Professional Development Series: Fireside Chat on ‘Growing Wealth in an Increasingly Unpredictable World’

The first fireside chat of SMU OAR’s Professional Development Series in 2017 took place on 18th May 2017, and featured Mr Ang Ser Keng, Director of the UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute and Senior Lecturer of Finance at Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

Ser Keng is no stranger to SMU alumni, many of whom underwent his finance classes and benefited from the academic theories and practical lessons he imparted as a former investment banker and seasoned investment professional.

Versed in the art of investing, the topic ‘Growing Wealth in an Increasingly Unpredictable World’ was aptly named and suitably helmed by Ser Keng.  The session was made more dynamic by the facilitation of the session by Heng Koon How, President of the SMU Msc Wealth Management (MWM) Alumni Group and an experienced financial professional himself. Close to 70 alumni were kept enthralled throughout the talk, and participated actively in the Q & A.

Attendees at the session were treated to a very candid, energetic and impactful presentation, during which Ser Keng gave tips, pointers and advice. These include understanding one’s needs, and working on asset allocation over a lifetime. Starting early is especially importantly, even in small ways, as compounding goes a long way. For the uninitiated, low-risk instruments are to be considered for a start, these being Insurance, Equity Exchange Traded Funds, Bond Funds and REITs. A diversified portfolio will incrementally surface with understanding forged in trade-offs in Finance, Core Asset Class, and Risk & Return of Different Asset Classes.

During the subsequent Q&A session, Koon How meticulously moderated the session with two key questions: 1) Should an investor time the market around various risk events? And 2) What is a reasonable annual return one should aim for in his or her portfolio?

Through the vivacious sharing, Ser Keng reiterated the 3 important take-aways:

1) Start early 2) don’t compromise on quality investments and 3) diversify, diversify, diversify!

The session ended with a very engaging networking session where a lot more informal chatter on the art and science of investing continued. As with all alumni events, new acquaintances were made and old contacts renewed.  The SMU Office of Alumni Relations would like to put on record our thanks and appreciation to Mr Ang Ser Keng and Mr Heng Koon How for helming a very successful fireside chat session!