Pauline Teo

Pauline Teo (Teo Puay Lin) is an author, investor, and speaker. She is currently the Executive Director of VI College, the education arm of 8VI Holdings Limited (“8VI”) , and the master trainer for VI College’s Passive Income for Families webinar.
== Education ==
Teo enrolled at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore in 1996. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Studies (Hospitality and Tourism Management) from the same university in 1999.
In 2005, Teo enrolled for an executive diploma Business Consultancy and Change Management at the Swiss Management Forum. It was also in the same year when she was awarded with a diploma on Human Resource Management from the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).
Teo proceeded to take a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology at the NTU Singapore in 2007. She completed her master’s degree in 2010.
== Career ==
Teo worked in the public service after graduating from the university. She was a Training Manager at the Ministry of Defence’s Centre for Management Development (MCMD) from April 2001 to May 2007. The centre was privatised in 2007, so the retrenchment package Teo got from the privatisation was invested in a unit trust she has already invested in since 2000.
Teo joined the Civil Service College as a Manager in July 2007 until July 2011. It was 2011 when she joined 8VI Holdings Limited, first as a Director of 8VI Education, where her main focus is on the Financial Education and Training Seminar business of the company.
In 2014, Teo assumed the General Manager and Executive Director position at 8VI. She is also one of the key speakers and leaders whose role is to help the team expand beyond Singapore.
== Investment Journey ==
Teo’s investment journey started in 2000 even before becoming a part of an investment education firm. It was not a successful investment venture as she lost 40% of her portfolio during the 2007/09 Subprime Mortgage Crisis. This unfortunate event was what Teo credits for crossing paths with 8VI. She attended one of 8VI’s early programmes, the Millionaire Investment Programme (MIP). Today, she shares whatever she has learnt from investing to students who come to 8VI’s programmes.
Currently, Teo’s investment portfolio is a 7-digit figure, earning her “The Multimillionaire Mum” title from the investor community at 8VI.
As a trainer, Teo received quite a number of criticisms, especially when her advertisements showcased celebrities, like Gurmit Singh, Evelyn Tan, and Darren Lim, going for her course.
== Interviews ==
In 2016, in an interview with Yahoo Finance Singapore, Teo gave tips for aspiring value investors. For her, value investing can be learnt in different ways and can be done by anyone regardless of age and experience.
In a separate interview with the same author and publication, Teo asked investors, especially parents, to set aside time to learn investing. 
In 2017, she gave an interview with Small Cap Asia, where she emphasised that investing is a skill that women can excel at. Talking from her personal experience, accumulating capital gains from her stock investments through the years, Teo shared the key is doing it with a group. She would study stocks with a study group where they meet up monthly to analyse companies. 
In a 2020 magazine interview for the “I Am Her” series of The Beau Life, Teo likened investing to swimming. Both have risks but both can be learnt.
In a 2022 feature article for Chief of Staff Asia, Teo provided advice for women like herself who has multi-hyphenated role. As she is a mother of two, a wife, a daughter, an investor, and an employee, she acknowledged that playing these roles simultaneously is not easy, but she shared some tips on how to make it manageable and still get income from investments.
== Books ==
One of her favourite personal finance books is Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad where she learnt the concept of “paying yourself first” before spending your money.
She authored two books, Value Investing for Women and Invest Like Buffett. Both talk about how parents and women can take the lead in achieving financial freedom through investing in stocks.
== Charitable Works ==
Pauline gives back to the community in every way she can. She is currently part of Rotary Club Singapore. In 2016, she led 8VI’s efforts to raise funds for needy students. They sold tickets at $88 each for an anniversary dinner for 8VI Holdings. They raised more than $26,000 and donated this amount to the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (SPMF). 
In 2021, the company donated $14,194.50 to the same charity from a donation drive that both seeks participant’s donation of $1 to be matched with $49 by the company. This continued until December 2021 where the company partnered with Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) for the donations
Category:Writers
Category:Investors
Category:Nanyang Technological University alumni