him in the right perspective. He left after all the formalities and small talk and I asked him whether he is meeting anyone else. He said that this trip is only for me. Now, that's good service. A hungry banker is a good banker!

Malaysia is an inefficient country with shifting regulations. So, I asked him whether I would need to explain to Bank Negara why I am transferring such a large amount out of Malaysia. He said that as long as I am transferring any amount of money to my own account or to my spouse's account (anywhere in the world), no explanation would be required as long as I do not have any loans outstanding with any financial institutions in Malaysia. My philosophy is to always do it via the cleanest way possible i.e. to transact within the banking system else it may unnecessarily arouse money laundering suspicions and waste everyone's time and effort.

He also said he has a lot of clients who are either Malaysians working and residing in Singapore or Singaporeans who have investments in Malaysia having accounts with him so it's quite usual for him to come over to Singapore to "assist" his clients. Great strategy for OCBC Malaysia. I assured him that, in any case, I will keep some AUM with him since Malaysia will remain one of my investment and holiday destination.

Despite the maturity of the banking industry in Singapore, there is still loads of room for improvement in the level of banking service. My BOS RM was suitably embarrassed as she can't solve this simple issue for me despite them being in the same group. My UBS RM, I don't know what to say.

No matter what our individual circumstances are, every single dollar is important to each banking client and we owe it to ourselves to ensure that we get the appropriate level of efficiencies in our banking services. Entrusting it to our RMs .....nah, they are still way off the mark and complacent. No wonder many are asking "who moved my cheese"!

Take care my friend and keep healthy and happy!

[kapooya]

Been reading this thread and posts by whizzard and the rest of the rich people here and I feel really lousy and beyond hope.

I am a student, just graduated turning 25 end of this year. My paltry net worth is 70k which is generating only 3k dividend income a year. my whole net worth probably cannot buy the steering wheel of whizzard's porsche.

Any of the gurus here can give me advice? or am i beyond hope???

Originally Posted by dives

Lol, Whizzard I thought you dropped off the radar.

You can consider using money changers to do the deal as well, my folks use one that seems to gives good service and rates when they fx large funds to uk. That said I can't be sure if will beat the one offered by the bank.

Good to know OCBC has such good service, pal of mine is a client of Bos as well and praises them to no end.

I don't think much of Citigold as well (Or Citibank for that matter). Reckon they have a mandate to milk their clients.

See you around

I used citi private client before in sg. Equally bad. They wanted to charge me 50 basis points for bond trades. Now that is fine if agreed before hand. But the rm dare to call me and ask if can get me 0.4 better, we split the 0.4. Meaning now their comm become 0.7! What rubbish. I also encountered such lousy behavior with real estate agent before.

As for forex, 100 basis is ridiculous. I am pay about 0.1 above for usd. Meaning if trading 1.247, I buy at 1.248. Basically 10 basis points. Using American pb.

Originally Posted by kapooya

Been reading this thread and posts by whizzard and the rest of the rich people here and I feel really lousy and beyond hope.

I am a student, just graduated turning 25 end of this year. My paltry net worth is 70k which is generating only 3k dividend income a year. my whole net worth probably cannot buy the steering wheel of whizzard's porsche.

Any of the gurus here can give me advice? or am i beyond hope???

When I was 27, my networth was -30k from student and Reno loans.

"Patience you must have" - Yoda

Originally Posted by whizzard

Hi Dives, hope you are keeping well!

Just a follow-up to the story. True to his word, the OCBC JB RM braved the traffic at the Causeway and drove down to Singapore to meet me tonight, after only receiving a cold call from me out of the blue this afternoon. He arrived at around 9pm with all the forms for account opening, etc. I duly signed all the forms and passed him some cheques to fund the account.

He also offered me a one-time promo SGD FD for 1 month at OCBC Malaysia at 5%+ pa. I told him I will place the SGD with him for that period after I have decided to do the exchange later, when the cheques clear and when the market is favourable. I also recounted to him, for his benefit, why I am closing my longstanding account with Citi to put him in the right perspective. He left after all the formalities and small talk and I asked him whether he is meeting anyone else. He said that this trip is only for me. Now, that's good service. A hungry banker is a good banker!

Malaysia is an inefficient country with shifting regulations. So, I asked him whether I would need to explain to Bank Negara why I am transferring such a large amount out of Malaysia. He said that as long as I am transferring any amount of money to my own account or to my spouse's account (anywhere in the world), no explanation would be required as long as I do not have any loans outstanding with any financial institutions in Malaysia. My philosophy is to always do it via the cleanest way possible i.e. to transact within the banking system else it may unnecessarily arouse money laundering suspicions and waste everyone's time and effort.

He also said he has a lot of clients who are either Malaysians working and residing in Singapore or Singaporeans who have investments in Malaysia having accounts with him so it's quite usual for him to come over to Singapore to "assist" his clients. Great strategy for OCBC Malaysia. I assured him that, in any case, I will keep some AUM with him since Malaysia will remain one of my investment and holiday destination.

Despite the maturity of the banking industry in Singapore, there is still loads of room for improvement in the level of banking service. My BOS RM was suitably embarrassed as she can't solve this simple issue for me despite them being in the same group. My UBS RM, I don't know what to say.

No matter what our individual circumstances are, every single dollar is important to each banking client and we owe it to ourselves to ensure that we get the appropriate level of efficiencies in our banking services. Entrusting it to our RMs .....nah, they are still way off the mark and complacent. No wonder many are asking "who moved my cheese"!

Take care my friend and keep healthy and happy!

Thanks Whizzard, likewise keep well and healthy too, I would say you're fortunate to find the Malaysian RM on just a random dial, and he was fortunate to get to service you too. Many take their services for granted which is not the case for you.

That said nothing against Singaporean but I always find Malaysian or Indonesian Chinese more driven/hungry for business. I associate that with the harsh environment they grew up in. Even the children of wealthy Indonesian families I know are very driven for business.

Originally Posted by kapooya

Been reading this thread and posts by whizzard and the rest of the rich people here and I feel really lousy and beyond hope.

I am a student, just graduated turning 25 end of this year. My paltry net worth is 70k which is generating only 3k dividend income a year. my whole net worth probably cannot buy the steering wheel of whizzard's porsche.

Any of the gurus here can give me advice? or am i beyond hope???

Don't be silly, one thing to learn is that there will always be someone richer than you, what really matters is if they are willing to impart their knowledge and experience for you to learn. Many say this but if you get the chance do go to countries like Philippines or Indonesia and you will appreciate what you have.

The way I see it you have the greatest wealth of all, you're younger then us "Uncles" here. I would give up half my assets to be 25 again (Can't say all right?) sounds cliche now but when you hit 35 you will miss the energy you had and the things you could have done or should have done. Just don't squander it like I did

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I used citi private client before in sg. Equally bad. They wanted to charge me 50 basis points for bond trades. Now that is fine if agreed before hand. But the rm dare to call me and ask if can get me 0.4 better, we split the 0.4. Meaning now their comm become 0.7! What rubbish. I also encountered such lousy behavior with real estate agent before.

As for forex, 100 basis is ridiculous. I am pay about 0.1 above for usd. Meaning if trading 1.247, I buy at 1.248. Basically 10 basis points. Using American pb.

Lol sounds like Citiba** nickname of Sh*tyba** is well deserved, I'm never had the chance to encounter but I know people who kanna the destructive wake of their accumulator products. Then again all banks are the same the bigger they are the worse they seem to become.

I'm still on a hunt for a good property agent as well, it will be good to have someone reliable do the legwork when the market goes down and some gems surface.

The best thing is to find a friend or relative you can trust at a bank. They can often get the "mid-rate", which is than the bid or ask on the interbank rate depending on whether you are buying or selling.

As for myself, when I need to move a large sum from Malaysia, I happen to know the head of treasury at one of the large Malaysian banks and just call him. He will simply instruct one of his dealers to give me a good rate.

A Citigold customer is the lowest level of priority banking at Citibank Malaysia. All you need is something like RM200K in FD, which is like SGD80K. Do you really expect priority service with that kind of lowly status? 10 years not withstanding. You need to be on one of the higher tiers or be a private bank customer to enjoy priority rates. Citibank Malaysia is still far superior to OCBC Malaysia, but you need to have significant business with them.

You didn't provide enough details for anyone to determine if you are beyond hope.

Another thing, you are trying to measure up to people who are older and have worked many years and built up their wealth over the years.

But one thing I can tell you though, if you feel and think you are beyond hope, you will be. All losers think like that. They think that if they were not born with $$$ , then they won't make it in life.

Originally Posted by kapooya

Been reading this thread and posts by whizzard and the rest of the rich people here and I feel really lousy and beyond hope.

I am a student, just graduated turning 25 end of this year. My paltry net worth is 70k which is generating only 3k dividend income a year. my whole net worth probably cannot buy the steering wheel of whizzard's porsche.

Any of the gurus here can give me advice? or am i beyond hope???