<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Jan 11, 2009
me & my money
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Finely tuned portfolio hits high notes
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Dentist-musician Wilson Goh parlays his love for music into an investment that hums </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent
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Dr Wilson Goh and his wife Karen Yap with their kids Brendan and Dana - all with a passion for classical music. Dr Goh and his wife still perform with Camerata Singapore. -- PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Dr Wilson Goh, 41, founder and managing director of dental group GPA Holdings, is not joking when he says he plays with his investments.
Despite pursuing a successful career in dentistry, he has not forgotten his love for music and this is reflected in his very unusual investment portfolio.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Music to his ears
'The investment in these antique instruments started from the love of the art and also as a player, but it has become an investment vehicle. According to a US study, these instruments have a 10 per cent compounding growth in their value, regardless of whether there is a recession or not.'
DR GOH, who plays the violin, on his investment
Bright spark
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Instead of shares, unit trusts, currencies and commodities, he invests mainly in his dental practice, a music school and an impressive collection of antique string instruments. The latter alone is worth more than $6 million and comprises mainly 35 violins and five cellos, one of which can fetch US$1 million (S$1.5 million) in the market.
'The investment in these antique instruments started from the love of the art and also as a player, but it has become an investment vehicle. According to a US study, these instruments have a 10 per cent compounding growth in their value, regardless of whether there is a recession or not,' said Dr Goh, who plays the violin.
He channels most of his resources into running his dental practice. GPA Holdings has 14 dentists and 40 support staff spread out in three branches here, with the main office at Parkview Square. The other two are at United Square and Balmoral Plaza.
After completing a year of his bond with a government hospital, Dr Goh worked at Beng & Ooi Medical for two years before striking out on his own in 1995.
A dental graduate from the National University of Singapore, he has been married for 10 years to Ms Karen Yap, 38, a cellist and principal of Tanglewood Music School, which comes under the umbrella of GPA. They have two kids -Brendan, nine, who plays the cello, and Dana, seven, who plays the violin.
Mrs Goh has a degree in cello performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.
Both husband and wife perform in concerts with 10 other musicians in the group Camerata Singapore, which was formed three years ago and is sponsored by GPA. The couple practise daily, with Dr Goh squeezing in an hour between appointments and after his gym workout.
He lends his antique instruments to musicians for performances and students sitting for examinations.
Q: What are your money habits?
I'm not a compulsive shopper and I'm blessed with ample resources to buy whatever I like. As such, I don't have to save consciously, which explains why I don't have fixed money habits such as having a monthly savings target. I use credit cards but on the condition that we pay in full every month. I go to the ATM every fortnight, taking out about $500 each time.
I remember saving very hard for my wedding 10 years ago. Karen and I took one-and-a-half years to plan and save for our wedding as we made a decision not to get money from our parents. We did gigs at functions and played at the Pan Pacific Lounge and the now-defunct Europa club at East Coast. We saved up to $18,000 for our wedding in 1998.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
GPA started with an initial investment of no more than $50,000 in 1995. The company broke even in six months. Currently it has an annual turnover of $7 million with annual growth of 20 to 30 per cent in compound interest.
The business has helped to provide for my family's needs.
I invested $60,000 to $80,000 mainly in blue-chip stocks such as F&N and DBS in 2001 but had difficulty monitoring them. Furthermore, I wanted to channel all my resources into my core business, so I decided to divest of all my stocks in one year. Fortunately I broke even.
In 2000, Karen and I started the music school with $60,000. It started out as a cello school but we have since expanded into more instruments such as violin, piano, conducting and orchestra courses. It broke even after one year and its turnover is about $300,000 a year. It is at Robertson Walk and has 200 students.
Q: Any other investments?
GPA is a leader in dental technology today. This would not have been possible without investing in the continued growth of the team. This means investing in the latest equipment and continued training for GPA's dentists.
Apart from GPA and Tanglewood, my other investment is in rare antique string instruments. The investment in these instruments started in 1991. The value of the instruments ranges from US$30,000 to US$1 million each.
The latter is a 1735 David Tecchler cello which I bought in Hamburg, Germany, in 2007 for US$800,000. Last October, when I was in Ulm, Germany, I bought a 1780 Giuseppe (commonly known as 'Joseph') Guadagnini cello for US$500,000 and a 1759 Gennaro Gagliano violin for US$300,000. These are GPA assets, bought with funds from the company.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the youngest of four kids. My mother is a housewife and my father was a teacher. We lived in a three-room HDB flat in Toa Payoh. We did not go hungry, but we lived frugally, without any luxuries.
My money habits developed from living frugally and being innovative enough to find money when the need arose. For instance, when I was in school, I created a 'monster chatek' (feather shuttle-cock) to sell to fellow schoolmates when I saw a demand for something creative.
I started piano lessons at seven and the violin about two years later. I had to choose between the two instruments because my family couldn't afford lessons for both. I chose the violin.
Q: What has been a bad investment?
There has not been a 'bad' investment. There are some investments where money has been lost, but these experiences should be taken as 'paying school fees' because we learn from them.
For instance, GPA expanded into Shanghai in 2006 but it ran into problems and had a loss of about $1 million a year later in September 2007. A Chinese partner swindled us and it is now a court case. The loss could have been higher -at $3 million to $4 million -if we had pulled out later. We realised that there was some hanky-panky going on and we pulled out before the China business started.
But the lessons learnt and experience gained from the Shanghai market are priceless. GPA still believes there is great potential in the China market and will venture there again.
Q: Your best investment to date?
The best investment is GPA. Despite the current recession, GPA is experiencing continued growth of 20 to 30 per cent in turnover and profits annually, and has been doing so since 2003.
My house in Meyer Road is also a good investment and, of course, the string instruments, which are GPA's assets, now worth over $6 million.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
GPA and the management of Tanglewood Music School with Karen are my passions. It is inconceivable to think about retiring from them. I want to continue to enjoy the business -working as a dentist as well as to lead a solid team of dentists and staff.
Q: And your home now is..?
A one-storey pre-war colonial bungalow in Meyer Road. I bought it towards the end of 2006 for $3.38 million. The land area is 7,000 sq ft and the built-up is 4,000 sq ft. In the first half of last year, I had an offer of $7 million for the house.
I'm also looking at buying a 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft building to house the business. Right now, GPA's three branches occupy about 4,000 sq ft at Parkview, 2,000 sq ft at United Square and 1,200 sq ft at Balmoral Plaza.
Q: And your car is...?
A black Audi A8L. This is the only sedan car that can fit a cello and two violins in the boot. I also have a white Audi Q7, a sports utility vehicle that can fit eight violins and three cellos.
[email protected]
me & my money
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Finely tuned portfolio hits high notes
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Dentist-musician Wilson Goh parlays his love for music into an investment that hums </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Dr Wilson Goh and his wife Karen Yap with their kids Brendan and Dana - all with a passion for classical music. Dr Goh and his wife still perform with Camerata Singapore. -- PHOTO: JOSEPH NAIR FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Dr Wilson Goh, 41, founder and managing director of dental group GPA Holdings, is not joking when he says he plays with his investments.
Despite pursuing a successful career in dentistry, he has not forgotten his love for music and this is reflected in his very unusual investment portfolio.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Music to his ears
'The investment in these antique instruments started from the love of the art and also as a player, but it has become an investment vehicle. According to a US study, these instruments have a 10 per cent compounding growth in their value, regardless of whether there is a recession or not.'
DR GOH, who plays the violin, on his investment
Bright spark
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Instead of shares, unit trusts, currencies and commodities, he invests mainly in his dental practice, a music school and an impressive collection of antique string instruments. The latter alone is worth more than $6 million and comprises mainly 35 violins and five cellos, one of which can fetch US$1 million (S$1.5 million) in the market.
'The investment in these antique instruments started from the love of the art and also as a player, but it has become an investment vehicle. According to a US study, these instruments have a 10 per cent compounding growth in their value, regardless of whether there is a recession or not,' said Dr Goh, who plays the violin.
He channels most of his resources into running his dental practice. GPA Holdings has 14 dentists and 40 support staff spread out in three branches here, with the main office at Parkview Square. The other two are at United Square and Balmoral Plaza.
After completing a year of his bond with a government hospital, Dr Goh worked at Beng & Ooi Medical for two years before striking out on his own in 1995.
A dental graduate from the National University of Singapore, he has been married for 10 years to Ms Karen Yap, 38, a cellist and principal of Tanglewood Music School, which comes under the umbrella of GPA. They have two kids -Brendan, nine, who plays the cello, and Dana, seven, who plays the violin.
Mrs Goh has a degree in cello performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.
Both husband and wife perform in concerts with 10 other musicians in the group Camerata Singapore, which was formed three years ago and is sponsored by GPA. The couple practise daily, with Dr Goh squeezing in an hour between appointments and after his gym workout.
He lends his antique instruments to musicians for performances and students sitting for examinations.
Q: What are your money habits?
I'm not a compulsive shopper and I'm blessed with ample resources to buy whatever I like. As such, I don't have to save consciously, which explains why I don't have fixed money habits such as having a monthly savings target. I use credit cards but on the condition that we pay in full every month. I go to the ATM every fortnight, taking out about $500 each time.
I remember saving very hard for my wedding 10 years ago. Karen and I took one-and-a-half years to plan and save for our wedding as we made a decision not to get money from our parents. We did gigs at functions and played at the Pan Pacific Lounge and the now-defunct Europa club at East Coast. We saved up to $18,000 for our wedding in 1998.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
GPA started with an initial investment of no more than $50,000 in 1995. The company broke even in six months. Currently it has an annual turnover of $7 million with annual growth of 20 to 30 per cent in compound interest.
The business has helped to provide for my family's needs.
I invested $60,000 to $80,000 mainly in blue-chip stocks such as F&N and DBS in 2001 but had difficulty monitoring them. Furthermore, I wanted to channel all my resources into my core business, so I decided to divest of all my stocks in one year. Fortunately I broke even.
In 2000, Karen and I started the music school with $60,000. It started out as a cello school but we have since expanded into more instruments such as violin, piano, conducting and orchestra courses. It broke even after one year and its turnover is about $300,000 a year. It is at Robertson Walk and has 200 students.
Q: Any other investments?
GPA is a leader in dental technology today. This would not have been possible without investing in the continued growth of the team. This means investing in the latest equipment and continued training for GPA's dentists.
Apart from GPA and Tanglewood, my other investment is in rare antique string instruments. The investment in these instruments started in 1991. The value of the instruments ranges from US$30,000 to US$1 million each.
The latter is a 1735 David Tecchler cello which I bought in Hamburg, Germany, in 2007 for US$800,000. Last October, when I was in Ulm, Germany, I bought a 1780 Giuseppe (commonly known as 'Joseph') Guadagnini cello for US$500,000 and a 1759 Gennaro Gagliano violin for US$300,000. These are GPA assets, bought with funds from the company.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I am the youngest of four kids. My mother is a housewife and my father was a teacher. We lived in a three-room HDB flat in Toa Payoh. We did not go hungry, but we lived frugally, without any luxuries.
My money habits developed from living frugally and being innovative enough to find money when the need arose. For instance, when I was in school, I created a 'monster chatek' (feather shuttle-cock) to sell to fellow schoolmates when I saw a demand for something creative.
I started piano lessons at seven and the violin about two years later. I had to choose between the two instruments because my family couldn't afford lessons for both. I chose the violin.
Q: What has been a bad investment?
There has not been a 'bad' investment. There are some investments where money has been lost, but these experiences should be taken as 'paying school fees' because we learn from them.
For instance, GPA expanded into Shanghai in 2006 but it ran into problems and had a loss of about $1 million a year later in September 2007. A Chinese partner swindled us and it is now a court case. The loss could have been higher -at $3 million to $4 million -if we had pulled out later. We realised that there was some hanky-panky going on and we pulled out before the China business started.
But the lessons learnt and experience gained from the Shanghai market are priceless. GPA still believes there is great potential in the China market and will venture there again.
Q: Your best investment to date?
The best investment is GPA. Despite the current recession, GPA is experiencing continued growth of 20 to 30 per cent in turnover and profits annually, and has been doing so since 2003.
My house in Meyer Road is also a good investment and, of course, the string instruments, which are GPA's assets, now worth over $6 million.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
GPA and the management of Tanglewood Music School with Karen are my passions. It is inconceivable to think about retiring from them. I want to continue to enjoy the business -working as a dentist as well as to lead a solid team of dentists and staff.
Q: And your home now is..?
A one-storey pre-war colonial bungalow in Meyer Road. I bought it towards the end of 2006 for $3.38 million. The land area is 7,000 sq ft and the built-up is 4,000 sq ft. In the first half of last year, I had an offer of $7 million for the house.
I'm also looking at buying a 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft building to house the business. Right now, GPA's three branches occupy about 4,000 sq ft at Parkview, 2,000 sq ft at United Square and 1,200 sq ft at Balmoral Plaza.
Q: And your car is...?
A black Audi A8L. This is the only sedan car that can fit a cello and two violins in the boot. I also have a white Audi Q7, a sports utility vehicle that can fit eight violins and three cellos.
[email protected]
