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Investing and insurance coverage are key elements of personal finance. Investing aims to build our wealth, while insurance coverage protects it against unforeseen life circumstances like accidents or illness that could hinder our ability to work and earn. This presents a dilemma for young working adults: which of the two is more important? On one hand, young adults, who have many income-generating years ahead, should prioritise earning, saving, and investing. By doing so, they can set aside an emergency fund and gradually develop an investment portfolio that yields passive income, thereby reducing their reliance on a regular job for financial security. On the other hand, health stands as the most significant asset for young adults. It is the foundation that allows them to earn a living and provide for themselves and their loved ones. Yet, if their health were to deteriorate due to an unforeseen accident or illness, not only would their capacity to work and earn be at risk, but also their potential to build an investment portfolio for long-term financial stability. This is the common advice that flight attendants give during the safety briefing at the start of every flight. The idea behind this is simple: Protecting yourself first puts you in a better position to care for others. In the realm of personal finance, this means securing adequate insurance coverage before embarking on ambitious investment plans. Even the best investment strategies can be derailed if health issues prevent a person from earning a living, and in some cases, even deplete their savings. For young working adults, obtaining suitable insurance coverage as soon as you start your career is essential. This includes health/hospitalisation insurance, life insurance, critical illness coverage, and other relevant policies. As your responsibilities and the number of dependents relying on you increase, it’s advisable to review and potentially increase the coverage levels to ensure sufficient protection and financial stability. Investing early is a wise strategy for those looking to maximise their financial growth. Starting early is advantageous for better investment outcomes due to two main reasons. Firstly, a longer investment horizon provides more time to compound returns. For example, S$10,000 invested over a 10-year period with an annual return of 6% per annum will grow to S$17,908, or about 1.8 times our initial investment. If we increase our investment horizon to 30 years at the same rate of return, our return will grow to S$57,434, or about 5.7 times our initial investment. Secondly, it gives you the opportunity to navigate and withstand market volatility. For young working adults, time is a valuable commodity that should not be squandered in the financial markets. Over the next few decades of investing, we may encounter both good and bad times. Adopting a disciplined approach like dollar-cost averaging, where a fixed amount is invested regularly, is beneficial. This strategy allows investors to purchase more units when prices are low and fewer when prices are high. Over the long-term, this leads to purchasing investment units at a lower average cost while leveraging the power of compounding to effectively grow the investment portfolio. Get Started On Both Investing & Protection Instead of thinking you need to choose between investing and obtaining protection, it can be beneficial to pursue both simultaneously. Beginning early in both investing and protection has distinct advantages, particularly for young working adults. Younger individuals generally face fewer health issues and have a less extensive medical history. As such, the insurance underwriting processes are usually more straightforward, as there are likely to be no pre-existing illnesses that will result in exclusions and more affordable premiums. This is subject to the insurance contract terms and conditions. Starting to invest early also allows one to take full advantage of the power of compounding returns over a longer period. A young investor has the capacity to weather short-term market fluctuations and benefit from the potential growth of their investments over time. By adopting a double-barrelled approach to investing and insurance, young working adults can build a solid financial foundation, ensuring both protection against unforeseen events and the growth of their wealth over the long-term. One product that can help young working adults get started on both investing and protection is . This is a whole-life regular premium investment-linked plan (ILP) that integrates protection with investment opportunities. Customers can invest 100% of their basic premiums in a selection of professionally managed funds. This means that from the onset, the full amount of the premiums goes directly into chosen investment funds, allowing for potential growth from the beginning. There are also welcome bonus, annual premium bonus*, and loyalty bonus  that they can receive. Additionally, this plan offers significant flexibility. Customers can access free unlimited fund switches throughout the policy term, top up the premium and withdraw the accumulated reinvested dividends (if any) at any time. With ReadyCare riders, customers can decide the type of life event coverage they want. This ranges from Death, Terminal Illness, Critical Illness and Hospitalisation benefits. Customers can use the existing investment values to fund the protection coverages, thus reducing the need for additional out-of-pocket cash contributions to pay premiums is designed to help young adults achieve their financial goals by allowing them to address their investment and insurance needs through a single plan. As the policyholder is able to invest in a diversified range of funds, the investment not only has the potential to grow but simultaneously also provides financial protection for customers and their families. This approach ensures that policyholders can build a resilient investment portfolio for the future while also safeguarding themselves against unforeseen events. Consequently, the policy offers a comprehensive financial strategy suitable for young professionals.   *