American-born Allan Wu, the host of reality show The Amazing Race Asia, has an impressive list of television credits. Not surprisingly, he considers himself one of his own best investments.
To be the best in his field, he upgrades himself constantly by taking courses in acting and speech, and diligently researches his TV and film projects. He also works out religiously to maintain his hunky frame.
But when it comes to financial management, the model-turned-actor, who came to Singapore in 2001 after stints in Taiwan and Hong Kong, has his mother to thank for his frugal habits.
'I grew up in the States within a very frugal family infrastructure, spearheaded by my mother. I think her conservative and economical ways have made a lasting impression on my money habits,' he said.
The older of two sons, Wu grew up in San Marino, California. His parents are from China but grew up in Taiwan before migrating to the United States. His father is a civil engineer and his mother a housewife. His younger brother is a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Recalling his mother's frugality, Wu, now 36, recounts what happened when he was in elementary school: 'My mother once bought an entire assortment of sneakers in various sizes just because they were on sale. I ended up wearing the same sneakers in different sizes for quite a few years.'
He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1994.
In 2003, he married Singapore actress Wong Li-Lin, 34, with whom he has two children, Sage, four, and Jonas, two. The couple are managed by Fly Entertainment.
Three years ago, he landed the coveted spot as host of AXN's The Amazing Race Asia, the Asian version of the American Emmy award-winning reality show. He is now working on the third season of the show.
He recently acted in a China-produced movie called Jing Wu Men, which will be released in China soon. He and his wife are spokesmen for the True Yoga chain across Asia.
Q: What are your money habits?
Since Li-Lin and I started a family, we have been a lot more conservative in terms of our investments. Actually, we've been saving more than we've been investing.
About 20 to 30 per cent of our income goes into investments, while the remainder goes into savings after deducting expenses.
Along the way, we've been investing in stable, low-yield insurance policies and funds, which hopefully will ensure there won't be any sudden, unpleasant surprises any time soon.
When it comes to money habits, we definitely spend within our means, but we spare no expense when it comes to the children or food.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I have a more volatile and aggressive stock portfolio that dates from my pre-fatherhood days, but over the past few years, I've been delving more into stable mutual funds and insurance policies.
I get some financial advice from friends in the industry. My funds include blue-chip companies and Standard & Poor's (S&P) indexes for stability.
Currently, my investments are split equally between equities and bonds. I have an average target return of 10 to 20 per cent for my unit trust portfolio.
As for my stock portfolio, the average returns recently have been modest, coming in at single digits. That's because a few of these stocks - which include Advanced Micro Devices, Cisco Systems and Microsoft - have lost some value.
Q: What about insurance planning?
Our entire family has health and life insurance policies with AIA, and the premiums add up to about $15,000 a year. I'm covered for $1 million on my life.
Q: What's your investment philosophy?
It's really difficult to define and forecast. At one point, I used to be a lot more aggressive, playing with the stock market. Now, I'm definitely a lot more conservative and I would just like to maintain a steady yield to optimise stability.
Of course, everything can change quickly when there's a sudden shift in the global economic landscape.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
In college, many of my friends were playing with stocks, so we just all got into it. On top of that, I went to college during the big Internet boom of the mid-1990s, when everyone went crazy over investments.
Q: What has been a bad investment?
I have definitely had my share of bad investments when it comes to stocks. There has been at least one stock investment that has gone really wrong.
More than a decade ago, I purchased a stock called Radica Games for about US$6 a share. It barely moved and eventually fell below US$2, so I decided to dump the whole lot. Then, after less than a year, the stock shot up to more than four times my original purchase price, so that was yet another lesson I learnt about playing with stocks. I lost US$20,000 to US$30,000 (S$27,372 to S$41,058).
When it comes to stocks, or any investment for that matter, you should be prepared to do the research and homework, and consult experts if necessary, so you can make the most informed decision possible.
Q: Your best investment to date? We have a property that we bought as an investment and, up to this point, the returns have been quite favourable for this 3,200 sq ft, four-storey, leasehold cluster house in Upper Bukit Timah.
We bought it in February last year for $1.25 million, just before the market went ballistic. The current value is $2 million to $2.5 million.
In addition, I figure one investment I should always remind myself not to overlook is Li-Lin and myself.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
Quite frankly, I'm still trying to fine-tune that one. I'd like to see myself 'unretired' until the day I'm not 'around', so being formally labelled as 'retired' is not something I look forward to.
As to whether we will live in Singapore forever, we are open to possibilities. I do have a home in the US, which leaves open the possibility of moving there in the future.
Q: How do you instil good money management habits in your children?
I try to teach them the value of money, and hope they will learn to 'control' money, rather than be controlled by it. I believe parents can start educating their children about money by not spending frivolously themselves and by teaching the children how not to spend excessively.
Q: And your home now is ...?
A rented walk-up apartment in a colonial black-and-white in Tanglin.
Q: And your car is ...?
A burgundy Mitsubishi Pajero sports utility vehicle.
