Altius Advisory & Associates

09/09/2025

🌟 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞! 🌟

🎉 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬! 🎉

We’re so proud to celebrate 6 incredible teammates from 𝐀𝐩𝐞𝐱 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 who have qualified for the upcoming 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓! ✈️🇨🇱

This achievement is more than just tickets earned — it’s a reflection of your late nights, rejections endured, detailed analysis and countless moments that you’ve gone above and beyond for your clients.

Your success inspires us all, and we can’t wait to create unforgettable memories together in Chile. 🌍❤️

Here’s to celebrating milestones, cherishing the journey, and achieving even greater heights together! 🚀

19/09/2024

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/09/18/fed-cuts-rates-september-2024-.html

𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝟓𝟎 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲

With another 50 points reduction expected by end of the year.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have greater confidence in inflation returning to target 2%.

Expect further interest rate cuts of
- 1% in 2025
- 0.5% in 2026

𝑻 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔 😊

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered the federal funds rate to a range between 4.75%-5%.

22/11/2023

Contribute to your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) by 31st Dec 2023 to reduce tax.

More details in the link below

https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/individual-income-tax/basics-of-individual-income-tax/special-tax-schemes/srs-contributions

Tax relief for making contributions to SRS

20/11/2023

As the US hiked interest rates to curb inflation in 2023, mortgage loan rates in Singapore have increased too.

The latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on 1 November 2023 saw interest rates held steady for the second straight month. The US Fed has paused interest rate hikes for the third time in 2023. However, it might be some time before Fed starts to lower interest rates

What Can Homeowners Do to Manage The High Home Loan Interest Rates?

1. Make partial/full repayments if rates become too high via cash and/or CPF to manage cash flow demands

2. Increase use of CPF for monthly loan servicing

3. Split/refinance loans into separate fixed/variable loans to spread the risk between two portfolios

4. Consider moving from SIBOR to SORA rates, which are traditionally lower

The current high interest rate environment has seen increases in the monthly mortgage payments for homeowners in Singapore servicing their property with floating rate bank loans. Learn what we can expect of Singapore mortgage rates in 2023.

15/11/2023

Singapore citizens born before 1980 without severe disability can receive up to $3,000 to offset premiums over 10 years if they join CareShield Life between 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐜 𝟑𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. They can receive up to $4,000 if they enroll by 𝟑𝟏 𝐃𝐞𝐜 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑..

CareShield Life provides basic financial protection against severe disability. Claimants in 2023 will receive $637 lifetime monthly payments as long as they are disabled.

Premiums are affordable and can be paid fully through MediSave.

Lastly, we can acquire Careshield supplements for enhanced coverage. Premiums for these can also be paid fully via Medisave.

Those who enrol in 2024 get up to $3,000 to offset premiums - but those who join by Dec 31, 2023, get up to $4,000. Read more at straitstimes.com.

13/11/2023

Is $1mil enough for retirement?

3 ways to plan for retirement are to:

1. Save up $900,000 (to pay for $3000 monthly expenses for 25 years)

2. Invest $1mil to receive passive income of $2500 per month (at risk free rate of 3%)

3. Put as much money into CPF Special Account & Medisave (by transferring from the Ordinary Account)

The later 2 ways are more preferred as they
- provide buffer to sudden shocks such as healthcare needs
- protection from inflation

It is also recommended to diversify away from property investments to reduce concentration risk.

And to plan our retirement in 3 phases
- Go-go (age 50s to 60s where we need cashflow for entertainment & travel but cannot draw on CPF yet)
- Slow-go (no longer working, relying on CPF and other retirement funds)
- No-go (where travel & recreation expenses drop, but medical expenses go up)

Lastly, it is important to do annual or bi annual reviews to ensure our finances are on track for retirement.

08/11/2023

The late Dr Khoo Boo Kwee’s family tussled in court over his bank savings of $4mil.

This was despite his Will in 2012 stating that he wants to split the money equally amongst his 4 children.

His wife and eldest daughter argued that he had changed his mind when he added both of them as joint account holders in 2019.

The High Court ruled that the money was to be paid out according to the Will.

This shows the importance of drawing up a Will to clarify any disputes and ensure our assets are distributed according to our wishes.

They argued that as the surviving holders of the accounts where the money was held, they now own the entire sum. Read more at straitstimes.com.

06/11/2023

Last Wednesday, US Fed unanimously agreed to keep interest rates unchanged.

It remains unclear if market conditions are enough to tame inflation from the current 3.4% to Fed’s target inflation of 2%.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is wary that higher borrowing costs will negatively impact the US economy. Whilst the stronger than expected economic growth of 4.9% in the last quarter leaves the possibility of one more rate hike.

Markets are predicting that Fed is done with raising interest rates and will start cutting rates by June 2024.

THE Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday as policymakers struggled to determine whether financial conditions may be tight enough already to control inflation, or whether an economy that continues to outperform expectations may need still more restraint. Read more at The Business T...

30/10/2023

CareShield Life (CSL) aims to provide financial support to those unable to perform at least 3 of 6 daily activities due to disability.

The number of individuals receiving monthly payouts increased from 90 in 2020 to 638 in 2022, with recipients' ages ranging from 30 to 88, and a median age of 39.

The government is encouraging individuals born before 1980 to sign up for CSL by offering age-based incentives, ranging from $500 to $4,000 to offset premiums if they enroll by the end of 2023.

If you are in your 40s or older and have not enrolled in CSL, consider taking advantage of the government's age-based incentives to offset premiums and obtain better coverage.

19/10/2023

Annuities can be a good supplement to CPF Life to increase our retirement income

Some interesting features include
- Flexibility to encash halfway for lump sum payout
- Option to continue payouts to family even after death
- Inflation protection