New Site-drgohhk.com

New Site -drgohhk.com

I have created a new personal blog at drgohhk.com- My FIRE and Life Journey. Please go there to read my new posts.

I won't be updating this blog anymore.

Thank you

Opening a US Brokerage Account

Opening a US Brokerage Account

I still remember buying my first US stock ( Citibank) back in 2009.I used a local brokerage and I must tell you that the brokerage fee is killing you. It is even more so if you are a trader because local brokerage charges an exorbitant fee. As you all know, Citi proves to be the worst investment I made, I bought at the price of about USD4 per share and later on it went into reverse 10:1 split and I sold my holding after almost 6 years with a profit of only 15 percent!

A few years back I started to use DBS Treasure to buy US stock and again it charges minimal USD18 per transaction.

Starting this year, I started to use Interactive Brokers and I IB has the best fee structure ( as low as USD0.35 per transaction) and best platform for longterm investors as well as day traders.

If you are a Singaporean, it is even better because you can use FAST to transfer your fund into IB Singapore account and the money appears almost immediately in your account. The exchange rate is pretty competitive  as well.

For Malaysians, funding your IB account can be irritating if you plan to line up in bank and being asked one hundred and 10 questions the reason behind transferring your money to US. I was very agitated a few months back when attempting to send money to IB account in US. ( Malaysians have to send to money to US in USD when they want to fund their account).

Anyway, I found a good way to bypass the hassle of lining up in bank or doing this via internet banking. There is an easy way to transfer your fund to IB account just a few clicks and the daily limit is RM30K.

Will share it with you all in my next post.

WHY DOCTORS ARE LOUSY INVESTORS?

WHY DOCTORS ARE LOUSY INVESTORS?

Doctors are always lousy investors, after working for so many years,  I notice a few obvious common behaviour doctors are sharing, these characters might explain the reason behind why doctors are lousy investors,

1) Doctors are non-risk takers
We do things according to procedure and statistics, doctors only perform certain surgical procedures and prescribe certain medications based on best clinical evidence and trials. Doctors get used to sticking to rules and regulations, we do not take risks. Investing needs risk-taking and you might be losing money which is unacceptable to a lot of doctors.

2) Doctors are too busy to handle their finances
Doctors are busy people. We handle patients' complaints, do our best to treat them, We spend too much of time thinking of how to make our patients recover. Unfortunately we are not always being appreciated by patients nor their family members. We are too busy looking at our finances. Frankly, I personally do not look at whether patients pay me or not. During this MCO period in Malaysia, since I have more time and finally look at my revenue statement hospital sends me every month, I am shocked to know that patients owe me hundreds of thousands since 2016.

3) We think we can make it
Doctors always think that if we work hard, we will be able to retire in one day. We are well above average but the truth is, a lot of doctors are broke even though they are high earners. Many of my friends are getting fat cheques every month but they are big spenders as well. They can not retire because they are basically living paycheck by paycheck like a lot of Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Some doctors are still working at the age of 70 years old, I doubt that they love their jobs, they keep working because they just can't retire. Doctors lives are stressful, and I hope that I can retire soon and work part-time.

COMMON MISTAKES IN INVESTING

COMMON MISTAKES IN INVESTING

Yes, I made a lot of mistakes in my early life of investing and I have learned my lessons. There are so many common mistakes people make, I would like to highlight a few as below,

1) I can time the market
There is no way you can time the market, no matter how good your technical analysis knowledge is, do not try  to time the market. Buy and sell in short term will make you lose more money in long run.

2) I can beat the market
Personally I never met any investor that can beat the market or anyone who knows any investor that can beat the market consistently.You can't beat the market, trust me! The best you can do is trying to follow average return!

3) Buy low and Sell High
That is the biggest joke that you hear from experinced investors.It is not true and most investors are actually doing the opposite- buy high and sell low. When market is in bull run, everyone throws in money and most of us are doing the opposite during market downturn. It is not easy to control your emotion during bear market, people are panic and they are not thinking of what shares to buy but instead thinking what other shares in his/her portfolio that can be sold!

4) I can select the correct stock
Hell no!You might be right 80 percent of the time but there is no way you can 100% right! Even Warren Buffet made mistakes by picking up airline stocks and he had to sell everything during Covid-19 pandemic!!

WHAT AM I DOING NOW?

WHAT AM I DOING NOW?

One of the best things happened in life recently is Covid-19 outbreak. Our government started the lock down ( MCO- movement control Order) since 13/3/2020. Hospital business was down almost 50 percent in my hospital, that made me have more time to read books I enjoy most- investment books.

I managed to finish 10 books within the first 3 weeks of MCO and I finally realized I made a lot of mistakes in my investment journey which costs me a lot of money. I made a lot of money by investing in property but unfortunately I was having a lot of headache managing tenants.

Therefore I ventured and put a lot of money in stock markets a few years ago, unfortunately the return was lousy and my portfolio was down almost 30 percents in 5 years.

After reading Andrew Hallam's book " Millionaire Teacher", I decided to start investing in ETFs and I believe it is the safest and surest thing in beating the market!

MCO helped me to finally look at my portfolio and realized my mistakes. MOC also made me of rethinking what I want to do after 5-10 years.

 

I Have Given Up

I Have Given UP

Finally, I have given up the idea of investing in individual stocks as well as Malaysian Stock market.

After investing for almost 15 years in Malaysian stocks, the returns are disappointing and heart-breaking. I lost almost 20-30 percent of my portfolio and I think it is time to move on.

I started to do Index Fund investing after reading ' The Simple Path to Wealth' and you all should seriously consider ETFs investing as well.

You can beat the market and you can't time the market. I would rather diversify in ETFs and get an annual return of 7-8 percents.

Financial Freedom in 5 Years

Financial Freedom in 5 Years

Finally I decided that I might want to quit my job as doctor after working in private practice for 8 years. Have I made enough money? I have been working very hard every day for the past 8 years and i think I shall be retiring soon in 5 years time. I want to retire before 48 years old and do you think it is hard to do so?

I have calculated my number and I think I saved enough for myself. The only worry I have is my kids' education fee.

Due to current stock market, i ma hoping my portfolio can double in the next 2-5 years time.

Malaysian Ringgit- Should you hold longer??

I have been absent from my blog for almost 3 years!! It has been a while since I wrote something about investment.

I joined private practice in 2012 and ever since life has been busy everyday and I must say I went through the hardest part in my life.

For my spare time, I always think about how to grow my wealth and make good return every year. Unfortunately our Ringgit Malaysia (RM) has been depreciating since I last wrote in this blog 3 years ago.

Looking at the graph before and you will be disheartened by the fact that our money has lost value almost 80% to Singapore dollars over a period of 20 years



As a Malaysian, we have no choice but to hold on to our currency but can you do anything about this??

My answer to this-------------------------YOU CAN'T!! I anticipate our money will lose the value slowly over Singapore dollars as long as long investors have no confidence in our country.

As a humble and normal Malaysian, what can you do??
I will suggest you to do the following,

1) Buy some overseas shares especially in countries that you think the currency is undervalued. My first choice will be London Stock Market. After BREXIT, pounds has been under a lot of pressure and I anticipate it will rebound back in 1-2 years time.

2) Keep your currency in foreign currency fixed deposit, I have been accumulating NZD for a few years because there are only two currencies that pay good interest, AUD and NZD, however, NZD has appreciated against RM almost 20-25% in 18 months!! The only currency I am looking at this moment is AUD.

3) Buy a foreign property!! That sounds crazy to a lot of people but I think it is possible and do it while you still can because in next 5-10 years, you might not be able to buy one. Don't think about London, Melbourne or Singapore, Thailand seems to be an good choice. If you look at Thai Baht, the currency is much stable than our RM!!

I Sold 3 Properties in 2 years!

Yes, after many years buying properties, finally I managed to sell my properties.
The first property I sold was in Penang Island, I bought in 2008 with RM340K and sold it at RM520K after 2 years 9 month. During the 2 years+ period, I stayed in that apartment and renting out one small room at RM500 per month for 1 and half year. I think it is not a bad investment considering a profit of almost 50% in 2 years ( 25% per annum)

Property Investment is always the best!

The second property I sold was a shopoffice at Seberang Perai, I would say it is a so-so investment. I bought at RM220K in 2005 and sold it at RM290K in 2011. However, it was always a cash flow for 6 years meaning my installments were always paid by tenants since Day 1 of the purchase.(5.16% per annum)

My third property that I sold was a terrace house in Simpang Ampat, I bought in 2001 with RM170K and I sold it at RM290K in 2013. However, I had been getting rental income around RM1000 to RM1100 per month for almost 5 years since I moved out that house in 2008. That translates to a profit of about ( RM290K-170K+ RM1000x12x5) RM180K, a return of 105% in 12 years ( 8.75% per annum).

My examples clearly show you that it seems that Penang Island property do much better that Mainland properties. I think one thing is for sure, it is certainly better investing in properties than keeping you money in FD or under your pillow.!

I Made My 7th Purchase!

I Made My 7th Purchase!

Yes, I am very happy because I have finally made my 7th purchase of another property in Penang Island. I am a strong believer in property investment. If you are interested in property investment, I would suggest you to do the following homework before putting in your hard-earned money,

Believe in what you do and keep going!

1) Find a good location, it is OK to buy slightly above market value, keep the property and wait for capital appreciation.

2) Earn/Keep enough money, you must have holding power for at least 6 months even no one rents your unit!

3) Never fall in love in your property, sell if you can make a profit of about 20%. Roll the money and buy a better property instead.

4) Diversify your portfolio, buy some properties for rental yield and some properties for capital appreciation.

5) You can invest as well in REIT. Some REITs pay pretty good dividens.

Happy investing!

What do I want to do if I have one more day to live?

What Do I want to do If I  Have One More Day to Live?

I am not talking about investment today. One end stage renal failure patient asked me " Do you feel my pain Dr Goh? " Yes, we are too busy sometimes and tend to forget what people think most relevant to them in life!

I am a nephrologist, what I hope to achieve is to prolong end stage renal failure patients' lives. I start them on dialysis because I know that will be the best way to prolong thier lives. But occasionally I forget to ask what actually patients want when they are old and frail.

One of my patients told me, he didn't want dialysis, he was old enough ( he was 76 years old) to make a informed decision. What he wanted was to spend the rest of his life with his children and grandchildren. He didn't want to waste the precious remaining time he had to do fistula or even finding a dialysis centre.

" Dr Goh HK, I spent half of life making money, but when you know you have an illness, I think money is nothing. What I want to do is just spending time with my family."

I am not sure about whether it is worthwhile sacrificing your time ( =life?) making tones of money. Maybe one day you would ask yourself, " What do I want to do if I have one more day to live?"

Penang Turf Club- Prime Land in Penang

Penang Turf Club- Prime Land in Penang

After vanishing for almost 20 years from Penang Property Scene, Tan Sri Vincent Tan of Berjaya Group is finally back again in Penang.

Penang Turf Club

Vincent Tan has bought a 57-acre prime land near Penang Turf Club for RM459 million  which translate to about RM185 per square feet. However, it is almost not possible for you to fully utilize all the land for buidling houses, therefore the 'real' cost for this piece of land is ceratinly above RM300 per square feet.

I think Vincent Tan is planning big again in Penang and certainly if he is only building low rise condominium, Bungalow, Semi D together with low medium cost housing according to The Edge, he has no choice but to sell the future high cost houses for at least RM600-700 per square feet!!

So I think houses near Medan Lumba Kuda will appreciate soon to about RM300-500 per square feet and once the final plan of Berjaya Land is finalised, they might go even higher to RM600-700 per square feet!!

Market Plunge- What's Next??

Market Plunge- What's Next??

US Market Plunge- Global Panic??

I think the past few days was the most difficult period for a lot of investors out there. Most of my friends have many sleepless nights after the recent US market plunge.

However, I sleep pretty well although I have some US stocks which dropped almost 15% one 2 days. I always believe that when there is a crisis, there is always an opportunity. For you to sleep well at night even you hold stocks in US, Malaysia or Singapore, remember these 4 golden rules,

1) Don't buy stocks using bank margin- Use your own money and NEVER borrow to buy stocks!!
2) Don't panic, when stocks go down, they will go up eventually as long as you ARE BUYING GOOD STOCKS! Hold on and wait a while, your stocks will go up soon!
3) Diversify- buy some stocks, properties, REIT, gold/silver, when one comes down another investment will go up certainly!
4) Earn and invest and never invest to live. If you do not have a fixed income and retired, put at least 80% of money in bonds/hedge fund or else you will lose all your money if you put everything in stocks when the market is bad!

No worry when the market plunges because it provides you golden oppurtunity to hunt for cheap and valuable stocks!!

Homestay Business in Penang

Homestay Business in Penang

Georgetown, Penang

Yes, homestay business seems to be growing rapidly in Penang especially in Georgetown. Due to UNESCO status and recent influx of tourists to Penang, I forsee that hospitality business to be the next 'big money' business in Penang.

I did a bit of research on the net and I was quite shocked that even a tiny small apartment in Penang is charging RM150-RM200 per day even the location is not so good.

Yes, I am venturing into this business and I have an extra condominium unit at Batu Uban that I have converted into a small B+B with full facilities. If you drop by in Penang one day, come and visit my unit at Batu Uban.

Visit my site at http://www.eparkpenang.blogspot.com/

How to Create A Product Online?

How to Create A Product Online??

Some readers ask me the way to create a product online and how to market the product to international market. I think first of all, you must try to concentrate on niche market rather than market that has fierce competition.



Sell your first product online TODAY!!

 When I created PassPACES.com 6 years ago, there was no website for MRCP PACES candidates, initially there were a lot of visitors to my site but the numbers droped significantly after a few years. When I started writing my PACES ebook, there was no similar product in the market, therefore before creating a product, think of the following,

1) Who will be your customers? The bigger the customer base, you anticipate to enter a more competative market, therefore I suggest you to find a smaller and more concentrated market.

2) What will be your product? I think ebook is the easiest, you can email your customers, save your money, time and postal delivery but the only drawback, your customers may share this product with others!!

3) How to promote your product?? There are so many ways- forum, Google Adwords, articles submission etc etc. Can be either on-site or off-site promotion.

4) How to get your payment? I think the easiet way is Paypal unless you have big volume, then you may want to set up your own credit cards payment system or else, just use PayPal!!

My First Check in Paypal (II)

My First Check in Paypal (II)

As I told you before in my previous post. I finally got my paycheck from Paypal after venturing into internet business in 2005. I started PassPACES.com in 2005 after passing my postgraduate medical degree. After reading a lot of books and posts in the internet, I strongly believe that Google Adsense is the best way to get my first dollar from internet. Frankly speaking, it was quite true because I still remember I made US35 dollars first month after running Google Adsense in my website.

Write you own ebook if possible!!

I was very very excited and worked very hard trying to get at least US100 dollars every month but I was unable to do this consistently and I must say that Goolge Adsense revenue is pathetic!!

After that I tried other methods to earn money- Ebay,Amazon, Clickbank etc etc but it is easier said than done. Besides making about 70 pounds from Amazon UK after 2 years, I got almost nothing from other methods mentioned above.

Finally, I wrote an ebook in my website. Yes! You are right! It is a tiny ebook that I sell for about RM150 per piece and I made about RM30k in 2 years ( I made RM4K during the first month after launching of the ebook). I think it is not bad because I spent only 2 weeks writing the book and I still make about RM800 to RM1000 per month until NOW!!

Yes, I think the best way to make money online is to sell your own product if your website traffic is not so heavy. Just creat a special product and hope it can sell likes crazy and hopefully YOU TOO can make some side income online too!

Vietnam- Next Powerhouse in Southeast Asia?

Vietnam- Next Powerhouse in Southeast Asia??

I recently attended a meeting in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Totally suprised with the cleaniness of the city and was rather impressed with the developement in Vietnam.



Balcony view from my hotel room

 Nha Trang is 1, 280 km from Hanoi, 448 km from Ho Chi Minh City, 630 km from Hue, 105 km from Phan Rang, 260 km from Phan Thiet, and 620 km from Can Tho.


Nha Trang is home to many famous beautiful spots and landscapes and is a major tourist center in the country. I saw a lot tourists during my stay in Nha Trang and I think that the city is very well managed by the local council there!

I think Vietnam has a great potential to grow in near future as China and India. They have huge market for local people as compared to Singapore and Malaysia. However, I am not very sure how to invest in Vietnam and certainly will be interested to buy a piece of property in future if I have extra cash!!

Wave of Inflation!

Wave of Inflation!

Yes, I have no choice but to tll you that the next wave of inflation is on its way! No matter you like it or not, you have to save now for the future and watch your wallet and bank account, you might be spend more than what you earn in the next few months or even years to come!!

I like to always tell my wife to cut cost in our daily expenditure, you might think all these are tiny money and you will be suprised that by saving a few dollars a day, you actually can save thousand of dollars in a few months! I will give a few tips here,

1) Prepare your own breakfast! Yes, just wake up a few minutes earlier every morning and prepare simple breakfast. Fastfood value meals no matter how cheap they are will be still more expensive that what you prepare!

2) Drink coffee not latte or cappuccino. I don't think I understand what is the difference between these two types of coffee but I certainly know one is much more expensive than the other!

3) Try to avoid using your credit cards, they make you overspend and you will think twice before buying if you use your cash inside your wallet!!

4) Take public transport rather than self drive. Yes, you can save a lot of money if you practice this in Malaysia or Singapore. Take Rapid Penang/KL if possible!Better still if you sell your CAR!!

5) Watch your ASTRO rather than watching movies in cinema. No point subscribing to ASTRO/STAR HUB every month and only sit in front of your TV one hour a month.

Hope these tips help!!

Genting Hong Kong

Genting Hong Kong- An undervalued stock??

Still remember about 3 years ago when I bought my Genting Singapore stock, it was about S0.45 per share. I was very worried that time because of uncertainty of global economy and there was rumour as well that Genting Berhard might not be able to build the casino due to various causes. But buying Genting Singapore proves to be one of my best investment ever because I made a handsome profit of almost 120% when I sold my shares at S1.20 when the casino was opened. I still regret that I sold my shares too early because as you all know, Genting Singapore share price has rocketed above 2 dollars now!

So, what's the next undervalued stock to buy?? I am looking at Genting Hong Kong ( Genting again??). Genting Hong Kong is formerly known as Star Cruises Limited, is a leading global leisure, entertainment and hospitality enterprise, with core competences in both land and sea-based businesses. I am very interested in its Phillipines business which is Resort World Manila and I always believe that gaming and resort business is the most profitable business in the world.

However, there are various challenges faced by Genting Hong Kong- uncertainty of global economy, the Phillipine political turmoil etc.

Anyway, do your research and put your bet. I am not sure,I hope that Genting Hong Kong will become the second Genting Singapore in 2 years time.

Most Expensive Cities in Asia Pacific

Most Expensive Cities in Asia Pacific

If you think that inflation causes pressure in your daily life and living cost is creeping up daily, you are certainly experiencing the same feeling like most others in the World.

We all anticipate that commodity prices will go up further this year and likely Malaysian inflation rate will hit the record high of 3% to 3.5% and our neighbour Singapore's inflation is likely to hit 2-3% this year as well.

If you think you are not making enough money to live in Malaysia, I must tell you that Malaysian cities like Kuala Lumpur or even Penang are the least expensive cities to live in Asia!!

According to CityMayors.com,Tokyo and Osaka are the region's most expensive cities! And KL ceratinly falls out of 100 most expensive cities in Asia!!