MAKE SOME INCOME (By Nik Zafri)

The strategies employed to invest and increase income are often complex and multifaceted when it comes to "practical".

However, I found some common themes emerge all the time which I sum up as the core investment strategies.

1) Diversification

Spreading investments across various asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities) to reduce risk is one good move.

2) Long Term Perspective

Always focus on building income over time rather than quick gains. In short, greed will make you lose, so be patient.

3) Leverage

When you borrow, increase them on potential returns - it's risky but once you strike, it's worth. You can also get ASB loan and let them invest or reinvest for you. In the long run, you might get handsome returns

4) Get a good advice

Although Warren Buffet might not agree with me, but if you can afford it especially when you have no experience, it's logical to employ financial advisors or wealth managers to handle investments.

5) Always pay tax but optimize them

Draw up a good strategies to minimize tax liabilities but never avoid from paying tax

There are quite a number of investment vehicles.

1) Stocks and Bonds

Investing in publicly traded companies and if you have heard of government debt, go for them.

2) Real Estate

Own properties for rental income or appreciation.(REIT)

3) Private Equity and Venture Capital

Investing in startups and private companies.

4) Hedge Funds

Pooled investment funds that use various strategies to generate returns.

Alternative Investments can be purchase of assets like art, collectibles, and commodities.

Additional Soft Income-Building Sources

1) Business Ownership - Creating and growing businesses.

2) Intellectual Property - Developing and protecting patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

3) Inheritance - if you come from a rich family.

4) Risk-Taking - Pursuing high-reward, high-risk ventures.

5) Networking - Building relationships with influential people.

Also, think the way successful people think.

You must have access to information for e.g. exclusive investment opportunities and market insights

You must adopt a risk tolerance attitude - allowing yourself to pursue higher-return investments.

Have a long term perspective (Time Horizon) - enabling yourself to weather market fluctuations.

Good luck, just sharing my perspective from my so-called research. No guarantee of success unless you really work hard and do not let failure stop you. Remember, investing involves risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Just conduct thorough research or consult experts before making investment decisions.

WILL MALAYSIA ENCOUNTER ASSET BUBBLE? - AN 'ANALYSIS' BY NIK ZAFRI

Today, I am not going to write about Sub Prime Mortgage Crisis, REIT, Commercial Property Bubble etc as I've written enough. But today, I'm going to share some good articles that worth looking into.

I read Jagdev Singh Sidhu's brilliant article in the Star Thursday September 9, 2010 entitled

"Diffuse the property bubble before it is too late - Making a Point - By Jagdev Singh Sidhu"

(Nik Zafri's notes : I pray that we're not too late)

THE subject of property prices and financing has gathered momentum ever since news broke that Bank Negara is assessing the situation to determine if new measures should be instituted to cool down fast escalating property prices.

Lobby groups for the industry have been busy making their case heard, saying that any move to impose higher downpayments for houses would hurt the property market.

Their concerns come at a time as a growing number of people have complained that prices of houses, especially in the hotspots in the country such as the Klang Valley and Penang, are spiralling beyond affordability.

The last thing everybody needs is such speculation spreading to other areas where for the moment, speculative activity appears to be contained for the moment in the hotspots as 94% of houses sold in the country are priced below half a million ringgit and 85% of houses launched in the past nine months cost below RM500,000.

Dealing with speculation is tough and the last thing anyone should do is to make genuine buyers suffer, especially first time buyers.

Suggestions that houses costing below RM500,000 should not be subject to the new higher downpayment requirement makes sense.

Also first-time house buyers or owner occupied houses should be given the most ease of financing to allow them to fulfil the dream of owning a home.

It’s also hard to clamp down on speculative activity as the wealth creation process is an allure that developers, banks and policy makers might find hard to turn away.

After all, the money generated from flipping houses adds to the bottomlines of companies and the money in the hands of people could well filter down to other consumption activity that would go a long way to help spur economic activity.

But the profit from speculating activity, this time driven largely by cheap and ready financing, is unsustainable and history is full of examples of the dire consequences of a property bubble gone burst.

It’s then not surprising that the authorities in other countries in the region, where a property bubble has formed, are working hard to manage and diffuse the situation. Rules introduced in China, Hong Kong and Singapore are far more drastic that what the authorities here are reported to be contemplating.

In fact the new rules that are talked about are tame compared with what has been done in the past. In 1995, reports said that Bank Negara imposed a maximum 60% loan for residential properties priced above RM150,000 to put the brakes on the then fast rising house prices.

Furthermore, a real property gains tax of 30% was imposed on foreigners selling their properties irrespective of the holding period of the property.

Those measures were met with a huge hue and cry from the lobby groups, and developers who claimed that such draconian measures would maim the market. A couple of years later Malaysia entered its worst-ever recession, and as they say the rest is history.

The point is, just as the saying goes, those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and for Malaysia, failing to deal with any property speculative bubble would spell trouble for the banks that have grown to rely more and more on households to drive their lending activity.

In the interest of financial stability and common sense, the move to act should be made soon.

Deputy news editor Jagdev Singh Sidhu is amazed just how much his house is “worth” in the secondary market.

------------------------

(Nik Zafri : Here's another from United States (It's old but the REIT players...you can consider the points GLG is making (but obviously it was a bit late) – BUT we in Malaysia can change it! Take Preventive Actions now!) :

if you like subprime, you'll love the commercial property bubble

August 29, 2007

• Analysis by: GLG Expert Contributor

• Analysis of: Commercial Real Estate, Come On Down

• Published at: www.washingtonpost.com

Summary

It's fine to talk about gloom and doom, but it's an ill wind that blows no good. Counter cyclical investment is worth thinking about.

Analysis

If you like subprime...you'll just LOVE the commercial property bubble! Every day we hear about a new record price for commercial property. Great news... if you're selling.

Alright, you say, here comes another gloom and doom prophecy. Nothing new about that. But let me regale you with some ancient history.

There once was a gentleman by the name of Knuppe. He pioneered mini-storage. His rule of thumb was, 'Build to yield 12% on hard cost. Sell at a capitalization rate of 10%.'

Well a few years ago I bought a self-storage REIT to yield 8%. Considering I was paying for management and getting liquidity, thought that 8% was pretty fair.

Hoped to get some increase of value with increasing rents. Well, from time to time I checked in on the stock. When I had more than doubled my money and the yield was down to 4%, wondered what the upside could be. Maybe the yield could go down to 3%? I sold. At the time that Mr. Knuppe was in his prime, normal commercial vacancy rates were on the order of 5% and capitalization rates something like 10%.

At about that time there was a very smart gentleman by the name of Michael Young. He asked what made real estate so special that investment in it got such a premium over, say, bonds or equities. Then he proceeded to figure a way to parse out credit leases like a bond strip, selling periodic payments to one buyer and reversion of the property to another. Today the ratios are just about opposite, 10% vacancy and 5% cap rate, except you might have a hard time buying to yield 5%. Capitalization rates are trying to go down to half that. What happened? Briefly, finance discovered real estate

Recommended reading: "A Demon of Our Own Design" by Bookstaber, "The Black Swan" by Taleb and "The (Mis)Behavior of Markets" by Mandelbrot.

(Nik Zafri : here comes the best part!....read on...)

Some fairly smart folks figured ways to package and sell "asset based" products without a firm understanding of the underlying assets or their markets. It is fairly well accepted that at the moment the global economy has been awash in liquidity.

As most people in normal times would rather put money to work rather than stick it in the mattress, that means that various investments are likely to receive the bounty.

The problem, as always, is that supply being roughly equal, more money being bid means higher prices. This has trickled down to real estate through various investment vehicles.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are an old one. Mortgage backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) are newer. This doesn't mention synthetic leases, which are, at least priced, a lot like bonds, or Mr. Young's "lease strips".

At one time in the Paleolithic of real estate, forty or so years ago, a debate was current as to whether the tax advantaged status of limited partnerships inflated apartment prices. More recently there has been discussion of the inflationary aspects of tax advantaged, "1031", property exchanges.

Today, however, we are talking about REAL money, that which is under management in pension and other investment funds. If the fund managers can't find a way to invest, they don't make their bonuses. Every picture tells a story. The office complex in the aerial photo (http://www.charlesbwarren.com/aerial%20services.html) is of PacificShores.

Touted as being 2/3 leased before ground was broken in late 1999, its tenants evaporated in the dot-com meltdown the following spring. For years it represented a substantial part of the office vacancy in San MateoCounty. The picture was taken mid-day, midweek in Fall, 2004.

Recently it sold for upwards of $500 per square foot. It is now reported to be 91% leased. The parking lot is a bit more full than pictured, but not 91%.

At a ULI workshop in 2006 one of the speakers opined, "The fun is gone out of this cycle. A few years ago you could buy based on capitalization rate. Then you could justify an investment based on discounted cash flow. Now the only reason to buy is price per pound."

I think that price per pound for existing property is now getting high enough to "justify" new construction... if your expectation of investment returns is low, very low. So what? How does this help? Maybe I get "told-you-so" points in a few years?

If you are just a thrill seeker, invest on the momentum and hope to get out before the roller coaster goes over the top of the hill. Or maybe you sit on your money. Earn 5% short term. When the bubble pops maybe at least some real estate might get interesting again.

Otherwise, if you're adventurous, you might try shorting REITs. Charles B. Warren, ASA urban real property San Francisco http://www.charlesbwarren.com/

Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.

This author consults with leading institutions through GLG

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) - BY NIK ZAFRI

I've noticed these few days that major corporations in Malaysia are racing into Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) - or is it M-Reit? (Whatever...)

Is it safe to say that this a sign of real estate and development industry in Malaysia may have successfully prevented the 'sup-prime mortgage crisis' from hitting Malaysia? Fascinating...

Well to start with, from 2007-2008, I've noticed profit from rental income were being distributed in form of dividend to its holders. Well, I think this also has something to do with the pivotal role played by Security Commission issuing guidelines on property trust funds - making more and more REIT companies listed in Bursa Malaysia.

But, the norms are happening again, I went to this small coffee shop known only as 'Peter' in Taman Sri Gombak near the place I'm staying and asked around 'MIC' (mind you - it's Malays, Indians and Chinese) on REIT. Only one or two answered correctly but the rest blinked at me and replied :

"Huh? What? Unit Trust?"

Once again, I think information is not well-disseminated. No wonder new establishments (newly completed office buildings) nearby are not being rented yet.

Well, I'm going to do my bit now...information dissemination :

To start with,

a) REIT is different from Unit Trust

b) REIT works like stock-trading in Bursa Malaysia...giving investors returns via capital appreciation from dividends and change of price... (aaaah, some of "MICs" said and nodded their head in agreement) -

c) REIT's benchmark is on Market Demand & Supply to ascertain its' stock price (Unit Trust is on NAV - value of its assets less liabilities & calculated daily by unit trust companies)

d) you can buy from remisiers/stockbrokers as well but NOT Unit Trust Agents and Banks (so be careful)

f) There is equity REIT (the common one), mortgage REIT (a bit complex - profit based on mortgage loans after procuring mortgage backed securities) - Well you can also go for both,

e) Yes...based on regulations or tax incentives, at least 90% taxable profit of REIT goes away as dividends. (Non-Residents are subject to approximately 30% tax - I think...)

f) high yield

g) If you're not sure, start with small investment

h) Eye for good & strategic places for assured Return of Investment (this is important!!)

i) Don't worry about fluctuations - do a lot of reading on REIT.

And most important, ASK AROUND or ASK the information counter where you're buying.

GOOD LUCK!

Nik Zafri says :

I like the following article...very honest and very transparent analysis...

Although the article may be the thing of the past (so it seems) but I wish all bankers, investors, newly listed companies, speculators and analysts, economists etc. etc. to read the following article...

Be alert for some strong words but back up with solid facts.

We may take certain reminders so that we shouldn't be over excited of the current market performance but in fact, start working harder to continually improve them (stop sitting in the comfortable zone (not yet)

Also my reminder to all, stop playing the old record by saying that the high quantity of listing/IPOs indicates that the economy is going to be fine...it's the quality that we're talking here NOT quantity.

I think 'designation' of certain stocks by authorities should come in handy - perhaps the right time....but designating stocks should be packaged with clear regulations

Recession-struck Asia to face IPO shortage in 2009

Depressed equity prices, a spreading global recession and increasing risk-aversion among investors are likely to kill the motivation for Asia Pacific companies to be audacious enough to launch IPOs in 2009. The IPO pipeline, which had dried towards the end of 2008, will probably completely shut in the first half of 2009 and the most optimistic are now only hoping that stability will return to stock prices and that a few listings will follow in the second half of the year.

There have been several jumbo IPOs in the Asia Pacific over the past few years through to the first half of 2008. The drivers of this supply were Indian and Chinese companies taking advantage of continued economic growth and investor enthusiasm for exposure in the rising fortunes of the developing world.

This gung-ho mentality was sadly short-lived as these companies’ post-listing performances were disastrous, inflation touched new highs with the advent of recession and the financial sector collapsed under the weight of sub-prime problems.

The pain was particularly felt in the second half of 2008 and IPOs were postponed or completely culled as stock prices and indices plummeted and the probability of raising new money through issuing shares at reasonable valuations completely bit the dust.

A continuation of this surrender to the gloom in global markets is likely to ensure that companies keen on deleveraging will focus on raising equity via secondary placements or private stake sales rather than venture out with IPOs, said bankers.

The outlook for IPOs at least for the first half of 2009 is bleak,” said Simon Cox, head of syndicate at UBS Australia. “Most investors who have cash see enough opportunities in secondary markets every day and are not willing to be tempted to take risk in unknown companies by participating in an IPO unless they are priced very attractively. As a result, companies hardly have any motive to sell into this kind of environment which will kill supply in 2009.”

Signs of a prolonged slowdown in IPO activity are already evident. The Chinese IPO market, the region’s busiest for several years, had a slow start in 2009. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has still kept the domestic A-share market shut and only two tiny companies have listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange – the HK$250m (US$32.2m) IPO of mainland oil, petroleum and petrochemical trader Strong Petrochemical and the HK$63m float of China Singyes Solar Technologies.

There is one deal, though, that holds the hopes of all the companies looking to raise new equity. Chinese gold miner Real Gold Mining is braving the market with a US$150m deal and, though the defensive nature of gold could spur some demand, not many are willing to bet on the deal’s success.

Even if it is a success, bankers expect the Chinese IPO market to remain quiet in the first half and to show signs of recovery at best in the second half because of uncertainty about the direction of the global economy. “By that time (mid-year), people should be able to get a more solid view on the global economy and the mere hope of recovery could push up the stock markets and invigorate the IPO market,” said a banker.

When that happens, the infrastructure sector and companies in the retail business segment could be favoured as likely anti-recessionary candidates. “Investors remain picky and they would be only willing to put their money in India or China’s infrastructure and retail which are still considered growth sectors given possibilities demands of their huge populations will continue,” said another banker.

The Chinese government is set to invest Rmb4trn (US$584.4bn) in the country’s infrastructure sector in the next few years and is determined to maintain an 8% GDP growth by supporting domestic demand. India has similar plans to augment its infrastructure and support GDP growth.

The deals that may hit the market, however, would be modestly sized and the super jumbos are likely to be few and far between.

The only known candidate for a jumbo IPO is Agricultural Bank of China, which has plans for a US$20bn–$30bn A/H IPO in 2010. In October last year, Agricultural Bank of China received a US$19bn cash injection from the Chinese government to remove bad debts from its balance sheet and strengthen its capital base before going public. The bank transformed itself into a shareholding company in mid-January and is said to be looking at a Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO.

The Indian market is expected to remain somnolent during the first half as India gears up for its 2009 general elections. The elections are expected in May 2009. Prior to that, the Indian government is unlikely to push forward with any of its privatisations.

What little activity there is now is focused on CB buybacks with Reliance Communications and Jubilant Organosys among those quietly buying back CBs.

“In the Indian context, the market is bound to be turbulent pre-elections. It’s going to be difficult to do any deals. Post elections around June or July, hopefully, the markets will stabilise a bit and we could start seeing companies desperate to raise cash tapping the market in the fourth quarter,” said one Indian ECM banker.

And that is likely to be the trend in the rest of the region. Within South-East Asia, ECM activity will be driven primarily by recapitalisations, particularly within the FIG and real estate sectors, largely through rights issues. South-East Asian issuers tend to be family or major shareholder dominated, and rights issues backed by promoters will continue to be the prevailing trend.

“We are waiting for more rights issues out of Singapore. People are looking at issuers like CapitaLand, CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust to tap the market and we expect more fundraising within the REIT space. Our visibility for IPOs in SEA is minimal, so I definitely think it will be secondary fund raising and recapitalisations,” said another banker.

Although the past few months have been desolate for ECM bankers, there could be a pick-up in equity issuance towards the second half of 2009 as issuers find themselves faced with no funding alternatives.

“The IPO market is dead…The rescue rights or rescue placements in Europe will probably follow through to Asia, but Asian issuers have to swallow their pride first and take the decision to issue equity. If debt markets remain closed, they will have no choice, at some point the penny will drop,” said one Hong Kong-based Southeast Asian banker.

In Korea, the healthy IPO pipeline has imploded with first life insurers and then construction firms falling off the map. A market plunge, where the Kospi drifted below 1,000 for the first time in three years, and a subsequent liquidity squeeze has set a bleak tone for 2009 and bankers are struggling to find candidates to come to the market.

If markets were to improve, bankers think it will be the life insurers that will return first with Tongyang Life Insurance regarded as the most likely candidate. Tongyang Life came close to listing last summer but was forced to pull the deal at the last moment and has since renewed its listing filing twice with the latest deadline extended to August.

Bankers are not confident that Tongyang Life can meet that timetable but they suggested that if the deal could get done this year then other life insurers like Kumho Life and Mirae Asset Life would follow.

Also on bankers’ radars are a string of deals from Hyundai-related companies with Hyundai Motor rumoured to be considering spinning off Hyundai Card and Hyundai Capital while Hyundai Group considers a listing of Hyundai Logistics and Hyundai Home Shopping.

Bankers said that although the Hyundai deals inflated their pipeline, the execution of such deals would depend on whether the Hyundai Group was willing to use its cash piles to support the businesses and avoid a listing.

“The problem with a lot of the listing candidates is that they are backed by Korea’s industry giants and conglomerates. There is no real urgency to get these firms to the market,” one banker noted.

That argument can probably be best applied to the listing plans of Korea’s construction firms, including Posco Engineering and Construction and Lotte Engineering and Construction and Hyundai Engineering and Construction, which were all expected to list in 2008/2009 but have recently reversed those plans. Bankers blamed the cancellation of their listing plans on a strategic decision to lean more heavily on their chaebol relationships than the public markets.

And in Australia it will be difficult to see any IPOs being done in 2009, especially after the few that got done in 2008 were disastrous for investors. BrisConnections which did a huge IPO in 2008 saw its partially paid A$1 shares falling to a record low of A$0.001 post-listing. IvanHoe Mines also did one that was the year’s second largest IPO but are trading way below their issue price.

Against that background, reviving investor confidence for IPOs will be difficult.

“There could be opportunities of IPOs by diversified companies demerging to realise value in specific units or even venture capital/private equity selling off stakes but those deals in this depressed environment will have to be priced relatively cheap. . .we are not recommending our clients to go ahead and do IPOs in this environment,” said one banker.

Shankar Ramakrishnan, Fiona Lau, Denise Wee, Govinda Finn