GIC was previously known as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. It was formed 40 years ago to manage Singapore’s reserves. Whenever GIC is mentioned on social media or the web, it often gets politicised by Singaporeans. But the recent publication of the book Bold Vision: The untold story of Singapore’s Reserves and its Sovereign Wealth Fund by Freddy Orchard gives us a glimpse of GIC’s inner workings, and investors can learn many useful lessons from this organisation. Here is what I have learned from the book : 1) We should have an idea of why we are investing our money In 2002, the board commissioned a study to review GIC’s investment policy and strategy. The study highlights the critical tensions that retail investors would eventually need to address. As investors, we face contradictory goals. On the one hand, investments can be seen as rainy day funds. Position your investment this way...