"Nothing to lose"

Property investment is the main source of investment for the local, older Hong Konger. Since the maturity of the property market, Hong Konger is looking for alternative methods to grow their monetary wealth. Inherited wealth is also common in Hong Kong where parents are continually looking for ways to ensure their children has a stable and well-off future.

Catherine Sit, a wife of a retired banker and mother of two UK graduate lawyers. What matters to her is family and monetary stability giving her the freedom of doing anything anytime.

Catherine is active and always on the go. “I will never stop. I don’t think 24hours is enough.” She does Tai Chi each morning at 6am, plays golf at Chongshan during the weekend where she owns a house and at night walks her Shiba given to her husband as a retirement gift.

At the age of 52, a successful mother and wife and having retired at 42, she constantly reiterates “there is nothing to lose”, the basic foundation to her adventurous and open-minded personality.

At the frontline of her social circle, she is well-aware of the global happenings and is technologically savvy. “I purchase at taobao and email to communicate with my children. Recently, I emailed them about A380 which launches in Hong Kong on 9th July…wondering whether they wanted to fly on it.”

Money is of less importance to her at this stage, her family is. “I am the anchor to the family, keeping them intact” and this is really the core to her definition of thriving. She seeks stable monetary growth. Despite this, she believes “money can solve a lot and anything is related to money”.



With more than enough disposable income for her and her children, she has the utmost ability to choose in her life. “I went on a round-the-world trip last year with my husband…. Sometimes I’ll have yumcha with my girlfriends and we might suddenly decide to go on a trip and we just go!”

For investments, she largely trusts herself and instincts. “Why ask you (bankers) to manage. I can manage my money, maybe even better. I trust myself“. Catherine will make transactions and conduct thorough searches online.

Catherine’s optimism shines when asked about the effects of the economic crisis. “It is really just tightening the gap between me and Li Ka Shing (richest man in Hong Kong)”.

Today, she is a guide to her children’s investment and holds numerous properties around China with rent as the main source of income. She is still on the watch for low-risk monetary growth.

Opportunities: to be the global “family” private investment bank but this must be proven by time. It is about trust and 100% honestly which to the consumer’s mind has diminished in banks today. Not selling but growing with the customer “.