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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Khaw laughing at Vivian & Teo Chee Hean</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">Dec-19 7:51 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 5) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>4062.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>'Buy products you understand'
THE finance chairman of Sembawang Town Council has a simple investment philosophy: Do not touch what you do not understand.
Mr Reggie Thein, 67, is clear that town council funds must be managed carefully because they represent public money.
The former managing partner of Coopers and Lybrand, which merged with Price Waterhouse to form PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998, avoids any investment that he does not feel comfortable with or does not understand, like derivatives and structured products.
'I believe in investing in things I understand. If I don't, I stay away and I will not touch them,' he told The Straits Times, explaining how Sembawang managed to avoid investing in toxic structured products linked to the failed Lehman Brothers investment bank.
Instead, Mr Thein, a volunteer at Sembawang Town Council since 1991 and chairman of its finance committee since 1997, sticks to known financial instruments like bonds and stocks.
Even then, he is selective and buys stocks of only blue-chip or established companies.
Most of Sembawang's current investments are in bonds and cash-based assets such as fixed deposits, while a small amount - about 6 per cent - is in equities. But even this conservative portfolio has lost money, as there simply was no way to avoid the financial turmoil this year, said Mr Thein. 'We lost some but the amount is small compared to what we made over the years when times were good.'
Mr Khaw Boon Wan praised him for his role in overseeing the council's sinking fund of $280 million, but Mr Thein sees his work as just contributing to society.
His primary role is to appoint fund managers to invest the money but he also acts as gatekeeper.
Says Mr Thein: 'When they present their products to us, I challenge their reasoning, so that I am sure they know what they are talking about.'
Occasionally, he may veto certain products the fund managers suggest, especially if they are too risky. But he does not try to tell them how to do their job, as they are the professionals.
He is not discouraged by public criticism of town councils' handling of investments, but hoped that would not deter other able people from stepping forward to help. 'I know what I am doing and I have a clear conscience,' he said. 'But I feel sad for those I think could be volunteering, who have time and the ability but will not because of the public's reaction.'
[email protected]
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THE finance chairman of Sembawang Town Council has a simple investment philosophy: Do not touch what you do not understand.
Mr Reggie Thein, 67, is clear that town council funds must be managed carefully because they represent public money.
The former managing partner of Coopers and Lybrand, which merged with Price Waterhouse to form PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998, avoids any investment that he does not feel comfortable with or does not understand, like derivatives and structured products.
'I believe in investing in things I understand. If I don't, I stay away and I will not touch them,' he told The Straits Times, explaining how Sembawang managed to avoid investing in toxic structured products linked to the failed Lehman Brothers investment bank.
Instead, Mr Thein, a volunteer at Sembawang Town Council since 1991 and chairman of its finance committee since 1997, sticks to known financial instruments like bonds and stocks.
Even then, he is selective and buys stocks of only blue-chip or established companies.
Most of Sembawang's current investments are in bonds and cash-based assets such as fixed deposits, while a small amount - about 6 per cent - is in equities. But even this conservative portfolio has lost money, as there simply was no way to avoid the financial turmoil this year, said Mr Thein. 'We lost some but the amount is small compared to what we made over the years when times were good.'
Mr Khaw Boon Wan praised him for his role in overseeing the council's sinking fund of $280 million, but Mr Thein sees his work as just contributing to society.
His primary role is to appoint fund managers to invest the money but he also acts as gatekeeper.
Says Mr Thein: 'When they present their products to us, I challenge their reasoning, so that I am sure they know what they are talking about.'
Occasionally, he may veto certain products the fund managers suggest, especially if they are too risky. But he does not try to tell them how to do their job, as they are the professionals.
He is not discouraged by public criticism of town councils' handling of investments, but hoped that would not deter other able people from stepping forward to help. 'I know what I am doing and I have a clear conscience,' he said. 'But I feel sad for those I think could be volunteering, who have time and the ability but will not because of the public's reaction.'
[email protected]
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