Completed divesments in DBS4.7%

Was able to fully divest my entire stake in DBS4.7% before some of the bad press on perpetual securities came into the limelight recently. All this talk about MAS advising retail investors on some of the "dangers", is also negatively affecting the share prices of the preferance shares.

Personally think MAS is overkilling after the minibond saga, swinging from one extreme of overly permissive over toxic funds vs another extreme of overly restrictive. There must be a healthy balance of risk vs reward for capitalism to thrive.

Continued to divest in DBS4.7%

Sold away another stake in DBS4.7% pref share after XD. At current prices of above 106, it should be better to hold Hyflux6% for a much better yield. Prices of Pref shares in general have been under downside pressure these few weeks, as investors start to decide whether to flock to less-risky investments or should they start divesting for better capital gains in view of markets being beaten down due to new uncertainties in europe. For the time being, I choose to hold some cash for some good buying opportunities :)

Partial divestment of Cache Reit

Reits have had an impressive 20-30% run since the start of 2012. With Cache Reit at an all-time high price, it does make sense to divest a partial of my holdings to take some profit. Some money on hand is always better than two on the bush :) Will continue to hold and divest further when 1.06 is broken further

Partial divestment in UOB pref shares

UOB has a callable option on 15 Sep 2013 for this pref share, at par value of $100. Though it is still 1.5 yrs away, there would inherently be some downward pressure from current $106 towards $100. Recall that in 2008, during the global financial crisis, where credit is tight, banks of course had to offer higher interest of 5%, to encourage investors to part with their cash, to beef up their Tier 1 bank capital. Fast forward 4 yrs later in 2012-2013, with ample cash liquidity globally, it does not make much business sense for UOB to pay such high interest  :)

Stanchart Online Trading account

Hi friends

Have found it quite useful to use Stanchart new online trading account

The "no minimum commission" feature is useful for people who want to start small amounts in investing (vs ~$10k in brokerage houses to maximise commission rates)

http://www.standardchartered.com.sg/promotion/online-trading/index.html

Check it out! :)