Real Estate Runs in His Blood
Passionate about real estate investing, Ryan Quek grew up surrounded by seasoned real estate investors in his family and chose to build a career in the industry after graduation. Find out why real estate co-investments appeal to Ryan and the significant role they play in his investment portfolio.
Growing up under the influence of family members who are avid investors has taught Ryan the benefits of investing at a tender age. When most of his classmates were still frolicking away during their teenage years, he had already taken his first steps to start investing in stocks. “Back then, I was 16 years old, and I first started investing small amounts of money in blue-chip stocks, which I deemed were ‘safer’ investments,” he recounts.
While that may just be dipping his toes in investing, Ryan says that he has now become a lot more serious about growing his wealth through investing – especially in the last two years or so. “Two years ago, everything was crashing down because of COVID-19. At that time, I entered the market, snapped up some stocks, and ended up making a little bit of money there,” reveals the 24-year-old economics and politics graduate from King’s College London, who is now carving out his career at Malaysia’s leading real estate developer, Sunway Group.
Open to exploring different investment options, he also ventured into other high-risk investments, such as peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurrencies.
Most passionate about real estate
Even though he started his investment journey in stocks, Ryan’s greatest passion is actually real estate investing. That probably explains why he aims to have 50% of his investment portfolio comprising real estate investments. In fact, his choice to build a career in the real estate industry also stems from that.
As a diversifier in his investment portfolio, Ryan sees his investments with RealVantage to date to be of a low-to-medium risk. He opines: “Returns are a function of risks. For the level of risk I take on in my investments with RealVantage, I personally feel that the returns offered are quite good.”
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Lessons learnt as a young investor
Everyone grows smarter about investing through their own ways. As for Ryan, these are through talking to people who are more well versed in certain types of investments, putting money only in investments that he fully understands from his own ‘due diligence’, as well as diversifying his investment portfolio.
“When it comes to real estate investing, I am fortunate to be in the industry, and have bosses, colleagues, and family members who are all very well versed in this field whom I can consult with,” he says.
“Real estate is definitely not accessible to most people. And so to be able to do so with a smaller ticket size is really an attraction to me.”
As a young investor who is keen on investing in brick-and-mortar real estate like many well-heeled investors out there, what really excites Ryan is that he is able to invest in real estate with a much lower investment quantum.
“Real estate is definitely not accessible to most people. And so to be able to do so with a smaller ticket size is really an attraction to me. Also, it may be possible for me to buy a property in Malaysia that costs a few hundred thousand ringgit by taking a loan on my own, but I won’t be able to gain investment access to quality commercial buildings like I do when I invest through RealVantage. So it makes sense, especially for investors of my age, to be investing in real estate with RealVantage,” he comments.
Limited upside in REITs
To gain exposure to real estate investments, Ryan also invests in real estate investment trusts, or REITs. But he quickly realised that there is a stark contrast in terms of the potential for capital gains between REITs and co-investing in real estate, when he discovered RealVantage.
“A lot of times, the returns from REITs are solely dependent on dividend income. So, really, there isn’t much capital upside. The capital gains of a REIT, if there is any, is usually used to re-invest in other assets or pay off its loans. So the capital gains don’t necessarily trickle down to individual investors like me. But in RealVantage’s case, it translates into more capital upside for investors,” he opines.
Making it even more palatable to investors
“I generally think that RealVantage is doing very well. And it really resonates quite well with my investment philosophy and strategy.”
RealVantage’s investment offerings, platform, and business model are right up Ryan’s alley. But he thinks that the investment opportunities could be more palatable to investors if the ticket sizes could be smaller and the onboarding process for non-Singaporeans could be more convenient.
“I generally think that RealVantage is doing very well. And it really resonates quite well with my investment philosophy and strategy. That’s why I’m trying to allocate more money to the investment platform. I am also constantly advocating for RealVantage – because of the referral fees I get to earn too, of course,” he says with a chuckle.
He comments: “In my view, smaller ticket sizes make sense, especially for investors of my age to be in the game. For me, I would think that $10,000 or so may be more palatable. Also, the current process for a Malaysian to invest with RealVantage is not too convenient yet. So I think that may be one barrier for non-Singaporean investors, and it should be improved on.”
About RealVantage
RealVantage is a leading real estate co-investment platform, licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), that allows our investors to diversify across markets, overseas properties, sectors and investment strategies.
The team at RealVantage are highly qualified professionals who brings about a multi-disciplinary vision and approach in their respective fields towards business development, management, and client satisfaction. The team is led by distinguished Board of Advisors and advisory committee who provide cross-functional and multi-disciplinary expertise to the RealVantage team ranging from real estate, corporate finance, technology, venture capital, and startups growth. The team's philosophy, core values, and technological edge help clients build a diversified and high-performing real estate investment portfolio.
Get in touch with RealVantage today to see how they can help you in your real estate investment journey.
Disclaimer: The information and/or documents contained in this article does not constitute financial advice and is meant for educational purposes. Please consult your financial advisor, accountant, and/or attorney before proceeding with any financial/real estate investments.