How students should invest

IF you are dipping your toes into the markets and are about to make your first investment, consider the safer products: bonds, blue chips, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and real estate investment trusts (Reits).

That was the advice to undergraduates from panellists at the Singapore Financial Conference, organised by the Nanyang Technological University's Investment Interactive Club on March 27.

Bonds are a good starting point for new investors, said Lynn Gaspar, senior vice-president and head of retail investors at Singapore Exchange (SGX). Bonds are the first level of assets which are slightly riskier than holding cash but have coupons that offer some yield.