Saturday 2 December 2023

Nov $4,605 ... YTD $121,122 ... 2024 $102,891

With the year fast approaching the end of 2023 .... things are traditionally starting to crawl in the market as investors start to wind down for holidays and strategise for the upcoming new year. It has also been the first full year of my sabbatical without employement income. While clocking my 6-figures investment target (YTD $121K), it is still lower than my previous income of job+cpf, minus the long hours of company politics/meetings/travelling etc. Well I guess in life, there's always a Give and Take. As the saying goes ... Nothing in life is Free... Everything has its Price


The month of Nov profits came mainly from DBS, bonds and a small position in SIA Engineering. Have always enjoyed flying in SIA planes since young, plus Singapore's aspirations to vie as an aviation hub, so this smallish position should be okay 😎  Nimbled a bit more on UOB, which is making into my Top stock position. Bought some SSB/Tbills and participated in the DRP of MLT. So basically that sums up my Nov activities hahaha ...




Finally tabulated my Top20 positions which makes up 98% of my portfolio. Bonds and Banks form the major bulk, with common household blue chips and Reits. Started dabbling with S&P500 ETF (VUSD.L and IVV.US) and Nov month has been a good recovery for S&P500 index. USA market has always been much more lucrative than the "boring" Singapore market. If I need more money, I will invest into USA stocks 😂  

As always, if u have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below



No comments:
Labels:

Tuesday 31 October 2023

Slower Oct $3,769 ... YTD $118,574 ... 2024 $99,927 projected

With 2 more months to go till the end of 2023, Oct and Q4 are turning out to be a slow crawl. As I have basically achieved my 2023 targets and making plans for 2024, I have allowed things to drift somewhat 😂 Markets have turned surprisingly negative in Oct, with ongoing wars in Israel & Ukraine, high 10y bond yields and less than spectacular quarterly company results. Traditionally Oct month tends to be "bad", so let's hope that things pick up better in the upcoming months ahead towards a Christmas rally and solid New year!



For the Oct month, I have basically collected some $$$ from bonds, reits and sold some ST Engineering. Doing some nimbling of S&P500 ETF VUSD.L and UOB (which have been unusually weak, with an okay Q3 results out). For USA markets which have run up 19% this July, and even with a current 10% market correction, still sits with a 8% gain YTD, it only makes sense to nimble a bit for long term investment. Market sentiments tend to swing wildly from optimism to pessimism, so there exists pockets of profit opportunities. Singapore markets are also not spared from these negativities, actually the correlation to negativism is pretty strong for our open economy. Looking into the latest UOB results, I seem to think their Q3 results was okay, with Citi integration ongoing and higher expanses now, but should contribute positively ahead. Maybe analysts expectations are much higher I guess. Let me know in the comments below, if u also share my thoughts on S&P500 and UOB 😎



No comments:
Labels:

Monday 2 October 2023

Slow Sep $9,206 ... YTD $112,770 ... 2024 estimate $95,648

I have been moving slowly forward in life for the past 1.5 yrs 😎 Is this something that I really want? Or is there much more I can achieve? There are really 2 sides of me, that are constantly fighting/reasoning ... The current situation is what it is ... There are pros and cons to every lifestyle and no one can really determine what is truly right or wrong ... Should I trade more Time vs Money? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below ...


The past month of Sep has been quite lacking in investment activities. Besides completing my sale of Yangzijiang and building my SGS T-bill ladder, there is probably nothing much done ... haha ... Dividends collected are Comfort Delgro and Reits (ESR, Kreit, MIT, MLT) ... oh I did nimble some S&P500 ETF VUSD.L for the long term. Also looking to divest my ST Engineering and invest more into UOB, to streamline my entire portfolio. I seem to be getting lazier  😂  Doing some further projections to my passive portfolio in 2024 would amount to $95,648 ... Hmm ... should be quite comfortable to not work another year right?!


5 comments:
Labels:

Monday 11 September 2023

USA vs Singapore Stock Market

Over the past few months, I have been rebalancing & streamlining my portfolio to make it easier to manage for the future. I have fully divested Sembcorp Industries and Yangzijiang, and will be looking to sell away my small holding of ST Engineering in the near future. 




Diversification is a risk management strategy to create different investment assets within a portfolio. With every strategy comes its pros and cons. While attempting to reduce risk through different baskets of equities, more time would also be needed to analyze and manage the risks within each investment. As I am looking to increase my holdings in S&P500 ETFs (IVV.US and VUSD.L) for the longer term, it only makes sense to reduce my time in other non-critical Singapore stocks.

I have in the past avoided investing in USA stock market (besides Employee Stock Purchase Plans) due to the time difference, taxes and more importantly in the event of sudden death. It would be confusing for my spouse or immediate family to liquidate the USA holdings coupled with Singapore estate assets during times of grieve. Since I have slightly more time now and with USA still being the most investible market in the next few decades, it makes sense to dabble once again with tiny steps into passive ETFs.




The S&P500 index has really had an explosive run since 1950s. With the exception of 8-years period from 2000 to 2008 (Dotcom and Global Financial Crisis). With the 2020 Covid crash behind us, and USA markets recovering to push towards new all time highs, will it go even higher or revert back to a double top 8-years period repeat? Let me know your thoughts in the Comments section below  😎


In the short term chart, price support would be in 4370 levels, while price resistance would be in 4580 levels. Would hope to pick up some if prices retrace to around 4370, as USA economy seems to be heading for a soft landing. Inflation is coming down slowly but surely, and labour market is reasonably strong. If the economy weakens in 2024, the Fed would have more options to reduce interest rates and print more money, which bodes well for the USA stock market. While long term it might not be the best choice for the country, but it does turbo boost the market prices from the 2009 GFC recovery. Cheap money always finds the place where it is treated best, and good investors would have little choice but to ride the bull run so as to protect their personal wealth. Buying the Top500 companies would be buying into the near future of USA, and my personal conviction is that USA would remain the strongest and most investible market in the next decade.

Are you also looking to buy into the S&P500? Let me know too 😅

Related Posts:

9 comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday 31 August 2023

EC World ... 1st Reit victim from High Interest Rates!

News broke out early this morning that China based EC World Reit has requested for voluntary suspension. With the Singapore investing community's preferance on Reits, some people are naturally still invested in this Reit and disappointed with the suspension of their hard earned monies. 

While personally not invested in this reit, it is a timely reminder that with ALL investments,  for yield or capital gains, they do come with certain Risks. I too have my own share of painful experiences (Hyflux, Noble and other China stocks). 

Reits being highly leveraged businesses are certainly not spared from the rapid rise of high interest rates. Coupled with China trying to rebalance their economy for the future, slowing growth and deflation pressures in the property segment, more victims and pain should be forthcoming. The search for high yield % returns should not be at the expense of capital loss. Fundamentally strong businesses should be the First selection investment criteria! 

For those who are vested in EC World Reit, take some time to mourn and learn from this painful lesson. Afterward, let it be another stepping stone to your investment journey. Jiayou! Gambatte! Fighting!


No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)