Den of The Lion Investor

One keynote speaker of the Smart Expo event is Steve McMahon, former Liverpool (and England) player and ESPN football commentor. He is currently the group commerical director of Profitable Group.

I wasn’t exactly sure what Steve could teach us about investments, but decided to attend his talk anyway.

According to Steve McMahon, this was actually the first public speaking engagement, and he found it much more difficult than playing soccer or being a commentator.

There wasn’t any fancy powerpoint slides, and basically Steve shared with us his entire footballing career.

Yesterday was the Merseryside derby game between Liverpool and Everton. Most people probably didn’t know that Steve was a lifelong Everton fan!

Everton was also where he started his career, followed by a short stint at Aston Villa and then finally Liverpool. Subsequently, he went to Manchester City and finished his footballing career as a player-manager at Swindon.

So how can we relate all these to investing?

Throughout his career, Steve very often had to make important decisions. Just like we have to do so when we invest our money. And never once had Steve made the wrong decision.

How do you know you are making the correct decisions?

When you are happy.

When you wake up and you have regrets, then it’s probably not the correct decision.

And always treat people the way you want others to treat you.

Update: Click here to see the entire presentation by Steve McMahon

The first talk at the Smart Expo that I attended was delivered by Saeed Shah, the sales director of Australian Wine Index (AWI).

Australian Wine Index is a fine wine broker which sources and purchases fine Australian wine for investors. They will also help to find suitable storage space for your wine, and advise you on different exit strategies when the time is ripe.

The reasons given by Saeed why we should invest in wine include:

• Wine has outperformed other investments.
  • Recent UK report by Wine Asset Managers (WAM)
  • Return of 16% over last 7 years
• Wine is a relatively low risk investment.
• Finite commodity
• Limited supply & growing demand
• There is huge growth potential.
  • US no.1 wine consumption market in the world
  • China 45% growth over the next 10 years
  • Global demand
  • Auction houses: Christie’s & Sotheby
  • “Nuevo Riche” in emerging marketings like China, Russia, Eastern Europe

Wine is an area that I haven’t invested in before as it is something not close to my heart. Even though I was told that I don’t have to be a wine drinker to be an investor, somehow I feel that I would be at a disadvantage when it comes to the product knowledge.

So how exactly do you invest in wine? These are the steps shared with us:

1. Selection
2. Storage
3. Trading

1) Wine selection

• Ratings (Critics) - RPJ’s Wine Advocate
• Regions - South Australia & Margaret River
• Vintage, Vintage and Vintage
• Research
• Strong ties with vineyards
• Build collections with intrinsic value

2) Wine storage

• Home storage - bad idea
• Perishable product
• AWI has a tie-up with Cougar Express Logistics whereby investors can store their wines and have their own individual account

3) Trading

• Exit strategies - Friends, collectors, merchants
• Auctions offer best option

I can’t really elaborate on the points given in the presentation by Australian Wine Index as I’m pretty much a novice when it comes to wine investment.

Today is the start of the SMART Investment & International Property Conference at Sun Tec. Unlike the ATIC I attended last month which was mainly about trading, the SMART Expo’s main focus was on property and alternative investments.

There were a mind-boggling number of exhibitors, which offered investments opportunities ranging from farmland in Argentina to wine in Australia. If you thought buying a property in Singapore is difficult, just imagine now you have to choose the country and company to start with. Certainly much more difficult.

With so many competitors, the staff from the various companies were out in force to convince investors on the merits of their own investment product.

Actually, I wasn’t really interested in alternative investments at this moment. So other than saying hello to the people I knew, I politely declined invitations from most of the other promoters.

There were a few seminar titles that caught my eye, so I made my way down to the seminar area to listen to the speakers. I wanted especially to listen to Steve McMahon, Leong Sze Hian and Wong Sui Jau.

There are a few other talks scheduled on Sunday that I will be attending as well.

After the event ends, I will be sumarising some of them in my blog so stay tuned.

Hot on the heels of the Singapore Property Growth & Profitability Conference, another event, the SMART Investment & International Property Expo will be held this weekend. Unlike the former event, there are no admission fees to attend this one.

The SMART Expo is a regional event that showcase various investment opportunies from the property and financial sector. Details of the event are as follows:

10am - 7pm • 29 - 30 March 2008

Hall 402-403, SUNTEC Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre

There will be many speakers giving lectures on different investment topics over the two days. The topics and list of speakers include the following:

• Avoid Realtor Pitfalls When Buying Property - Chandran Pillay Honorary Secretary, Institute of Estate Agents, Singapore
• Feng Shui Knowledge For Your Property Selection - Linda Seck Director & Consultant, LSECK Consulting Services
• Current Legal Matters for Property Investment in Thailand (Top 10 Tips) - Desmond Hughes Partner, Belmont Limcharoen (Phuket)
• Investment Prospects in Kuala Lumper’s Luxury Residential Property Market - Chee Meng Tang Chief Operating Officer, Henry Butcher Marketing Sdn Bhd
• Wine – A Palatable Investment - Saeed Shah Sales Director, Australian Wine Index (S) Pte Ltd
• Secrets to Continuous Income Creation - Daniel Tan Group Head, OilPods Singapore Pte Ltd
• Markets Update and Facing a Volatile 2008 - Sui Jau Wong General Manager, Fundsupermart iFAST Financial Ptd Ltd
• Portfolio On Solid Ground - Vittorio Joosten Assistant Vice President, Sales, Walton International Group(s) Pte. Ltd
• Get Motivated – Game Plan for Winning Investment Strategy - Steve McMahon ESPN Premier League Commentator & Former England Player
• Structured Warrants and the Workings of Warrants - Lid-Seng Ooi Vice President – Structured Products (Asia ex-Japan), Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking
• Building a Sound Investment Strategy for a Changing Singapore Property Market -
  • Mohamed Ismail Gafoore - CEO, PropNex Realty Pte Ltd
  • Raymond Chow - CEO, Ray Harcourts International Real Estate Group
  • Alfred Lim - Executive Director,VestAsia Private Ltd
• Iskandar Development Region Explained - Chin Soon Ho
  Director, Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd
• Luxury Residential Property in Singapore - Raymond Chow CEO, Ray Harcourts International Real Estate Group
• CPF Changes: Implications for Financial Planning - Sze Hian Leong President, Society of Financial Service Professionals
• Long Term Growth of Resort Markets - Charlotte Filleul General Manager, Resort Properties, CB Richard Ellis (Thailand) Co., Ltd
• Providing Wealth Opportunities Through Strategic Land Banking - Mark Smith Corporate Communications Manager, UK Land Investments (S) Pte Ltd
• Legal and Regulatory Aspects to Property Investment in Malaysia - Chris, Chur Pim Tan Managing Partner, Chur Associates
• Singapore’s Real Estate Market – Top Performing Market for 2007, But Where Do We Go From Here? - Alfred Lim Executive Director, VestAsia Private Ltd
• Malaysia My Second Home Programme – an Attractive Avenue for Private Individuals Looking Beyond Profit - Mr. John W.K. Ching Managing Director, CK-TEN (MM2H) Sdn. Bhd
• Why Invest in Vietnam Property Now? - Matt Koziora Associate Director of Residential Project Marketing, CB Richard Ellis (Vietnam)
• Offshore investments and the usage of Portfolio Bond for High-net-worth individuals - Wilfred Ling Investment journalist and Index fund specialist, Promiseland Independent
• Penang Attractions and the Impact of Infrastructure Developments for Private Investors - Michael Geh Senior Vice-President, Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd
• Luxury Residential Market in KL - Is There An Upside? - Previndran Singhe Chief Executive Officer, Zerin Properties
• The Australian Tax System, the Property Investors Best Friend - Ravin Chatlani Partner, Australasian Taxation Services
• A Global Property Market Overview – Best Buys From Re-bound and Emerging Economies - Annie McGeachie Director - Singapore, Intellectual Property Ltd. ((IP Real Estate Investments Pte Ltd
• Breaking the Millionaire Code - Thomas Mathew Senior Financial Services Partner, IPP Financial Advisers Pte Ltd
• Masterclass : Structured Warrants Survival Kit - Simon Yung Executive Director Head of Retail Listed Products sales, Hong Kong/Singapore Equities & Derivatives, BNP Paribas Hong Kong Branch
• Principles of Multiplying Your Wealth at Millionaire Returns - Adam Khoo Founder & Executive Chairman, Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group Pte Ltd
• Commodity and Stock Markets Outlook - Tao Wang Technical Analyst/Vice President, Global Future/ Commodity Desk MF Global Singapore Pte Ltd
• Southeast Queensland Your Investment and Lifestyle Edge - John Constantine Vice President /Corporate Communications, Azzura Corporation
• Smart Investing in Resort Real Estate - Richard McCandless Director, MC2 Tropical Property
• Wine – A Profitable Indulgence - Eldric Ko CEO, Premium Liquid Assets Pte Ltd
• Phuket - Post Election Opportunities - Graham Bibby Chairman, Richmond Group
• Making the Most of Challenging Times Ahead: Opportunities for the Shrewd Investor
  • Gabriel Yap - Senior Dealing Director, DMG Partners
  • Lid-Seng Ooi - Vice President, Structured Products (Asia Ex Japan), Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking
  • Sui Jau Wong - General Manager, Fundsupermart iFAST Financial Pte Ltd
• Will the Property Market Continue its Bull Run in 2008? - Mohamed Ismail Gafoore CEO, Propnex Realty Pte Ltd
• Foreign Currency – An Alternative Investment - Nicholas Tan Author and Trader
• Precision Trading With Candlestick Analysis - Joseph Chai Trainer For ChartNexus, FiNEX Solutions Pte. Ltd
• How to Avoid the Pitfalls in Choosing a Housing Loan? - Dennis Ng Director, www.HousingLoanSG.com
• Tax Planning for Investors Purchasing Property in Thailand - Paul Ashburn Senior Partner, BDO Richfield Advisory Ltd

If you are a Liverpool fan, you might want to get your autographs ready as one of the former Liverpool players, Steve McMahon, will be there as a speaker.

The exhibitors who will be there include:

• ADAM KHOO LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES GROUP
• AUSTRALIAN WINE INDEX - Wine Investment Brokerage
• T3B HOLDINGS PTE LTD - T3B System
• IPP – SOPHISTICATED INVESTMENT
• PREMIUM LIQUID ASSETS - A Profitable Wine Indulgence
• SAXO CAPITAL MARKETS
• MOVEWITHUS INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE - Growgold, Argentina
• AUSSIEPROPERTY.COM
• AZZURA CORPORATION - Themed Entertainment Property Investment Opportunities
• CENTRAL EQUITY APARTMENTS - Melbourne Apartments
• JL PROPERTY GROUP - Southport Central, Australia
• MC2 TROPICAL PROPERTY - Outrigger Panorama Bali Resort and Spa
• REDEV PROPERTIES - Redev International Properties
• BUSINESS-ME.COM - Property Investment in Middle East
• EMERGING MARKETS PROPERTY ADVISERS - Emerging Property Markets
• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - Emerging and Recovering Property Market
• MARRIOTT VACATION CLUB - International Vacation Ownership Programme
• SMARTPP.COM - International property search portal
• PATHY HOUSING - Pathy Housing Pvt, Ltd
• Malaysia
  • A’FAMOSA RESORT MALAYSIA - Villa D’Savoy
  • D’TIARA HOTEL SUITES - Malaysia
  • GLOMAC BERHAD - Suria Stonor & Suria Residen, Malaysia
  • KUALA LUMPUR METRO GROUP
  • LEISURE FARM
  • MITRAJAYA HOMES
  • PLENITUDE BERHAD
  • SUNWAY CITY BERHAD
  • UM LAND BERHAD
• New Zealand
  • COASTLANDS BEACHSIDE ESTATE
  • MANGAWAHI COASTAL
• WALTON INTERNATIONAL GROUP
• Thailand
  • ANDARA RESORT RESIDENCES
  • KRABISUNSET CO., LTD.
  • LERSUANG GROUP
  • OCEAN WORLDWIDE
  • RICHMOND GROUP PHUKET
  • THAI PROPERTY & MEDIA EXHIBITIONS
  • THE TWO VILLAS GROUP
  • THE VILLAGE COCONUT ISLAND
• VIZYON-TURKEY-KUSADASI-POLAR
• PROFITABLE GROUP
• UK LAND INVESTMENTS INTERNATIONAL

The event looks to be pretty comprehensive with many exhibitors from all over the world. Hopefully, I can catch a few decent investment opportunities there.