Meshio.com is please to bring you one of the most sought-after coach in the financial planning industry- Mr Yap Ming Hui. If you frequent the ‘Personal Finance’ section of local bookstores, you would most likely already ‘met’ Mr Yap Ming Hui from the bookshelves, but alas, nothing beats meeting the real person and you also get to learn the latest financial planning techniques from the man himself.

Mr Yap is also a regular Financial Advisor on NTV7′s ‘The Breakfast Show’ (Tuesdays from 8.45 am – 9.15 am)

So, don’t miss this chance to upgrade yourself financially!

And to all Meshio.com readers, you get 10% off the normal ticket price. So, let me do the math for your here: RM98 – 10% = RM88.20. Offer is only valid if you are reading at Meshio.com and fill up the form below. Valid till my generosity runs out :-)

Here goes the details of the seminar…

‘The New Rules of Money Management’ is a ½ day financial seminar by renowned financial coach and advisor, Yap Ming Hui.

The financial world has changed so much over the last decade. In today’s ever-shifting financial environment you cannot afford to manage money the way generations before us have. The OLD money management rules that used to work are now obsolete and no longer viable. To realistically achieve financial freedom in today’s environment, you need to learn and apply the NEW rules to your money management.

To date, Yap Ming Hui has advised over RM 800 million of wealth portfolio for Malaysia’s multi-millionaires and business owners. He is the top selling author of 5 personal finance books including MAX WEALTH, THE FAMILY OFFICE: The Super Rich ‘s Secret to Wealth Maximization, and the latest Roadmap to Financial Freedom: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom. Yap was a guest speaker on NTV7’s The Breakfast Show, Financial Freedom Minutes aired every Tuesday for 9 weeks running and has his own columns in New Straits Times, Sin Chew Daily and Newman magazine.

The aim of this seminar is to educate financial literacy to participants to learn the essential skills of money management and financial comprehension needed to navigate in today’s complex world of financial products and services to achieve one’s financial goals. Mr Yap believes that Financial Freedom is attainable if you know how to optimize what you have got now, for your future.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ATTEND?

This is a “How To” seminar which will empower you to understand your personal finances better, and manage it from a holistic approach. You will also learn practical and valuable tips for retirement planning, investment planning, financial security, unit trust, single household income and more during the seminar.

Details of the ½ day seminar as below:

THE NEW RULES OF MONEY MANAGEMENT
Date: Saturday, 27 November 2010

Time: 9.30 am -1.00 pm (registration at 9.00am)

Venue: D’Rapport Auditorium, Off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur (behind Gleneagles Hospital)

Seminar Fee: RM 98 per person only! (first 50 registrants will get a FREE copy of “Roadmap to Financial Freedom” book worth RM 39.90)

Programme Highlights

The NEW Rules of Money Management: Why you can’t manage your money the way previous generations have?

• Segmental vs. Holistic approach to money management
• How to build your own holistic money management plan?
• Why ROI is not the only factor to your financial freedom?

Making Better Money Decisions Using a Holistic approach:

• Retirement Planning
• Family Financial Security Planning
• Children’s University Education Planning
• Home Purchasing Planning
• Investment Planning
• The TRUE cost of money management mistakes
• Interactive Q & A session with Yap Ming Hui

Disclaimer: Meshio.com does not have any ownership in Yap Ming Hui’s seminars and workshops. Meshio.com does not guaranty or make any warranties, express or implied, as to the quality of services or products that may be provided by Yap Ming Hui. You are advised to contact the owner of www.yapminghui.com for further information.

Via FPAM.org (Thanks to Aniza for the note!)

CEO of Retirement Village Association of Australia (RVAA) to speak at “Everyone can retire well” Conference.

The aim of Retirement Villages is to create a secure environment where people can socialize and mix with those of their own age, thus helping to remove some of the loneliness and boredom often associated with growing old.

The trend in retirement village development in Australia and other developed economies is towards a resort lifestyle model that offers a range of lifestyle activities and services to its residents.

Also more and more residents are looking for developments that have or have ready access to aged care (nursing home) facilities.

Such “ageing-in-place” development offers the residents the opportunity to age gracefully and with dignity and where their changing care needs over time can be met at one familiar location.

To know more about Retirement Villages, meet in person and listen to Andrew Giles, CEO of RVAA at FPAM’s “Everyone Can Retire Well 2010 Conference & Exhibition” from 13-14 October at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre. Register now for RM500 only! For details and registration form, log on to: www.fpam.org.my

Note
(The RVAA is a peak body representing those who build or manage resident-funded retirement villages in Australia. Where legislation provides (in all States and Territories except Tasmania & Northern Territory) residents can approach the RVAA for assistance in disputes with retirement village managers)

For those of you who wants to know what’s going on in the Malaysia investment scene, this would be a good chance to get yourself some updates and do a little ‘shopping’. Thanks to reader Ken Ooi for the heads up!

You are ultimately responsible for your own money, and investment firms and consultants are always very eager to get you to part with your money and promise you greater returns than your fixed deposit accounts. Exercise diligence and do your homework before signing on the dotted lines. Never take more risk than you can tolerate.

Date: October 13 & 14, 2010
Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm
Venue: Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Malaysia is rapidly heading towards an ageing society. According to United Nations’ figures, Malaysia is likely to reach an ageing nation status by 2035 with the number of people above the age of 60 reaching 15 per cent of the population. The United Nations categorises any country with 10 per cent of its population above the age of 60 as an ageing nation.

Today more than 10 percent of Malaysians are in the 50 yr + group. Global statistics show that this ageing group has greater purchasing power and wealth than younger adults. In the UK, EU and USA, the 50 yr + group commands more than 75 % of the wealth. It outspends younger adults by $1 trillion and accounts for more than half of the majority of household expenditure (54%) in the US and the EU.

Though FPAM has organized many conferences and expositions in the past, the “Everyone Can Retire Well” conference is FPAM’s first attempt on the rapidly growing aging and retirement markets. Planned for 700 participants as a gathering for the ageing and retirement industry/community, it aims to bring financial service providers, academicians, doctors, health care experts, gerontologists, affluent consumers, decision makers and government agencies together for 2-days of sharing and caring that we believe will have life-long impressions

Register by printing and faxing this form back to FPAM. (I’m surprised they didn’t have a registration form in the website itself…)

Thanks to Aniza from FPAM, here are some more relevant downloads for the upcoming conference:
1) Conference Brochure
2) Sponsorship Opportunities
3) Hotel Room Reservation

From the total of 193 fined, I am sure many cases went unreported.

Via www.kwsp.gov.my

In its effort to protect members??savings, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has continued to take action against employers for defaulting on their employees??EPF contributions with a total of 193 employers slapped with fines by the courts totalling RM278,970 during the third quarter of 2009 (Q3).

??he rate of defaulting employers during this quarter has registered a drop in which only 1.75 per cent employers had defaulted compared to 1.91 per cent in the previous quarter. While this suggests that increasingly more employers are aware of their role in their employees??retirement wellbeing, the EPF will still persevere with its efforts to ensure that employers continue to comply with the law,??said Nik Affendi Jaafar, EPF General Manager for Public Relations.

Click here for full story.

Is this an issue with education? Are business owners in Malaysia that ignorant about basic labor laws? Or the risk and consequences of getting caught is far lesser than the penalty that would be imposed on these fly by night business owners?

From the above report, the EPF’s General Manager seems to have missed the point. 1.75% of employees who defaulted this quarter and 1.91% of employees who defaulted of previous quarter should not be labeled as a drop, unless both quarters has the same number of employers. This is when statistics are mistakenly used in the wrong context. It certainly does not suggest an increment of awareness as mentioned by the EPF’s GM.

This reminds me how politicians used the very same tactic to confuse the public.

On another EPF-related story, only about 23% of EPF members have nominated beneficiaries.

Via TheEdgeMalaysia.com

Only about 23% of the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) 12.4 million members have nominated their beneficiaries, said its general manager for public relations Nik Affendi Jaafar.

In a statement today, he said: “As your nomination determines who will receive your EPF savings, it can offer some financial protection to your family should death suddenly occur. Nomination will not only ensure speedy payment to your family, but will also help to spare your loved ones from unnecessary suffering.”

The EPF is launching an awareness drive to remind members on the importance of nominating beneficiaries for their EPF savings. It will be running an advertising campaign from today until Dec 21 through the radio and newspapers.

The next key question is, of this 23% nominated beneficiaries, how many percentage are up-to-date? The last time I logged into my KWSP’s i-Akaun, I do not remember seeing my nomination details. No, I am not even thinking of asking KWSP to allow me to change my nomination online, because I think that would be a bit too much. Just let me know my latest nomination details would be good enough, because I would think that nomination details is definitely no more important than displaying the balance of my EPF amount.

Or why not simply just use some ‘default settings’, like what they did with The Distribution (Amendment) Act 1997? If you are not married, the default nomination setting would be Father and Mother, then to your siblings and then to your grandparents. If you are married, then it would be your legal spouse, then your legal issues, and then your parents, your siblings, your grandparents and so on. This ‘default setting” would definitely be better than letting the money go Amanah Raya Berhad.

And I’ve recently received an email from a friend, Jodie, with some KWSP nomination tips and it goes like this:

If ONE (1) of your Nominees in the EPF Nominees list dies, automatically the whole arrangement (EPF Nominees list) is VOID .. Meaning if, you only put in One (1) name & unfortunately he/she dies before you ??automatically EPF will channel your EPF money to trustee of AMANAH RAYA upon your death.

Even though if you have few names in the EPF Nominees list, – the whole arrangement is VOID & none of the individual names left in the EPF Nominees list will get their portion & automatically EPF will channel your EPF money to trustee of AMANAH RAYA upon your death.

Piece of advice – if any of the your Nominees in the EPF Nominees list dies, please do immediately approach the nearest EPF counter & present the Death Certificate of the individual & register your NEW / LATEST Nominee in the EPF Nominees list + NEW / LATEST percentage .

If, you & the other party (maybe spouse) involved in the same misfortune (accident / illness) that caused death to both yourself / spouse please, please, please alert your siblings / relatives / parents to immediately approach the nearest EPF counter & share the information within 3 days to AVOID all EPF money to be surrendered to trustee of AMANAH RAYA .

Upon surrender to trustee of AMANAH RAYA, your children will have to battle the money thru 3 channels;

Majlis Agama
Pejabat Tanah
Mahkamah

The normal period via above 3 channels usually takes 2-3 years (except if you have inside/tip top connection) at Amanah Raya.

I’ve always thought that in the event of the death of one of the nominated beneficiary, the remaining beneficiaries who are still alive and kicking will automatically inherit the entire EPF fund, with the percentage of the fund’s value adjusted according to their initial ‘shareholding’. I need to give KWSP a call tomorrow morning. Some things are just not that obvious.

Just got this from FPAM…

This year’s most important conference on Islamic financial planning.

IFPC 2009 Malaysia – International Center for Islamic Wealth Management

Sign-up before 15 October and save RM200. Earn 10 CPE points from SIDC and 10 CE points from FPAM.

Details

Date: 9 & 10 November , Monday & Tuesday

Venue: Sime Darby Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Fee:

i) Early Bird Special ??RM800 ( FPAM Member) , RM1000 (Public)
ii) Normal ??RM1000 ( FPAM Member) , RM1200 (Public)

Early Bird Special by 15 October 09

Conference background
The significant rise in the wealth of Islamic countries for the past four decades has provided tremendous opportunities of growth and expansion for the wealth management industry to manage the surplus funds in accordance with the Shariah principles. Interestingly, the growth in the Islamic wealth management industry comes not only from affluent Muslims who desire to see their wealth preserved and enhanced within the framework of Shariah law, but equally from non-Muslim who view this as an ethical mode of investment and diversification. This 2-day conference has been specifically designed to contribute to the development of Malaysia as an international centre for Islamic wealth management as well as to explore the opportunities, latest trends and developments in the Islamic financial planning and wealth management industry. This conference will enable participants to learn from key players and prominent speakers who will share with you some very thoughtful and sometimes very challenging ideas and experiences.

Speakers
Dato??Nik Ramlah Mahmood, Managing Director, Securities Commission

Shariffuddin Khalid, Director, Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre

Shahrul Shahriman, Chief Officer, Private & Institutional Asset Management, Prudential Fund Management Bhd

Azman Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Islamic Financial Planners Sdn Bhd

Dr. Ismail Mohd @ Abu Hassan, Shariah Adviser, Mayban Islamic Berhad

Ali Abbas Zaidi, Managing Director and Head of Islamic Markets, Maybank Investment Bank

Gul Khan, Global Head of Wealth Management, HSBC Amanah

Samer Taki, Senior Vice President, Islamic Bank of Asia, Singapore

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic

Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, Chief Executive Officer, i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd

Zainudin Ishak, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Amanah Takaful

Khaeruddin Ishak, CEO HSBC Amanah Takaful

Md Khairuddin Haji Arshad, General Manager, PIDM

Dato??Dr. Adnan Alias, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM)

Dato??Zukri Samat, Managing Director, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad

Datuk Kamaruzaman Che Mat, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Rakyat

Musa Abdul Malik, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad

Mohd Nasiruddin Mohd Kamaruddin, Chief Operating Officer, Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia

For programme and registration form:
http://www.fpam.org.my/fpam/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ifpc-brochure-8.pdf

Online registration available at: www.i-fpc.com