Author: suhaani001

Author(s): Lim Yue Ling Annabel, Zhang Yiqian (22nd Corporate Communications subcommittee members) 

Zoom Event

The National Cashflow Competition (NCF) is an annual event organised by NTU-IIC that aims to promote financial literacy among the younger generation. This year, due to the unfortunate circumstances and unprecedented disruption posed by COVID-19, we have adapted the event into an online Zoom seminar — “Planning For The Future – A Look Inside CPF”.

We have invited Ms Cindi Ang from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to share with the participants the workings of a pillar of Singapore’s social security system. To make it a more interactive experience for the participants, the seminar was structured to have plenty opportunities for participants to share their ideas on the screen, by using the Zoom’s text annotation function. Participants were also able to actively engage with the speaker through the Zoom chat function and Q&A session. Ending the seminar with a competitive and fun Crossword Puzzle challenge, participants were incentivized to listen attentively throughout to showcase their newly acquired knowledge.

Through this event, we hope that participants will be armed with the right mindsets for long-term planning, as well as sufficient awareness and knowledge of CPF, which, put together, form a solid foundation for their financial journey in the years ahead.

D-day: Actual Event

After 10 months of planning by our NCF events committee members, the event was held on 20th March 2021. As participants streamed into the virtual waiting room, the committee members ensured that the guest speaker, slides and participants’ registration were in order.

Once the participants were settled in, the event started off with a warm welcome speech by our emcee and we were glad to see participants looking excited in their Zoom video squares. The transition into Ms. Ang’s sharing was smooth as she took the stage very naturally. She shared the importance of money management, and how CPF could help Singaporeans afford their key needs in life. Using very ‘layman’ terms, her sharing was readily understood by the student participants and they eagerly participated either via the chat function or simply unmuting themselves to ask questions. The examples that Ms. Ang raised on how she plans her personal finances around her knowledge of CPF made her sharing very candid and relatable for the young audience. We were heartened to see many of the students being curious about longer-term financial planning and thinking further ahead into their future needs.

After the insightful sharing by Ms. Ang, students were given time to ask questions. Something that a handful of students were curious about was whether the government had little faith in them managing their own money and making sound financial decisions such that it had to implement this “forced-saving” CPF scheme for all Singaporeans/PR. However, it was reiterated that CPF is in place really to provide a long-term safety net for everyone and to ensure that our basic retirement needs are well-established. 

Moving on to the last segment of the long-awaited crossword puzzle challenge, students were all geared up with their newly learnt CPF and finance knowledge to complete the puzzle and walk away with attractive prizes. As they were scored by their speed and accuracy in answers, the atmosphere was tense yet exciting as many of them eagerly joined the challenge via the link once it was released. 

Finally, when we announced the 12 lucky winners, it signified the end of our very first virtual NCF!

NCF 2021 Subcommittee Reflection:

As young adults ourselves who are similarly unfamiliar with all of CPF’s benefits, the virtual event and talk has indeed shed new light on us. Back when we were secondary school students, we were even more clueless regarding this whole topic of money management, more so about CPF. It was only when we started working part-time after our A-Level examinations when we first got exposed to CPF. Back then, we did not even know that our employers would contribute to our CPF savings, and that the interest rates earned in our CPF accounts are this attractive (compared to savings parked in our bank savings accounts)!  

With the cost of living in Singapore increasing over the years, it is imperative that the younger generation learn about the importance of money and its management from a young age. This is particularly so in today’s consumer shopping landscape which teenagers could be easily splurging via online shopping. Thus, we believe that this talk was extremely enriching for our younger participants who bagged home new insights such as how it is crucial for them – who have relatively less spending power – to spend within their means, as well as how CPF helps them afford key needs in their lives. After their national examinations when some of them might start taking on part-time jobs, they will then be more aware of their CPF rights and where the benefits are parked under in their CPF accounts. 

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” – a quote by Pablo Picasso which resonated deeply in us as we reflect on the importance of financial literacy and planning from a young age, especially in a fast-paced city like Singapore. While possessing a huge well of wealth is certainly not the only key to happiness, possessing financial independence and sufficient cash for rainy days will provide huge sources of comfort and security in anyone’s life. 

Being a part of a team of enthusiastic and passionate members who have been very active from the planning to facilitation of the event, particularly amidst the pandemic and the need to host online, we genuinely believe that NCF has been an enriching programme not just for members ourselves, but particularly the youths who are likely to have just started their personal finance journey. We sincerely hope that everyone has enjoyed NCF 2021 and we are looking forward to NCF 2022!

If you are interested to join NCF 2022, do follow NCF on Instagram and Facebook for more information:

Follow us @ntu_iic_ncf (www.instagram.com/ntu_iic_ncf)

Like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/joinNCF)

You can also email ntu-iic.ncf@e.ntu.edu.sg if you have any questions.

Last Saturday, our EAMC team held the finals for the Eurasia Management Challenge 2020 online. The Top 5 finalists shared their insightful presentations to our esteemed judges from iFAST Corporation Ltd. and Nanyang Technological University.

Congratulations to the champion, Team Altior (Heather Lim, Beatrice Ng and Jonathan Low)! We would like to thank and congratulate Team Kelo Capital and Team Debit Sweets for their hard work.

We would also like to extend our greatest thanks and appreciation to the support from all participants, judges, our sponsor FSMOne.com and the organising committee (Yu Ning Yieo, Chuan Bin Phoe and Tan Yew Jie) for making this possible. With that, this marks the end of Eurasia Asset Management Challenge 2020. We look forward to having you all back in next year’s challenge.

If you are interested to join EAMC 2021, do follow EAMC on Facebook for more information:

Like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pg/EAMCAsia/)

Author(s): Charmaine Ting, Corrine Tan (20th Corporate Communications subcommittee members) 

Great Eastern Centre

National Cashflow Competition (NCF) is an event that aims to promote financial literacy among the younger generation. It is a one-of-a-kind competition that imparts financial knowledge in a fun manner using board games and is open to the public.

In NCF 2019, this was achieved through participants learning and pitting their skills against each other via the “L Cube board game”, an educational tool suitable for anyone seeking to pick up fundamental financial management skills. The “L Cube board game” provides a simulation of real-life financial situations and decisions such as career planning, investing and saving in Singapore. Important financial literary concepts are also introduced in this board game, such as Singapore’s CPF schemes and SkillsFuture Singapore.

Prior to the actual event commencement, regional mass training sessions were conducted in various locations to introduce the “L Cube board game” and equip participants with some tips that could be useful for the actual event.

The actual event day

After months of planning by our committee members and multiple training sessions, the day participants had been waiting for finally arrived. Held at Great Eastern along Pickering Street on  23 March 2019, the annual National Cashflow Competition opened its doors once again for all its participants.

The competition area was abuzz with anticipation and excitement as large groups of participants streamed into the competition venue where rules and tips for the competition were re-emphasised before the timer started its countdown, and participants started the first roll of the dice.

As the day sped by, the first and subsequent preliminaries for the other categories also ended, and the time for the Grand Finals finally arrived. Tension started building up in the competition venue as finalists from all categories gathered to pit their skills against each other in the final showdown. During the final round, one of the participants even told us that he had been looking forward to NCF for months, which we really appreciated after having spent much effort to make NCF 2019 a success for the participants. 

As the timer started ticking down to its last minutes, the tension in the atmosphere became palpable as participants started making their moves at a faster pace in an attempt to increase their points before the official end of the competition.

Finally, the clocked ticked down to its last second, signifying yet another successful year of hosting the NCF.

Our thoughts as part of the NCF 2019 subcommittee:

After playing the board game, we ourselves also learnt a lot more about wealth management and smart investing. This is especially in relation to starting a business, looking at the behaviour of stocks as well as the timing and condition of the economy, whether it is in recession or expansion. Having gathered some opinions and feedback from the participants, here are some insights we would like to share.

“In this game where some people aim to buy and start the most businesses or get the best education and the highest paying job, the one who wins in the end is usually the one with the most happiness.” Happiness is the multiplier in this game where the final score is one’s net worth multiplied by one’s happiness. And truly, we believe that this applies to real life as well. Not only must we diligently plan our life, regardless of buying insurance, starting businesses or investing in stocks to earn more money, we should always remind ourselves to stay happy.

“A life of wealth or success in career is nothing if you are not happy”, one of the secondary school participants asserted. After playing the board game, she not only learned more about financial literacy, she was also once again reminded that being happy is important and life is not just all about achievements.

As integral members of NCF 2019, and as part of a team of passionate members who have participated in the entire process from preparation to facilitation, we deeply feel that NCF has been a fun-filled and meaningful event where everyone enjoyed themselves and learnt something in the process. Looking forward to NCF 2020 with more “happiness”!

If you are interested to join NCF 2020, do follow NCF on Instagram and Facebook for more information:

Follow us @ntu_iic_ncf (www.instagram.com/ntu_iic_ncf)

Like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/joinNCF)

You can also email ntu-iic.ncf@e.ntu.edu.sg if you have any questions.

Author(s): Kenrick Tan and Lynnette Khoo (20th Corporate Communications subcommittee members) 

Great Eastern Centre

Finex has once again returned on the 16th of March 2019. The event saw much traction amongst youths who were interested in the financial scene. The drizzle did not dampen the cheerful spirits of the participants who were eager to test out their financial knowledge.  

With the tagline “Earn hard, Invest smart”, participants were put to the test through an amazing race-styled financial competition.

The event saw a turnout of 65 teams from diverse backgrounds, of which 17 teams were from the University category while the others came from the Post-Secondary and Secondary School Category. This year, our youngest team consisted of plucky secondary one students, undaunted by the age of their competitors. While they lacked in the technical know-how, they came well equipped with their wit and enthusiasm for the event.

Participants had to complete 5 game stations specialising across varying financial themes.

The trade-off between risk and return is something that finance practitioners greatly emphasise. One activity that covered this was “No Pain No Gain”, which introduced the concept of risk and risk mitigating activities. Participants were tested on their ability to identify the in-game risks and thereafter selecting from a range of controls measure to adopt and navigate through the obstacles and undulating terrain as fast as possible. 

The activity “Game of Life” brought up a second theme – life planning with the objective of highlighting the importance of making wise financial planning. This included the need to be proactive in financial planning and being able to identify the difference between assets and liabilities.

“Take it or Lose it” challenged participants in a head-to-head showdown on their entrepreneurship skills and business acumen by competing for the same pool of human resources and capital availability in order to maximise their earnings. As the game adjusted based on the competitor’s move, teams had to display a high level of communication and teamwork to achieve the desired asset portfolio in a dynamic market environment. 

“The Next Property Tycoon” followed through with the theme of property investment. Participants gained more insights on the risk and rewards involved between the various types of property investments and the factors affecting their values.

As one of the largest actively traded markets, foreign exchange trading is largely determined by macroeconomic policies that drive the prices up or down. In “Currency Exchange” participants are taught the tricks to react to market conditions and manage their buckets of currency to maximise its value. 

The top ten fastest teams advanced into a bonus stage to compete for additional points in a simulated stock exchange. Competitors vied for the top spots in  “Stop The Clock” where minute-to-minute decisions are influenced by equity prices and other market factors. The game engaged participants in managing volatility and seizing advantages from imperfect information of stock prices to gather the largest pool of assets. 

The winning groups walked away with attractive prices such as Marshall Headphones, JBL Speakers and even a GoPro HERO 7. 

Aside from the game stations, our sponsor Great Eastern also took the opportunity to share with the participants about financial planning and internship opportunities. 

FINEX 2019 proved once again to be a successful event and we were honoured to receive numerous positive feedbacks. We would like to thank all of our participants and we look forward to hosting the event again next year. See you in FINEX 2020!

Author(s): Dandy Chen, Ong Xien Fong (20th Corporate Communications subcommittee members)

NTUC Auditorium

This year’s Singapore Financial Conference (SFC) theme was “Starting Younger, Investing Smarter”. With the aim of equipping aspiring investors with the necessary skills for investing and networking opportunities with experienced professionals, SFC 2019 attracted a huge turnout on 8th March. This was a strong testament to the quality of the conference over the years. 

We believe that investing in oneself is the best form of investment. This has been our primary motivation behind organising SFC throughout the years. As usual, our goal this year was to have our distinguished speakers share insights on the basics of investing. Apart from the talks, SFC included an opportunity for a free brokerage account opening and a career mentorship opportunity by Young NTUC.

Mr Sarjit, our guest of honour, presented the three key skills all aspiring investors should equip themselves with:

1. It is salient to have basic accounting knowledge. Accountancy is the language of business and learning how to interpret financial statements is fundamental to any investor. For example, the Altman Z-score may be a good way to check a business’ health.

2. Understanding economics is also very important. This is because all businesses are interlinked by the economy and investors should be able to understand how market fluctuations may impact their investments.

3. Coding skills are essential. In the movement towards automation, being able to code will give investors an edge in the field of investments.

The three distinguished speakers for SFC 2019 were Mr Keshvani from Barclays, Mr Adrian Ho from Maybank Kim Eng, and Mr Stanley Lim, the co-founder of Value Invest Asia. Mr Keshvani gave market insights from the point of view of macro economics. He explored the issues of the trade war which has affected Asian currencies and bonds, especially in the emerging markets.

As an expert value investor, Mr Lim’s emphasis was on the importance of stock picking. His rationale was that stock picking could result in much higher returns relative to the general stock index. He shared a few important points on stock picking – choosing a growing company, a company with an economic moat, and having a large scale of business relative to industry and high branding power. 

Mr Ho shared insights on the Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and how ETFs can be used to access assets such as wholesale bonds and commodities. He also shed light on the considerations of portfolio creation such as investment policy, returns objective, risk tolerance and investment horizon.

After the three speakers had spoken, we arrived at the highlight of the event – the panel discussion. As usual, we had plenty of questions from our enthusiastic audience. Interesting questions ranged from the market outlook (whether there was going to be a recession) to mitigating forex losses (if one diversifies overseas). The discussion ended off on a light hearted note with all the speakers and the guest of honor sharing their thoughts to the question “what would you say to your young self?”.

SFC 2019 was a huge success thanks to our sponsors, speakers, and event committee members who put much effort into the event. We hope that the audience enjoyed the conference as much as we did and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Author(s): Kayden Lee and Aaron Low (20th Corporate Communications Vice President and Director)

2019 marks the 20th anniversary of the NTU Investment Interactive Club. The club that was originally founded by Mr Yap Boon Leong and his friends as a small interest club has now grown into a fully-fledged club with thousands of members. As the Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications, we set out to host an Alumni Dinner for our club. It has been a decade since the alumni of NTU-IIC had met each other and we wanted to make this a memorable night for everyone.

After many months of preparation, the big day was finally here. On the evening of 2 March 2019, with the help of a few of our trusty sub-committee members, we managed to set up the well-furnished space at HERE@Farrer Park perfectly for the event. The first alumni member who showed up was none other than our beloved founder Mr Yap, who looked as youthful as ever. It was heartening to see his unwavering support for the club. Even after 20 years, IIC still meant as much to him as it did in 1999.

As the event commenced, alumni from the past 19 batches started streaming into the venue and it was highly exciting to meet our seniors who once stood in our places. Besides Mr Yap, two of the original founding members came as well. Our supportive club advisors – Assoc Prof Angie Low and Mr Sarjit Singh also graced our event. In fact, Prof Low is one of our alumni as well – she had been our club’s Vice President back in 2000 when she studied in Nanyang Business School.

During the night, we spoke to Mr Yap and a few other alumni, who have all gone on to embark on highly successful careers. They were eager to share their stories from the past when they were students like ourselves, and how things were during their times. They were pleasantly surprised when we told them how much the club has grown, with our five flagship events and the various networking opportunities. One can only imagine how things will change 20 years from now.

We had prepared a sumptuous buffet dinner, a minibar for cocktails and drinks, as well as a photobooth to capture this unforgettable night on film. The alumni also immersed themselves with various on-site entertainment such as a pool table, arcade basketball, foosball and darts. It was highly enjoyable networking and reminiscing over a glass of wine and a game of pool.

As the night progressed, the alumni started leaving one after another. They were no longer carefree students like us – they had families and careers to take care of. As we thanked them for coming, we could not help but feel curious as to what the future would unveil for us students.

It’s hard to know for sure when the next NTU-IIC Alumni gathering will be, or which future batch is going to host it. But one thing is for sure, many of our alumni will still be there, and so will we.

Author(s): Benedict Oscar Lau (20th Corporate Communications subcommittee member)

SGX Auditorium

After the resounding success of Nanyang Business School’s Alternative Investment Symposium (AIS) in 2018, AIS 2019 was back again at the SGX auditorium on 23 February. AIS was organised with the aim of attracting like-minded individuals from various backgrounds with an interest in Alternative Investments (AI). This year, we were privileged to have six distinguished speakers who shared their views and insights on their respective niche areas.

Our first speaker was Mr Chua I-Min, a trainer from SGX Academy. He shared on the topic of Hedging Blue-Chip Stocks with Singapore Stock Daily Leverage Certificates (DLCs). He touched on how improvements could be made to the conventional buy-and-hold strategy in today’s volatile market which faces trade wars and increasing interest rates.

Next, we had Mr Wong Kon How, an SGX academy trainer who spoke on REITs and S-REITs investing. He explained the importance of being able to differentiate the characteristics of REITs and shares. This would help an investor better understand how returns were generated and ultimately help them to achieve their specific investment objectives.

The third speaker was Ms Jo Murphy, the Managing Director (Asia Pacific) of CAIA. She presented on the future of AI, noting how AI has increased nearly three-fold over the last decade and has been projected to increase even more in areas such as private equity and hedge funds. Furthermore, AI is a crucial tool in helping today’s institutional investors diversify and that will continue to be the case in the near future. 

Our next speaker Ms Genevieve Heng is a Portfolio Manager of Anthem Asia Myanmar SME Venture Fund who shared her story on how she got into the sphere of AI. Her background was in IT but she wasn’t satisfied with her career back then. That led her to explore different aspects of business where she eventually completed an MBA before deciding to focus on finance. She ended up specialising in Private Equity during the Asian Financial Crisis even though PE was not as popular as it is today. She challenged the audience to never be satisfied with the status quo and always to strive for the better by first bettering themselves.

Following that, we had Mr Dennis Wong from Golden Equator Capital Venture. The charismatic Senior Associate presented on the topic of Venture Capital – an Alternative Investment strategy in volatile times. He shared about how investors have been prompted to consider AI as the markets have been fraught with volatility and uncertainties in recent years. He noted that while gold and real estate was the go-to traditional alternative asset, private capital and venture capital investments have been on the rise.

Lastly, we had Mr Vikas Jain from Funding Societies. The Senior Director of Marketing & CX shared about P2P Lending. P2P Lending is a method of debt financing that enables individuals to borrow and lend money without official financial institutions such as banks acting as intermediaries. While he admitted that the risk in P2P lending was high, the returns offered were equally attractive and would well compensate the risk taken.

As the event drew to a close, many stayed back to network with the speakers and with one another. It was heartening to see people from different walks of life bonding with each other over shared interests at our event. We are delighted to have CAIA as our platinum sponsor without which this event would not have been possible. We thank all our participants and look forward to hosting the event again next year. See you in NBS AIS 2020!