Periscope
Plan for a rich future
By Iris Chu, Angel Li, Vivien Liu, Jennie Tsang and Miranda Shek
More young people are seeking professional financial advice as they want to make handsome returns on their investments.
Financial advisers and youth experts say with good planning and management, young people can better shoulder the monetary burdens of their own, families as well as society amid a growing ageing population in Hong Kong.
The number of people aged between 22 and 30 who obtain investment advice services has jumped 30 per cent over a year, said Chester Chu Wai-pang, executive director of Phoenix Capital Securities Limited, a local brokerage firm with consultancy services.
Mr Chu also said more university students with sound financial support had invested in stocks and funds, and the amount of their investment capital ranged from HK$30,000 to HK$200,000.
：Most of them are interested in buying stocks and derivative products such as warrants, futures and options to earn ．quick money・, though high risks are involved,； Mr Chu said.
Melia Fung Yim-yu, business manager of The Prudential Assurance Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong, said university students whom she provided services for invested to ensure their financial independence so that they could be free to take up whatever they wanted to do in their lives.
The young also invest to compensate the loss because of inflation, she said.
Some financial consultants say the foremost purpose of investment is to offset the pressure of inflation and seeking capital growth is the second objective.
With inflation, or the rise in prices of goods and services, the purchasing power of money will decline. For example, the price of a cell phone was HK$2,000 last year and has gone up to HK$2,100 this year. A person could buy the phone last year, but he cannot do so this year with the same amount of money.
At the same time, young people・s financial burden is expected to increase as they get older and have to pay mortgages, family expenses, wedding bills, children・s tuition fees as well as money backing for ageing and for their own retirement.
Hong Kong's ageing problem will also put a strain on the finances of the young.
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