Your Financial Window

Speaking on a TV show, Niwes ranked seven invest¬ment channels for individuals.

First, he still believes that stocks are the simplest way to invest, partic¬ularly as most good stocks have prices that are still undervalued. The SET Index has plunged around 20 per cent this year. He suggested investors pick up good stocks and hold them for at least four to five years. This could generate returns of around 10 per cent per year, he said.

The proportion of stock investment can be calculated from 80 minus your age. For example, if you are 30 years old, you should invest 50 per cent of your total savings budget in the stock market.

The second type of invest¬ment should be property funds, which provide satisfac¬tory returns amid high infla¬tion. He also recommended investors invest in longterm government bonds that provide returns of 5 to 6 per cent per annum. Long term means three to seven years. If you can't buy bonds directly, you can buy fixedincome funds.

The fourth to sixth types of investment are shortterm bonds, fixed deposits and sav¬ings accounts respectively.

The last type of investment is gold. He recommended it for the rich who would like to diversify their portfolios.

Looking back over 100 years, he said, gold provided returns of only 2 to 3 per cent. Only in the past two to three years has it risen around 10 per cent a year, which is expected to be temporary.