Below are the things you can put your $, starting with the lowest risk. Typically, the lower the risk, the lower the returns. The most accessible asset class is stocks. Property is a perennial favourite but requires a lot of $. Bonds are typically inaccessible to the general public unless through bond funds. Fx is accessible too but it is extremely high risk due to the amount of leverage utilized.
Saving account
Safe but low deposit rate
Fixed deposit
Safe but low liquidity as you can't withdraw over a certain time period. Get a higher deposit rate to compensate for the loss of liquidity
Singapore government bonds
Generally safe as backed by the Singapore government. Available through your stock broker. Pays a rate comparable or better than your fixed deposit. But face the risk of capital loss if don't hold till maturity
Corporate bonds
Bonds issued by companies. Typically available only to rich people through their private bankers, for various reasons. Nonetheless, the average joe can participate through bond funds available through their financial advisors or platforms like Fundsupermart.
A bondholder is no different from a lender. So think like a loanshark/bank and you will figure how it works!
Risk varies depending on the credit quality of the issuer. In general, the lower the credit rating, the higher the risk. And correspondingly, the higher the returns. Bonds typically offer a yield but not all. And they may come with certain non-standard features such as convertibility into stocks, etc. Bondholders are subject to potential capital loss if they don't hold till maturity of the bond or if the bond issuer goes bankrupt (counterparty/credit risk)
REITs
Real Estate Investment Trusts or commonly known as REITs are stocks listed on the stock exchange. REITs typically hold real estate properties as the name suggest. To enjoy no tax on their profits, the trusts are required by regulations to pay at least 90% of its distributable cashflows to unitholders. The dividend yielding nature of REITs has made it very popular to a lot of investors out there.
REITs are not without risk though.
Firstly, the dividend is not guaranteed. A REIT is simply a collection of properties. The properties generate income by leasing out space at a certain rent. As such, the income stream, and in turn dividend, is not fixed and is subjected to rental rates & occupancy rate. To the extent that debt is borrowed by the REIT, changes in interest rates will impact the income stream too.
Furthermore, you may be subjected to the risk of dilutive actions. Managers of REITs are incentivised to acquire more properties and grow the company. This typically involve borrowing $ from the bank and/or issuing new shares to new/existing shareholders. The issuance of new shares may be problematic because i) it may dilute the returns (non-accretive in industry parlance), ii) it may require the unitholder to inject more $ and if you don't have the $ or unwilling to pay up, your stake in the company will be diluted.
There is also risk of capital loss resulting from the fluctuations in the stock price and changes in values of the assets which moves in tandem with the swing of the market cycle. Whether this leads to a permanent loss of capital is subjective.
In summary, REITs are generally a relatively safer class of stock due to its dividend yielding nature. But paying a dividend does not mean it is low risk. It is also NOT always safer than other stocks or investment instruments. It really depends on how much you paid for it.
Stocks
In general, the 'highest' risk asset class. You may not receive a dividend. You are subjected to the risk of capital loss. But typically percieved or characterised to offer the highest return.
However, it is possible to achieve high returns with a low level of risk. Thanks to inefficiencies in the stock market, we see mispricing happen. As a result, it is possible to acquire good companies at a discount to what they are worth. And in doing so, help lower the risk while achieving high returns.
On top of buying individual stock/company, one can also access the market through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs,) which in general represents the index such as the Straits Times Index in Singapore. An index is a portoflio of stocks.
Alternatively, one can buy into an equity fund, many which are available through your financial advisor or off Fundsupermart.
Property
A perennial favourite. Prices are driven by demand versus supply and prices moves in cycles. There are always distinct periods where it is clearly a good buy or sell but anything in between tend to be cloudy with a chance of raining meatballs.
One big asset class that offers huge returns for investors with deep pockets, access to cheap loans and a good sense of market timing.
Alternatives//Fx
A playing ground for traders wanting to make big $. A small % change in the exchange rate can be amplied to hundreds of % due to the use of leverage provided by the fx broker. But the use of leverage cuts both ways. You can easily lose more than what you own as a 1% loss can be amplified into a loss of 100%.
Alternatives//gold
A typical favourite of many. Gold is perceived as a store of value and is characterized of an inflation hedge. The truth is that the store of value is arbitrary, in the same way how our dollar bill is just a piece of paper but one which we all agree is worth a dollar.
The intrinsic value of gold is debatable. Its intrinsic value can be derivied by its value-in-use in jewellery/certain industrial activities or perhaps by the production/replacement cost of gold.
Exotic alternatives
Some other more exotic options include art, wine, farmland, landbanking products offered by some providers out there. Stuff which I shall not touch on because I don't know enough and I don't buy the idea of getting into.
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