Singapore Expats

Keeps calling to meet to invest in bonds, what is the best excuse to give ...so annoying..

Best excuse? "F*ck off." You don't owe these clowns the time of day, never mind an excuse as to why you're hanging up.

Once I had someone calling and calling - eventually I simply told them, look “I’m a passive investor” - those few simple words seemed to do the trick and I never heard back from them again.

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 1:29 pm

Keeps calling to meet to invest in bonds, what is the best excuse to give ...so annoying..

Just tell them: I only invest in SGS bonds and I’m not interested in anything else. That should do the trick, and this is a sound investment strategy as well.

If they try to lure you with higher yields than SGS, there’s really no argument - people should never invest in bonds for higher yields, they should only invest in them because they need the safety. If an investor can afford the risk to seek out higher returns, they would switch to equities, not higher yielding bonds. Again, bonds are for safety — you only buy what you need to meet your safety requirements, nothing more.

Great let me try these methods..they're trying to tell me Óh fixed deposit interest rate have dropped and will drop further'. So you should consider bonds..

I understand from my friend that these bankers have monthly sales targets to meet, so that's why they always keep calling people up. And they'll get axed if sales target not met.

Abbby, I don't know if it still exists but at one time there was a very active underground market for expat business cards. Did you just fall in love with your hot wait person at Penny Black and you gave her your business card? Chances were good that she sold that card for as much as $25 to a list broker who collects names and addresses and sells them back to all the financial "consultants" working on commission.

Did you leave your business card in a jar at Harry's for a free lunch? Chances were good that you were shortly contacted by some "advisor", trying to peddle shares in a widows and orphans fund in West BFE. An enterprising Harry's employee took your card and peddled it to a list broker (and there goes your free lunch).

Summary: Leave your business card anywhere and there's a good chance it gets sold forward to a broker.

So, one way or another, you got onto a list that these yahoo's have purchased in order to make cold calls. I'm always respectful (and I now rarely answer calls that aren't in my phone book) but if I get a really pushy mullet, I push back in spades.

If you like to string them along, one question I like to ask is, "What is your net worth?" Or, "How much do you have in the investment you are trying to sell me?" Then listen to the baloney that spews forth.

Better still, tell them to hang on just a moment and then never get back to the call. That way, they get the message and as a bonus benefit, you wasted their time.

Max Headroom wrote: ↑

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:44 am

Better still, tell them to hang on just a moment and then never get back to the call. That way, they get the message and as a bonus benefit, you wasted their time.

That's a good one, worth a try..let them know how it feels to be irritating