Points to note for driving today before i forget.

1. Gear control isn't too good, will occasionally slip in the change between gear 3 and 2. Must sweep left hard to make sure it is gear 2.

2. Moving off from gear 1, make sure left leg is at half-clutch/biting point and step accelerator a little will do. Common mistake is that the biting point is not reached, so the car takes a longer time to move off. This is important especially on slope, as the car needs to move straight away once biting point is reached, if not will roll back. Another mistake is too much pressure on accelerator applied sometimes, so car surge forward.

3. Always step on brake a little if the car is going to fast. And make sure heel does not touch ground when brake is stepped.

4. Have a tendency to park too far alway from the left kerb.

5. Change to neutral gear only if the car has stopped fully. Must step on brake if parking brake is not engaged to prevent rolling.

6. Always make sure to check right before exiting minor road and joining major road. And always use gear 2 when entering zebra crossing.

7. Rear mirror must be adjusted correctly so that the three lanes and the left kerb can be seen.

8. When stopping, brake gradually and when the car is about to stop, clutch in and brake at the same time to fully stop. Brake gradually to prevent sudden stop.

9. For gear 2, always rest at half-clutch before releasing clutch to prevent sudden speed surge and noise pollution.

Unit trusts- part 2

As spoken on unit trust part 1, the performance of the unit trust depends on the fund manager and the market the funds are invested in. Since the monies we pooled in are controlled and managed by the fund manager, it is essential to research on the manager. Generally, researching the managers has now been a rather difficult exercise due to little advertising and coordinated pool of information. Therefore, one must draw to his or her own conclusion whether the fund managers are capable or not.

With regards to market, it is essential to research on the underlying market that the unit trusts invest in. Unit trusts are often categorised into groups that best reflect what they invest in. Generally, the more "unfashionable" a market has been, the more you should feel comfortable relaxing in it. A fashionable can also mean an unstable market and one will see a lot of sellers as investors try to reduce their overweight position. However, for a unfashionable market, most investors will have a low weightage in it and therefore try to buy in order to restore their weightage.

Buying unit trusts
There are two prices quoted for a unit trust and the higher price is known as the "offer" price. The lower price is called the "bid"price. So when a price is quoted like $1.70-$1.60, one will know that the units were on sale for $1.70 and could be redeemd at $1.60. The difference is known as the "spread", which is usually around 5%.

One must know that there are exceptions to this. For example,Templeton unit trust quote only one price., This actaully means the bid price they are prepared to buy back the units. When you buy, they will deduct from the investment the amount of sale charges and the rest is invested at the net asset value price. The effect on the price you pay is the same, but it saves calculating and publishing two prices.

I think i will take a break for now and look at another kind of financial instrument in my next entry.