Saturday, 6 January 2024

Dec $7,907 ... 2023 $129,024 ... 2024 $103,679

Been feeling lazy and also wondering how many people are reading my blog ... 😂 Blogging is at times lonely, so if u are reading this, pls like and comment below ...👍 The aim of my articles are meant to encourage us to move bravely forward in our journey of financial stewardship (not to brag/show off/put people down). We should always learn to Mind Our Own Money, because good finances encompass a great degree of freedom, providence and options in life for us and our families ...


Time to count my blessings in 2023 year of investing and move nervously into the brand new year of 2024. Looking back I have divested with profits on SCI, YZJ and ST Engineering. Been also active with T-Bills, Bonds and Savings Account promo rates. Have also been nibbling on local banks (DBS and UOB) and S&P500 ETFs (VUSD.L and IVV.US). Was also hopping to pick up more on fundamentally solid Reits (Areit and MLT), but they have run up quite a bit. So I will have to be patient ... Investing can sometimes be frustrating, with lots and lots of waiting ... *yawn*  By nature a Worker at heart, not doing anything apparently can be very agonising! 

In the meantime, learning more about the USA market and Options trading. Guess if I am too bored and want to earn more money, I can dabble in these. Usually during the learning process though, it's losing money 😅 Hmm ... do i want to earn more money or lose more money ... Have given myself a target of $130k this new year, which is 30% yoy increase from last year, but since my 2023 actuals was $129k, I cant possibly put anything lower right?! *stress stress*  since still have to find 130-104 = $26k more 😆 well abit of stress is good as it helps us to achieve or stretch for something higher ...


Besides achieving financial targets for 2024, have to consistently remind myself to stretch and exercise for a heathier me. Age is definitely catching up, and I am certainly not a big fan of getting old! I like this phrase "The Best is Yet to Be". Hopefully there will be much more solid great years ahead for me!


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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



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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 😎



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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?!


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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 😅

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