Any mummies earn extra by investing in Shares at home?

There r no two scam which are same. The only common part is they take money from u, provide high yield n then run away w ur money. And usually only the earlier "investor" benefit from the scam, becos these "investor" r required to help promote/ advertise/ convience the later "investor". The scam works becos of people's greeds n ignorant on the way the company make money.
 


Santorini,
I'm a simple person, with simple thoughts...
The gold pieces that I got from them,
are sold at high price in regular gold smith shop,
so even if they were to close down,
I still have those gold pieces with me.
I'll just keep them & give to my kids as dowry when they get marry... 20 years time? hehe...

But if the bank that I place my money in closed down,
I'm only left with my bank book...
happy.gif
 
Merz,
in my personal 2 cents,
at any time, I'm holding to my cash or my gold,
even if they run away, I still have my gold with me.

In most investment scam,
either investors are holding papers,
or online investing trading accounts.
happy.gif


Most people sit & wait & think & think & think,
the rich are still getting richer,
the poor are still getting poorer.
What's the difference,
one make money work for them,
one work for money.

No offense, I went to too much money making talk recently...

Leng Leng
happy.gif
 
Lengleng,
So, i shld invest my money in gold?
happy.gif
In 20 yrs time, if bank close down, at least i still got gold under my pillow?
happy.gif
 
Lengleng,

Have u went to the pawn shop to check how much ur gold really worth? The gold might be certify, but afterall it is still another piece of paper. so to play safe check it out first.
 
Hi all,

I got to know Genneva through LengLeng mid of this year, purchased my gold and had gotten my first interest. And this is after I had done due dilligence on what exactly i'm investing in.

Anyway, to give a summary of how Genevva works. You pay a mark-up on the gold you purchase (around 20% from the UOB spot gold rate), in which you can get a "discount" of either 1.5%, 2% or 5% . In other words, just think of it as lending money to Genevva at a 20% premium with varying interest paid to you depending on the time frame and scheme taken up. The gold serves as a collateral. Downside is limited to the 20% premium you paid. If you had been with Genneva long enough, the risk of the premium paid will be mitigated by the interest earned, and any accumulated interest earned above 20% will be considered pure profit to you.

And to the question of how Genevva earns money: One, firstly from the 20% premium from us gives it liquidity (their profit margin would be more as they buy in bulk and can definitely get better rates from UOB). Second, they mine their own gold and mint them, which are sold more in their overseas branches rather than Singapore as singaporeans prefer to purchase certified gold.

In terms of the sustainability of the company, at least i can be ensured their profit margin is able to cover their cost. With gold being a limited resouce and production rates reaching a higher benchmark, I could also feel reassured that there won't be a sudden crash in gold prices.

Btw, i'm not here to advocate purchasing of gold through Genevva. I'm neither an agent nor employee nor have any relationship with them. Just feel it's unfair to bombard Lengleng when she's just sharing with us a potential way of growing our funds.

We should be responsible for any investments we undertake and do our due dilligence and analysis of whether we can accept the risk for the corresponding rewards.

Caveat emptor!
 
Mona,
I'll suggest trying out a little before you think of more.
happy.gif


Merz,
I did!
happy.gif


Audrey (poppyqueen),
thanks.
happy.gif

& to add, I do not earn any commission from sharing my lorbang,
I got to know this lorbang from a mummy of this forum too.
happy.gif
 
Audrey
I don't understand why you would be willing to buy gold at 20% above the UOB spot gold price instead of buying straight from UOB ? Why do you need to wait out so many months before breaking even? Buy from UOb today and if next month gold price goes up, sell back to UOB and pocket your profit... Buy from genneva and when gold price goes up next month you cannot realise your profit because genneva only pays u back whatever you paid for...

Doesn't make financial sense to me...
 
Audrey,

We are not bombarding lengleng, just sharing our views and opinions...

Of course everyone is free to invest their money the way they want... Just hope that everyone's money is as safe as can be...

Lengleng,
since you have done your homework, surely you know that Genneva Malaysia office has stopped operations for a year already because it is under investigation with the central bank of Malaysia... Its assets had been frozen in the last 1 year... Investors are stuck....
 
Hi Santorini,

My intention of investment in Genneva is not for trading in gold. As you said, it doesn't make financial sense to buy something at a premium of 20%.

I am entering with the mindset of more like being a venture capitalist. I "invest" by depositing a sum of money with them, with the gold serving as a collateral.By the end of lets say, 1 month, i'm guaranteed my principal back with a interest return of 1.5%.(which they phrase as discount).In the event of default by the company or bankruptcy or close down blah blah, at least my losses are capped at 20%. I'm willing to take the risk for the return of 18% p.a, which is much better than any FD, bonds, FX currency from what i can see.

And I do not have to exercise the option of selling back the gold to them. If gold price were to shoot up exceptionally high (eg >20%),
If I were to trade in gold, I can sell it in the open market. Conclusion, downside is capped, upside has potential, returns guaranteed. That does make more financial sense right?
happy.gif
 
Hi Santori,

And for the Genevva M'sia office, can answer your question as I have also done my homework. <haha!> They are frozen more for technical issues. They had phrased their gold as investments with interest and Malays bought it. Based on Islamic rule, Malays are prohibited from paying or accepting interest. Therefore , they are being investigated and assets frozen till now.

For Singapore office, the set up is modified. For one thing, Genevva is NOT an investment firm . They do not have any investment license, which must be approved by MAS. Instead, their set up is that a second hand gold dealer buying gold from UOB, and then reselling to us. The discount is applied upfront (as upon purchase of the gold).We then sell back to them at the "cost" price. So it a way, treat it like a reverse pawnshop. They pawn gold to us and at the end of the term, they buy back from us.
 
Santorini,
yes I know about Genneva Malaysia office, thanks.
happy.gif

<font color="0077aa">Malays are prohibited from paying or accepting interest</font>,
that's the major issue...

Yes, in the event that gold price shoots up exceptionally high,
you can just sell off in open market,
don't have to sell back to Genneva.
 
Yes but when u sell off your gold, usually have to discount by 20% from current spot price...

Therefore, for example,
you buy gold worth $100 from genneva,
you pay $120 for it, discount of 2%, you pay $117.60.

later, if you do not sell back to genneva,
but sell in the open market, spot price remain at $100, you will have to sell at $80.

Therefore your loss is close to 32%...

Therefore, you are still very dependent on the survival of genneva as a company to make money... Selling the gold on the open market will help you recoup some of the loss not preserve your capital at all


Unless you melt the gold yourself and make it into jewellery lor...
 
Santorini,
I'll keep them for my kids' dowry,
that's 20 years later,
no need to melt the gold...
happy.gif


Personal advise, ONLY play with excess cash,
never use money meant for emergencies, kids' school fees, groceries, insurance premium, etc. etc.
====================================================
Many look for opportunities, but when one come by,
will you grab it?
happy.gif

Many people hated their current jobs, but when someone head-hunt you, will you make the switch?
 
Hihi Leng Leng,
I had monitored this company for months and by my sister who introduced this to me for almost 1 year.
It is a bearer bond, there will a cert. And due security issue, we can't share the financial report online. I believe that you will want know more about the company and plan before you decide to invest. So I suggest that we meet up to discuss further and we can show you the company prospectus.
happy.gif
 
Hi Ivy (jazq),
Thank you for your email...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: jazq
Date: Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Subject: Any mummies earn extra by investing in Shares at home?
To:


Congratulations! You have received a private message from the following discussion board user: Jazq

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hihi, Leng Leng

The company is Maplex Alliance. you can visit their website http://www.maplexalliance.com but their website still very brief.

happy.gif
Interested? I get someone more experienced to talk to you!

Cheers!
Ivy

=======================================================================

I did a goggle search on this company;
http://4d-power.sgforums.com/forums/14/topics/412857?page=1
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2806761&amp;page=6
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?p=46714487

Is the director the same guy from Sunshine Empire???
If it is, I won't even consider.

Do give us more information,
thank you.
happy.gif
 
Hihi Leng Leng,
Actually I'm just an investor and had made some money so thought of sharing here.
happy.gif
happy.gif

Normally ppl are very doubtful of the thing on website that why I suggested you meet the expert and they can show your more details and most important the financial report.
It would be fine that you are not interested, just wanted to share!
happy.gif
 
Hihi Leng Leng,
And forgot to answer your question, "Is the director the same guy from Sunshine Empire???" - No
 
Hi everyone,
do take sometime to read this;
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC101223-0000225/Gold-investment-firm-placed-on-MAS-Investor-Alert-List

I purchase mine from Genneva,
"Genneva sells gold bullion and coins 2-per-cent lower than the prevailing market value."
I'm holding gold gold bar with me, even if the company closes down, the gold is still with me.

For this company that has problem,
they are selling gold certificate.
"The company sells gold at 25 per cent above the market price."

Merry Christmas to all!
happy.gif
 
Hello rouyou

sorry but it sounds like saying " I work in Macdonalds and i can tell you our burgers are really really nicer than Burger King"

it doesnt help, hopefully more evidence and stuff.
 
Its okay bebemom. People who trust, will buy. People who don't , won't buy.

Can't force anyone to buy because it's all their hard earnings money.
 
Hi, i am looking for team members for my health and beauty business. Ideal for someone who will like to retire in 1 to 3 years time and gain back your health and beauty. Flexible working hours with 5 to 10 hours spending on the internet and sharing with people. No initial capital required. There is a sharing session every Thursday at 7pm at our Orchard office. Email to [email protected]
 
all mumies, happen to read this thread and heard about Geneva...so just want to share...

Beware of Gold Scams
February 23rd, 2011 JonQ


(Article Source: Business Times – 19 Feb 2011)

Golden fleece

Two companies that offered gold investment schemes are currently under investigation by the authorities.

By Genevieve Cua
IN THE last few months, netizens and investors have puzzled over a number of so- called gold investment schemes that aim to pay you regular returns. Are they scams? Gold, after all, does not pay any income, so how are the firms able to pay out as much as 24 per cent per annum?

Two firms with such schemes have been put on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Investor Alert list. The latest on the list is Genneva Pte Ltd.

Late last year, The Gold Label Pte Ltd was put on the list. The company has filed to wind up its operations, reportedly due to cash flow problems. MAS’ Investor Alert list reflects persons who are unregulated, and ‘may have been wrongly perceived as being licensed or authorised by MAS’.

There are similarities in The Gold Label and Genneva. They appear to be Malaysian in origin, or at least have Malaysian directors. Both were investigated by Bank Negara on suspicions of illegal deposit taking and money laundering.

Genneva Sdn Bhd was investigated in 2009. Three of its directors – who are also directors in the Singapore company – will stand trial in April in Kuala Lumpur on charges of alleged money laundering.

Bank Negara’s investigation of The Gold Label started last year, and is ongoing, based on information on Bank Negara’s website.
What exactly is the firms’ investment proposition? Information on The Gold Label isn’t widely available; its Singapore website has been taken down. The firms straddle a fine line between investment and a retail business.

Genneva, for example, has a police licence that enables it to sell second-hand jewellery, gold, and white gold. The fact that customers take home physical gold in the form of bars or coins suggests that the firm isn’t taking a deposit or acting as investment manager.

Here’s how the scheme appears to work: Customers buy gold from Genneva at a fairly substantial premium to the market of about 22 to 25 per cent. This is based on a comparison of prices quoted by Genneva of roughly $75 to $76.50 per gram against the price quoted by UOB and other retail gold dealers of roughly $61.

Genneva tells customers that it sells the gold to them at a so-called ‘discount’ of between 1.5 and 2 per cent. It extends an option to customers: it will buy back the gold after 30 to 36 days or after 90 days depending on the scheme, at the original full purchase price. Those who exercise this get to keep the ‘discount’ of 1.5 to 2 per cent.

Customers may rollover the purchase, and hence they could potentially pocket as much as 18 to 24 per cent a year, from an asset that actually doesn’t pay any yield.

How is this done? Genneva has declined to answer questions for now, citing the pending court case in Malaysia. It adds in an e-mail that it expects a ‘positive outcome’ from the court case.

There are a number of aspects that should cause scepticism. First, the firm illustrates its buyback option on its website in a rather disingenuous fashion. It says customers buy gold at a ‘discounted market price’.

But the truth is customers buy gold at a sizeable premium to the market. The firm also does not explain what it does with the premium that it pockets. Presumably commissions are paid to the sales people.

Its website says it has a ‘proprietary trading platform’ which enables it to ‘adopt an active hedging and leveraging strategy’ that makes the buy-back option possible.

On whether the scheme is Ponzi in nature, The firm’s Malaysian counterpart told a Malaysian paper in 2009 that it is ‘obvious’ that it is not a Ponzi scheme.

What is likely to transpire is that the firm takes the 22 to 25 per cent premium that it gets from customers’ purchases, and after paying off costs and commissions, it could buy and sell options on gold, through which it hedges its exposure.

As long as the gold price rises or is steady, it can continue, and even thrive, as it sources for gold at substantially lower prices on the open market. If gold however drops on a sustained basis, it could face a cash crunch if investors rush to sell back their gold in substantial numbers. This is because it is obligated to buy back the gold from clients at a high price.

Those who enter the scheme are likely to be enamoured of the so-called return, but they face two major risks – price and counterparty risk. As long as gold rises enough to cover their cost, they could sell their Genneva gold in the open market. Over the last year, gold has risen some 26 per cent, based on spot prices.

If gold falls substantially, however, the counterparty risk becomes a material one, as you can recover your cost only if Genneva stays solvent. Those who roll over their purchases must reckon that the potential return far outweighs the risk of loss. Genneva agents tell investors that the worst loss they may suffer is about 20 to 22 per cent, roughly the premium they have paid.

Effectively, Genneva has sold investors a put option along with gold, charging them a premium for it, and sweetening that by sharing some of that premium at the end of the contract period of a month or three months. As the put option writer, Genneva’s risk is potentially unlimited if it has not hedged its exposure.

Rollovers, by the way, incur price risk – that is, you re-purchase the gold at the price Genneva quotes you which is presumably pegged to the market price. If gold rises, as it has over the last year, you end up investing larger amounts.

So, who is Genneva? According to filings with Acra (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority), it was registered as a business in 2008 dealing in gold bullion. It has an issued and paid-up capital of $500,000.

Three shareholders are Malaysian, and they are the same ones who will have to fight money laundering charges in Malaysian court. There is one Singapore shareholder. Attempts to contact him were unsuccessful as he was reportedly travelling or in meetings.
There are clearly more transparent ways to invest in gold, without dealing with a counterparty which could shutter its operations as The Gold Label did.

UOB offers a gold investment account, for instance, where you can hold physical gold and re-sell it to the bank. Those who need not buy physical gold but want a piece of its price action can get it through the SPDR Gold ETF. The latter is exchange listed and is easily traded through a broker.

[email protected]

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
 
Dear maymama,
that's not very new news leh.
happy.gif


This scheme was not accepted in Malaysia,
because under muslim law, they are not suppose to receive pay-out without "working",
something like that.
They had already sorted out with the authorities &amp; now Genneva Sdn Bhd is still active in Malaysia,
with their had office in Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park, KL, Malaysia.

I've been trading with them for a few years already,
I'm getting pay-outs every 3 monthly.
happy.gif

If this company closes down, I'll just keep the 999.9 solid gold for my children as dowry.
happy.gif


For "Gold Label Pte Ltd", it's really a scam,
they do not sell "solid gold",
they sold paper gold, gold certificate.

I've shared my trading with many mummies here,
lots of them have bought &amp; 2 had became agents themselves.

Nope, I'm not an agent for the company,
if you want to know more, I can introduce my agent to you.
He was introduced to me by a mummy from this forum too.

If you have good lorbangs, pls share with me too.

HTHs &amp; Good Luck,
Leng Leng
happy.gif
 
Hi Leng Leng,

I have met up with one of their agent and is considering the investment.

One question: are you sure that the gold bar is bought from UOB and it is genuine..?

Cos I understand the cap in the possible losses if they close down. As long as the gold bar is from UOB, it's a very good assurance .
 
berlyn,
ask your agent on how to check if the gold is authentic,
it's the agent's job to make you convince.
happy.gif


My agent taught me how.

Leng Leng
happy.gif
 
hmm... heard abt such gold business in sg but didnt know there is a active thread abt it in smh.

I've investing in gold both physical as well as paper gold for quite a while and actively monitoring trends.

Gold was never a favored investment tools among bankers because it has huge storage cost. However, because of the over-printing of US dollar which is the reserved currency for gold as well as the collapse of EU, we see $$ going into gold for capitial preservation.

Over the 6 mths, we see quite a few malpulation of gold price. e.g. IMF selling off their gold and the increase in the margin required for gold trading.

Just a word of cautious,
I checked the price offer by genneva today.
$96 per gm...and uob buy 1gm pamp gold at $67.
Effectively, if the company close down as soon as I bought , I made a loss of 44%.

if gold continue to climb... then all is well.. but if gold drop significately.. e.g. 20% over 30 days and potentially no upside.

Then company like genneva have sold gold to a huge number of ppl already..It will make complete sense for them to fold. Because it has "sold" their gold at the highest possible price.

What is left for the ppl that had invested with them.. Gold that worth <56% - 20% than the price they bought it for.. and worst , gold prices has no more upside and will continue to drop. As central banks continue to sell them off.

Every business need a business model...but this one look fishy. It looks like it just waiting for the right moment to fold.

This happens also in share , when brokers/company tries to push up the price by enticing small investors to buy.. When the price is right, then the company just let go. then all the small investors suffer great lost..
Of course , in this case, you still have gold. But then the gold that you are holding is worth so much less than what you paid for.... and in the form that you can really wear them.
 
JazzT (ccjt),
statistic for the past 200 years shows...
Gold price had never dropped, not to mention... significantly.
happy.gif
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gold_Index.png,


Gold peak in 1982 ard USD$700 per oz and was below USD$500 per oz until 2005.
The drop lasted for more than 20 yrs.. and only recently did it rose above the USD$700 mark because of the over-printing of usd which gold is traded in. And the graphs you see, is in terms of USD, that does not take into consideration the deflation of USD.

In mid 1990 , no one wants to hold gold because there is storage cost to hold gold. Even european cental bank ditch gold. If not for poor U/S management under the bush administration. I dont think we see gold at the current price. In any case, China is now started to trade gold in yuan, to stablise the precious metal price.

And the way i see it , when the company amass enough "buyers" for their gold. They fold , leaving, buyer with at least 44% loss.
So for $100 invested , you get $56 left. Whether or not you leave it for your children or not. It will probably take another "European crisis" before your $56 is double back to $100.
 
actually, already we see price of gold drop from usd1900 last Sept to usd1600 recently. If not that uncle ben said that there may be qe3. Gold seem to be "dead" for now.
 
No worries for me,
I'm just keeping the tradition of keeping gold for my kids,
just like my mom kept for my siblings &amp; me.
happy.gif

It could be a good 20 years before I'll give it to them as dowry.
happy.gif


Might as well earn while "keeping",
I had been earning 5% every 3 monthly without fail.

"So for $100 invested , you get $56 left."
This is very untrue.

When I purchase, I pay only 95%, not 100%.
I earn 5% every 3 monthly, getting cashback every time I renew my contract with them.

Unless one is so unlucky to purchase &amp; the company folds within 3 months of the 1st contract.
happy.gif


==============================================================================
You quoted "$96 per gm...and uob buy 1gm pamp gold at $67"

When a person buys a 100g, he pays $9600 x 0.95 = SG$9120
If the company folds within 3 months &amp; he sells back to UOB,
he'll get back $6700

Immediate lost of $9120-$6700 = $2420
$2420 /$9120 x 100% = 26.54% (not the 44% loss you mentioned)

Pls correct me if I'm wrong.

==============================================================================
Just a quick advise,
if one needs to sell-off immediately,
the pawn shop will fetch a much better price.
With lost of about 18% only.

HTHs,
Leng Leng
happy.gif
 
Singapore aims to be Asia's gold trading hub
http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20120315-333671.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_777482.html

Analysts project that the spot price of gold will hit US$1,900 an ounce by the first quarter of next year from its current price of US$1,664.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1188991/1/.html

I'm just sharing my lorbang with mummies here,
hopefully I'll get some good lorbangs from mummies here too.

PS: I'm not an agent of the company.

Leng Leng
happy.gif
 
LouiseLS (san20sg),
not short-term,
I've been buying for years.
happy.gif


I bought OCBC's bond &amp; unit trust before,
at the end of 5th year,
I don't see much return then placing in savings account...
sad.gif
 
I've also invested in the gold program for almost a yr n receiving a passive income every month.

So far I'm very happy with this investment and my only regret is why I had not known this earlier!!

Sometimes... Too much analysis causes paralysis!!

Oh ya Louisel S, where did you get the info that agent comm is 1.5% omg!!!...
 
Genneva in the news . Ch8. Investors unable to get back their gold deposit with the company. And those that returned their gold , are not given cash back.

Hope no one here is affected.
 
managed to sell them ?
Cos' now it's just something short of a scam..you never kno0w if the pamp you are holding is real or not. Even if it has all the certs since it bought thru them.
 
JazzT (ccjt),
I have no intention to sell them,
keep for my kids.
happy.gif


Rumors are spread by people who wants to purchase at low price.
 

JazzT (ccjt),
when there's rumor that your purchase is going to cost less then you bought,
&amp; price is dropping further,
many will try to sell of ASAP now.
Esp those who need cash.

It may not affect world gold price,
it'll just affect the ones who bought without knowing what is trading &amp; investment all about.
happy.gif


e.g. the lady who thinks her gold is only worth $6600/100gram now,
anyone can purchase that piece at $6800 from her.
The same piece may worth 20% more in 2 years time.
 

Back
Top