How I Invest: Don’t be fooled by stories of quick investment wins

From a young age, Valerie Kok had to learn how to be prudent with money. Raised by a single mother, she and her older sister saw how their mum worked tirelessly to support them, while also inculcating in them habits that could help to future-proof their finances.

The 38-year-old recalls: “Mum taught us the value of saving early. With no formal financial education and limited time to learn about complex products, she encouraged putting money into simple, safe instruments that earned a bit of interest such as fixed deposits and endowment plans – a practical and cautious approach.”

No matter how little they had, her mum also insisted on giving back. She would take them to charity organisations such as nursing homes and halfway houses to volunteer, which remains as one of Valerie’s core memories.

With these life lessons, Valerie knew what she needed to do when her mother was retrenched from a global technology company in her early 50s. Valerie had just entered polytechnic at the time.

“Not wanting to be a burden to her, I worked and studied at the same time to remain financially independent. It was a tough but formative time of my life, where I learnt discipline, grit, and the importance of taking control of my financial future,” she says.

The juggling of school and work continued in university. She attended biomedical science lectures in the day, while giving tuition and meeting clients as a financial advisor in the evenings and weekends. 

The turning point came when a mentor from the insurance firm she was working at asked: “If you’re not planning to work in a lab, why not give 100 per cent to your financial career?”

Thus at 23, Valerie made the bold decision to leave school midway to do exactly that. 

She shares: “It wasn’t easy, especially when my mum hoped I’d take a ‘safe’ nine-to-five job like teaching. My dad had once said, ‘It’s hard for women to survive in sales. It’s a man’s world.’ I remember hearing that and thinking, ‘Watch me’. I believe that women can thrive, even in male-dominated industries.”

Indeed, Valerie is now a leader to watch. She has since won multiple awards yearly, and also emerged as one of the top two per cent of award recipients – one of the youngest female awardees – during her eight-and-a-half-year stint at Prudential where she has also been recognised for her exemplary work by a global association.

In 2017, she joined wealth management group St James’s Place Asia where she is now a partner. There, she has been advising clients and mentoring a team, passing on the baton to the next generation.

Valerie also initiated its Women Leaders Collective, a platform where successful, like-minded women come together to network and also share expertise, life experiences, and grow through long-term, trusted relationships.

Outside of work, the mother-of-three also manages the investment portfolio and insurance of her mum, now 69, and retired. “She continues to live life on her own terms: healthy, independent, and self-sustained. Watching her age gracefully has reminded me how important it is to plan early, both financially and emotionally.”

We find out more about Valerie’s investment philosophy with some handy tips to future-proof your own portfolio; and how she imparts financial literacy to her own children.

Tell us about your investment style

My approach is shaped deeply by my upbringing. I’ve always believed that money should work for you, even while you sleep, but it should also let you sleep soundly. 

My investment style is disciplined and intentional. I focus primarily on long-term investing through diversified portfolios, mainly mutual funds and stocks. 

I’m not a high-risk taker, and I always remind myself, as Warren Buffett famously said, “Invest in what you understand.”

What was your first investment?

I started saving as a teenager and bought my first endowment plan when I was in polytechnic, and subsequently started buying more plans as my income grew, quickly realising I preferred more flexibility and better yields.

Today, I continue to invest consistently through monthly savings and do lump-sum top-ups when the markets dip, to accumulate more units at better prices.

For women who are new to investing, I usually recommend starting with a well-diversified portfolio. Think mutual funds that span across countries, industries, and asset types – equities, bonds, bottom-up, top-down strategies. 

Diversification helps buffer the impact of market swings, and when you invest regularly (e.g. monthly), you lower your risk through dollar-cost averaging. It’s also crucial to understand your risk appetite, your time horizon, and how much you need for your future goals like retirement.

What was your biggest loss?

My biggest investment loss was from 2021 to 2022. A friend told me about a “hot stock” and urged me to jump in with $20,000.

Unfortunately, that stock plummeted and it taught me that investing based on hearsay is risky, especially with individual stocks where you’re exposed to company-specific decisions, leadership, and market sentiment.

Based on that experience, I now share with clients and friends: When investing in a single stock, you need to actively monitor it – know when to buy, when to hold, and when to exit. 

Unlike a diversified mutual fund portfolio, where risk is spread across markets, industries, and asset classes, a single-stock play is like putting all your eggs in one basket.

What was your biggest win?

Ironically, my biggest win was also during a time of panic in early 2020, when the markets tanked during the Covid-19 pandemic. While many were selling off, I went in and bought a good-quality tech stock. That decision earned me over 100 per cent in returns.

But I always tell women: don’t be fooled by stories of quick wins – this was more of a lucky draw than a reliable strategy. If you don’t understand what you’re investing in, the risks are far greater than the rewards.

How are you teaching your little ones about money?

Having children has shifted my perspective on future-proofing. It’s no longer just about financial security for myself – it’s about creating a strong foundation for them. 

I’ve become even more disciplined in my investment approach, knowing that the habits and values I model will influence how my daughters, aged 12, nine, and seven, view money and life.

I’ve taught them to save at least 10 to 20 per cent of their allowance the moment they receive it. This instills discipline, responsibility, and the concept of delayed gratification. We’ll later introduce the idea of dollar-cost averaging in a fun and simple way.

We even plan to reward them with bonuses based on how well they stick to their savings goals, and show them how small consistent savings can grow significantly over time, the magic of compounding.

Valerie’s investment journey in numbers

• 2008: Her first financial product, a $150 endowment plan
• $20,000: Her biggest loss on a “hot stock” from 2021 to 2022
• 100 per cent: Her biggest win on a tech stock in 2020
• 23: The age Valerie left school to work full-time