i went for the third round of interviews for the GIC scholarship. it was a day of activities, starting with an individual presentation (my question was: which asset class do you prefer to invest your money in - stocks or bonds?), a talk with one of the senior officers, and finally a group project and presentation (if you had S$100,000 and hope to double the amount in a span of 10 years, which asset classes, gold, property, currency, stocks and bonds, would you invest in?

they aren't exactly very difficult questions, but they require some fundamental knowledge in the finance sector, and force you to think from the point of view of an investor. And you realise that there are many considerations when you construct a portfolio, and being flexible isn't the simple way out. you need to have a robust enough portfolio to withstand some risk and uncertainty. it may be a long day, but definitely a very informative and enriching one.

there were 9 other candidates other than myself, with 6 from rjc, 2 from hci and 1 from an international school in penang. yes, i am the only one from njc, and the only one from a middle-income family. i begin to wonder what is the true message behind the award of a scholarship...

personal bias aside, today has made me believe even further that upbringing can substantially affect one's mentality. being rich and well to do (nothing against that of course), they are more willing to take more risks when it comes to investment, and think that any money lost could be earned, especially when we are young and full of potential. i think otherwise. while it is fine to take certain amount of risks, i think that we should be more prudent and maybe a little more conservative when money is involved, for money is hard-earned. if we do not uphold the importance of money, losing money in investments would probably mean nothing and no painful lessons would be learned, unless the crash is on a massive scale.

food for thought.