During the Asian financial crisis, Lim, 34, started a private investment fund utilizing the value-investing approach of his idol, Warren Buffett. Although no rival to Berkshire Hathaway yet, Lim’s $10 million fund is profitable and growing.
Eighteen months ago he decided to found an Internet company and may have himself another contrarian winner. Lim believes the city-state is a perfect candidate for his online fund supermarket, since two thirds of Singapore’s homes have Internet access. And a low-cost online fund distributor has a clear value proposition: Local unit trusts pay up-front commissions of as much as 5.5 percent to traditional equity fund distributors; Lim requires much less.
His fundsupermart.com sold $35 million of unit trusts in 2001, its first year of operation, and expects to sell more than $100 million worth in 2002. “We are growing exponentially,” says Lim.
Friends warned him that starting an online business would leave Lim with time on his hands. Instead, he refers to himself as a 24/7 man. “I am having so much fun here,” Lim says, “that I have no time to play golf.”
