Investing Small Amounts Thb Monthly For Long Term?

[appropriate]

I usually have about 20,000thb left over each month without pushing it.

Have never invested before but wouldn't mind starting up a long term plan, 10+ years.

Could send it back to the EU every so months and into a (locked?) savings account I suppose, but would the interest minus transaction fees minus inflation really be worth it?

What about low cost Thai stocks. Choose 3 to minimize risk of total loss and add to them monthly?

Where would I start looking? How would I even buy them??

Haha, yes you're dealing with a total noob investor.

Thanks.

[lonewolf99]

I just opened an account with Kungsri Bank of Ayudhaya Jomtien the new Dongtan Beach Branch (Yellow ATM bank) they have a deposit saver account that currently pays double the current interest rate...how long for ?? I do not know... you have to pay a minimum of 30,000 baht in to open the account and then interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. Presently I am getting 1.5% as the base is a round 0.75% or there abouts. It is variable but as long as they double it and keep paying me I will be happy. ( I am sure it will be only for a few months but hey ...maybe not :-)

You are allowed two free withdrawals a month but have to pay 500 baht a pop after that...I got a Visa Debit card as well (cost 300 baht).

Its better you start with 100,000 or more

I punted some spare Baht in and will be putting in more just for pocket money when I need it.

By the way.. I have no affiliation to any Banks other than being a normal customer. :jap:

[appropriate]

Sounds good for a Thai bank. Thanks for the reply. Looking at saving accounts at home they're down to 3%. Not much point in sending money home for that.

Have made a nice % with buying gold by baht weight, about 10% over the last year, but that is all my experience and something I'd like to grow from. Reading up on some ETF funds here, but don't know much. Anyone got any experience or recommendations on what to do?

Edited March 27, 2011 by appropriate

[remiss]

At 1.5% you are still losing money due to inflation...

Never done it in thailand, but government bonds seems to give a better yield http://www.kasikornbank.com/EN/RatesAndFees/SecondaryBondTrading/Pages/SecondaryBondTrading.aspx

Instead of trying to guess a good stock, mutual funds might be better, but watch out for buying & selling charges.. IMO there shouldn't be any charges for buying and selling mutual funds, but don't know how far they have gotten in this area in Thailand.. Yearly cost of 1.5-2.0% is normal for a managed (ie, not index) fund.

Regarding stocks though, I have always liked kasikorn..

[Gambles]

At 1.5% you are still losing money due to inflation...

Never done it in thailand, but government bonds seems to give a better yield http://www.kasikornb...ondTrading.aspx

Instead of trying to guess a good stock, mutual funds might be better, but watch out for buying & selling charges.. IMO there shouldn't be any charges for buying and selling mutual funds, but don't know how far they have gotten in this area in Thailand.. Yearly cost of 1.5-2.0% is normal for a managed (ie, not index) fund.

Regarding stocks though, I have always liked kasikorn..

Although the answers guven provide an insightful range of choices, to be honest the best advice would be related very specifically to your own needs and plans for the future, your tax situations, liquidity requirements, base currencies etc etc. An offshore savings plan or a local LTF(long term equity fund), the former capable of being tailored more specifically to a range of base currencies, the latter offering Thai tax breaks and a broad spread of risk-rated investment and savings choices but much more limited portability would be good places to start though. For instance the advice on Thai deposit rates is extremely helpful but if you can have access to this through a tax-priviledged RMF(retirement mutual fund) that can often mean a higher effective return. I'd suggest meeting with a planner who can offer all of these plus a wide range of other choices. This isn't a business pitch, while I'd obviously be very happy to answer a PM by introducing you to someone from the company that I work for who could help you with this, there should be other professional planners who could help you evaluate exactly what your needs are and have access to the whole of the market solutions internationally and locally; I'm sure we're not the only ones. Basic information is available locally from any of the Thai banks about LTFs and RMFs. The general rule is to get as much information from as many sources as possible and not to take any action until you fully understand it, you're sure that it feels right for you, you've asked every last question you possibly can and you get the feeling that you've been told everything that's possibly relevant about the subject.

All the best with this,

Paul

Edited March 27, 2011 by Gambles

[remiss]

...

All the best with this,

Paul

Indeed. there is never any simple answer to investments and what fits one hand might not fit another. There is also a saying, "don't put all your eggs in one basket' -- i.e., if you work in banking, don't invest in that, if you work in IT, don't invest in that.. If it crashes you might lose your job and your stocks/funds half or whatever. And never buy stocks in the company you work for, if it goes down the drain you lose both your job and money.... Don't know if "if you work in thailand, don't invest in thailand" applies though I'm working in the country I come from and going to invest here. Though that will be renting out apartments, NOT stocks/funds. But that is just because I have some grasp of the rental market here and it's fairly ok. Not too good, but stable enough and yield & ease of entrance and financing is ok..

[Gambles]

...

All the best with this,

Paul

Indeed. there is never any simple answer to investments and what fits one hand might not fit another. There is also a saying, "don't put all your eggs in one basket' -- i.e., if you work in banking, don't invest in that, if you work in IT, don't invest in that.. If it crashes you might lose your job and your stocks/funds half or whatever. And never buy stocks in the company you work for, if it goes down the drain you lose both your job and money.... Don't know if "if you work in thailand, don't invest in thailand" applies though I'm working in the country I come from and going to invest here. Though that will be renting out apartments, NOT stocks/funds. But that is just because I have some grasp of the rental market here and it's fairly ok. Not too good, but stable enough and yield & ease of entrance and financing is ok..

and while sticking to what you know never pushed back any boundaries, it can generally tend to lead to acceptable results and avoid the worst pitfalls....

all the best,

Paul

[ExpatJ]

I just opened an account with Kungsri Bank of Ayudhaya Jomtien the new Dongtan Beach Branch (Yellow ATM bank) they have a deposit saver account that currently pays double the current interest rate...how long for ?? I do not know... you have to pay a minimum of 30,000 baht in to open the account and then interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. Presently I am getting 1.5% as the base is a round 0.75% or there abouts. It is variable but as long as they double it and keep paying me I will be happy. ( I am sure it will be only for a few months but hey ...maybe not :-)

You are allowed two free withdrawals a month but have to pay 500 baht a pop after that...I got a Visa Debit card as well (cost 300 baht).

Its better you start with 100,000 or more

I punted some spare Baht in and will be putting in more just for pocket money when I need it.

By the way.. I have no affiliation to any Banks other than being a normal customer. :jap:

Thai inflation rate just hit 3.5% per year, which means you are actually losing money on your cash savings. I am moving my cash into stocks as a way to beat the market (im 40 so happy to take higher risks in building my retirement fund).

[ExpatJ]

.

Edited April 5, 2011 by ExpatJ

[ray23]

You may want to take a look at this thread, it;s my experience as a first time investor anywhere, but specifically Thailand.

My goal was to invest 20K a month and put the profits back into stocks and grow with time. I have to be honest sometimes a really good deal would present itself and I would op pull a 100K out the bank to pick up the profits. Every satang ha been paid back to savings account and I'm still ahead of the game.

This market performed well last year so that had to help. I made a lot of mistakes and if I were to sum up for the first year I guess it would be to make more correct moves then mistakes.

On there you will find some of the books I read, also some great comments from real investors. I'm 64 I don't think Government Bonds or mutual funds will accomplish what I need to do.

Anyway give it a read lots of good information in it.

[Naam]

Thai inflation rate just hit 3.5% per year, which means you are actually losing money on your cash savings. I am moving my cash into stocks as a way to beat the market (im 40 so happy to take higher risks in building my retirement fund).

please tell us which stock market index (not individual stocks) has beaten inflation rate during the last 12-15 years.

[ExpatJ]

Thai inflation rate just hit 3.5% per year, which means you are actually losing money on your cash savings. I am moving my cash into stocks as a way to beat the market (im 40 so happy to take higher risks in building my retirement fund).

please tell us which stock market index (not individual stocks) has beaten inflation rate during the last 12-15 years.

Over the last century stocks have have on average increased 6% per year- above and beyond inflation. If you want a shorter time and more relevant indicator -given we are talking about Thailand- the set increased around 60% in 2010 and last years inflation rate was a tad lower

[Naam]

Thai inflation rate just hit 3.5% per year, which means you are actually losing money on your cash savings. I am moving my cash into stocks as a way to beat the market (im 40 so happy to take higher risks in building my retirement fund).

please tell us which stock market index (not individual stocks) has beaten inflation rate during the last 12-15 years.

1. Over the last century stocks have have on average increased 6% per year- above and beyond inflation. If you want a shorter time and

2. more relevant indicator -given we are talking about Thailand- the set increased around 60% in 2010 and last years inflation rate was a tad lower

1. a guideline for the believers in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny

2. 17 (seventeen) years ago the SET peaked at 1,753 today we are at 1,070

3. what -pray tell- is Thailand's accumulated inflation since 1993?

[jdinasia]

There are Thai Credit Unions, but most do not accept foreigners as members. They can pay upwards of 5%APR (flat usually) for larger fixed term savings. They are organized under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and are very low risk as the MoA guarantees loans made by the credit unions up to 400k and most will never loan out more than 400k to any individual. Income derived from Credit unions is not taxable.

[ExpatJ]

Thai inflation rate just hit 3.5% per year, which means you are actually losing money on your cash savings. I am moving my cash into stocks as a way to beat the market (im 40 so happy to take higher risks in building my retirement fund).

please tell us which stock market index (not individual stocks) has beaten inflation rate during the last 12-15 years.

1. Over the last century stocks have have on average increased 6% per year- above and beyond inflation. If you want a shorter time and

2. more relevant indicator -given we are talking about Thailand- the set increased around 60% in 2010 and last years inflation rate was a tad lower

2. 17 (seventeen) years ago the SET peaked at 1,753 today we are at 1,070

3. what -pray tell- is Thailand's accumulated inflation since 1993?

17 years ago? 1993?

Why not 6, 10, or 30 years ago or 1989, 1997, 2000?

History is fun , but the fact is that stocks have out performed inflation over the longer term and last year stock indices handily spanked inflation .

[Naam]

History is fun ,

1. but the fact is that stocks have out performed inflation over the longer term and

2. last year stock indices handily spanked inflation.

1. a claim without any evidence.

2. what about next year and the years thereafter?

[ExpatJ]

History is fun ,

1. but the fact is that stocks have out performed inflation over the longer term and

2. last year stock indices handily spanked inflation.

1. a claim without any evidence.

2. what about next year and the years thereafter?

Google stocks versus inflation and you will find many sources to back up what im saying- i double checked on forbes.com (but what does he know, hes not even a billionaire!) . But dont worry about it, if you personally are convinced that stocks wont beat inflation, dont invest in them:-)

[ray23]

Hey Naam how you doing these days, I wont get into this one I only know about last year