By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

Mr Lim Shyong Piau heads the Singapore office of United States independent fund management firm Invesco Asset Management. But do not expect to find unit trusts in his personal investment portfolio. This is because Mr Lim, 38, prefers to be fully invested in stocks which he picks himself.

When it comes to stock picking, he has had plenty of practice by now. He grew up in a family where his parents, relatives and family friends were either punting in the stock market or were stockbrokers, and he made his first trade right after his A levels at Temasek Junior College.

Having been through a few market cycles, he said he learnt that one needs to stay focused, be disciplined and be familiar with the sectors of the stocks one picks. But he added: 'Be a little unconventional in thinking, and even a mere mortal can also make millions.'

Yet he is no mere mortal. He liquidated his stock portfolio in late 2007 when he felt that the market was 'way too euphoric' and escaped the ensuing financial meltdown.

Mr Lim graduated from Monash University in Australia with an accountancy degree in 1995. He started his career as an auditor but it lasted less than a year.

This was followed by stints in financial firms like Citibank, APS Asset Management, UOB Asset Management and Vanguard Investments Singapore before he joined Invesco in July 2006.

He is married to housewife Dorothy Peck, 39, and they have a one-year-old son, Michael.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I am definitely a saver. I save 60 per cent or more of my income.

I belong to the old school of my grandfather's generation. I am considered too frugal by today's standards. I believe strongly in deferred gratification. A dollar saved and invested will be worth $10 in 10, 20 years' time.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I charge between a few hundred dollars and a few tens of thousands if I have business trips during the month. I pay off everything each month.

I have just a couple of hundred dollars in my wallet. I charge everything else to my two credit cards. I go to the ATM two to three times a month, withdrawing about $200 to $300 each time.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I believe in building the proverbial (financial) Noah's Ark. Always be ready for the advent of the Great Flood. I also strongly believe one should be personally responsible for one's own financial well-being.

When it comes to personal finances, I actually do think and plan with a 20- to 30-year perspective.

Other than my home, my investments are primarily in equities and cash. I monitor a portfolio of 20 stocks but invest in no more than five of them at any one time. I believe in investing only in something I know really, really well.

In May, I invested more than $300,000 in an unlisted early childhood enrichment programme operator in Australia. It is licensed to operate using the Shichida method of education. I expect my investment to multiply seven to 10 times in the next five to seven years, with good cash flows annually.

I am also in the process of putting US$500,000 (S$708,000) into a US high-tech start-up that specialises in video facial recognition software and has an aggressive Asia plan. It has many great potential applications, especially in mobile devices and the security and gaming industries.

Q: Money-wise, what were your growing-up years like?

My family of four was probably considered upper middle-class. I was the younger of two children. My father had a wholesale jewellery business and we lived in a semi- detached house in District 15. Mum helped him in his business.

We had everything we needed although not necessarily everything we wanted. We eschewed ostentatious displays of wealth.

I take after my paternal grandfather when it comes to thriftiness. He was a fairly wealthy businessman but he spent way below his means. He started out as a watch repairer in Chinatown before starting a jewellery business.

I think the thriftiness is hard-coded in the DNA. I actually take it with great pride when people comment that I am like my grandfather in that respect.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I got interested in investing at a fairly young age. The idea of money making more money was alluring. I did my first trade via my father's brokerage account right after my A levels.

My approach and philosophy have evolved through the years. I have learnt over several market cycles that one needs to be good at just a few things, such as being familiar with the sectors you are investing in; staying focused and disciplined; and being a little unconventional in thinking.

Equally important is maintaining that even keel - never get discouraged by the doubting Joes and declining markets and similarly, never get deluded about your own brilliance because, more likely than not, your winning bets were a result of sheer dumb luck.

Q: What property do you own?

I own an intermediate terrace house with a built-in area of approximately 2,800 sq ft. It was bought in March last year for $1.13 million. The size is just right for our family of three, plus the domestic helper, and it has spare rooms for my parents when they come for a visit from Melbourne. They emigrated to Australia in 2000.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

It is probably the five-month-old BMW which I bought in January last year for less than $150,000. It is a 100-per-cent guaranteed money- losing proposition though, since the value can only depreciate.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I don't plan to retire in the foreseeable future. I have too many things that I want to do or accomplish in my professional and personal capacity. I would like to leverage on the Invesco platform to help people worldwide build their financial security. Financial security takes time to build - like the Great Wall. It takes one brick at a time with lots of sweat and blood.

In my golden years, I would probably want to spend more time with my family, read, ski and continue to manage my own money. I probably do not need a lot...just about $5,000 a month.

Q: Home is now...?

The terrace house in the east.

Q: I drive...?

A black BMW 523i and a silver Toyota Wish.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.