Singapore 2013 ... onwards: mainly finance (and a bit of nat

I did it: I reinvented myself one more time, into a qualified financial analyst.

In 2013 I felt I had to move on. The nature book business was a sunset industry, there was so much information available for free online by then. To be quite honest, I was also a bit disillusioned with the whole biodiversity- and nature-conservation-thing. On and off since the 1960s, I had tried to inform and photograph and write about how wonderful and important nature was, how valuable a diverse and healthy ecosystem was. In the meantime, throughout all this, year after year, nature had crashed. Why? Because of economics! After my mother passed away in Dec 2012, I wrapped up my nature book publishing and distribution company and started studying finance and economics again. This is from the launch of my new book Be Financially Free at the Dutch Club 19 June 2016.

Move into financial analysis

Why?

Why does the rainforest only have a value after it is destroyed? This is one of my favorite places from the 1980s: Track 270 off Highway 3 in Johor, Malaysia, the Panti Forest Reserve - 'reserve' here meaning 'reserved to be logged' as it turned out. In the early 2000s I drove up for a visit again and this is what the trail looked like.

So, is this the vision?

Is this what we want the word to look like? Much of it already does in fact. I have never been to the Maldives, so I stole this image off the internet to use in my powerpoints: It is Male, capital of the Maldives, but it could as well have been Copenhagen, Denmark or Singapore. Economic growth: 7% pa. Wonderful, right? So the place will double in 10 years or so. Double where? Continuous growth in a confined area, like our planet, is an impossibility.

And here is the crunch of the problem:

Population growth. All our environmental problems such as pollution, habitat loss and shortages of cheap easy-to-mine resources and cheap easy-to-grow food really boil down to one issue: There are too many of us! Yet, the powers-that-be constantly warn us that an aging population is a problem and that we need more babies: It is a lie! Let me ask you: Would you like to live like this? Another stolen image, I think it is from Bangladesh.

Economics is the study of scarcity; if there was unlimited supplies of everything, economists would be out of a job. Finance is the economics of money: Management of assets and liabilities involving institutional banking, fiscal and monetary policies as well as personal financial choices. If you can understand the economics of capital, you are better equipped to understand the scarcity of nature. 22 Nov 2013 I passed my first test on Securities Products and Analysis conducted by the Singapore Institute of Banking and Finance.

Yet, few naturalists are interested in finance; some of my nature friends were rolling their eyes when I told them I was going back into economics: Why study 'boring' numbers and money when you are already financially free and can go birding all day - or just sit on the beach somewhere sipping a gin-and-tonic? But I don't find numbers boring: I love them, and sitting in an examination room together with a bunch of 20-30 year-old early career professionals was much more exciting than just lazing at the pool all day! I passed the Capital Markets Rules and Regulations for Fund Management Module the next year, 13 feb 2014.

This was the toughest of the tests required to be recognised as a financial advisor by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): Securities and Futures Product Knowledge. But I passed that one as well on my first try 25 April 2014; I bought some mock-tests online and those helped me prepare well for the questions, you only had 90 seconds for each one.

And this was the easiest: The Rules and Regulations for Financial Advisory Services; I passed that one 17 July 2014 and it was my final test to gain the qualifications I needed to provide financial advice in Singapore. It was conducted at a different venue, by the Singapore College of Insurance, and was mainly targeted at life insurance salesmen and such; the bar for selling insurance is pretty low it seems to me, much lower than the skills necessary for stock brokers and fund managers. If you want to know what I think about insurance in general, check out this link: Be sure not to buy insurance .

Back in the book business!

I spent over a year getting back into economics and finance, studying the curriculum required by MAS as well as my own selection of textbooks and reference material. But no ... I never went to work for a bank or a stock broker or a hedge fund; who would hire a 60+ year-old who had just completed his education anyway? So - I did what I know how to do: I wrote a book!

Be Financially Free came out in 2016. Every single one of the nature books I have ever done, I always did on a contract. I.e., first I was approached by a publisher who wanted me to do this, then I signed an agreement to publish with terms, conditions and a deadline for submission - then I would complete the work. Not so with this one: First I wrote the whole thing the way I wanted it to go, and then I approached Marshall Cavendish (my old publisher from Culture Shock! Denmark, 1996) and asked them if they were interested!? Luckily for me they were, and the editor they assigned to me, Justin Lau, did a great job putting the final book together.

A summary of my life.

Looking back, one of the best things I did growing up and working was not to spend all the money I made! For two reasons: 1) I became financially free at the age of 33, and although I lost most of my assets in an expensive divorce a decade+ later, I had enough sense to keep the money I made after that again - one more time! - so I could retire without being a burden to anyone. And ... 2) By being frugal, I reduced the damage I did to the planet while working in the oil business, travelling, buying cars and having four kids! I wanted to spread that message, so this is from my book launch 19 June 2016: "Don't gamble with your money!"

investing ... preferably ethically

In 2013, Bee Choo and I moved our business into this office and storage space at Orchidville, 82 Sungei Tengah Road. The farm is still there...

... but our offices are not! I wrote Be Financially Free here, but today (2022) both Bee Choo and I work from home.

I had Bee Choo take this photo of me at the Seletar River near our place, for the promotion of my 2016 book; I also used it on my new LinkedIn page as well as on the Marshall Cavendish page about my new books.

And here the photo pops up again, to advertise a talk I did for environmental students at the NUS 20 Oct 2017. Bee Choo filmed the talk.

We loaded up the talk here:

MEM YouTube, but it only got some 77 views, if you see it now we will get 78! This video from 2019 did better.

The thing about a book is that it opens doors for you, for interviews and such; you get your message out that way and improve sales at the same time.

About sustainability

New book on its way!

In the beginning of 2023, I was contacted by staff from Marshall Cavendish again; we met at the Dutch Club for lunch 31 January. They suggested that I write a book in their new series on the Future of Work. My angle would be Sustainability, financial as well as environmental. I agreed in principle, and by 14 March we had a working title established and a signed contract. By the end of that month, March, the editor assigned to me and I had a contents page sorted out and I started writing in earnest. I wrote Apr and May and submitted first draft 3 June.

The editor and I did the first round of content editing before I left for Alaska 2023 27 June.

Scheduled for October

Back from Alaska in early August, the proofs were ready, so I and the MC editor, Justin Lau, had a bit of back-and-forth to tweak the content and complete the graphs and tables.

5 September we had our last correspondence and the book was sent off for printing later that month. This is the cover.

We expect stock out in October, so watch this space!

And this is the back cover and the blurb.

As it says at the back, my volume is one in a series covering various aspects of 'The Future of Work'. After the launch, I look forward to reading what my colleagues have contributed with.

In fact, this is what I often do in my work: I look at what other authors and researchers have come up with and from that I form my own opinions and solutions. Here are some of the reference books I used for Are You Sustainable?, as well as numerous online sources of course.

As it turned out, I got the first copies 25 September 2023 and by the end of that month and next, I started sending out complimentary copies to friends, family and supporters. Hopefully some of them will like the book, review it maybe and help me get my message out.

The books is for sale here, if you want a copy!?

freelance and hobbies

My nature freelance work has come to a grinding halt. Occasionally my old photos are used for historic purposes, such as this one from ST 27 Dec 2013.

I helped my publisher Marshall Cavendish provide the back blurb for a bird book they did: Taking Flight (2017).

And this feature I did for Garuda Indonesia inflight magazine might very well go down in history as my last bird feature! Oct 2015 issue page 137.

Page 138. The magazine wanted to feature Indonesia's bird life and promote eco-tourism travel to watch birds. So they contacted Periplus Editions.

Periplus of course did my Birds of Indonesia (2001), so they contacted me, and I put the story together for Garuda. Photo from Lombok visit (2013).

Most of the images I selected were from my friends and used in the 2014 update of Birds of Indonesia. But notice this barbet of mine from 2009!

some do-gooding as well

At the May 2019 Nature Society (S) AGM, I agreed to join the Society as member of the Executive Committee; later that year I received this NSS award.

As you can see in the 1993-1999 tab, I have a long history with BirdLife International and here Bee Choo and I have tea with the CEO (2nd from left).

Here I engage with the Mandai Holdings (= the Singapore Zoo and BirdPark) on behalf of NSS, and I even wear the same outfit(?).

16 Sep 2016, Bee Choo and I attend the Malaysian Nature Society AGM in Johor and later I give a powerpoint talk on 'Nature and Your Money'.

Here I am MC at an event in Botanic Gardens and present Dr Pilai Poonswad to the crowd, she is the Thai expert on hornbills and an old friend.

In the Jan-Feb 2019 issue of NSS Nature News, President Shawn Lum provides a review of my new book, so in support I join as Hon Sec 3 months later!

a summary of my involvement with Nature society (singapore/malaysia)

In 2022, this 80 Years anniversary book was published by the Malaysian Nature Society. It is a 458 pages, large format, hardcover account of the society's history since 1940.

As an old member, continuously since 1984, and a founding member of Nature Society (S) at an EGM 2 Sep 1991, I was asked to contribute an essay to the book.

The editor of 80 Years, Lee Su Win, did a good job with my contribution - if I may say so. This is page 371.

Page 372.

Page 373. Yes, my 'new' article was mainly a re-hash of my old stories and pictures, but this opportunity gave me a chance to reach out to a new audience.

The editor accepted my format of little boxes and picture stories. In fact, throughout the whole book contributors are allowed to tell their stories in their own words, and I like that. I even manged to get in the sweet point of meeting Bee Choo in the Nature Society!

And ... a summary of my take on birds of singapore

In 2023, Bee Choo and I were approached by the editors of this book, Peace with Nature and asked to write a chapter on Birds of Singapore. I no longer consider myself an expert on this subject, but Bee Choo is still active in the birding circles and I suppose between us we do have some knowledge and experience on the topic. The book came out in September that year.

It was launched 4 September 2023, at the National Library, the Pod on the 16th floor. Bee Choo was away in Colombia, but I turned up to represent us. You will have to look hard to find me at the back, in a room with the Minister for National Development as guest of honour flanked by the book editors and a boat-load of other distinguished academics and writers contributing to the content.

Since you don't see me so well on that photo, here is another one taken a few minutes later, with one of the event participants, John, who has read a couple of my books.

From the book, the blurb on me and Bee Choo.

And our contribution: Page 307.

Page 308.

finally awarded

My days as a serious photographer are long over. I thought I had thrown away most of my photographs, but in 2024 I still had two deep drawers in a filing cabinet full of worthless slides left, mainly of birds. 31 March 2024: Out they go, into the trash! Worthless? Now they are, but in those days (last Century ...), we paid S$0.50 every time we hit the camera shutter; there are thousands of dollars

But you cannot run away from your legacy. In view of our combined contribution to bird documentation and conservation, 29 July 2024, Bee Choo and I were together awarded with a 'Certificate of Global Gratitude'; it is the distinguished Professor Lye Lin-Heng from the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Law handing the certificate to me.

So, does that mean that I can now (finally ...) call myself an 'Award-winning' writer? Right, but where is Bee Choo???

Bee Choo completely missed this prize-presentation event at the JEN (formerly Traders) Hotel. That week, late July 2024, she was roaming around Ladakh territory, India (= 'Little Tibet') with a small group of nature friends. Here she is having her photo taken on a rock somewhere in the Himalayas. See 'My Wife' page for details.

singapore life highlights: 2015-2025

In 2015 I started revamping my Facebook page, and this post from 17 Sep with Mark (13) wearing his new Alaska T-shirt became my first post. Sadly, this excellent restaurant near the MacRitchie Reservoir has long since closed shop.

Someone took this photo of Bee Choo, family friend Eng Tow and me in front of the artist's giant rice grain. I cropped my face out and used it on FB.

A decisive event happened in Singapore on 23 March 2015: The Founding Father of the nation and first PM died 91 years old; here the coffin moves.

The coffin passed our place 29 March 2015 and we walked out to see it. It was quite touching: People shouting LKY's name out loud in authentic grief.

This is the same photo as above, if you look closely you can make out Mark (12) using his own camera.

And this is one of Mark's photos from the west side of the road. I was on the east side, look to the left.

singapore status

By birth, I am a Danish citizen, and in general I am proud of my Viking roots and Nordic heritage. My current passport is good for Oct 2027.

But if you add up the numbers, you can see that I have lived most of my life in Singapore, as of now (2024) some 38 years total. As you can imagine, immigration-wise I have had all kinds of employment passes and such over the years. Then in 2005, I decided to become Permanent Resident and I was lucky to have my application approved.

However, in spite of the name, PR is not really permanent. Every five years I have to apply for a so-called Re-Entry Permit (REP). In July 2024 I still had not heard back from Immigration regarding my 4 March citizenship application and my REP was about to expire. Luckily ICA approved my new REP, so I should be safe here until 2029, no matter the outcome of my application for citizenship.

This is my Singapore IC, and I am happy to have it!

Plus there are practical benefits! With this Senior Citizen card (given to all residents over 60), I get discounts on public transport. The most I can pay for a ride, seamlessly switching between busses/trains all over the country, is S$0.99!!! Who said Singapore is an expensive place to live?

To remove the level of uncertainty (having to renew my PR status every five years) I applied for Singapore Citizenship 4 March 2024. Also, sometimes you listen to your gut feeling for what is right for you. I am tired of being a foreigner here, I don't feel like one. The Republic of Singapore has been good to me in so many ways. And I want out of the EU; Singapore is my home, and I am proud of it.