Wine is a wise investment, says the Morgan Stanley fund manager.

Show me the money, says Karn Karuhadej of Morgan Stanley, and I'll come back with twice as much

Karn Karuhadej, the executive director of Hong Kong-based Morgan Stanley, has managed the personal wealth of some of the richest people in Asia. We're not even talking about millions, but billions.

Interestingly, he says most rich folks don't care much about buying luxury products. In fact, Karn says, the average Joe spends far more money than the affluent.

"They eat boiled rice every morning," he says of one billionaire's family. "They have to think it over again and again whether they want to buy a computer. And as for buying a Bt10,000 bottle of wine, they wouldn't even consider it."

Among wealthy people, the big spenders are usually the children of the rich, who, having inherited their money, are freer with it. But even so, they're still careful, says Karn.

Most "old wealth" people have earned it in business and are more interested in preserving their fortune, safeguarding it against inflation.

In Europe and North America, Karn says, wealth managers are commonly left on their own to make the decisions, but in Asia, people prefer to call the shots themselves.

In the West he'd be left alone to do the investing and might hear from them every few months, checking up on his progress.

Where does Karn put his own money? He prefers items that will definitely increase in value. One of his favourites is wine, but he also invests in wristwatches and property.

He advises against buying cars, though - that's a commodity that's going to depreciate.

XTRA

3 pecuniary pointers

1 Make sure you know what you're investing in. If you don't understand within 15 minutes what the business is about, walk away.

2 Share the wealth. The world's richest people are also philanthropists. It's more than nice, it's how you avoid massive taxation.

3 Take advantage of equity stakes. You become a part owner of a business by buying its stocks.