You will write a one-page policy that governs any speculative or alternative asset you hold.
Somewhere in the next few years, a new asset will catch your eye. Maybe a token everyone is talking about, a platform with a yield that sounds reasonable, a gold promotion at your bank, or a friend's pitch for a share in a rare whisky. When it arrives, you will not want to reread a course. You will want a single page that says what you allow, how much, and what anything new has to pass first. This project is that page.
Write a one-page alternatives policy that governs every speculative or alternative asset you hold or might hold: crypto, gold, P2P lending, collectibles and anything similar. It should be short enough to read in two minutes and specific enough that a friend could check whether you were following it. Allow about 45 minutes. You will draw on work you have already done, so gather it first: your loss figure from lesson 8.1, your band and exit rules from lesson 8.2, your exchange check from lesson 3.4, your custody plan from lesson 4.4, your red-flag checklist from lesson 5.4, and your due diligence sheet from lesson 7.4.
Open with your position cap, written two ways, as a percentage of your investable assets and as a dollar figure. Say which one governs if they disagree as your wealth changes. Then list the foundations that must be in place before any speculative money goes in: your emergency fund, no expensive debt, and regular investing in your core portfolio, following the order in lesson 1.1 of The Singapore personal finance system, Why the order you set things up matters more than the products. If a foundation slips, for example if you use your emergency fund, the policy should say that new speculative money stops until it is rebuilt.
Next, write the checks. Keep them short and refer to the documents that hold the detail. For any crypto exchange, it must pass your licence and terms check. For any platform or product at all, it must clear your red-flag checklist with no unresolved flags. For any other alternative, you must complete a due diligence sheet before putting money in.
Add one line that covers anything you have not thought of: if a product cannot be checked this way, because the information is not available, the answer is no.
Write your rebalancing band as numbers: the cap, the level at which you trim, and whether and when you top up after a fall. Then list your event-based exit rules, each one specific enough to check. Finally, state your custody approach: what stays on a licensed exchange, what sits in self-custody, and where the custody plan and executor instruction are kept, without any seed phrase or password.
For step 4, sign and date the page, and write the date of your next yearly review. The signature sounds like a formality. It is there because a document you have signed is harder to ignore in an exciting week than a note on your phone.
Here is Darren's, with his made-up figures, as an example of the level of detail to aim for. Yours will reflect your own numbers and choices.
Cap: 5% of investable assets, currently S$3,000. The percentage governs as my assets change. Foundations first: six-month emergency fund in place, no card debt, monthly investing into my core portfolio. If any slips, no new speculative money until it is restored. Checks: any exchange must pass my licence and terms check; any platform must clear my red-flag checklist; anything else needs a completed due diligence sheet. If I cannot check it, I do not buy it. Band: trim back to 5% when speculative assets pass 7%. Top up to 5% only at the yearly review, never mid-fall. Exits: withdraw from any exchange that loses its MAS licence, appears on the Investor Alert List, or limits withdrawals. Sell any stablecoin that stays below its peg for more than a day. Exit any position whose reason for holding no longer applies. Custody: up to S$300 on a licensed exchange for occasional use; the rest on a hardware wallet. Plan and sealed executor instruction kept with my will papers. Signed and dated, with the next review on the first weekend of January.
Aisha's policy looks different. She holds no crypto and does not plan to, so her custody line is short and her exit rules are about her gold savings account and the bank's terms. Her cap is smaller than Darren's, because her home purchase is three years away and she wants more of her money within reach. Both policies fit on one page, and neither tells the other what to buy.
Once your page is written and signed, it has one more job. Put it beside a list of what you actually hold today, and look for the places where the two disagree.
Write and sign your alternatives policy, then check your current holdings against it and list any change you need to make.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).