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very depressed after losing $13K in stocks.

You;re rite EastonBay, ints from your saving a/cs are tax-free. The last check with IRAS cfmed that from YA 2006, all ints gain from approved institutes (Banks, Finance Coys etc)  by MAS will be tax-exempt too. Regret for the error in my earlier post.Cheers!

 

I am not too sure but I believe interest income on saving is tax exempt since about 2 years ago.

 

Hi tonersweat,  buying shares with CPF saving could be seen as risky by people who aren't familiar with the Stock Market and thus the FD thingy. I think is better to leave it with CPF Board (2.5% tax exempt) than to put in FDs (3% - 5% int which is taxable as income).

If you're well-versed with the Markets, it is of course a much better choice. Personally, I'd not put in FDs, unless I've no where else to park my money. FYI, some of the bonds issued by Govts give quite good coupon rates but mostly very long term and quite secure. Cheers!

 

I wonder why dont using CPF to buy share instead of putting in FD or buying bond. 

 

oh yes my fren is a airforce captain and his wife is a analyst. his two condos are at sherwood tower at bukit timah..

 

Correction:


This is how i use my cpf to buy house and invest..


1)i use as little downpayment as possible and stretch my housing loan to 20yrs. i just use enough cpf money to pay the min deposit and 1st payment. only half of me and my wife monthly cpf are used to pay for the flat..


just think abt it.. interest from hdb is just 2.6% but i am able to get more than 3% pa investing in bonds and short term FD. at current interest rates, it is quite dumb to pay upfront..


to prevent retrenchment, we set aside 6 months of instalments worth in our cpf that is untouchable. The rest is used on investment and as backup to average up.


This way, we maximise our investment amt and minimise the risk. retrenchment is not a problem as if either one of us is retrenched, we dun need to liquidate our shares. next if the worst case happened which means both of us is retrenched, we still have 6 months to look for a job. even if that happen, we can just liquidate a portion of our holdings at a time.


Thou are flat is smaller, i find flat is a liability and if my investments to grow at higher rate, i can look forward to own a landed property soon on top of my flat.


BTW, what i taught is not a concept but reality. my fren did this and is holding a flat and 2 condos..

 

This is how i use my cpf to buy house and invest..

1)i use as little downpayment as possible and stretch my housing loan to 20yrs. i just use enough cpf money to pay the min deposit and 1st payment. only half of me and my wife cpf are used to pay for the flat..

just think abt it.. interest from hdb is just 2.6% but i am able to get more than 3% pa investing in bonds and short term FD. at current interest rates, it is quite dumb to pay upfront..

to prevent retrenchment, we set aside 6 months of instalments worth in our cpf that is untouchable. The rest is used on investment and as backup to average up.

This way, we maximise our investment amt and minimise the risk. retrenchment is not a problem as if either one of us is retrenched, we dun need to liquidate our shares. next if the worst case happened which means both of us is retrenched, we still have 6 months to look for a job. even if that happen, we can just liquidate a portion of our holdings at a time.

Thou are flat is smaller, i find flat is a liability and if my investments to grow at higher rate, i can look forward to own a landed property soon on top of my flat.

BTW, what i taught is not a concept but reality. my fren did this and is holding a flat and 2 condos..

 

yes, because you definitely need that for your housing downpayment! We can wipe them off to zero for the 5%, 10% CPF downpayment, a very good way of spending OA cash~

 

thanks shplayer and awchyeong !  Will check it out.  Better than to leave it in the ordinary account earning only 2.5% interest.

 

For Sing Finance their short priod (1 month) FD for 10K and above is >3%.  May check with them @ 64560588

 

jessie,

I placed with UOB.

Few months ago they had promo for CPF FD of about 3.2%. Not too sure if this is still available. Perhaps you can check with them.

 

Hi shplayer, this is great news. When you mentioned that one must have sufficient fund in OA, are  you referring to the "minimium sum" ?  Also, which are the banks that offer better rates for the CPF FD ?  Thank you so much.

 

jessie,

Placing funds from OA into FD will not affect investable amount provided you have sufficient funds left in the OA.

 

Hi shplayer, if we place our ordinary account monies in FD, will the amount that is investible in stocks be affected ie reduced ?

 

my cpf left abit too. lolz

 

tonersweat,

Odinary a/c....I've already fully used the percentage allowed for share investment.

 

Hi Shplyer

     May I know which CPF cannot use for buying share?  Are you referring to special account?  This special account can earn 4 % interest rate.

 

 

Adding to the current topic about FD, I do put a big portion of my CPF $ ( which I can't touch for shares) in FDs.



As for my cash, I put them in very short term FDs (1 week) to get better interest rates (than savings) but more importantly, to have them readily available to take advantage of any market opportunities that may arise.

 

Hi geojam,  I'm against putting money in FDs 'cos the int rate gain is not even enough to cover the real rate of inflations. I'm sure there're many counters in the Market that offer dividend yields years after years better than FD!

The best way is not the only way and as far as Investing in stocks is concerned it all depends on your own ability and experiences. S'gal is quite rite to point out that it is different stroke for different folk. 

May I ask u a question : Would you want to be a big fish in the ocean or in the pond?  Cheers!

 

I believe that different investment instruments suit different people with different goals and characters.

I don't invest in FDs because I like the excitement of trading shares. For people who want stable income and dislike risk, I think FD most suitable for them. Retirees for one, I believe.