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Where would CPF money go if it is nominated to a bankrupt? When Madam Lim Lye Kiang sought to claim the $102,000 from CPF which her late sister had left her, she would never have expected that the CPF Board transferred the money to the OA (Official Assignee) to...

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Why you should not buy IPOs As Sheng Siong is launching its IPO next month, I expected a few calls as whenever an IPO is launching. And if you are my client, you know my answer. I decide to write this article so everybody can benefit...

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Questions to ask your Financial Adviser Every Sunday morning when I flip open the newspapers, I always see articles or advertisements regarding "Financial Advisers". Nowadays, just like the once prestigious word "Banker", which is misused in...

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Revision to Nomination of Insurance Nominees Regulation With the onset of the Mental Capacity Act ("MCA") coming into effect on 1st March 2010, the Insurance (Nomination of Beneficiaries) Regulations 2009 ("the Regulations") will be amended to effect 2 changes: The...

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The ABCs of the Financial Advisers Act The title, Financial Adviser, is always mis-used in the industry and misunderstood by the consumers. On 10 October 2002, the Financial Advisers Act came into effect and all financial institutions are...

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Where is Gold Price Heading to? The Bulls and the Bears

Posted by Ivan Guan | Posted on 23-05-2011

Category : Commodities

Tags: , ,

The Bears

During the first quarter of the year George Soros and hedge fund managers Erich Mindich (founder of Eton Park Capital Management) and Paul Touradji (Touradji Capital Management) dumped nearly $1.5bn of gold between them in the SPDR Gold Trust alone.

Soros got rid of $800m leaving him with around $7bn of gold on the trust at the end of Q1compared to $655m at the end of last year; Mindich halved his stake to $326m; Touradji sold around $25m of his trust shares.

The Bulls

Running counter to them all is hedge fund doyen John Paulson who retained his entire $4.4bn holding in SPDR to remain the single largest shareholder in the largest physically-backed gold ETF.

Jim Rogers, veteran investor, recently talked about the value of gold and silver, the strength of commodities, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury yields plus the housing bubble in China. He was interviewed at the CFA Institute Annual Conference in Edinburgh (View the video clip)

Jim Rogers says that there are few “frontier markets” left to be discovered

Posted by Ivan Guan | Posted on 10-04-2011

Category : Market Commentary

Tags:

In today’s Sunday Times, there is an article about frontier markets – “Frontier markets offer great opportunities – and risks” There is a paragraph on Jim Rogers’ skepticism which I highly agree.

Frontier markets are nothing more than emerging markets that people are just finding out about

They have nearly all been over-exploited. There are tens of thousands of MBAs flying around, as we speak, looking for new markets – call them what you wish.

He said he started investing in some of these so-called uncharted regions decades ago, and today there are few “frontier markets” left to be discovered.

Jim Rogers interview on Saudi oil production, commodities and emerging markets

Posted by Ivan Guan | Posted on 28-02-2011

Category : Commodities

Tags: ,

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, talks about his investment strategy for global stocks and commodities. Gold advanced, approaching a record, as tensions in the Middle East boosted oil prices, increasing demand for precious metals as a protector of wealth and hedge against inflation. Rogers also discusses his strategy for the U.S. dollar. He speaks in Hong Kong with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Key Points from the video:

  • Saudi Arabia not truthful about their oil production
  • Gold is going to go up to $2000 at the end of the decade
  • Investors should stay investing all commodities
  • Short emerging market and NASDAQ to hedge
  • Buy dollar when it is cheap now

Watch the full video from this link

“I hope, for your own sake, you have been buying commodities”

Posted by Ivan Guan | Posted on 28-11-2010

Category : Commodities

Tags:

If you have heard from investment guru Jim Rogers, he once said,

“Quantitative easing didn’t work the first time. It’s not going to work the second time. … All they are doing is debasing the currency. … I hope, for your own sake, you have been buying commodities. Let me tell you, currencies are going to go down. everything is going to go down. the only thing that won’t go down is hard assets. “

Incidentally, there is an article in Straits Times today with an interview with Jim Rogers, just after commodity prices tumbled due to China raised bank reserve and Korea Tensions. The article “Let people use anything as money” revealed Jim Roger’s top holdings are four metals – gold, silver, palladium and platinum. He said,

“If the world economy gets better, commodities will do well, because you are going to see a shortage of commodities which will cause the prices to go higher.

“If the world economy does not do well, they are going to print more money – that’s all the governments know to do – and the commodities are going to do well. Always, when they print money, it’s good for real assets.

Commodity Future Index 2010 Nov 26 (Source: Bloomberg)