Time to give online shopping a break

A heady 96 per cent return over four years is something this financial planner can drink to

Shelves of whiskies and cognacs occupy the entire length of financial planner Dennis Neo's living room, but he considers the bottles to be well worth the space they take up.

The whisky fan had frequented bars and found the alcohol expensive, so in 2018, he started to build his own collection, which is now worth over $40,000.

"I found myself enjoying the bottles, buying some while they were on sale or on clearance, and keeping them for a 'bad' day to pop open and share with friends," said Mr Neo, 31, whose whisky purchases feature over 40 different labels.

His collection is stored on floorto-ceiling shelves in a four-room Housing Board flat in Tampines, where he lives with his parents and two younger siblings.

"I realised that some of these bottles had grown in price and I started to view whisky as a bit more than just a drink, which then brought me to whisky as an investment." For example, he recently managed to sell a Johnnie Walker Red Label batch from the 1960s for a cool $300 a bottle, after buying each at $25 to $30 years ago.

When investing in whisky, he tends to look for such things as limited edition bottles by popular distilleries which are set to appreciate in value.

He also prefers to buy whisky casks now - he has invested in two of them, taken care of by cask broker The Single Cask - as he finds this more viable than hunting for single bottles. The broker handles everything from bottling the whisky when the liquid is at its best, to distributing it.

"Just like the stock market, certain casks are changing hands and ownership daily. When a certain distiller or type of cask becomes popular or has been exchanged, I will be notified of the new price and this updates me on its current market value," said Mr Neo.

The Great Eastern representative started his career in quality assurance at a gaming hardware firm, before working for a property developer.