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Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)
Feb 6, 2011
me & my money
Expat puts money to work everywhere
Indian oil drilling specialist has worked - and thus invested - in many countries
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
His 25-year career in a multi-national company in the oil and gas industry has taken him to Kuwait, India, Oman, Iran, Britain, Nigeria, Norway and, since 2005, Singapore.
Because Mr Nitin Vaidya worked in so many countries, he had investments in various schemes and institutions spread all over the world.
'My wife and I didn't give much thought to how to manage them at a later stage. It was okay for the few moves, but over time we realised we lacked a good adviser or a 'one-stop solution provider',' said the Indian expatriate.
It was only in 2008 that he took pains to consolidate his investments. He found the adviser he needed in an HSBC personal wealth manager.
Mr Vaidya, 46, is a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai. After he graduated in 1985, he joined a multi-national company in the oil and gas industry. He is still with the same firm where he provides technical expertise in oil drilling.
He is married to housewife Rucha, 43. They have a daughter Avita, 18, and a son, Neil, 15.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver, although my wife would disagree with me. Anyone who makes a conscious effort to save at least 20 per cent of his net income is a saver in my opinion.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I tend to use credit cards as debit cards. In other words, I pay off everything monthly.
Having said that, I use credit cards more frequently for purchases, which allows me to track expenses and adjust accordingly. I keep just enough cash for weekly sundry expenses and pocket money for the kids. Every month, I charge about $6,000 to my debit and credit cards.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I am not looking at fast money but rather a healthy portfolio that gives me stable growth in a highly volatile market.
An HSBC personal wealth manager who helps me make the right investment choices manages my portfolio. Ultimately, it's my decision but I find it more reassuring listening to experts rather than making ill-informed decisions on my own, which had happened in the past.
My portfolio comprises 60 per cent (of investments) in properties and 40 per cent in bond and equity funds, shares and insurance policies. I hold some Indian and US stocks. In 2008, I invested in three funds via regular saving plans and they are HSBC China, DWS China and HSBC India. My target return is about 6 per cent on the non-property investments.
I have eight insurance life policies and they are mainly 15- to 25-year term plans. I'm covered $500,000 for life. I also have a 21-year endowment plan for my daughter.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a middle-class family with two brothers and we enjoyed a modest living standard. I'm the middle child. My father was an engineer in an airline firm and my mother is a housewife. We lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Mumbai.
My parents taught us to save money for the future. We never got pocket money but we had a bank account each where we saved the money gifts we received. It is not about how much we managed to save but the pride we had in having savings of our own. The importance of saving is a valuable gift I learnt from my parents.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
As is probably the case with most Indians growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, the popular investments back then were life insurance plans and government bonds. The majority of investments were done to offset our income tax.
In India, you get tax rebates from owning insurance policies. I bought my first insurance plan when I was 21. I saw a surge in stock prices in the mid-1980s which attracted me to invest, although at a very small amount. As a complete stranger to the stock market, I made a few wrong and ill-informed choices which resulted in losses of under $10,000 between 1986 and 1992. My interest in the stock market evaporated quickly and I came back to reality - which was to save 20 per cent of my pay in bonds with little or no risk.
Q: What is your outlook on China investments?
The China market will continue to grow. The gross domestic product for this year is projected to be 9 per cent. As Europe is still in recession mode, interest rates there are bound to stay low. As such, most investments are expected to flow to China, fuelling its economic growth.
There is also a lot of room to grow in China because consumer demand will continue to rise. Of all the emerging markets, China is a success story and I am glad to be a beneficiary of it.
Q: What property do you own?
We have two residential and two commercial properties in India. In 1992 - the year Rucha and I got married - we bought a 1,400 sq ft two-bedroom apartment in a prime area in Thane district in Mumbai. It has appreciated by about 800 per cent. We also bought two commercial units, about 300 sq ft each, in the same year. A year later, we bought a 3,000 sq ft landed property in Bangalore and it has appreciated by about 500 per cent since then.
We are not renting out the residential properties. The two commercial units are rented out at a negligible yield as the tenants are like our caretakers of the properties. My wife ran a boutique from one of the commercial units from 1996 to 2000.
Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?
I have been wearing the same watch every day since 1992. That year, I bought a pair of Rado 24-carat gold watches at US$5,000 to commemorate our wedding. It's of great sentimental value to me.
In 2004, I bought a 3ft by 6ft Persian rug in Norway for US$5,000. It was coming to the end of my work stint there and I knew it was authentic.
Q: What is your retirement plan?
I am covered under my company's pension plan for life. How much we will need in our later years depends on where we finally retire. Having said that, we would like to return to India when we grow old. I estimate I will need US$4,000 a month for my wife and me.
Q: Home is now...
I'm renting a three-storey house in Upper Bukit Timah Road.
Q: I drive...
A grey Hyundai Tucson.
lorna@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I have made a few bad choices. One bad decision was a 17-year endowment plan, which was meant for my daughter's education fund. Back then, it sounded like a great plan, but today, I consider it my worst investment. When the policy matured last year after I had paid annual premiums of US$2,000 (S$2,560), I got back less than what was projected. The only consolation was that I managed to get back the principal amount. In reality, I lost money because of inflation.
Q: And your best investment?
My best investment so far is the DWS China Equity Fund, which has given me an investment return of 18 per cent, even during the recession period between 2008 and 2009. The average annual returns have been about 12 per cent since 2008.
me & my money
Expat puts money to work everywhere
Indian oil drilling specialist has worked - and thus invested - in many countries
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent
His 25-year career in a multi-national company in the oil and gas industry has taken him to Kuwait, India, Oman, Iran, Britain, Nigeria, Norway and, since 2005, Singapore.
Because Mr Nitin Vaidya worked in so many countries, he had investments in various schemes and institutions spread all over the world.
'My wife and I didn't give much thought to how to manage them at a later stage. It was okay for the few moves, but over time we realised we lacked a good adviser or a 'one-stop solution provider',' said the Indian expatriate.
It was only in 2008 that he took pains to consolidate his investments. He found the adviser he needed in an HSBC personal wealth manager.
Mr Vaidya, 46, is a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Mumbai. After he graduated in 1985, he joined a multi-national company in the oil and gas industry. He is still with the same firm where he provides technical expertise in oil drilling.
He is married to housewife Rucha, 43. They have a daughter Avita, 18, and a son, Neil, 15.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver, although my wife would disagree with me. Anyone who makes a conscious effort to save at least 20 per cent of his net income is a saver in my opinion.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I tend to use credit cards as debit cards. In other words, I pay off everything monthly.
Having said that, I use credit cards more frequently for purchases, which allows me to track expenses and adjust accordingly. I keep just enough cash for weekly sundry expenses and pocket money for the kids. Every month, I charge about $6,000 to my debit and credit cards.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I am not looking at fast money but rather a healthy portfolio that gives me stable growth in a highly volatile market.
An HSBC personal wealth manager who helps me make the right investment choices manages my portfolio. Ultimately, it's my decision but I find it more reassuring listening to experts rather than making ill-informed decisions on my own, which had happened in the past.
My portfolio comprises 60 per cent (of investments) in properties and 40 per cent in bond and equity funds, shares and insurance policies. I hold some Indian and US stocks. In 2008, I invested in three funds via regular saving plans and they are HSBC China, DWS China and HSBC India. My target return is about 6 per cent on the non-property investments.
I have eight insurance life policies and they are mainly 15- to 25-year term plans. I'm covered $500,000 for life. I also have a 21-year endowment plan for my daughter.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a middle-class family with two brothers and we enjoyed a modest living standard. I'm the middle child. My father was an engineer in an airline firm and my mother is a housewife. We lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Mumbai.
My parents taught us to save money for the future. We never got pocket money but we had a bank account each where we saved the money gifts we received. It is not about how much we managed to save but the pride we had in having savings of our own. The importance of saving is a valuable gift I learnt from my parents.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
As is probably the case with most Indians growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, the popular investments back then were life insurance plans and government bonds. The majority of investments were done to offset our income tax.
In India, you get tax rebates from owning insurance policies. I bought my first insurance plan when I was 21. I saw a surge in stock prices in the mid-1980s which attracted me to invest, although at a very small amount. As a complete stranger to the stock market, I made a few wrong and ill-informed choices which resulted in losses of under $10,000 between 1986 and 1992. My interest in the stock market evaporated quickly and I came back to reality - which was to save 20 per cent of my pay in bonds with little or no risk.
Q: What is your outlook on China investments?
The China market will continue to grow. The gross domestic product for this year is projected to be 9 per cent. As Europe is still in recession mode, interest rates there are bound to stay low. As such, most investments are expected to flow to China, fuelling its economic growth.
There is also a lot of room to grow in China because consumer demand will continue to rise. Of all the emerging markets, China is a success story and I am glad to be a beneficiary of it.
Q: What property do you own?
We have two residential and two commercial properties in India. In 1992 - the year Rucha and I got married - we bought a 1,400 sq ft two-bedroom apartment in a prime area in Thane district in Mumbai. It has appreciated by about 800 per cent. We also bought two commercial units, about 300 sq ft each, in the same year. A year later, we bought a 3,000 sq ft landed property in Bangalore and it has appreciated by about 500 per cent since then.
We are not renting out the residential properties. The two commercial units are rented out at a negligible yield as the tenants are like our caretakers of the properties. My wife ran a boutique from one of the commercial units from 1996 to 2000.
Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?
I have been wearing the same watch every day since 1992. That year, I bought a pair of Rado 24-carat gold watches at US$5,000 to commemorate our wedding. It's of great sentimental value to me.
In 2004, I bought a 3ft by 6ft Persian rug in Norway for US$5,000. It was coming to the end of my work stint there and I knew it was authentic.
Q: What is your retirement plan?
I am covered under my company's pension plan for life. How much we will need in our later years depends on where we finally retire. Having said that, we would like to return to India when we grow old. I estimate I will need US$4,000 a month for my wife and me.
Q: Home is now...
I'm renting a three-storey house in Upper Bukit Timah Road.
Q: I drive...
A grey Hyundai Tucson.
lorna@sph.com.sg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
I have made a few bad choices. One bad decision was a 17-year endowment plan, which was meant for my daughter's education fund. Back then, it sounded like a great plan, but today, I consider it my worst investment. When the policy matured last year after I had paid annual premiums of US$2,000 (S$2,560), I got back less than what was projected. The only consolation was that I managed to get back the principal amount. In reality, I lost money because of inflation.
Q: And your best investment?
My best investment so far is the DWS China Equity Fund, which has given me an investment return of 18 per cent, even during the recession period between 2008 and 2009. The average annual returns have been about 12 per cent since 2008.
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