A Time for Giving
Key Takeaways
If you have assets amounting to more than $135,000, then you are in the top 13% of the world in terms of wealth.
More than half of the entire world have less than USD$10k in total assets, with a quarter of these people living in poverty.
Whilst there is no official poverty line in Singapore, we are not spared from this statistic either.
As such, GYC is launching our Social Impact and Philanthropy initiative — which aims to give investors the opportunity to help the disadvantaged, while ensuring the preservation of their family’s wealth.
No one has ever become poor by giving.
— Anne Frank
You may or may not have heard about Mr. Loh Kiong Poot, but the retiree has appeared in the news numerous times over the past few years thanks to his philanthrophic deeds.
Motivated by his past, retiree donates $500k to ST fund to help kids
Retired businessman donates $3m to 6 charities, including $500k to ST pocket money fund
Recently, he made headlines again when it was revealed that he had willed his remaining assets ($20M) to charity after he passes. He was quoted saying that his wife and children had enough to live independent lives after he is gone. His charitable contributions are admirable and can potentially inspire others to give back when they see someone like him doing so. Sometimes we get too caught up with what is happening in our own lives — worrying about the market, your lack of post-COVID travel, children’s exams, high inflation — to realise that we are likely to be better off than the vast majority of the population, both in Singapore and in the world.
The chart below from Credit Suisse’s 2023 Global Wealth Report shows the world’s population segmented by wealth.
If your net assets are above USD$1M (SGD$1.35M) then you are in the top 1% of the world. If you have more than $135,000, then you are in the top 13% of the world. It is interesting to know that over half of the population in the world have less than USD$10k in total assets.
The problem with many of us is that we usually compare ourselves on a relative basis. So when we have our $100,000 and then look at our neighbour with his or her $1M, we feel some angst wondering how can we get there. If you have $10M, inevitably you compare yourself with someone who has $100M and so on. Sometimes reminders such as the diagram above help to give us a perspective about how fortunate we are and that many other people in the world could use a helping hand.
It cannot be disputed that Singapore is a wealthy country. If we’re talking about averages, Singapore is ranked 8th in the world with the mean wealth per adult coming in at USD$382,960. However when the median is used, Singapore ranks at #17, which tells a tale that there is a wide dispersion of wealth — with large extremes at both ends. There are many wealthy individuals here, but also many poorer people as well.
As Singapore has no official poverty line, there is little to no concrete information on just how many people are living hand to mouth. However, a paper on welfare programmes in Singapore by researchers from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy had a chart published by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) some years back about about the various social assistance schemes and the number of beneficiaries under each scheme.
It is interesting to note that measures targeted at the lower income group, such as Medifund and Workfare Income Supplement which is meant for Singaporeans whose earnings are in the bottom 20%, currently provide for over 500,000 beneficiaries.
So, it is opportune that as a firm, GYC is launching our Social Impact and Philanthropy initiative which aims to give our clients and investors the opportunity to help fulfil the aspirations and needs of the disadvantaged, yet ensure that the benefactor preserves their family’s wealth through an innovative donation mechanism in-built into existing or new investment portfolios.
The three main areas where our initiative will focus on will be;
Empowering Children
Supporting the children of incarcerated/absent parents, children with learning and developmental challenges, or under foster and or institutional care.Caring for Seniors
Contributing to seniors with lower levels of income and/or living in isolation, seniors with limited family support and dealing with varying levels of disability, and seniors who may be ex-offenders and facing difficulty coping with everyday expenses.Supporting Caregivers
Assisting caregivers of seniors who are frail or have physiological conditions, caregivers of children and youth with mental health challenged and caregivers of people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Through this framework, we hope to work with our investors and clients to not only to help others but also to help increase the happiness effect that comes from doing good. After all, researchers from Harvard have found that “prosocial spending” that is — spending money on other people — does increase happiness. So you can live a rich life, both literally and figuratively.
If you would like to find out more about our new initiative, speak to your advisor or come and have a chat with us.
