Dying Mentally.. Fall of Lehman Brothers =(

Perhapes my thinking is a lot different from others. I just think only those vulnerable ones who do are not educated should be compensated. As for the rest, they will just have to bear the consequences of their own actions. Greed plays a part in this. There are some of our advisers who had actually advised their clients against purchasing the product as they find it very crappy. But yet, there are some who went ahead against better judgement. Man are greedy by nature and greed they shall fall by on. That's all I can say. On the same line, no one is going to share the profits when they are making, so why is it only when trouble comes, then these people come and push the blame to others? Why then when they are making profits, we don't see them writing in to praise the institute that has made good judgement? It's always like this. When things goes well, people take the credit for themselves, when things goes badly, they will find a scrapegoat to shoulder the blame. That's life, and human nature, and it will always be this way. Precisely because of the bailout of all the minibonds, our company has taken a hard hit even though we are just a referring institute, meaning to say that our company only refers interested people to the banks who are selling them. And in the end, we get all the sh*twork. And because of my nature of work, yes, I am involved in the ethics of how this product was sold, and so, I have to attend lots of investigation meetings and interviews with the parties invovled - customers as well as the agents. Now, the issue has not been settled yet, and there are customers of ours who have went on to MAS to create a huge scene there. And I thought that everything will be well for this month, but I was wrong. Lol, if it is not for the fact that I am on annual leave tomorrow, I doubt that i will even have the time to be on Mylot today. Oh well, Happy mylotting!!

Of course, each of us have our entitlements to voice our own opinions and perspectives on matters, and I respect your opinion. I agree that the majority of the non-investment savvy people would of course take the words of the agents to be the correct and accurate ones. They are the ones who should know the market better than any one of us out there who have never done investments before or do not really invest much to be considered investment savvy. I am not disputing this fact. If that is what the agent did claimed to the client before they invest, then the client must ensure that those words and guarantees are written down in black and white before signing on the transaction papers. As an investigator, we depend on what is black and white in front of us - documentation proof. If there is no such proof, then it will be of course the customer's words against the agent's words. How can we determine who to believe in that scenario. Any well educated (above a o levels education)person would have know that even in law or in any contract binding transaction, a black and white document is very important. And so if the agent did claimed that just to sell of their products to hit sales target, we on our parts should ensure that all of these are written down in black and white. That is why when I did my investment some time back last year, i was very careful in ensuring everything is down in black and white. People laugh at me for being overly cautious, but in this current time and situation, I am having the last laugh, as these are the only documentations that will ensure that I have a case against the agent for mis-selling the product to me. I can understand the frustrations and the anger that everybody is experiencing due to their loss of their investment. Me myself, I have also made a 25% loss in my investments before I have the sense to pull out of the market way before the crash of the Lehman Brothers. Call me a cautious person, but I believe that it is better to be overly cautious than to be overly carefree, especially where money is concerned. There are a few agents out there who themselves really did think that the product is good, and besides recommending to people, they themselves have also bought into the product, and have made sustainable losses as well. When I looked at these agents, I pity them. They themselves have lost 100% of their investments, but at the same time, they have unhappy clients coming after them demanding compensation. Can't anybody see that they too are also victims? The ones who are at fault are in fact the ones doing the backdoor operations who gave the sales quota and all those stuff, and not the sales personnels. Hmm.. banks are all about sales quotas. So, its not really true that they will peddle products that are good for us. But rather, just a word of advice to you. Most banks will push out those policies and investment products that are literally worthless or have a low sales volume. That's the secret for you. That is why I never ever trust banks, but would rather read up more myself and come to a decision myself. I trust my judgement more than I trust any banks in the world. Well, take care and all the best for your investments as well!! Cheers!

That is a good suggestion, but I am sorry to disappoint you. I am only working as a regulator in my company, regulating my own company. However, I am not in MAS which regulates the entire industry as a whole. So, that is beyond my control. Perhapes you can feed your feedback to the officer in charge over in MAS? Trust is something that needs to be earned and not given. It's much easier to lose the trust that people have in you than to gain it back. Advisers who think only of short term gains has never put this factor into their consideration, but rather care only for their own pockets. However, there are still good advisers out there who truely and genuinely act in the best interest of the client. It's a minority but there is such out there. It's all a matter of fact whether or not we are lucky enough to have that sort of good people to service us. No matter what, the third, neutral party does not know the client, neither does the third party knows the agent. As such, they could only resurrect the events that has transpired from the paper documentations that are present. From these documentations, then will they drawn their conclusion! We can't blame them for the decision that they come to as I am very sure based on what facts they have, the decisions made would be fair and just. Well, no matter what, when it comes to investment products, one must be prudent and cautious. As long as it involves our hard earned money, do not trust another that much. A painful lesson for those who are badly hit - especially for those who have invested in the minibond series! Take care!

You should be! You are working in the same company as me! If you are not facing the same situation as me, then you are 'eating snaKe' too much already! Blame it all we want, STOP pushing the blame. Lol. Too bad, you still have to work over time with us even though you were supposed to knock off on the dot. The tough life of an intern over at compliance? Ever thought of asking for a transfer over to the admin department instead??

That's the whole idea, isn't it? Interns are not meant to be in a company enjoying themselves but rather, they are supposed to be there to suffer! So, the only best way for that to happen is for us to clear leave at the same time, and leave you to be working your a** off, doing the job of 3!! So nice of us ain't we? You have it easy already! i remember the time when I was an intern, and I am everyday alone in the office doing the job that you are now clearing for both Nicole and me! Who has it easier? Lol. And the worst thing? When the boss goes on a week's long holiday, I am alone in the office, making my own decisions even though I was just an INTERN! @o@ We will miss you.. when you are gone.. NOT! Wahhaha

HAHAHAH. Anyone is to be blamed, but me! LOL. Even if I don't have much work load, it doesn't mean I am slacking. It's just because I am an INTERN! LOL. 3 more weeks and nobody else to help you guys out. Tsktsk. YES I KNOW. I am having Over-Timed work when I am not supposed to! AND NOW I AM ALONE IN THE OFFICE DOING ALL YOUR WORK, and Nicole's work, while you two are enjoying and not working. Fancy clearing leave on the same day. Tsk tsk.

It's the slums! Worse than the Asian market crash of 1997. Who would have ever thought that once America gets into recession, the whole world will suffer? And the world's government were so selfish such that they did not offer their assistance when it all started last December, and had only swung into action recently. "When America sneezes, the whole world feels it!"

Investments of any kind will always have their risk with them. it's all gambling in a sense, just that it is legalised by the world in the form of stocks and shares. When someone makes, there is always someone losing. That's how the stock market is run. It's always smarter to put our money elsewhere where the capital is guaranteed. There is always nothing good that will come from greed. Glad to hear that you have stayed away from such. No greed = no loss. That's the way it is. Thanks for your response! Well, take care!

YEah, i definitely miss your long quality posts.. lol =D Luckily for u that u are on annual leave, and how many days isit?? I guess it's really time to take a break from work now, as it's sensitive period now.. hehe ^_^ IF one still doesn't take a break, i guess they might break down soon and spoil all holiday moods too.. hehe Yeah, so far, majority of the complaints are directed to DBS, and it makes DBS seems like the greatest culprit of all.. I wont wanna comment more on this point as it's highly sensitive.. haha =D Well, MAS actually have no reason to scold, for it's not entirely your company's fault in the 1st place.. And that nobody expected lehman brothers to go bankrupt in the 1st place.. I guess MAS just want to vent their frust on someone, and thus your company is the unlucky one.. Yeah, greed is more than often the one leading to all kinds of diasters, and that decision to invest is being made on their own choice, nobody forces them to do so.. So it's very unfair to blame it all on agents..WHat agents do is only to try to promote those things, and din push them to buy.. And for those whom lost money, cna only blame themselves for not doing enough research on their investments ^_^ hehe But i do pity the old and low educated ple, but that they should really get back their money..

It's only a miserable 1 day! And I will have to back to work tomorrow, which is like in another 5 hours time, and I am not asleep YET! Well, too much in the holiday mood to even feel sleepy. Lol I sure miss Mylot, and I am slowly catching up on all my backlog postings! Lol, and I do miss the chatter and conversation that both of us seems to have ongoing in every single discussion! Well, no matter what happens, I will try to at least come in for 5 minutes or so and post at least 5 posts. And that is a promise. Hehe. Humans are still humans, and like everything in life, we do need a break once in a little while. If not, everybody will just break down due to stress and all that stuff. So, it's so lucky that my company is not that stingy to save on the annual leaves that they are giving to us (which is 14 days per year). It's little, but hey, it's still free money. Lol. There are actually many things that I want to comment on the current situation, but similar to you, I have my reservations. We do not want to end up with a lawsuit on our hands, and face the possibility of paying the government any more money than we should, right? . MAS is up to their necks with the current situation and it's spiralling way out of control. All the measures and controls that have been implemented as of 1st November 2008 should have been implemented way before anything happens. It's always better to be proactive than to be reactive in any situation. Well, that's all I will comment about this financial downturn, due to the sensitivity of my position in my company. The problem lies in the fact that it's not only the ones who are lowly educated and old that is demanding their money back. The scary part to all of this and the ugly part of human nature is that even the wealthy and highly educated are demanding their fair share of compensation, and they are using all sorts of ways to push the blame away. The only thing I can think of to compensate them is only if they were to cough up all the profits that they have made all over the years through investments, return those profits to their agents, and then the agents compensate their losses through those profits. Fair isn't it? Tsk Tsk

Yes, i have been away for quite sometime already, and it seems like it won't be anytime soon I will be back on a daily basis. It's just so lucky that I am on annual leave tomorrow that I am able to Mylot today! I sure miss being here though, and hopefully you guys have miss me as well! Hmm, the answer is no. Because our company does not deal with Hong Leong, but rather with another bank who is trying to push all the blame to my company by twisting and turning all our customer's words into such that our company was The one who sold the product to them, instead of just referring them to the bank. So, in short, the complaints are still coming in and we are still as busy as ever. In fact, just the other day, 1 of the investors who lost a sizable sum of money went to MAS and make a huge scene over at MAS to the extent whereby our company got reprimanded by MAS themselves!! Yeah, there are some of the agents who have bought into the bonds themselves and have in fact themselves lost their money in this. Blame it all on greed if you must, but i don't think it is fair for the investors to start pushing the blame when they lost their money. It's like when they make profits, do you see them writing in to compliment their agents for making such excellent recommendations and all that, and offer to share their profits with their agents? The answer is no. So, why should it be that when they are making losses, we have to compensate them? There is no logic here. Enough said. Lol human nature is always about greed, and greed it must be even when everyone is suffering! Amen

Is that one of the biggest bank? I am embarrassed to say that before the fall of Lehman Brothers affected us in Singapore, i am unaware that there is even such a bank! Perhapes we hardly use the bank here in Singapore besides investing such that we are even unaware that such a bank exist here or that it is even a big bank by any standards! Yeah the situation is very bad currently. I could never understand how could America have such a big global impact on the entire world. So strange! And I sure hope that the situation will also improve soon, if not fast enough!

My job is usually very relaxing, it is just that because my work is directly related to the financial line, sh*t happens when the economy crashes. Well, thanks for your response, take care and have a nice day!!