Time has passed, the situation has changed and so has the investment method. Siripong Sutharoj, managing director of Sicco Securities, has been interested in property speculation since he started working at an early age. He loved to be in debt, although he did the math carefully.

According to the textbook, the value of property appreciates over time. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the famous book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", was a very successful real-estate investor. A house he happened to spot on his way to somewhere else generated a more-than-welcome profit.

However, not everybody can buy the right house and sell at the right time as Kiyosaki did. Moreover, the real-estate business in Thailand is unlike that in the United States, whether it be the management system, uncertainty over regulations and their enforcement, or people's understanding. Therefore, the logic looks great but it remains doubtful whether it is good enough in practice.

Siripong followed the logical idea. He first borrowed from banks to invest in blank deeds with the hope that the value of his deed would rise over time.

Then he learnt a lesson - a blank deed generated no return during the time he owned it. It was hard to sell. More importantly, if you pick the wrong place, it's hard to receive a big capital gain. Then he started to look at real estate attached with other assets.

"I used to borrow the money under terms in which the repayments were higher than my salary. It might have worked for me in the past but it doesn't mean that it would work well nowadays. To meet the repayments I had to find an extra job," said Siripong.

Siripong may have had to struggle to repay the debt but the monthly repayments unintentionally translated into a form of savings discipline. "The monthly instalment for my property was like I was regularly saving the money. However, not every instalment is good. The instalment for the assets, the value of which increases, is an interesting option. For other unnecessary things, the value of which drops, it's not a good idea to use this method," he explained.

The economic crisis in 1997 was a stroke of luck for real-estate shoppers. Many millionaires and billionaires of today made their windfalls after going against the tide, collecting good property rather than disposing of it.

Investors may not need another crisis to grab a hefty fortune, as the lesson was that the price of property in many places in Thailand is still lower than its actual value. However, investors must consider the liquidity factor as well, rather than jumping at assets with a low price. The value of some properties might rise to a high level, but in practical terms there's no guarantee that there will be a buyer if the owner decides he or she would like to sell.

For example, Kampol Adsavakulchai, executive vice president of SCB Asset Management's mutual-fund group, once said that he used to invest in property. The value of his house rose over time to more than Bt10 million. However, it couldn't be sold. The value on paper made him asset rich but he couldn't actually have the money.

Although several local property funds have been launched over the past few years, their popularity has not come close to their counterparts in other markets, such as Hong Kong or Singapore. From the perspective of a property investor, Siripong said that property in Thailand is an interesting investment option. However, he suggested investors diversify their portfolios.

With a belief in savings discipline, Siripong has pushed the Easy Wealth Builder, an automatic stock-buying programme initiated by Sicco Securities. The firm invests in one of the stocks in the SET50 composite index. Every month, the system automatically buys the stock that the investor chooses. The amount of investment also depends on the investor's requirements. It can start from Bt1,000 a month.

If property is a bit too sophisticated a means to start your own saving discipline, starting with stock investment is highly recommended. All investors need is a good fundamental stock. The table above might help.

The clock is ticking. It's always been true that savings discipline paves the way for your financial freedom. A more important question than what to invest in is when you will start.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation