The following is
my answer to a Quora question: “What type of investments
do you look for as you get older?”
As we get older, our priorities change. We start looking for more liquidity in some of
our investments, because we will need them for unanticipated expenses. There may be little fundamental changes in the
nature and type of existing investments, but there is a change in the
weightage.
Personally, I am in my mid-forties. I am no longer looking for anything longer
than 20 years beyond what I already have. That means no 30-year Treasury bonds, no
long-term property developments with a yield 10 years down the road, and no
more risky equity positions, because I am no longer willing to wait for a
recovery of value.
What I have done is transferred much of my
portfolio to investment vehicles such as trusts and companies. Trusts are also useful for shielding my assets
against personal loss, such as legal action and bankruptcy petitions. Trusts also become testamentary automatically
upon my demise. As a Muslim convert in
Singapore, this is important to me. I do not wish for my estate to be
distributed according to the Administration of Muslim Law, and the antiquated
interpretation of Muslim inheritance law. This prevents my non-Muslim family from
inheriting from me, and the bulk of my estate would end up with the Islamic
Religious Council of Singapore. I have
no relationship with the Muslim community, and I did not build my wealth to
benefit people who have never benefited me.
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