Timing Is Everything

The right timing is important before making any decision to invest

Every so often, an opportunity comes along for us to learn from a master; someone who has reached a huge level of success and is willing to teach the ‘how-to” just as effectively to others.

A firm believer in discipline, Jonathan Quek was working as a financial planner for six months before he started a platform called Owner’s Circle. While his journey up until this day has not been a bed of roses, these detours are in no way slowing him down. From planning his clients’ wealth to managing his own finance, Jonathan has inspired many people to persist and become more confident – a critical attribute for success.

After leaving his job as a financial planner, Jonthan started a blog titled SilverMalaysia.com to share his research and findings on how Malaysians can protect themselves in times of recession, which eventually turn into a business also known as SilverMalaysia.com.

“I was exposed to how vulnerable the money tree system is, and the mission of SilverMalaysia is to educate Malaysians on the importance of investing in precious metal, such as gold and silver in a weak world economy like what we have currently,” says Jonathan. On the details of his programmes, he adds, “We are constantly changing our platform and programmes so that we can serve more people in a more effective manner.”

A JACK OF ALL TRADES

Jonathan believes that passion is one of the key motivations in fulfilling your life with greater happiness. He became genuinely interested in improving his life, and was featured in many financial trainings, for example Success Resources and Invest Fair, where he was invited to give insightful talks.

At age 26, he was the youngest person ever to be invited by the Central Bank of Malaysia to help them launch a financial programme. Today Jonathan has spoken to thousands of people across Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Korea, as he aspires to help people in improving their lives through prudent investing strategies and proper financial planning.

Jonathan’s first investment was in the stock market, where he began his investment at the tender age of 21 before he ventured into unit trust, gold and property investment. The key here is diversification and not putting all your eggs into one basket. In essence, he has diversified his wealth into 3 main holdings, namely equities, commodities and real estate. 

INVESTING INTO PROPERTIES

“My first property was an investment property. I bought this property in 2012 together with some friends, who wished to negotiate with the developer in order to get a better discount. I loved the property when I first saw it as it was strategically located above a KL Festival Shopping Mall in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, where one can enjoy plenty of food and beverage choices as well as lifestyle shopping below. In 2014, Jonathan bought his second property – a residential unit in Mont Kiara which he then rented out to tenants for a few years.

Subsequently, it was the time when Jonathan wanted a place to call home. In finding out the best deals, he would visit many sales galleries in Mont Kiara as he dislike travelling too far to reach his office. He decided on buying this property because it was at the top of a hill, thus it did not feel like he was living in a concrete jungle.

While Jonathan’s first property was a new development, where he was unable to see the final product before purchase, his second purchase was bought through sub-sale, thus he was able to see the completed project, feel the quality of workmanship, and get a taste of spending time in it before buying it.

When asked on his preference between a landed property or a high rise development, Jonathan shared that he preferred high rise over a landed property due to the wider choice of facilities. “I have rented out my second property because of the great facilities there,” he says with a wide beam.

“If you have set your mind on something, you have to go all in, do whatever it takes and just go get it.” 

DON’T PUT THE BLAME ON US

As a member of the Gen Y (people born in the 80s and early 90s) himself, Jonathan is also very concern about the widely alleged trend that Gen Y are not keen in property investment. From his observation, he found that the problem with Gen Y not being interested in investing in properties these days is caused by the skyrocketing properties prices and inflation rate in Malaysia right now. “As a matter of fact, most Gen Y are struggling to save enough money for the 10% deposit. It’s not so much that they refuse to buy properties, rather, it’s is because they can’t afford it and they are not aware of the right investment strategies,” says Jonathan.

Hence, in his opinion, Gen Y should focus more on gaining knowledge on how to build their wealth first. According to Jonathan, the more he studied, the more passionate he is about financial education and financial intelligence. One of the way to achieve this is through reading. For example, financial books such as ‘Keep Investment Simple & Stupid’ and ‘5 Elements of successful Investors’, which Jonathan co-authored with Benny Lee, financial speaker and Xeo Lye Wen Song, co-founder of financial game company Capital Gains LLP respectively, have made it possible for anyone who has no financial background to understand how the investment world operates.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR INVESTORS?

“I think for every investment, whether it is property or stocks, it is not the assets that will make you rich. Rather, it is what you know about them that will make you rich. We are not lacking in terms of resources as we have many courses, websites and magazines. It is more on how resourceful are the investors nowadays,” Jonathan reiterates.

He also shares his belief in the economic life cycle, which means that at different times, different classes of assets will perform better. So as an investor, it is very important for investors to know what are they getting into, and what kind of timing are they looking at, because doing the right thing at the wrong time will not bring the investor any closer to their goals of wealth accumulation.

But then again, knowledge alone is not enough to secure successes, because so many people attend seminars and workshops but they do not implement what they have learnt and take action at the right time. As a result, many of them are still struggling financially.

PLANS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE

“This year I am investing a lot into businesses, and for the past year I have been getting involved in a lot of property related businesses. Last year I bought a stake into a hotel management business. I loved that hotel management business, because it gives me a very good cash flow. Also last year I invested into a villa in Bentong, Pahang that came with a 1 acre plot of land. I have come across these wonderful deals, as I have a very good mentor Dato’ Tan Su Cheng who is an expert in property enhancement, and I also believe a lot in collaborations and sharing of resources. So together with few other partners, we came together to build this villa which will be a great venue for business and social retreats,” Jonathan explains.

Jonathan certainly has learnt plenty of ways to expand his net worth. This budding investor also revealed that he was planning to invest into an artisan concept hotel in Bandar Sunway, which was targeted to launch in mid-2017. The hotel is unique in many ways, including that it would educate people about conservation. It is something that he will surely enjoy, because there will be plenty of information on climate change, and what are the things each of us can do about it.