Ringgit and Sense

As new iPhones hit stores tomorrow, it’s clear that smartphones are getting more expensive. So how should we navigate this as buyers? Alexander Wong, Managing Editor of SoyaCincau, joins Ringgit and Sense to unpack what your money actually buys across today's higher price tiers and where he believes the pricing sweet spot is. As expected, Apple unveiled its latest hardware lineup last week, featuring the much-anticipated iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, while a base-model iPhone 18 was notably absent. Pricing has quickly become a primary talking point, with Apple effectively raising the floor price across its lineup. The new iPhone 18 Pro series sees price increases over the previous generation, while the iPhone 17 remains in the lineup at the higher RM4,299 price point rather than receiving a traditional price drop. Driven by global AI demand, an escalating memory shortage, dubbed "Ramageddon", is pushing up smartphone prices across budget, mid-range, and flagship tiers. Alex evaluates whether ultra-premium foldables like the iPhone Duo justify their price tags, reveals what he believes is the new smartphone sweet spot, and breaks down how memory supply shifts are impacting mid-tier models. Plus, get practical strategies to stretch your tech budget, from trade-ins and certified refurbished devices to protection plans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Apple’s latest iPhones pushing prices higher than ever, are monthly subscriptions and leasing plans the answer instead of paying cash upfront? Idham Idris, Director of Corporate Treasury Investment Services and Licensed Financial Planner at Wealth Vantage Advisory, joins Ringgit and Sense to break down how much it really costs when we spread out the payment of a smartphone. Are these "phone-as-a-service" options good, bad, or complicated? Idham unpacks how monthly pricing can trick our brains into overspending, and why financing options potentially trap us in perpetual upgrade cycles. He also breaks down what to watch for in telco bundles, how to set practical budget guardrails, and where to redirect your money once a phone is finally paid off. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With trillions passing to heirs globally, preparing successors involves far more than transferring financial balances. Lim Eng Ping, Maybank’s Head of Wealth Management Malaysia, and Abdul Halim Abdul Rashid, Maybank’s Head of Islamic Wealth Management Malaysia, join BFM’s Ringgit and Sense to discuss how families can successfully navigate intergenerational succession. They unpack why instilling financial discipline, business values, and stewardship early in children is essential to long-term wealth preservation. They also detail how values-aligned Shariah-compliant solutions, including Hibah, trusts, and Zakat planning, protect family-owned businesses, align values with wealth, and prevent bitter estate disputes before life events make planning urgent. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How should you value a stock? There are numerous ways and models to value a company, but using the wrong one can give a very misleading picture of what a business is actually worth. Pankaj C. Kumar, Managing Director of Datametrics Research and Information Centre (DARE), joins BFM’s Ringgit & Sense to break down the variety of valuation methods and explain when each is appropriate. He dives into the P/E ratio, discounted cash flow (DCF), price-to-book price-to-sales, and EV/EBITDA, illustrating how to match specific metrics to the right industry sectors, how to evaluate analyst target prices with healthy skepticism, and when buying ETFs is smarter than picking individual stocks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should individual investors avoid investing in IPOs? With data showing that two out of three IPOs in Malaysia trade below their listing price within a year, separating genuine long-term value from short-term market hype is harder than ever. Ng Zhu Hann, CEO of TradeView Capital, joins BFM’s Ringgit and Sense to discuss why first-day price pops and high over-subscription rates can be deceiving, and what it really takes to evaluate an initial public offering (IPO). He reveals critical prospectus red flags to look for before placing a bid, from subtle governance warnings in Related Party Transactions to single-customer concentration risks. He also shares key metrics for assessing how listing proceeds are allocated and how investors should evaluate pre-IPO dividend payouts. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A viral story claims a retiree allegedly blew through RM700,000 in EPF savings in just 21 days. True or false, it highlights a terrifying reality: decades of disciplined accumulation can vanish very quickly without a decumulation plan. Stephen Yong, Licensed Financial Planner and Executive Director of Wealth Vantage Advisory, joins BFM’s Ringgit and Sense to discuss the best practices and mindsets to adopt when you finally get access to your EPF money. He explains how sudden access to large lump-sum retirement balances can trigger a "windfall" mindset, leading to rapid capital depletion, as well as why retirees should retain core funds in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to leverage its historical dividend yields. He also breaks down how to calculate retirement targets while accounting for inflation and longevity risk, and shares his 3-step checklist before you make your first EPF withdrawal. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysian employees have until August 31st to make an important financial choice: whether to remain in or opt out of PERKESO’s new 24-hour accident protection scheme, Lindung 24 Jam. While regular SOCSO deductions cover workplace-related incidents and invalidity, this new 0.75% salary deduction (rising to 1% in 2028 and 1.25% in 2031) extends income replacement to non-work-related accidents. But if you already hold personal accident, life, or medical insurance, are you simply paying twice for the same coverage? Licensed financial planner Ian Wong, Founder & CEO of Uno Advisers, joins BFM’s Ringgit and Sense to break down how Lindung 24 Jam bridges critical insurance loopholes, examine the RM6,000 salary capping mechanism, and provide a clear decision framework for employees evaluating whether to stay in or opt out before the deadline. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ASEAN's affluent population is growing by 5-6% a year, with the middle class set to make up 65-70% of the region by 2030. CIMB's Haniz Nazlan joins us to break down what's driving this boom, and how wealth management is being rewritten as fortunes are built, protected, and transferred. Click here to find out more about CIMB Private Wealth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the midpoint of 2026, a fragile US-Iran ceasefire has broken down while an AI-fuelled memory chip boom has sent Korea's Kospi up 77%, and central banks are growing more cautious as inflation proves sticky. Harmander Mahal from Standard Chartered joins us to unpack what it all means for portfolios, from equities and bonds to gold and cash. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About 38% of EPF members have reached what EPF calls "Basic Savings," up from 35% last year, but that still leaves 62% short. And "Basic Savings" only covers bare necessities. Felix Neoh joins us to unpack what's realistic for salaried employees, gig workers, and stretched households trying to close the savings gap, and offers ways to boost our retirement funds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI infrastructure buildouts, a wave of mega IPOs, energy supply shocks, and shifting safe-haven dynamics have prompted investors to rethink their positioning for the second half of 2026. Desmond Kuang from HSBC joins us to discuss the private bank’s Q3 investment themes and portfolio construction strategies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore is Southeast Asia's largest stock market, but most Malaysian investors only go as far as DBS, UOB, and OCBC for dividends. Is there more to the SGX than yield plays? We discuss: • Beyond the banks and REITs, which sectors and themes on the Singapore stock market deserve a closer look. • Can Singapore small caps deliver the multi-bagger returns and what to look for when picking them. • How Singaporean REITs stack up against Malaysian REITs • What the new SGX-Nasdaq dual-listing arrangement, share buybacks, and MAS-backed market reforms actually mean for retail investors. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buy Now Pay Later has become the default payment method for millions of Malaysian consumers, promising instant approval and zero friction at checkout. But that is changing, and the new Consumer Credit Act is rewriting the rules. Johnson Hong and Lo Khai Yi, partners at Halim Hong & Quek, discuss new legal requirements placed on BNPL providers, shoppers, and its impact on the broader consumer finance landscape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wahed's new fractional real estate product lets investors tap into Shariah-compliant property exposure with as little as RM500. We speak to Mohsin Siddiqui, CEO of Wahed, about how the product works, how it stacks up against i-REITs, and whether being Shariah-compliant comes at the cost of returns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RHB's top small caps for 2026 are financially stable, with bright growth prospects and resilient. Elaine Boey speaks with Alexander Chia, Head of RHB Regional Research, about how these companies are selected, what makes them stand out, and how they are navigating the headwinds in the second half of 2026. Go to RHB's website for the RHB's 20 Jewels 2026 Report'. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ringgit & Sense, producer Jake Lim speaks with Nur Mahfuudhzah binti Normin, licensed financial planner at Resolute Planning about Islamic financial planning - how it differs from conventional financial planning, some of the principles involved, how insurance and interest work under this framework and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ringgit & Sense, producer Jake Lim speaks to Stephen Yong, licensed financial planner and Executive Director at Wealth Vantage Advisory about a certain income bracket among Malaysian - specifically the T20 group - why the classification might be broken from the outset, why individuals and households in the lower end of T20 might not be as ‘rich’ as many of us think. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ringgit & Sense, producer Jake Lim speaks with Linnet Lee, licensed financial planner at Resolute Planning about unit trusts - what they are, what kind of investors might be interested in the profile of this investment instrument, how they differ from other instruments like ETFs, and more. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ringgit & Sense, producer Jake Lim speaks to Kevin Neoh, licensed financial planner and Head of Financial Planning at VKA Wealth Planners about budgeting in times of economic stress - even though we aren’t technically in a recession yet, the government has advised the people to spend cautiously. They’ll be discussing how to best do this! Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Ringgit & Sense, producer Jake Lim speaks to Yuvarajan Periyan, licensed financial planner and co-founder of Uno Advisers about young money in the wake of news of more younger people declaring bankruptcy in Malaysia. Jake will be asking Yuva about the allure of the ‘social media lifestyle’, why young investors might take excessive risk and more. Image Credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.