Working with Meyado

Working with Meyado in Singapore could be the best career move you could ever make.

If you have excellent people skills and have experience in sales and finance then it might be that a career as a financial planner could be for you.   If you are already experienced then a new location such as Singapore with its' sensible regulation regime and fantastic geographical location could rejuvinate your enthusiasm for our industry.

We would like to hear from you and discuss further, so for more information take a look at http://www.meyado.com.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=11

New Meyado Singapore Website goes Live

The first version of the operational Meyado Singapore site is now working;

http://www.meyado.com.sg/

There will be many developments and updates starting to roll out in the New Year.

Meyado Euro Velocity Fund

Fund Fact Sheet Here  for the Meyado Euro Velocity Fund.

Meyado Links

News from Meyado can be found at the following links

Blogspot

Blogigo

YouTube   You Tube

Linkedin

Press Release   Press Release   Press Release  

Investment Asia

Meyado Singapore Website

MAS Licence

Careers

Facebook

MAS Article

Join Meyado on Facebook

Keep up to date with events and news by following us on Facebook, just search Meyado Singapore

Meyado Family Christmas Day

Meyado is hosting a family Christmas event on Saturday 11th December at the Kallang Ice Skating rink.

Drop me a line if you and your family would like to attend: markpaine@meyado.com

Brit Cham Singapore Breakfast Club - November

Events this coming month sponsored by Meyado:

Breakfast Club Breakfast Club: Help - My Customers are Revolting! Tue, November 09, 2010


Breakfast Club Breakfast Club: The Outlook for Energy Thu, November 11, 2010

Breakfast Club Breakfast Club: How Microsoft Does IT Thu, November 18, 2010

Breakfast Club BritCham/UKTI Briefing: Doing Business in Asia - Opportunities for UK Companies in Oil & Gas Wed, December 01, 2010

Breakfast Club Breakfast Club: Property Ownership – UK Tax Issues for the British Expatriate Tue, December 07, 2010

For more information visit

http://www.britcham.org.sg/index.php/topmenu/events/breakfast_club/

Guy Fawkes Night, 5th November

Remember remember the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.

Happy Guy Fawkes night from Meyado

From Wikipedia:

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.




Fawkes was born and educated in York. His father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant Catholic. Fawkes later converted to Catholicism and left for the continent, where he fought in the Eighty Years' War on the side of Catholic Spain against Protestant Dutch reformators. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England but was unsuccessful. He later met Thomas Wintour, with whom he returned to England.



Wintour introduced Fawkes to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters secured the lease to an undercroft beneath the House of Lords, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder they stockpiled there. Prompted by the receipt of an anonymous letter, the authorities searched Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and found Fawkes guarding the explosives. Over the next few days, he was questioned and tortured, and eventually he broke. Immediately before his execution on 31 January, Fawkes jumped from the scaffold where he was to be hanged and broke his neck, thus avoiding the agony of the drawing and quartering that followed.



Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, which has been commemorated in England since 5 November 1605. His effigy is burned on a bonfire, often accompanied by a firework display.

Deepavali

The Meyado office will be closed on Friday 5th Novemeber for Deepavali.

Deepavali (also: Depawali, Dipavali, Dewali, Diwali, Divali, Dipotsavi, Dipapratipad ) marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year according to the Lunar Calendar. It literally translated means 'Row of Lights' (from Sanskrit: dipa = lamp / awali = row, line). It celebrates the victory of goodness over evil, light over darkness, and ushers in the new year. For this event people are cleaning their houses and wear new clothes. Diwali is a 5 days festival as Dhanteras, Choti Diwali, Badi (Main) Diwali, Padwa and Bhaiduj. There are many different names for the days of Diwali in different regions of India (South & North India, East & West India) and in the different languages spoken in that regions (i.e. Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali). During Deepavali people pray to Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth, light, prosperty and wisdom, but also to Lord Ganesha, the 'Remover of Obstacles' or the 'Lord of Beginnings'.




Deepavali celebrations take place in many countries in the world. On the first day of the Diwali festival people pray, eating a special breakfast made of many different foods. The Hindu Goddess Lakshmi's statue and images are carried through the streets in processions. There are various legends and stories about the Diwali festival. The story of Bali, Emergence of Laxmi, Krisna Narakasur Fight, Victory of Rama over Ravana and many more. Dipa Lights (also called Diwali Diyas, Kandils, Ghee Lamps, Parvati Ganesha Lamps) that are made of clay, fueled with Oil from Coconuts or Mustard or Ghee (clarified butter), the wick made of cotton wool, are placed outside of houses, on floors and doorways. During Diwali festival doorways are hung with torans of mango leaves and marigolds. Deepavali Mela is being celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains & Buddhists. On the day of Deepavali people exchange gifts, using firecrackers, making fireworks & bonfires, having festive meals. The Indian Festival of Lights takes place after the monsoon season when the weather is pleasant. Diwali Melas (fairs) are held throughout India and the celebrations abroad.

MAN AHL Trend SGD

It is great news that MAN have launched their retail Singapore Dollar class of fund in Singapore.  For a fund management company the calibre of MAN this is a bold move and clearly indicates their view on the liquidity in this market.

The fund follows the existing offshore structure to about 95% (they are restriced on some small asset classes), and although not a hedge fund officially enables smaller and Singapore dollar biased investors a great alternative strategy to throw into their portfolios.

http://www.meyado.com.sg/

Sheraton Grande, Laguna, Phuket

What a great place, wonderful hotel, child friendly and reasonable.  Best part for me was the beach access and the great restaurants with good food and cheap drinks.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/luxury/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=489

Although next time I think we would give Tiger Airlines a miss and pay the few hundred extra dollars to go Silk Air.

This provided a much needed break to rethink business plans and recharge the batteries for the run up to year end.

Singapore Blog

http://meyadosingapore.blogspot.com/

Whilst I am away keep up with the news

On Holiday

Off for a week with the family to Thailand, can't wait.

Check in with

singapore@meyado.com

http://www.meyado.com.sg/

Working in Singapore

OK, I'm biased, I have been in Singapore for 3 years now having been in Dubai for 6 years prior to that.  Singapore is a great place to work.  Firstly, the MAS regulates business in an efficient and fair manner.  Provided you have achieved an employment pass in Singapore, there are three exams to take and then you can apply to become a Financial Representative under your firms Financial Adviser license.  Regulation creates a level playing field and protects firms, clients and advisers.  So all good there.

Secondly there is the location, South East Asia is a wonderful place.  Singapore itself is fine but can get a little "samey" after a while, being an Island and a City State in one, so trips to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam make interesting short breaks.  Further afield Japan, Australia, and India are all 5 - 8 hours away.

Then there is the taxation.  Unlike back in my home of the UK taxes are very reasonable, you can expect to pay around 12 - 15% of your income in tax, and that's it.  No extras like National Insurance, Council Tax and so on.  VAT is 7%.

Being a small city it's easy to get around.  In Dubai I would sometimes struggle to meet even 2 people in a day with traffic problems and distances between parts of the city.  In Singapore 9 times out of 10 I walk to my meetings and easily meet 3 - 5 people every day.

The weather can be great or a challenge, depending on your perspective.  My perspective usually changes depending on whether I am sat by the pool or walking to an appointment in my suit.  It's a relatively constant 32 degrees all year round and it's either hot, or hot and wet.

Sure there are lots of drawbacks, for me being a petrol head cars and the ability to drive are a downside, but I make up for it with long drives into Malaysia from time to time. 

Moving to Singapore right now, in my opinion, is one of the best moves anyone could make if they are looking to progress a career and seriously enhance their lifestyle.  Feel free to email me at markpaine@meyado.com if you want to discuss opportunities here.

RDR in the UK

The Retail Distribution Review in the UK is becoming more and more of a theme here in Singapore.  The review essentially changes the way in which Financial Advisers can work in the UK.  All advisers will now be required to hold a Diploma in Financial Planning.

Currently advisers in the UK are required to sit and pass the Certified Financial Planner examinations and further to hold specific qualifications in order to give specialist advice.

The new Diploma is estimated to take up to 600 hours of studying.

The common summary of the effects of RDR are the abolition of commission and the introduction of fees for advice.  This essentially means that you will pay for your financial adviser just as you would for your accountant or lawyer.

What the effects of this will be on the investor on the street remains to be seen, it is new ground for investors as well as advisers.

In Singapore, there have as yet been no such moves but firms, such as Meyado, have started to introduce the option of paying an adviser fee and not paying a commission.

RDR comes into play at the end of 2012 in the UK and I am sure that there will be many further developments over the coming 24 months or so.

***by way of personal disclosure I hold FPC and CFP module examinations from the UK as well as M5, M8 and M9 in Singapore and am commencing study of the Diploma in Financial Planning ***

Neuro Linguistic Programming

Yesterday I spent the day participating in a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) session presented by Neil Orvay of Evolution-U (www.evolution-u.asia) . A very interesting day, and a great introduction to what can be a controversial theme. NLP training helps participants become more aware of processes and techniques to increase rapport, influence negotiation, develop linguistic techniques and to engage in efficient and effective meetings.




Body language, eye movements, tone of voice, body position and so forth were facets I was quite familiar with. What I found interesting was how NLP can define these subconscious signals and help advisers, managers, salepeople get a better feeling for their clients / staff / customers and thus provide better service. So rather than steering the meeting the participant can gauge and alter their direction to create a productive outcome.



All in all an interesting session.

Peter Mandelson in Singapore

At the Singapore Press event on Friday 24th September 2010

Mandleson displayed his smooth operating style to skillfully avoid being drawn into interesting topics including Labours legacy of the National defecit and the war against terrorism, including the Iraq WMD issue.  Not surprising really.  He was very appreciative of Singapore's successful growth and spoke of his close affinity with Lee Kuan Yew over the past years.

Really it boiled down to a very blatent push on book sales.

Sorry for the poor quality picture taken on my Blackberry phone, but I did have a rather good seat.

Meyado Singapore Now Hiring

Click here for info

BritCham Singapore Breakfast Club

Next event sponsored by Meyado

Unravelling Disputes Through Mediation

Click on the link for details and a booking form.

Meyado Sinagpore Website

Webspace is now booked and site will follow shortly

Take a sneek peek here  Meyado Singapore

Warren Buffett Rules out Double Dip Recession

Bloomberg News:


Buffett Rules Out Double-Dip Recession Amid Growth

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett ruled out a second recession in the U.S. and said businesses owned by his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. are growing.

“I am a huge bull on this country,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chief executive officer, said today in remarks to the Montana Economic Development Summit. “We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost across the board.”

Berkshire bought railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $27 billion in February in a deal that Buffett, 80, called a bet on the U.S. economy. The billionaire’s outlook contrasts with the views of economists such as New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini and Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, who have said the odds of another recession may be one in three or higher.

“I’ve seen sentiment turn sour in the last three months or so, generally in the media,” Buffett said. “I don’t see that in our businesses. I see we’re employing more people than a month ago, two months ago.”

The world’s largest economy grew at a 1.6 percent annual pace in the second quarter, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, revised figures from the Commerce Department showed on Aug. 27. U.S. economic growth will slow to 2.5 percent next year from a projected 2.7 percent this year as unemployment above 9 percent tempers consumer spending, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month.

‘Signs of Life’

Buffett built Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire into a $200 billion provider of insurance, energy and luxury goods and services over four decades. The company cut about 20,000 jobs last year as demand for its products declined.

The economy is still recovering and isn’t likely to slip back into recession as “signs of life” appear in the U.S., Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan said today at an investor conference.

Buffett, who spoke via video connection to an assembly in Butte, Montana, said U.S. banks were ready to boost lending and encouraged entrepreneurs to seek financing for their business ideas. Berkshire is the biggest shareholder of Wells Fargo & Co., the top U.S. home lender.

‘Night and Day’

“It’s night and day from a year, year and a half ago,” Buffett said. “I know Wells Fargo, they would love to have $50 billion more of loans now. Go in and talk to the banker.”

Buffett amassed the world’s third-biggest personal fortune through decades of stock picks and takeovers. Berkshire’s stake in San Francisco-based Wells Fargo was valued at about $8.2 billion at the end of June. Buffett’s firm also owns $5 billion of preferred stock in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and more than $1.5 billion of shares in U.S. Bancorp, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Berkshire gained $1,023, or 0.8 percent, to $125,000 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has climbed 26 percent this year, compared with a decline of 1.8 percent for Wells Fargo and an 8.6 percent drop for Goldman Sachs.

The U.S.’s “central challenge” will be to speed growth, General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt said at the conference. Immelt, 54, called for an increase in exports of manufactured goods to help compete globally. Expansion will be further bolstered when smaller businesses and consumers regain confidence in banks and are able to borrow more, Immelt said.

“We need people to be able to feel like they’re going to get loans, the process is going to work and that they understand the rules,” Immelt said. Signs across the world show growth improving as evidenced by a rise in GE’s orders, he said.

GE is the world’s biggest maker of jet engines, power-plant turbines, locomotives and medical imaging equipment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in New York at afrye@bloomberg.net Kelly Bit in New York at kbit@bloomberg.net .

Quote for the day

The man who backbites an absent friend, nay, who does not stand up for him when another blames him, the man who angles for bursts of laughter and for the repute of a wit, who can invent what he never saw, who cannot keep a secret - that man is black at heart: mark and avoid him. - Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Meyado Press Release

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-the-importance-of-having-a-will-1283501590.html

RDR

What is RDR, what does it mean to the UK industry.

Interesting overview here from Aegon

http://www.brainshark.com/brainshark/vu/view.asp?pi=243492815

More on Wills

A timely piece from City Wire regarding Wills.

http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/i-thought-i-didnt-need-a-will-but-i-was-wrong/a427192?re=10900&ea=266133

The importance of Wills

Over the coming weeks we will be running a campaign to bring to the attention of the international community the importance of having a properly constructed and valid will.

Most expatriates have assets in many jurisdictions and this makes the process of probate convoluted and time consuming if a properly recorded will is not in place.  Take for example a British domicile married to a French domicile, living in Dubai with assets in the UK, France and Dubai.  Not only are there issues of where the assets are taxed but also sharia law to contend with.

By planning ahead and having a will and exploring probate avoidance investment structures you will be doing your family a great service.

Please email me at markpaine@meyado.com if you need further specific information.

Stock picks - why you should care about the new iPhone

As a financial planner I generally shy away from giving advice on shares, or stocks as known in the US (that's a whole other story).

However in this fast moving modern age of information and online share dealing more and more clients are taking views on individual shares.  There are some basics which can be put into place in order to make the most of your dealings.

Buy what you know - either in the industry in which you work or from your view on the street - which stores are selling, where is the traffic headed, what's selling?  If you google  New iPhone you'll find a website with over 7 million hits which merely has rumours about the new iPhone. Interest of that magnitude in a product not yet launched could be a good indication of how Apple might fare over the coming months.  What you have to decide is whether the market has already priced this in or not.

How many to buy? To reduce your risk or to achieve as we say "unsystematic risk" you need to buy between 20 and 35 companies, this may not be possible initially but work up to 35 to reduce risk.  That said with risk comes reward and for the average person with job, family and social life managing 35 shares is not practical. There is a school of thought which says you should never hold more than 10 at any time.

What's your strategy - you need a business plan to trade. Are you going to day trade or buy and hold. What are your stop losses and stop gains.

Buy when there is blood on the streets - the famous mantra of the Rothschild family.  BP is a good example of this - their share price has fallen drastically over the past few days as a result of the Gulf of Mexico Oil spill.  This does not mean that fundamentally they are a bad company and the price may recover as quickly as it came off.

Stop loss - determine when you are going to call it quits.  At that point are you going to sell out or buy more to average down your purchase price.

Don't lose your shirt. Only invest or put at risk what you can afford to lose - your stop loss strategy will help this, but likewise have a limit to pull out profits when they arise and stick to that limit.  If you can pull out your initial stake and ride the profit then you are in good shape.

Look for dividends - there were a number of shares which even though their market price fell during the credit crisis still paid good dividends. In a world of low interest rates a dividend yielding share portfolio can be attractive.

How to access - there are so many ways to buy shares, via your bank, insurance platforms, online and via brokers. Depending on the volume you will trade cost factors play a large part of your decision in how to trade.

In closing, as I started out by saying a share portfolio is only a part of a well structured financial plan for you and your family but managed well it can be lucrative and even fun.

Meyado Links

Links to recent press coverage:

http://www.assetadviser.co.uk/2010/04/14/42770/uk-expats-moving-pensions-offshore

http://www.iaireview.org/2010/02/meyado-private-wealth-management-singapore-has-nominated-mark-paine-as-its-managing-director/

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-meyado-launches-qrops-1270694280.html

http://investmentasia.net/news/814

http://www.ameinfo.com/db-924175.html

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/meyado

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-meyado-private-wealth-management-appoints-singapore-managing-director-1265793620.html

http://www.assetadviser.co.uk/2010/04/20/43276/commodity-sector-remains-top-asset-pick

http://www.smartexpos.com/smartexpo2009/SGMAR/speaker_bio.htm#Mark_Paine

Meyado QROPS

Success - Free-Press-Release.com

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR INVESTMENTS

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR INVESTMENTS


By Chris Williams

Allocating to different investment classes versus stock picking!

There are so many opportunities available today; it becomes increasingly difficult to make the right investment decisions.

Let’s have a look at the major asset classes, then move on to appreciate asset allocation strategies. You can check on where you are now relative to your risk appetite and get a better feel for perhaps where you should be!

The major asset classes are:-

• Cash

o Including fixed deposits, money market accounts

• Bonds

o Investment grade (Sovereigns and quality corporate names) or high yield (junk); short, medium or long-term; domestic or foreign

• Equities

o Global, regional, country, or industry specific

• Property

o Residential, commercial, retail, REITS

• Commodities

o Oil, grains, precious metals, etc

• Hedge Funds

o Specific strategies or Fund of Hedge Funds



You may hold individual equities or bonds, but the vast majority are held via unit trusts, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETF’s).

Other asset classes include financial derivatives (mainly futures and options contracts, which give virtual access to dozens of markets with high leverage) and luxury goods such as art, jewellery, cars and yachts.

To put these asset classes into perspective, at the end of 2008 global private wealth stood at US$32.8 trillion – and growing. With all the noughts, that’s US$32,800,000,000,000 – a lot of money in anyone’s book.

Pension funds, mutual funds / unit trusts and insurance assets totaled US$61.6 trillion, with private wealth accounting for about a third of that figure.

Real estate assets were US$11 trillion, hedge funds US$1.5 trillion, then private equity and REITS around US$1 trillion each.

Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is based on the idea that in different periods, different assets will perform better than others. It is easy to see why some investors will swap and change their holdings according to whim – but that strategy could easily end up with much worse results than by adopting a consistent approach.

The key is that different asset classes offer returns that are not perfectly correlated. Therefore, by diversifying investment classes, the investor is reducing overall risk for a given level of expected return.

A great deal of academic study has been done on this subject, and it explains the importance of asset allocation and the problems of active management. This explains the steadily rising popularity of “passive” investment styles (buy and hold) using index funds.

Making decisions on what percentage of your investments should be in any one class will ultimately depend on your appetite / aversion to risk. Simply buying stocks without regard of a possible bear market can result in panic selling later. Your true risl tolerance can be hard to gauge until you have experienced a real bear market with money invested in the market.

Projected 10 year Cumulative return after inflation

(stock return 8% yearly, bond return 4.5% yearly, inflation 3% yearly

80% stock / 20% bond 52%

70% stock / 30% bond 47%

60% stock / 40% bond 42%

50% stock / 50% bond 38%

40% stock / 60% bond 33%

30% stock / 70% bond 29%

20% stock / 80% bond 24%

Source: Bekkers Niels, Doeswijk Ronald Q. and Lam Trevin W., Strategic Asset Allocation: Determining the Optimal Portfolio with Ten Asset Classes , Journal of Wealth Management, Vol 12, No 3, pp 61-77, 2009

The table shows why asset allocation is important. It determines an investor's future return, as well as the bear market burden that he or she will have to carry successfully to realise the returns. This is over simplified, of course, as your portfolio is likely to include other asset classes as well.



Asset allocation decisions, as opposed to specific fund or stock choice, and market timing, are the driving force behind well structured investment portfolios and returns.

Finding the proper balance is key – which is a great reason to seek professional advice.

[The author is Senior Investment Advisor with Meyado Private Wealth Management Pte Ltd in Singapore, and has over 40 years experience in financial markets]

QROPS Frequently Asked Questions

I'm not sure if it is worth transferring my pension?

A good rule of thumb is that if your pension transfer value is worth £100,000 or more then QROPS is worth investigation.  At less than £100,000 then the fees and charges may mean it is not in your financial interests to transfer out.

Why should I move my pension offshore?

Some of the main reasons are,
Concern over stability of your pension provider.  This may include pensions held within companies who are potentialy financially unstable.
Currency - you may wish to receive your pension in a currency other than sterling.
Control - you may wish to have a more hands on approach to your pension management.
To receive untaxed income.  The majority of UK schemes will pay your pension income net of UK tax.
You may wish to take more or less income than your current provider offers.  UK schemes work on GAD which is the same offshore, but with untaxed income you may be able to realise higher incomes offshore. Likewise if you want to protect your capital you can draw down less.

How does it work?

You will need to write to your pension provider and request a transfer to the relevant QROPS trustees.  Once transferred your pension needs to be invested into a suitable vehicle - your financial adviser will be able to recommend a product and an investment strategy suitable for you.

Can I still take the 25% tax free lump sum?

Yes you can.

Can I just take the money out and spend it?

No - QROPS is not designed to "bust" your pension but to gain control in an offshore environment.  Qualifying plans adhere to HMRC rules and regulations. Be wary of schemes which promise otherwise.

For more information contact us at info@meyado.com

Meyado QROPS

Meyado is pleased to announce the launch of QROPS products to its' clients in Singapore.

Have you ever worked in the UK?
Are you likely to retire outside of the UK?

If you answered Yes to both of the above then QROPS may be an interesting way of moving your UK based pension scheme offshore where you can enjoy many benefits of having closer control of YOUR pension funds.

For more information visit www.meyado.com or contact us at info@meyado.com

Meyado

Meyado Private Wealth Management is a regulated financial advisor offering advice to executives in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

We are regulated by the FSA in the UK and the MAS in Singapore.

For more information please visit www.meyado.com or email us at info@meyado.com

Meyado
Helping People...
...Achieving Goals