Financial Reviews

China's Social Security fund, among the country's top investors, has wound down its positions in equities, highlighting concerns the nation's markets are overheated, the Financial Times said Friday. Gao Xiqing, the fund's vice chairman said at banking conference in Beijing that he is worried about the 16-month run up in share prices in China's two bourses which forced the fund to cut stock holdings and reduce risk. "This market seems to be defying gravity. It's got to come down at some point. We can't risk that, especially given the nature of our fund," the paper quoted Gao as saying. "The market is making me nervous." ... In the first three months of the year punters in China opened 4.79 million new accounts, a 56-percent increase from the 3.08 million in the whole of 2006, the official Xinhua news agency reported citing government statistics. Last week the number of new accounts in China's two exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen regi

One of the very frequent questions that are asked when looking for a suitable online unit trust distributor is that whether one should choose Fundsupermart (FSM) or Dollardex. This is a question that I had asked myself before and had no real answer for it. However, my choices of investment platform after a period of holding accounts with both somehow pointed in the direction of Fundsupermart. Why Fundsupermart? Between the 2, Dollardex charges a lower sales charge which immediately translates into cost savings and hence a high investment amount. When it comes to large amounts, such small differences of 1% still constitute a significant sum. Perhaps I have been a small time investor who does not really feel the pinch of the extra amount but more likely, I am more comfortable with Fundsupermart's website and interfaces. Fundsupermart has a nice homepage that is pleasing to my eyes. Its services had been good, having online forums, portfolio tracking, analysis and even a free quarterl

A recent study commissioned by the Life Insurance Association (LIA) has been completed with the conclusion that Singaporeans are grossly underinsured. While the methodology of such studies may stand up to scrutiny, I am always sceptical of studies that had been commissioned by the industry and subsequently arriving at findings that are in favour of the industry. While the research found that the average Singapore adult may be underinsured by as much as $362,000 and LIA has stated that premiums of less than $4 a day to buy a term plan to cover this shortfall is possible, the reality of it is that at $4 a day for a 40-year male non-smoker, the premium of a 25-year term policy, the monthly premium is going to be around $120. An additional outlay of $120 per month is definitely something that will impact the budgeting of 40-year old male with financial commitments for the family. If inflation, lifestyle changes and other variables are catered for, the proposed term policy coverage will be