BT Money Hacks

You’ve spent years building your wealth, but what happens if you suddenly can’t manage it? In this episode of Money Hacks, correspondent Howie Lim and Vince Koh, relationship manager at PhillipCapital, dive into incapacity planning—the single biggest blind spot in personal finance. Discover how a Lasting Power of Attorney, CPF nominations, and wills protect your assets from legal...

We're drowning in financial data yet starving for retirement confidence. Only 28 per cent of Singaporeans feel truly on track — and as the nation hurtles toward super-aged status, the margin for error is gone. Howie Lim sits down with Samuel Rhee, co-founder and group CIO of Endowus to dissect why sitting in cash is the riskiest bet you can make, why "starting with why" beats chasing the per...

Markets are loud. Your strategy doesn't have to be. In this episode of Money Hacks, Howie Lim speaks to BlackRock strategist Filip Mena Berlin to pull back the curtain on systematic active equities — not a black box, but a glass box where data, discipline, and human judgment converge. Discover why Asean is the diversification trade most portfolios are missing, how sentiment data reveals who...

With the Fed signalling persistent rate hikes and oil shocks stirring global markets, is your portfolio positioned to survive—or thrive? What do rising bond yields, stubborn inflation, and central bank manoeuvres mean for everyday investors? Is the traditional 60/40 portfolio dead? Should you pivot to gold, lock in fixed income, or look to Asian credit for refuge? StashAway’s Stephanie...

Your portfolio might be messier than you think. Most of us don't build investment strategies — we collect financial products the way we hoard old cables and orphaned keys in a kitchen drawer. In this episode of Money Hacks from The Business Times , Howie Lim talks with Bryan Low — wealth management head at KGI Singapore and NTU professor — about why we keep buying without a plan,...

Would you let AI manage your money the way it manages your inbox? Turns out, most of us won't — 76 per cent use AI to crunch the numbers, but only 8 per cent trust it to make the final call. Correspondent Howie Lim sits down with Ishan Sarkar, head of wealth and premier solutions at HSBC Singapore, to explore the "conviction gap" — the moment data has to become a decision. From Gen Z i...

Is your dream home a financial trap? Singapore's cooling measures and shifting interest rates have upended the old playbook—Build-to-Orders (BTOs), resale flats, and executive condos (ECs) no longer play by the rules you think you know. Howie Lim and Eugene Lim, president of the Singapore Estate Agents Association, unearths the hidden costs, minimum occupation period (MOP) traps, and stress-...

Singapore just pledged nearly S$70,000 per child over 16 years — but is that windfall building your family's future, or quietly funding lifestyle creep? Correspondent Howie Lim sits down with SingSaver's Ayush Goyal to dissect how to split, invest, and protect this new child credit stream — from emergency funds to retirement trade-offs — so parents don't waste a single dollar. Sy...

You just got a raise. So why does your bank account still feel broke? It’s the lifestyle creep — the sneaky force turning your bigger paycheck into the same old savings. From $8 lattes to subscription traps to the psychology behind "keeping up with the Tans," find out why more income rarely equals more wealth, and what to actually do about it. Warning: may cause spontaneous budgeting....

Your parents' "boring" Singapore dividend stocks only portfolio just had an upgrade nobody told you about. While everyone's obsessing over US tech, Singapore's equity market has quietly doubled its research coverage, attracted real institutional capital, and uncovered small-cap opportunities most investors haven't even heard of. Correspondent Howie Lim sits down with East Spring's Daniel Lau to fi...

If you think your bank’s “diversified” portfolio is built for your future, think again. In this episode of Money Hacks , we pull back the curtain on the institutional world with Arki Finance founder David Ng. We’re dissecting the "product-first" myths, exposing why your “tick-box” diversification might be failing you, and revealing why your obsession with benchm...

Your cash isn't safe just because it's sitting still — it's quietly losing to inflation while you wait for "the right time" to invest. Howie Lim gets StashAway's chief investment officer (CIO) Stephanie Leung to explain why the mass affluent get the worst of both worlds, why gold just earned a permanent seat in your portfolio, and why timing the market is a fool's errand professionals gave u...

We obsess over what to buy, but when it’s time to sell—or hold—we often freeze. Market volatility shouldn't trigger a panic-induced sell-off, yet emotion frequently overrides strategy. In this episode of Money Hacks, Howie Lim, Ritesh Ganeriwal, and Kenneth Chan dissect the crucial "portfolio check-in." Learn how to filter signal from noise, why "doing nothing" is a strategic sup...

Speed is everything in investing—but is it actually the enemy of wealth? We’re conditioned to trust human advisors, but what if your portfolio manager, tax expert, and risk officer was a cold, calculating AI? Howie Lim speaks with 8FIGURES founder Andrew Izyumov to ask: can AI truly cure emotional trading habits, or is it just an "artificial sycophant"? Should we let an algorithm manag...

Retrenchment isn't just a career setback; it's a financial and psychological earthquake. Howie Lim speaks with clinical psychologist Dr Annabelle Chow about navigating the initial shock. What is the single biggest financial mistake most make in the first 48 hours and how to stop panic from driving your decisions? From mastering the "3-bucket" survival strategy to separating your identity from your...

Sudden windfall? Congratulations — now don't screw it up. Let’s tackle the messy reality of instant wealth: the 30-day rule before making any big moves, why "generous relative energy" can drain your fortune fast, and the emotional identity crisis nobody warns you about. RBC's Gautam Chadda breaks down guilt-free spending, family giving frameworks, and staying rich long after the confet...

Markets crash. Portfolios bleed red. And your gut screams "sell everything." But what if the scariest moment in investing is also the most dangerous time to trust your instincts? Howie Lim sits down with Grace Tay from finexis advisory to find out why panic selling turns temporary losses permanent, why "get-evenitis" wrecks recoveries, and how one simple framework — reframe, reset, reenter &...

Is your financial plan truly resilient, or are you one emergency away from disaster? 61% of households struggle to cope beyond six months after a loss of income. Howie Lim sits down with Sun Life Asia’s David Broom to dismantle the myth that resilience equals a high salary. Is Singapore’s “safe haven” status creating a false sense of security? And how to stop trading your l...

You think investing is complicated? That's exactly the problem. What if you could start with $10 with no need to wait for the "right time"? Many entities are quietly embedding finance into everything you already do, and the best investment app feature isn't a chart — it's a well-placed "Are you sure?" Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned portfolio juggler, this one will change how you...

Your "ETF and chill" strategy just got a reality check. Halfway through 2026, the S&P 500 is no longer the only game in town — and the smartest investors are quietly restructuring. Chips, crypto, Singapore blue chips, UCITS ETFs — what's hype and what's genuinely worth owning? Oriano Lizza from CMC Markets and Ritesh Ganeriwal from Syfe cut through the noise. Less FOMO, more discip...

Your credit score impacts everything. Experts from Credit Bureau Singapore and MoneyHero Group bust the biggest myths, from "clean" profiles to unused cards. Are you managing your financial reputation correctly? Synopsis: Every Monday, The Business Times breaks down useful financial tips. Highlights: 01:23 Top credit score myths 05:13 Why NOT having a credit score hurts 07:01 How to build credit w...

Is your emergency fund ready for the real financial crisis: stacked, non-stop inflation? A budget is not enough. The rising cost of living demands a new kind of preparation. We dismantle the "inflation illusion" and reveal the critical difference between looking financially stable and being genuinely, liquidly prepared. Are there specific cash structures you need to survive volatility without pani...

Are you missing out on serious returns? With a massive $12 trillion sitting in money markets, it's time to look at fixed income again. But success in this market depends on knowing which bonds to buy. Join Howie Lim, Erik Keller from Robeco and Kylie Soh of Fullerton Fund Management as they cut through the noise. They'll reveal where the true opportunities lie, demystify the risks of high-yield bo...

The high-yield trade is fracturing. As higher-for-longer rates lift banks' fortunes, Reits face a triple threat: narrowing yield spreads, soaring debt costs, and depressed valuations. Is your income portfolio resilient? Howie Lim speaks to RHB experts to discuss this growing divergence, revealing the crucial metrics (beyond yield) and tactical moves you need now to navigate uncertainty and secure...

Is "buying the dip" dead? The market is volatile, interest rates are up, and the old rules are breaking. Don't be fooled by a flash sale that's actually a fundamental flaw. What are systematic, disciplined strategies for spotting a true bargain—or a bottomless pit? Howie Lim finds out from the experts. Synopsis: Every Monday, The Business Times breaks down useful financial tips. Highlights:...