It is no secret Warren Buffett is a big fan of insurance companies. Warren Buffet made his first serious investment in insurance businesses slightly over 52 years ago, when Berkshire Hathaway acquired National Indemnity Company and another smaller insurer for US$8.6 million. Buffett attributes much of Berkshire’s success to the acquisition of National Indemnity, telling shareholders in 2004 that if Berkshire had not acquired the insurance business, “Berkshire would be lucky to be worth half of what it is today.” Toady, insurance still forms the heart of Berkshire. With that in mind, here are three reasons insurance companies can make good investments. Stable underwriting profit Insurance companies take in money as insurance premiums. In return, insurers are obligated to pay out clai

Banks have always been a favourite among retail investors in Singapore. But with an uncertain global trade outlook and interest rate environment, bank stocks have been trading sideways since the beginning of the year. Hence, I decided to go OCBC Bank’s annual general meeting to gain some insights. Here are seven things I learned from the 2019 OCBC Bank AGM. 1. The purpose of digital transformation is to improve the bank’s customer experience by providing better, faster, and cheaper services. The proportion of retail customers who transact through digital channels has increased over the last five years, from 36% in 2014 to 49% in 2018. Likewise, for business customers, the proportion has increased from 36% to 62% over the same period. Digital retail customers generate two tim

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) is the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia. The bank has built a significant presence in several key markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and in Greater China. As of 10 June 2019, it is worth S$45.8 billion in market capitalisation. In this article, I’ll bring an update on its latest financial results and its valuation. Here are 11 things to know about OCBC before you invest. 1. Loans and bills receivable has increased by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.62% over the last 10 years, from S$80.9 billion in 2009 to S$255.2 billion in 2018. Source: OCBC annual reports This is due to growth in OCBC’s key segments such as housing loans, building & construction, and general commerce.

Apparently, the management of OCBC Bank decided to press the panic button. On 10 May 2019, OCBC announced a set of pretty decent Q1FY2019 results that saw net profits rising 11% to $1.23 billion. Despite the rosy report card, dark clouds loom head for OCBC share price as chilling effect of the property cooling measures is starting to take effect. To rub salt to injury, the issue of the ailing oil and gas sector has returned to haunt OCBC share price yet again. Against this backdrop, management had decided to launch a rescue mission for OCBC share price. To be fair to the management, OCBC had achieved a breakthrough in the latest quarter as net interest margin has increased to 1.76%, up from 1..67% in Q1FY18. Return on equity (ROE) for 1Q19 has also improved to 12.0%, as compared to 11.8% i

The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) is an opt-out term insurance scheme automatically extended to all eligible CPF members. The scheme covers insured member for a maximum sum assured of $46,000, up to the age of 60. Most CPF members would be covered under the DPS even though some of us may not even realised that we have this coverage. In this article, we will highlight some important questions that you may have about the scheme.   Find Out More Is The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) Compulsory? What Is The Level Of Coverage Received For The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) And How Much Does It Cost? Would The Dependants’ Protection Scheme (DPS) Covers Me If I Have Pre-Existing Illness? What Happens If I Failed To Pay For The Coverage For My Dependants’ Protection