Investing is a deeply personal journey — act on it by first framing its purpose and your commitments to your loved ones.

The original version of this article first appeared in The Business Times in February 2023.

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My recent ski vacation with family was a welcome escape, marking the first time in three years we'd all gathered from across the globe. What struck me most, however, was how naturally our conversations turned to money – a topic once considered a slight faux pas. 

This time, it was different. Everyone, from my younger brothers to my mother, shared stories of financial twists and turns over the past few years. With inflation showing its strength, there was a resounding fear that they were not saving or investing enough.

Many of you who have been saving all your lives may find that just saving alone is getting more difficult to keep up with rising costs. Let’s say you have achieved the feat of accumulating your first 100k – how and where can you invest it to ensure that your hard-earned money works even harder for you to beat inflation and achieve your financial goals? 

First, know why you should buy

Your money goals need to be personalised to your life. It took me over a decade to understand this very simple fact. Books, podcasts, the news, investment gurus, and traditional banks keep telling us what to buy now. Yet, for any of us who have been investing for a while, we know how hard it is to consistently guess the next hot thing. The reality is that we all have limited ammunition, so we have to be critical and selective of where we put our money.

The step often missed is to define why we should own certain asset classes and investment strategies, given the investing environment as well as our life needs and goals. The biggest sovereign wealth funds and institutions have a framework they use to achieve their goals while covering their liabilities — there is no reason why you and I should not, too.

To do so, map out your core life needs to match specific portfolios.

1. Cash Smart: Your resilient rainy-day savings

When considering what to invest with S$100k in Singapore, my immediate priority is always establishing a robust emergency fund. This capital acts as a buffer for unforeseen events – a medical emergency, an unexpected loss of income, or other significant disruptions. A common benchmark is about three to six months’ worth of expenses, although that will depend on the stability of your income and whether you have any dependents. 

For instance, if your monthly expenses total up to S$4,000, allocating around S$20,000 to a portfolio of diversified cash and money market funds – which invest in institutional fixed deposits, treasury bills, and short-duration bonds – provides both security and liquidity.

These solutions are particularly compelling as they offer competitive projected yields with daily liquidity, no penalties, and no lock-ups. 

2. Nurturing near-term goals and generating income 

Next, consider your near-term goals – those within the next five years – and any desire to generate passive income. This might encompass significant financial commitments like a down payment for a new home or car, or recurring expenses such as a child’s education fees or support for your parents.

Depending on your goal and risk tolerance, I would generally advise deploying this capital into a balanced portfolio of globally diversified stocks and bonds, such as the classic 60/40 portfolio (60% stocks and 40% bonds). If consistent passive income is a core objective, an income-generating portfolio composed of globally diversified high-dividend stocks and higher-coupon bonds could be a suitable consideration.

3. Invest more aggressively for your long-term and retirement plans, if you have the risk tolerance to ride the markets.

Given the long-term outperformance of stocks versus bonds and cash, for your long-term and retirement plans, a more aggressive investment approach, like investing in a globally diversified 100% stocks portfolio, makes sense if you have the discipline to navigate market volatility. Your cash savings, CPF, and SRS can all be strategically directed towards this goal.

Clients frequently ask about specific thematic investments like China, technology, or megatrends. My answer is to consider such tactical views only after your essential life goals are firmly addressed within your core portfolios. When pursuing these focused exposures, ensure your allocation is still diversified so your investment fate isn’t being solely dictated by the performance of a single company, a few companies, or a narrow sector. 

Whether you choose to have a core-satellite strategy or focus on just the core, investing your first $100k should come with a cohesive strategy across all your funding sources and investments. 

Read more: 

• Is the ‘$100k by 30’ goal still relevant?
• ‍Endowus Satellite Portfolios: What's ahead for investing in Chinese stocks?
• Endowus Satellite Portfolios: Thoughts on technology

4. Would investing your first $1 million look any different?

Investing your first $1 million follows the same foundational framework, but it significantly broadens the spectrum of available strategies to align with your evolving goals. With $1 million, you gain the flexibility to allocate capital to more illiquid assets to better suit your risk-return objectives. This might include sophisticated strategies like multi-strategy, global macro, and quantitative hedge funds, as well as private equity, private real estate, and other alternative asset classes. 

That said, having more choices isn’t always good – be discerning and ensure these strategies are appropriate for your goals. For anything you do, also make sure that you are getting aligned advice at a fair and transparent cost, and are sufficiently diversified so you are compensated for the risk you take.

By clearly defining and diligently pursuing your financial goals, I hope you unlock the financial freedom and quality time to chase those bluebird powder days with your loved ones. What's one actionable step you're considering taking with your investments this year?

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