Tag Archives: tech

Technology & Investing

Posted on by
Reply

Technology has become so integrated in our day to day lives, I believe it has totally changed the way I do business. Not only this, but it has also helped my clients in gaining more knowledge and confidence in what they are investing in. This in turn, has helped me in my business, as I believe that knowledge is key to success. I am a Personal Wealth Manager who specialises in bespoke financial planning for clients in Singapore, blending personal and professional financial advice with all-important tax planning. I wanted to share with everyone that platforms and tools I currently use to help my clients, plus some tools that the everyday investor can use to successfully plan, visualise and research your investments and finances.

FE Analytics

This online platform is a complete game-changer for me. FE Analytics is more worthwhile for financial planners, investment analysts and others in the finance space, because the subscription fee is quite substantial, but it is an invaluable tool. I use it to create portfolios for clients, review and project investments and compare their current portfolios with bespoke ones I have created for them. What I love about this platform is that it will gather global data, from companies like Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance and others of the sort, to compare key investment data points, such as performance vs. benchmark, volatility, risk and even ESG rating. Volatility and risk are an excellent thing to show to clients, as they can clearly see how erratic their investments are in comparison to their performance. In today’s ever-changing world, many of my clients are become more conscientious and circular economy-focused, so being able to show an ESG rating adds value to them.

Even though an average investor may not have access to this platform, it is important to know that every legitimate investment will have a code, which can and should be easily found on websites, such as Yahoo Finance, so that you can clearly see the funds performance, fees and charges, and have full transparency in information of the investment. If you cannot find this number, or there is no information online about your investment, this could be a red flag.

OPAL Fintech

OPAL is one digital business account for your business and financial needs. I really enjoy using this platform because it is a perfect visualisation of a person’s goals, dreams, aspirations and current situation. All I have to do is input a client’s cash flow, assets, debt, and then discuss with them their financial goals. This may be plans for retirement, saving for a property, planning for a child’s education, or even leaving a lumpsum for their family when they pass on. The OPAL algorithm will assess their current situation, factor is real-life data, such as inflation, and project how likely it is for that goal to happen. Then, it can be tweaked and adjusted, showing multiple scenarios depending on how much the client is setting aside into investments. I often feel like, because financial planning is very numbers-heavy, people can find it difficult to visualise their goals clearly. I don’t have that issue with OPAL, because the graphics and projections perfectly paint the picture for the client.

Budgeting Platforms

But what if you do not have access to these paid platforms? I would first off recommend tracking your cashflow on a monthly basis and being conscious of your assets vs. debts. There are loads of budgeting apps that you can use. For example, DBS Online Banking has an interface that illustrates your monthly inflowing cash and outgoings. If you’d like something a bit more in depth, so that you can go through these figures with a find-toothed comb, I would recommend apps like Zenmoney, Monny or Spendee; all of these (and ones similar) are free and user-friendly for the consumer. Some will consolidate your spending habits into presentable data and graphics, others will incorporate some gamification in order to encourage you to hit your spending and saving goals. There are many on the market in Singapore, and you just have to play around and find whatever works for you. I prefer to use the DBS NAV Planner paired with an Excel spreadsheet, but others may prefer the other apps mentioned here.

Stock Screener

If you are investing in individual stocks, or if your portfolio comprises of equities, you can always use stock screeners to check key analytics like the market cap, yield and sector. You can also delve further into the figures and statistics, like viewing the past 5 years performance and other metrics. You can also check company announcements and financial statements, which is perfect for those investors that like to research in depth. For Singapore stock exchange, you can use https://investors.sgx.com/stock-screener.

General Learning & Boosting Your Knowledge

As I mentioned at the start of my article, knowledge is power. If you don’t have a basic level of knowledge, this is quite often the blockade that is stopping you from investing, which means that your money is being eroded by inflation. You may be concerned of misinformation out there, but don’t worry, there are many great, informative platforms you can use to educate yourself. The first is Investopedia, which is essentially a Wikipedia for all things money and investing. Here you can find simple to understand financial concepts, investment terms and even information on past historical events in the finance world. The Balance is a great website that hosts a wide range of information, from which loans give the best rates, what stock market apps are easy to use, to how to discuss finances with your children. This is really a font of knowledge and a go-to for anyone who just wants to get more clued up on finance. I would of course recommend keeping yourself up-to-date with news by checking out The Financial Times, Bloomberg and CNBC, as well as other credible finance media outlets.

In this world of technology, finance and investing have become accessible to the masses; what once seemed only for the super-savvy or wealthy, is now at the click of a button to almost everyone who owns a computer or smartphone. This readily available information is not something we should shy away from; these are wonderful tools we can use to do our own due diligence and ensure that we are planning our finances and investments correctly. Technology has pushed for a need for transparency in the finance sector, so what a better time to start investing! You have all the knowledge, resources and tools to do so responsibly, and with some level of understanding. However, for those that are not as savvy, or for those that have a full schedule, you may not have the time to commit to constant research. I don’t blame you- if it wasn’t my full-time job I probably wouldn’t either! This is when you can lean on the advice of a professional, who will have all these tools at their disposal, with the added expertise and wisdom to help you navigate investing effectively in accordance with your risk tolerance and unique circumstances.

(Remember that if you are struggling to find information available online of an investment, to tread lightly, as a lack of transparency may also mean a lack of legitimacy.)

What Does AI Mean For Investors?

Posted on by
Reply

For the past year, all I have been hearing about is Artificial Intelligence. It really has become a hot topic; how it may put some out of jobs, but increases productivity for others. And I have to admit, it has helped me a lot with some of my content planning and marketing strategies. An interesting topic now being talked a lot is how AI will change the face of investing. Will it make things easier, or will some of its pitfalls pose as an issue to the avid investor? Of course, like everything with investing, there are risks and benefits to weigh up. So let’s discuss these here today.

New Companies & Products Will Emerge

Let’s talk about the bigger picture first. With new technology comes new business opportunities, and with this comes new investment opportunities. During COVID, a lot of people invested in healthcare, pharmaceuticals and mask manufacturing companies. We also saw a boom in e-commerce and online platforms. People were spending more time online, and more time buying products online, hence, tech equities saw quite a growth during this period. This may be similar with AI; with new companies and technology popping up, investors will want a piece of that pie. Not only that, other companies and industries may thrive with AI; start-ups will minimal manpower, may find that they can increase their bandwidth for production, all with the use of AI. Industrial, travel & leisure and consumer services may see a great shift from man power to roles automated by AI. One thing to be aware of is that the use of AI means that companies can be more experimental with their products and business models, because if they fail, it won’t be as high of a loss to them. So beware not to invest in some exciting trial or business experiment that may not pull through.

Well-Known Brands Over Small Successes

When it comes to AI, I think it is smart to think about how this technology will benefit large, well established companies, instead of thinking about the AI companies themselves. Companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft all are huge well-known companies. They have a good track record, and whilst past performance is not indicative of future performance, we know that these companies have the resources and infrastructure to implement and blend AI with their current business models, meaning that we may see a positive growth, because they are using AI.

This Is a Long-Term Thing

Like anything that is development, or indeed with investing, we should look at this long-term. Hopefully AI will be here to stay, helping us in all aspects of our work and life. We are still in the infancy stages of AI, and I look forward to see how it will develop in future. All investments should be looked at with a long-term horizon, not just jumping on the band-wagon of a short-term fad. Hence why I think it’s important to consider the longevity of the companies you are investing in.

Investment Platforms

We already have robo-advisors when it comes to investing; you can open an app, answer a few questions and the app will suggest a portfolio for you to invest in. JP Morgan has already applied to trademark an IndexGPT and is developing a ChatGPT-like software for selecting investments for their customers.

Betterment was the first robo-advisor launched in 2008, with the purpose of rebalancing assets within target date funds to help manage passive, buy-and-hold investments through an online interface. This wasn’t new technology, but now most robo-advisors use passive indexing strategies using various algorithms to optimise. These have not replaced human advisors. Most high net worth investors seek the professional advice of an actual human, because active strategies, if done correctly, can out-perform passive ones. Not only that, human advisors can give advice when it comes to take, repatriation, and take into consideration personal matters when it comes to their planning.

It seems that the new ChatGPT-esque developments coming up may affect robo and human advisors in a few ways; this new technology will be able to create models and analyses that robo-advisors can’t, and would take a while for human advisors to do. AI can analyse and process masses of financial data, from over the years and geographical locations, a huge feet for an individual, do create robust reports that take into account the nuances of financials and the market. This has already led to models, such as the BloombergGPT model, already outperforming other models and benchmarks.

Human Interaction

It seems that, for now at least, there will still be a need for real life financial advisors- people enjoy socialising with other people, and that goes the same in business. Building the trust between client and advisor is so important and invaluable, that cannot be done with a robot or an AI chatbot. I think that this sentiment will continue, especially with financial planning. For now, AI cannot understand your current situation with home-life and family, your personality, or get excited about your future goals with you. Actually, all these are key elements of creating that financial roadmap for your future.

Artificial Intelligence is exciting, and it’s here to stay, and will only develop more over time. Always with investing, it is important to stay educated, but not get wrapped up in the hype. Weigh up the pros and cons, understand your own risk tolerance and look at your investment strategy for the long-run.