I am Freda Liu, I am...

An author, emcee, speaker and coach, also the lead producer and presenter of BFM 89.9’s Enterprise segment. I have conducted over 5000 interviews with prominent names including author Stephen Covey, motivational speaker Nick Vijucic, former GE CEO Jack Welch, the Duke of York HRH Prince Andrew and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. I was recently awarded the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards for Malaysia Startup Journalist Of The Year and am a nominee for MaGIC’s Social Enterprise journalist.

1. What is your best investment and worst investment?
My philosophical answer for the best investment is myself! I put 10% aside for personal development growth whether it comes to books or courses. On a serious note, I do find researching and getting equipped with information about anything is always the way to go. The home I am living in now is a good investment. The property has shot up in value not that I intend to sell it. Also, a few months after work, I bought myself an insurance policy. I knew enough that it's cheaper when you're younger and not married at that time, if anything happens to me, I have something I can leave for my mother.

2. What was your first-ever investment (and how did that go)?
I bought my first house in Puchong. I remembered visiting the property as it was being built and not liking it because the location was not ideal. I am glad I invested in the property though, fortunately, I managed to flip it and bought something closer to the city.

3. Your investment no-nos (why not and what happened)
Don't invest in something you're not willing to spend some time researching or liking the vehicle. I have been rather prudent in investing so I have not had major burns. I would say I am a cautious investor which means I also don't make a lot of money!

4. What are you investing for?
I do think about old age. What can I live conservatively on in the future? The scariest thing for me is medical care and assistance in my later years. This can wipe out whatever liquid assets you may have so my advice is really for everyone to get insured as early as possible. I am really of the view of how much I can take with me when I go (which is nothing) so I like to spend on holidays and experiences.

5. Freda’s investment philosophy and approach
Take care of your most important asset and that's you first and foremost. Make sure you are insured at the very least and as a woman we have extra bits and bobs. I have seen too many people being wiped off financially because of medical reasons. What's the end in mind at the end of the day? I would like a nice nest egg but not too many kinds of assets everywhere, especially if you don't have the time or the know-how. Don't be a hero. As a woman, always be financially independent. Your husband is not your passive income.

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About “This is How I Invest” - As Fi Life’s motto is “Buy Term (Term Life Insurance) & Invest the Rest”, this series features how different Malaysians “Invest the Rest.”

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