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revhappy

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then how to explain so many 'elite' including political leaders and their relatives from developing countries coming to SG for medical treatment? =:p

They have lots of money, so why not. Also for the sake of privacy, if these people go to their country's hospital, they will be swarmed by media and people.

But, for example, if a surgery that costs like 100k in SG, in India you you can get it done for 20k and you get top class quality healthcare. But for poor people in India cannot afford the top class hospitals, so the score takes a hit.
 

limster

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But, for example, if a surgery that costs like 100k in SG, in India you you can get it done for 20k and you get top class quality healthcare. But for poor people in India cannot afford the top class hospitals, so the score takes a hit.

I've been stuck in traffic jam in India before. even if i retire there, i can't afford helicopter to bring me to hospital :)
 

revhappy

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I've been stuck in traffic jam in India before. even if i retire there, i can't afford helicopter to bring me to hospital :)

Yeah, traffic is a problem. Stay close to a big hospital. I personally prefer a smaller tier 2 town during retirement, low traffic and pollution and low cost of living.
 

limster

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Yeah, traffic is a problem. Stay close to a big hospital. I personally prefer a smaller tier 2 town during retirement, low traffic and pollution and low cost of living.

yes i remember them publishing the pollution numbers when I was there. Singapore close to 100 people scared. Over there it was like triple digit every day.

any recommendation of a tier 2 town with world class hospitals? or are they all in tier 1 towns?
 

revhappy

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yes i remember them publishing the pollution numbers when I was there. Singapore close to 100 people scared. Over there it was like triple digit every day.

any recommendation of a tier 2 town with world class hospitals? or are they all in tier 1 towns?

There is a place called Mangalore in the south western coast. Manipal hospital is originally from this place. Temasek also has a stake in it.

https://mangalore.manipalhospitals.com/

https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...p-nears-deal-for-control-of-fortis-healthcare

I am originally from Mangalore area, although I havent stayed there. My parents live in Bangalore, and I have lived in Bangalore for most part. My wife's relatives and parents are all in Mangalore. So that is a target area for me for retirement.
 

limster

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There is a place called Mangalore in the south western coast. Manipal hospital is originally from this place. Temasek also has a stake in it.

https://mangalore.manipalhospitals.com/

https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...p-nears-deal-for-control-of-fortis-healthcare

I am originally from Mangalore area, although I havent stayed there. My parents live in Bangalore, and I have lived in Bangalore for most part. My wife's relatives and parents are all in Mangalore. So that is a target area for me for retirement.

thanks, not familiar with that area, i guess climate is similar to Sri Lanka's since so close to it. checking google it doesn't get blazingly hot unlike some places that can reach max 40 degrees.... there are some wildlife parks close by but none of the famous ones (one reason to retire in India is wildlife safaris, assuming any wildlife left when i retire...)
 

revhappy

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thanks, not familiar with that area, i guess climate is similar to Sri Lanka's since so close to it. checking google it doesn't get blazingly hot unlike some places that can reach max 40 degrees.... there are some wildlife parks close by but none of the famous ones (one reason to retire in India is wildlife safaris, assuming any wildlife left when i retire...)

Yeah, the temperature doesn't cross 40. But summers it gets close to that but it lasts about 2 -3 months. Then there is rainy season for 2-3 months it rains like crazy. Winter not really cold.

Weatherwise is okay. But it is a 3rd world city so it is not going to be as comfortable and organized as Singapore.
 

BBCWatcher

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These indexes are averages and mean nothing for individuals. In fact you if you have the money you have better chances of getting top class healthcare in low cost country than the waiting period in a 1st world country.
Right, and for retirement purposes you’d generally pick an urbanized area that’s comparatively clean, safe, and full of amenities including quality medical services. Take a look at International SOS’s assessments since they usually incorporate some sub-national guidance.

Singapore has some medical tourists, certainly. However, the really wealthy patients with the most difficult cases head elsewhere from what I can tell. As an example, for several years after AIDS was recognized the best medical care was probably available in just in a small handful of cities, notably New York, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Paris. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control published the world’s first report of the previously unidentified disease on June 5, 1981, based on a cluster of cases in Los Angeles.
 

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Total Return "Porn" through February, 2019

For some reason some people like to see my personal rate of return data. OK, here are the latest conveniently accessible figures through the end of February, 2019, across the three investment firms that hold the bulk of my household's wealth. My last update was through July, 2018, so this update is after the September to December, 2018, U.S. stock market correction. These figures represent annualized total account returns ("money returns") in nominal U.S. dollars. There will be some capital gains tax or ordinary income tax due upon future sale, please note. After tax dividends have been almost entirely reinvested in full since the accounts were opened. (I say "almost" because there's one small, strange exception at Schwab.) Only Vanguard provides an easy way to look up a 10 year number while the others report from account inception.

Vanguard

10 Year: 8.9%
5 Year: 5.7%
3 Year: 9.0%
1 Year: 0.6%

Fidelity

Inception: 4.77%
5 Year: 5.85%
3 Year: 11.16%
1 Year: 2.10%

Caveat: A small portion (less than 5%) of my Fidelity holdings is not reflected in the above figures. That portion only came into existence fairly recently, and due to an apparent quirk in their online system it won't show up in the above figures for some more months. If it were included in the 1 Year figure then that figure would be a little higher, still 2.X%.

Schwab

Inception: 12.66%
3 Year: 19.40%
1 Year: -0.66%

The total account values are in approximately these ratios (Vanguard:Fidelity:Schwab): 16:8:1. Savings continue to flow every month into Fidelity and Vanguard.

I have absolutely no complaints. None of this stuff is "rocket science." It's just the natural outcome of regular, dogged monthly savings for many years into a very small number of low cost, well diversified funds.
 
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BBCWatcher

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Reminder: 2018 U.S. Individual Retirement Account Deadline

As a reminder to individuals with sufficient 2018 U.S. taxable earned income that is not excluded via IRS Form 2555 (the Foreign Earned Income and Foreign Housing Exclusions), the deadline to make a U.S. Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contribution for tax year 2018 is April 15, 2019.

Practically everybody who fits this profile -- and his/her legal spouse (opposite or same sex) for those who file joint tax returns -- can make a non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution since there are no income limits to that sort of contribution. For more information please use your favorite Internet search engine to learn more about "backdoor" Roth IRAs. Also please refer to IRS Publication 590-A.

The 2018 IRA contribution limit is US$5,500 per person, or US$6,500 for anybody who celebrated his/her 50th birthday on or before December 31, 2018.
 

ELKYme

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BBCW,
I can understand how you feel. Actually, no need to share your holdings. From the way you write, discerning folks would already know that the investments you make would be sensible and yield decent returns.

There are certain individuals in this forum that simply enjoy going into every thread just to start arguments.

Too bad the mods don’t enforce the infraction system enough.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/faq.php?faq=hwz_faq#faq_user_infraction

Moving forward, don’t think I’ll be posting much here anymore...the amount of hate that goes on here sometimes outweighs the good.

Cheers.
 

BBCWatcher

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After tax dividends have been almost entirely reinvested in full since the accounts were opened.
I didn't phrase this sentence as well as I'd like. Here's some elaboration.

U.S. persons pay U.S. income tax on all dividends at progressive rates. Dividends on most U.S. securities are "qualified dividends," which means they qualify for the lower tax rates that also apply to long-term capital gains. The top marginal U.S. federal government tax rate on qualified dividends is currently 23.8%. Moreover, unless a U.S. person has a history of tax troubles, a U.S. person is not subject to mandatory dividend tax withholding. Instead, U.S. persons make estimated quarterly U.S. income tax payments and then settle up any overage/underage when they file their annual tax returns. Consequently my pre-tax dividends are almost all reinvested, except for one small, oddball holding at Schwab. I then pay the dividend tax quarterly out of cash.

In other words, I pay a lower dividend tax rate than a non-U.S. person residing in Singapore does (if holding U.S. domiciled funds), and I have a higher effective dividend reinvestment rate because I'm reinvesting pre-tax dividends and paying dividend tax a couple months later, on average, out of cash.

In short, U.S. persons who are fully reinvesting dividends have a higher dividend reinvestment rate -- a higher overall "inflow" assuming equal monthly contributions -- than non-U.S. persons, whether they're investing in U.S. domiciled funds (30% dividend tax withholding rate) or Irish domiciled funds such as IWDA (15% dividend tax, paid by the fund before automatic reinvesting). This is a bit of an advantage in terms of total return figures, at least in a long-term bullish market.
 

peipei1

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Congrats BBC, you beat most of local investment polices i came to know off, those optimistically promised 5% pa. We in our lifetime, have the fortune or misfortune, either through our parents, or from graduating uni friends who joined those insurance firms, bought those polices for long term planning when we did not know better! Imagine now we know they skivved almost half of our earnings! I do wonder how they can survive going on if they keep taking away such amounts from us!

How automated is yours, like now we can schedule our bank to do a transfer monthly, like totally hands off if your Vanguard or Fidelity automatically adds more positions for you monthly!

Are you weighted more to SPY500 or Global like Iwda over these 10 years? Do you go by regular DCA or BTFD strategy?

I wish there is a global stocks equivalent to Post investsaver from local banks!
 

BBCWatcher

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How automated is yours, like now we can schedule our bank to do a transfer monthly, like totally hands off if your Vanguard or Fidelity automatically adds more positions for you monthly!
Very automated. Not entirely end-to-end, but I don’t have a lot of buttons to press. There are no tight deadlines to worry about.

Are you weighted more to SPY500 or Global like Iwda over these 10 years?
More like VWRD actually (for the stocks), and > 10 years. Vanguard just happens to make the 10 year number easily available.

Do you go by regular DCA or BTFD strategy?
Overwhelmingly DCA.

I wish there is a global stocks equivalent to Post investsaver from local banks!
The nearest equivalent is probably a low cost (by Singapore standards) unit trust from Lion Global via one of the zero fee platforms.
 

kyojin

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Hi BBCW, I've been following your posts and was wondering if you would share your thoughts and experiences.

I'm just ready to start investing and after much reading, I'm convinced by a simple portfolio of Multiplier+SSB+ES3+IWDA/EIMI. Given that there's a high chance that I'll relocate to the US for work later in the year (Sep/Oct), I thought to hold on to offshore ETFs first and focus on ES3... and then I realized that POSB Invest-Saver excludes U.S. persons!

In one of your earlier posts, you suggested that anybody moving to the US should liquidate their high-tax positions and move them to the US for tax advantage - until returning. Example: ES3 to EWS, etc.

So here's my dilemma - should I start putting money into ES3 now? If I have to move in the next 6-9 months, then my exposure to short-term risks is quite high. Or should I wait till things are more clear on my job front and leave the cash in high interest savings/FD/SSB for now?

Also, I'm a bit confused about capital gains taxes - i understand dividends are taxed as they are distributed, but say if I started to buy ETFs when I'm in the US and held them until I return to Singapore, then sell them when I'm no longer a US tax-resident, would I be liable for US capital gains tax?

Thanks!
 
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