Raymond Lau: Like

Food is by far my favorite pasttime. I have an entire page dedicated to that under the EAT link. Other than being an epicure, art is my other noteworthy pursuit. In terms of charity, that is a developing area but my institutions of focus are detailed below. I also do like to shop, unusual for a guy. Finally, I also include a section on random recommendations of products, providers, etc.

Art

I am a proud supporter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. New York's Museum of Modern Art is also a regular destination of mine.

Generally, I am a fan of modern and contemporary art, approximately from Impressionism onwards. My favorite artists include Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall. The two most memorable exhibits I have attended were Monet in the Twentieth Century (MFA Boston) and Matisse-Picasso (MoMA New York).

In terms of collecting, I am a budding collector of prints and multiples by modern masters. In my experience, unless you are buying works from emerging artists, I find that the auction houses are much more reasonable than galleries for this pursuit. I regularly participate in the major semi-annual U.S. prints and multiples actions held at Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams & Butterfields, and Swann Galleries.

Charity

I have been a long time supporter of my alma matter, MIT, but recently, I elevated the Massachusetts General Hospital to a co-equal position. Many of the reasons for my interest in healthcare and the life sciences are, as you can imagine, related to various personal developments amongst friends, family, etc. Also, MGH uniquely combines best-of-breed research/teaching with serving the needs of the community. (I view the 5.5 hr avg ER wait [as of 2005] more as a sign of its service to the community as opposed to a point of criticism.)

The only other institution I support (and to a much lesser extent) is the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston.

Clothes Shopping

I am one of the few guys who do like to shop for clothes. In Boston, Sak's is my preferred destination for men's tailored clothing though both other major department stores, Neiman Marcus and Barney's, also get my nod. Other interesting boutiques for men include Stel's, Alan Bilzerian, and the uber high-end Louis Boston.

The tailor I use is Jordan the Tailor on Newbury St. He does a good job and is not expensive.

Recommended Products and Providers

Rebate Credit Cards: If you spend a lot of disposable income, you might as well get something back. Rebate credit cards are my pick. Forget the miles -- you probably fly enough to be both sick of flying (commercial) and overladen with miles as it stands. The best deals (March 2007) are the Chase Perfect card (1 percent back, no hassles), the Chase Professional card (three percent back on restaurants but 5000 point redemption minimum), and the MBNA Worldpoints American Express (for those Neiman Marcus purchases where only AmEx or the house card is accepted). Of course, feel free to ignore the preceeding advice should you opt for an AmEx Centurion card instead.

Law Books: Being in the startup game, one tends to enter into numerous transactions (venture financing, M&A, etc.). As a result, I've taken on an interest in the related areas of law. Most law books are pretty dense, but the following are worth recommending either for their quality, utility, or both:

Farnsworth on Contracts (Either the full treatise, 3rd edition, or the hornbook, 4th edition) - Covers the basics to nuances of contract law and is actually very very very well written.
Venture Capital Forms and Analysis by DeWolf and Roth -- the first book that does a decent job of walking through typical venture financing documents (term sheet, purchase agreement, investor rights agreement, opinion letters, warrants) and various common terms.

Financial Title of 2008: Mohamed El-Erian's When Markets Collide reflects my macro view of the investment climate extremely well.

Savings: If you need to park a little bit of cash, Vanguard gets my nod for money funds without needing to worry about blowups as witnessed during the 2007-2008 credit crunch in various yield-plus funds. Vanguard is the best mutual fund company in my book. However, the best return for a tax-free money market fund is Alpine Municipal Money Market. It carries a top rating from Fitch, though, I am not 100% comfortable with it yet.

Brokerage: For serious trading of stocks, options and futures across numerious worldwide markets, by far the best retail broker is Interactive Brokers. All products are combined into one universal account. Once you've tried their platform, there is no going back. Other direct access brokers like thinkorswim, MB Trading, etc. don't compare. (If you are used to Schwab, TDAmeritrade and other more mainstream brokers, then direct access will be quite a departure to be considered only if you are willing to make a serious enough investment into trading technology.) The only significant downsides are relatively poor customer service (especially for technical support) and no interest on first $10k.

Nifty Software: There is a lot of great software out there. Here I focus on items that are a bit off the radar. LogMeIn Hamachi is a super personal VPN solution (the basic version is free). Why would you need a VPN? So you can remotely access your home PC (file shares, Remote Desktop, iTunes sharing) or conversely your office PC! You can join as many PCs from as many locations as you want to your own VPN. (And of course, join a PC to multiple Hamachi VPNs.) And it works across Windows, Mac and Linux so yes, you can stream iTunes from your Mac at home to your Windows laptop in a hotel room.

There are many other great products out there but none commanding a truly hands down recommendation.




> Last Updated: June, 2008	> Contact: mail@raylau.com