My name is Milan Doshi and I am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Investment Expert with over 30 years of both good and bad experiences in the Real Estate and Stock Markets.
I am the founder of Malaysia’s First and Biggest Financial Program on Personal Money Management, Property and Stock Market Investments which we started in 1998.
Over the years, I have empowered over 3,000 of my seminar graduates to discover their Unique Investment Profiles and Make Money through Smart Investment Strategies.
At the same time, I have also touched the lives of over 100,000 people through talks at various public events and my two best-selling investment books.
What made you decide to go into this business?
After reading Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad in 1996, I became a seminar junkie and attended many personal development intensive programs.
In 1998, I decided to share my investment knowledge via seminars and later through my 2 best-selling books. To my big surprise, I found many people in the financial industry did not even know the basics of money management and hands-on investments, and they found my contents to be a big eye opener.
How did you get involved in the industry and in Malaysia?
Economics, Money and Investments run in my blood. A bit of my background. I have an honours degree in Economics from the National University of Singapore.
During the first 5 years of my career, I worked as a Commodity Trader in Singapore dealing in physical products such as Animal Feedstuff like Soybean Meal and Edible Oils. We bought from Country A, chartered an entire ship and shipped it to Country B.
Physical Commodity Trading is a low margin, high-risk business as many things can go wrong with regards to quality, shipment delays and payment issues with both buyers and sellers. As a result, it was very common to see one or two international trading companies closing shop every year. Only those who had upstream, or downstream business could survive and thrive. The lesson I learnt was it was much safer to deal in Commodity Futures instead of Physical Commodities, as the only risk was the price volatility.
Family-wise, my father is a Remisier in Singapore for over 50 years and my wife is a Remisier in Kuala Lumpur for over 30 years. I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1994 to assist my wife in her stock broking business after the Stock Market Super Bull Run in 1993 as many Singaporeans were interested in investing in the Malaysian stock market.
What differentiates you from your competition?
I do not sell any financial or investment products. Hence, I can frankly share both the good and bad points of any investment products and services. This is something most salespeople in the financial industry will not want their clients to know.
I also discovered that I had the flair to simplify and explain complex financial concepts in an easy and fun way through games and activities instead of just boring lectures.
What value does your business provide?
My business has evolved over the years. After 20 years of teaching, I stopped and moved into private mandate investments.
Due to high inflation and long-term Ringgit Depreciation of 3% per annum, I focused on helping people make high returns safely in overseas markets so they can achieve all their financial goals 5 to 10 years earlier.
These are my areas of expertise:
- Investment Partnerships with High-Net-Worth Individuals who do not have the time or interest to invest on their own.
Clients need to have minimum US$50,000 and we trade the US Stock and Options market to generate returns of 2-3% every month. Unlike mutual funds, clients do not have to pay any upfront sales charge (3-5%) or annual management fees (1.5% pa) that often eats into their returns.
Here’s an example of one of my client’s accounts where he enjoyed a staggering return of 43% from 1 Jan – 30 November 2023.
The calculation is:
- In 2021, I joined Phillips Capital Management Sdn Bhd as a Marketing Representative as they had some unique Private Mandate Investments that invest in overseas stocks. Besides cash, clients can also invest using the savings in their EPF Account 1.
Unlike Passive Buy-and-Hold Equity Funds, Quantitative (or Quant) funds uses Data Analytics to actively rebalance their portfolios every month based on Earnings Momentum and Valuation metrics. These funds have done extremely well in the past and I expect them to outperform traditional passive mutual funds in the future.
- Besides the above, I also provide Wealth Coaching to those who need Independent Financial Advice. Clients are coached on a one-to-one basis to achieve all their financial goals in the shortest possible time.
I can also provide a second opinion on any investment product. Many clients have save thousands of dollars when they consulted me before investing in products which later turn out to be scams.
You can read more about my recent case of “SAVING My Client from Losing Thousands in a Hong Kong Stock Scam” at:
www.linkedin.com/posts/milandoshi88_good-things-in-life-are-never-cheap-and-activity-6920540506804371456-I3Wi?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
What are your insights for the industry or marketplace?
The financial and investment industry is always changing. Earlier, the two most popular direct investment vehicles were real estate and stock market. Indirect investments were Unit Trusts / Mutual Funds, and Investment-Linked Insurance products.
Several years ago, Crypto, Blockchain Technology and Mining became extremely popular. This trend then gr new Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT’s) and the Metaverse.
Many young people who were the early adopters have made and lost millions within a few short years. It’s highly unlikely these people will ever invest into the traditional low return investment products after having “tasted” the thrill of making fast money within a short time.
Today, everything is about Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is going to impact the way we work, live, interact, and even invest.
What are the challenges and where are the opportunities for Malaysian businesses in relation to your industry?
A huge challenge today is the proliferation of numerous scams promising high returns within a short time. Many ordinary investors get taken in by smooth talking conman and are unable to differentiate between high return investment scams and low return genuine investments.
The Mutual Fund industry is being disrupted by the Robo-Advisory companies such as StashAway, AKRU, Wahed and others. They appeal mainly to the younger investors who are comfortable and prefer to invest directly using their handphones instead of talking to an agent.
For the Insurance industry, there are many FinTech start-up’s that are selling insurance products directly to consumers at a much lower cost.
Even banks are being “attack” on all fronts by the Fintech industry. Here are some examples:
a) Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) companies are giving bank’s credit cards departments competition
b) Remittance companies like TransferWise (now known as Wise) is eating into the remittance business of banks.
c) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending and Crowd Funding companies are eating into the bank’s SME lending business.
Where there is competition and challenges, there will be opportunities for both entrepreneurs and investors.
What kind of clients or contacts would you like to be connected to or in touch with
My target clients are Busy Professionals and Business Owners between the ages of 30-60 years. Clients can opt for:
a) Investment Partnership if they have the minimum US$50,000
b) For others, they can invest in the Phillips Capital’s Private Mandate Global Quant funds.
Contributed by
Milan Doshi
Certified Financial Planner (CFP) | 2X Best-Selling Author |
www.milandoshi.com | www.linkedin.com/in/milandoshi88/