1H2021 In 10 Mins

If one were to wonder, it has slowly becomes a thing in my recent writing style that I’m disclosing lesser details compared to what I would have done in the past. Probably, as I become a more seclusive person and will not go into too much details as I used to be. 

It has also become a thing, that I’m moving away from just sharing my data but my thoughts, while trying to be a little bit more philosophical. 

Well, I’d still be doing some analysis and sharing so long an opportunity comes with uncluttered thoughts filling up my mind. 

It has also a frightening experience when I come to learn that a sharing that is shared a little too much, would have caused certain bias-ness or decision flaw to one when making an impactful financial decision.

It has also come to a point that “clickbaity title” is no longer appealing to me as I’m not that concerned about “Ads revenue” should there be today and would rather this space be a little more for personal sharing and lessons learnt. 

2021 is the year where I turn 23 years younger. Also a year that I’ve conquered another milestone in life.

This is also a year that many crypto millionaires were “born” or “destroyed”. Whichever way, one were to perceive it. But unfortunately, I’m not the one. As oppose to what many would have thought, I belong to the camp where everything happened before I’m aware of. Haha. 

Being one that has explored the crypto space in 2017, it would be something that is very refreshing to me today, but I stand at a point that I’m neutral towards the arena. It’s good to note that, there is more and more people we can see around owning some form of digital assets in the form of digital value storing currency!

If I were to make a statement, I’d probably feel that there is still more room for things to fall in place before we see any realistic outcome yet. 

In the year of 2021, it has also been a thing, where trading platforms become a heavyweight champion in the securities trading industry, funded by giant houses with enormous amounts of marketing and promotional fees to spare. A simple gain one were to get, would easily come in 3 digits, just by signing up :)

I must also comment that referral marketing has worked extremely well, in the houses favour, as more and more unaware folks are getting on board to become a partial owner of companies that they probably wouldn’t know it existed. I’m sorry if this statement makes you feel uneasy or makes you nod silently behind the screen. That wasn’t the main intention for it. 

The flavours behind arbitraging around the coupons issued with speculative flavour does not mix well together, unfortunately. Maybe for me, or probably he/she understands something that I don’t, unfortunately. 

Undeniably, as a user. I'd say these are relatively good platforms to use with cheap brokerage platform fees! 

In a summary:

1. In the local SGX market, I've accumulated more shares from ComfortDelGro & AIMS APAC REIT
2. Accumulated more shares of Apple at around USD 118 in March.
3. After several rounds of nibbling, the position in Alibaba turned out to be a gobble size in my portfolio, pushing Mr BABA to the greatest position as of 30 June 2021.

With this, I close 1H2020 with only 9 positions namely; 

• OCBC Bank
• DBS Bank
• UOB Bank
• ComfortDelGro
• AIMS APAC REIT
• Suntec REIT
• IREIT Global 
• Apple Inc
• Alibaba

On the investment front:

• Collected a dividend of SGD 1,112.17 which translates to roughly SGD 185.36 monthly
• Realised P/L of SGD 2,496.14 this far.
• Portfolio at this juncture (1H2021) closed with a value slightly above SGD 80,000 with around SGD 20,000 in war-chest. This brings the overall portfolio value to cross SGD 100,000 barely.

Notice that the dividend at this point, is relatively pathetic. This is because roughly 20% of the monies are idling in the war-chest waiting for opportunity, with roughly another 20% that is vested in counters that does not pays a dividend. 

With this, I also put a conclusion towards the hiatus status. 

Full episode:

2018 In 10 Mins

2019 In 10 Mins

2020 In 10 Mins

2020 In 10 Mins

Zooming forward, it's now 2020. And the first case of COVID-19 has touched our homeland, Singapore!

The pandemic has then go on a wide rampage shutting down several cities around the world and in fact countries! 

The cash hoarding from 2019 has allowed me to make very good use during the pandemic where the stock market face with extreme pessimism from Mr Market from March 2020. 

Being in an environment where there is so much discounts available and limited amount of cash, it would be easier if I go harder onto "Dragon Head Counters"... if one were to understand it in Chinese. 

The "massive" accumulation begin with DBS when it falls below SGD 23.00 a share and OCBC below SGD 9.50 a share. The way which I averaged down and accumulated the shares, at that point poses a serious threat on my war-chest at that juncture till at a point, my war-chest is wiped out. 

This also comes with the conviction to channel my funds I've prepared for my 2nd Year of university fees in as well. 

After some serious rounds of accumulation and simple trading with the various banks, I managed to have OCBC at an average price of SGD 8.38, DBS at an average price of SGD 18.98 and UOB at SGD 19.01.

Which till date (2021), the banks alone add up to about 30% of my portfolio. 

The portfolio at the end of 2020 that is invested, has ballooned up to almost 2.5 times of its size!

If one were to wonder... this is also the year I left service and begin working fully on the project I've mentioned on embarking at the last few months of my journey as a NSF, oh yes. Did I forget. I'm also enrolled into university as a full-time student as well. 

It has been a year that has past so fast, that honestly, memories of it, becomes so bleak, despite just being a year ahead today. The pace for all the things to fall in place was done in at a very high intensity level where as a result, causing me to be very depressed at a certain juncture.

In this year, I've also made an effort to give up riding, officially (for now at least!) after witnessing a death from a family member that was a rider as well. And by a twist of fate, I also took the opportunity to "upgrade" to a very well conditioned 4-wheeler from the suspended COE market during Circuit Breaker, where motor-vehicle prices are largely disturbed.

If one were to realise, with that much outflow of liquidity in the same period and a side project that is in materialising phase, it is worth noting that the liquidity I held in total, at that juncture was just a tiny bit on top of what 1 big purple notes would hold. Something that MAS actually discontinued towards the end-of 2020. 

With some blessing from god and luck, things started to change for the better in 3Q 2020. It is the point where the project I was working on, starts to take off and turns out to generate another stream of income to supplement my poor soul. 

In 2020, I've also taken up even more responsibilities at home with more commitments. 

It is also worth a mention that the project I've undertaken was a combination of majority of the skills and experience I've acquired from the past ventures years ago, coupling with the work I've done in the last few years :) 

Aside from this, in late 2020, I've also explored the US market.

With this, I close the year with only 8 positions namely; 

• OCBC Bank
• DBS Bank
• UOB Bank
• ComfortDelGro
• AIMS APAC REIT
• Suntec REIT
• IREIT Global 
• Apple Inc

In a summary:

1. I've accumulated a position from ComfortDelGro, DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, UOB Bank, AIMS APAC REIT.
2. Subscribed & Over-subscribed to IREIT Global's right issue.
3. Attempted IPO for Credit Bureau Asia, but did not manage to have any success. 
4. Sold partial holdings from DBS, OCBC and UOB 
5. Perform several trades around DBS, OCBC and UOB
6. In late 2020, initiated a position in US Market, with a position in Apple Inc.

On the investment front:

• A XIRR rate at +10.72%
• Collected a dividend of SGD 1,772.04 which translates to roughly SGD 147.67 monthly
• Realised P/L of SGD 3,410.81 for the year
• Portfolio at this juncture (2020) closed with a value around SGD 50,000 and around SGD 20,000 in war-chest which brings the portfolio to value roughly around SGD 70,000

It would also be good to notice that, the pace at which this portfolio is growing at, is mainly attributed to 

1. The cash hoarding back in late 2019 which was channeled fully during the pandemic 
2. The relatively high savings rate that I’ve held throughout the years which allows me to accumulate wealth a little faster. 
3. The unrealised gains from banks that roses sharply towards the end of FY2020. 
4. Another significant portion that contributed to it at the later part, was where earnings starts to become a little bit more substantial when the side projects start to bear fruits. 

With the double amplification from the more substantial earning and a higher or maintained saving rate, it will be much easier to accumulate wealth. 

If one were to question, I turned 22 in the year of 2020 :) 

The investment performance that my portfolio has yielded, is nothing compared to the savings rate and earning power in the later stage, from starting the journey in 2017 with $3 to what 2020 has ended with. 

Till then, we'll see more in 1H 2021 in 10 Mins. 

Full episode:

2018 In 10 Mins

2019 In 10 Mins

2019 In 10 Mins

Carrying on from the last episode of 2018 In 10 Mins, now we’re fast forward to 2019. 

The disaster from 2018, has awarded be with 3 words and a change in my Physical Employment Status. This also means that, I’d be a normal soldier that draws the least pay! Now, this is actually a very remarkable difference if you’re to work it out mathematically, especially with the vision to earn the 2nd Year Academic Fees... 

The difference in pay that I will draw from a simple calculation would set me back by at least SGD 7,000 apart! This amount is a little shy of “a year of school fees” if one were to visualise it in another angle. 

Anyways, as a seclusive person by nature. A virtual me, and a physical me will draw a very significant differences, which after sometime, it shy me away from writing as I’d like to have more personal spaces, which now explains the hiatus after my recovery. 

Coming to think back now, the years as a man, does not reward me too poorly too as I became a right-hand man to a senior advisor in the force, which allows me to see and learn more thing from a different angle, top-down. 

The workload was insane, especially with the several safety timeouts from army due to some mishap that the forces experience in that work year. Being the right hand man to the senior managements in the unit does allow you to learn very extensively about what is going on and the pressure that you carry, is very different from your peers, that are on the ground. 

Now, it comes to a point, I figured out that, I have to make very good use of this well opportunity that I have, to learn as much skills as I can and make this 2 years (1 year 10 months in actual fact) a rewarding one. There should be no excuses because I do not want a regret later on in life that I wasted 2 precious years of my life. 

Even if I’m not on route financially, I must not shy myself away responsibilities. It comes to a point that I begin to dislike the bunch of people who took the easier way out for their own benefit, especially when I’m in the shoes of the senior managements. After sometime, I must say, the lesson learnt from this experience, I would say is by far one of the most fortunate thing that happened to me.

Anyways, the year of 2019 is a very “army” year to me. And yes, being in the army, you’d also come across many different type of people that I probably wouldn’t think they existed. There is also plenty of “investment gurus” we can see or “people that have successful parents, very successful parent or super successful parents”…Opps.

In 2019, there is not much big movements to my portfolio. While interest remains attractive at that period of time, the amount of liquid cash in my account does enjoy much better interest than it would today. 

Oh yes, did I forget? With the blood of a biker, it must a shame to abandon this passion after an injury right? As you’d probably guessed, I actually upgraded my bike license and bike LOL. In turns out that this purchase was one of the best purchase I made in 2019. At an expense which cost me less than SGD 150 a month to own a 400cc bike, with fuel, insurance, season parking all accounted for. Interesting? Probably riders here would like to make a guess, but I’d say NEA rebate does help!

Ahhh. Where is my financial summary again. I must remind myself that I must also talk some finances! In 2019, I’ve also decluttered my portfolio, experiment with some trades as well as decided to focus fire to hold lesser counters as the capital is little and it makes no much sense to waste too much on the brokerage fees. 

In a summary:

1. In the year of 2018-19, I’ve accumulated SingTel sufficiently, starting from my first purchase of 140 shares to it becoming my greatest position, an average price around 3.10 before selling every share of SingTel at 3.52 in July 2019. This position turned out to grow to more than 15 times of what I first purchased.
2. I’ve also did a trade for APTT late in 2018 at 0.170 and sold it for 0.179 in April 2019. With account to the final “big” distribution from them, this trade turns out to provide roughly a 15% ROI. 
3. I’ve also decluttered my portfolio and sold away Wilmar (turns out to be a big mistake today) for a return of 33%, SGR for a return of 10% and FEO for a loss of 25%
4. I’ve performed a trade for UOB in June 2019 @ $23.68, before selling them at $26.00.
5. I’ve accumulated a small position in Suntec REIT @ $1.80, OCBC @ $10.50, IREIT Global @ $0.76
6. I’ve performed a trade for Hong Kong Land for a returns of about 5%

With this, I close the year with only 5 positions namely; 

• OCBC Bank
• ComfortDelGro
• AIMS APAC REIT
• Suntec REIT
• IREIT Global 

On the investment front:

• I manage to close the year with a performance of +20.05% vs STI of +9.08%
• A XIRR rate at +27.74%
• Collected a dividend of SGD 392.85 which translates to roughly SGD 32.74 monthly
• Realised P/L of SGD 515.50 for the year
• Portfolio at this juncture (2019) closed with a value around SGD 20,000 where there is a massive hoarding of cash towards the end of the year, which in turns, work out extremely well in 2020. 
• The portfolio did not have much injection this year due to the very small amount of allowances that is drawn month on month when I’m a soldier.
• As such, the year closes with a portfolio value + cash holdings of roughly about SGD 40,000

Towards the end of the year, I manage to have an opportunity where I begin to divert some of my attention to after camp hours, to work on a project that by a twist of fate got executed right after I leave the service, which indirectly affected FY2020 and 2021. 

At this juncture, it is year 3 in this journey and I’m 21 years young, in 2019.

Till then, we'll see more in 2020 in 10 Mins. 

Full episode:

2018 In 10 Mins

2018 In 10 Mins

The year of 2018… was interesting. 

Thinking back, this is the year where I got myself a position in a field, where at that point of time I had great interest for before I got myself conscripted towards the end of 2018. This job has indirectly changed several viewpoints of mine and got the entire direction for the coming years, changed drastically. 

The knowledge and insights acquired during this 10 months journey, did take a significant toll which impacted me mentally and financially. 

This has also changed my style of writing, a sense of being as well as a regret that I did not manage to pull. 

The initial thoughts was very cluttered, back when I was contemplating to join the workforce or be a part of the gig economy. The thinking process back then was simple, with 2 main objectives. One to build a more significant buffer so that I will be able to continue my journey as a student, in 2 years time, financially, hopefully with the ability to not take on any student loans and secondly, to acquire enough fun points or wisdom points along the way.

Well, it seems pretty obvious at this juncture that I’ve chosen the former option with a greater consideration to continuing my student life with lesser financial burden and to accumulate more knowledge/wisdom points instead of fun points. Ha.

The journey has been insightful, being exposed to a field that I’ve always wanted to take on (fortunately, with certain prior experience and a wonderful internship, the exposure does create a path for me to enter this interesting field) 

During this 10 good months, I’ve experienced a very complete “working-life” which indirectly has deterred my thoughts a little further onto working forever till my death bed. 

I also learnt first handedly, that a regular dose of injection to our CPF accounts, is a big encouragement financially, especially when the employer is paying 17% extra! This tour has allowed me to pay even more attention to my CPF accounts, and of course, with a little more readings, comes a little more thinking, and a little more learnings, which inspired me to a post somewhere in August 2018.

Read: Peep into the 20 year old boy CPF Account - Transfer from OA to SA

Being in the workforce at that point, also prompted me to do a little bit more homework about tax planning (although, with the meagre paycheck, it shouldn’t do a big damage to my profile in IRAS), which inspired a post regarding SRS account back then. 

Read: My Newly Created SRS Account

After some sorting out and self-realization, the isolation and differences between Cash and Cashflow is drawn further apart, which inspired another post! And, this sentence, when carried to 2019, turns out to be a laughing factor for some, and eye opener to some in my army days. 

Read: Cash is Not King, Cashflow is

Since, I chose the former route as mentioned earlier, with a main priority to continue my student life after the mandatory conscription, a simple behind-the-envelope calculations brings me to a figure somewhere around SGD 32,000 that I’ve to prepare myself for, before 2020 where I commenced my full time university. Or at least, I must be able to segregate a good SGD 10,000 for my 1st academic year to be safe. 

So true enough, that’s a target, that I worked tirelessly for during the 10 months that I was employed. To spice it up a little, at the point of calculating, I come to figure that, unless I have an extremely high saving rate, else definitely it would not come true. 

To ensure that I’m a little safer, I’ve utilised the bike license I’ve gotten in 2017 and the bike I’ve gotten for myself when I’m back from Japan to take on the latter option as well in the evenings after work and on weekends to draw a higher income.

I also come to realise that if I’m hard-working enough to get myself as a commissioned officer in the force during my 2 years of National Service, I will be able to come out, beautifully on route to what was planned! 

Shortly after, I’m conscripted for service. I could still recall how I enter Tekong with a neat tidy hair, and come out, with what was called a “Number 1 Haircut”.

As much as planning are flawless, the reality is filled with flaws. 

With a lofty ambition to enter the OCS, I worked hard. But, in one of the booking outs, I encounter with a mishap that prematurely terminated all my “plans” I had. And I guess it is not that foreign to one, especially a rider. 

The day will come, for you to fall. From your bike, or with your bike. This episode has given me a 60 days hospitalisation leave and a fracture to my arm. Oh yes, and another punishing 3 alphabet! OOC!

Demoralised as I always am. I have since stopped writing and isolated myself for awhile to re-organize my path ahead.

Oh, and I guess the most fortunate part of this episode is, every visit to the hospital for appointments and follow-up, there is always a loud chop of “PAID” at the counter. Perks of being a NSF, I must say.

This injury carries it selves over to 2019, which I believe I should continue in another post, soon.

As a financial blog to begin with I guess there has to somewhat be a rounding of 2018.

A simple round up financially for 2018:

1. My portfolio at closing was doubled of what I had in 2017. 
2. I’ve achieved a nett savings of 20k 
3. I’ve managed to set aside about 1.5 Year of my university school fee (This amount is not inclusive in my portfolio/warchest)
4. 2018 ended with a figure somewhere above SGD 35,000 (The figure here consist of purely war chest + invested capital into the market) 

On the investment front:

• I manage to close the year with a performance of -3.97% vs STI of -6.63%
• A pathetic XIRR rate at -5.44%
• Collected a dividend of SGD 566.58 which translates to roughly SGD 47.22 monthly
• Realised P/L of SGD 813.77 for the year

Side note, at this juncture (2018), I actually have not enrolled myself into university as I’m afraid that I would not have enough to go for it. Hence, I actually enrolled myself only in 2020, the same year I commence study. I was even preparing to take a leap year to save more money so that I will have sufficient monies to settle my academic fees.

I guess, that’s all for now. Stay safe, till the next episode of 2019 In 10 Mins. 

After a hiatus… How are you?

It has been sometime since I’ve last jotted anything down on this space. In fact, looking back at some post that are still in draft, reminds me of how I use to frequently visit this space. 

It is truly a mesmerizing experience to be here once again, reading through the post which got myself back on foot once again. 

Looking back to the last post, it has been a good 2.5 years. 

Time flies, doesn’t it? And the scariest part of this all, is the world has literally shapeshifted into a new world with the pandemic and 4 millions life are lost in this dearly battle. 

Once, a 19 year old engineering student that is pondering on his future, laying plans and step. 

To a entering the workforce briefly… to a Full-Time NSF… and now to a university student. Interesting isn’t it? 

This journey this far has been rewarding and there has been many thoughts, learnings that I’ve yet to pen down. In this 2.5 years hiatus, there was actually several times, logging into this little space and contemplating if I should resume writing..

After much, contemplation. I’m back. 

For long, or not. I’m not too sure. 

Gone were those days that SSB are rewarding us with 2% interest ha. We’re now in a low interest environment with different trading platforms coming in to the domestic market dorminatly giving out free shares. Oh yes, did I forget. It has been sometime since I last walk outside with my face naked!

In the days to come, I shall probably talk a little to myself in this tiny space about the 2018, 2019, 2020 and the 1H of 2021 that just went by. 

Meanwhile, hoping that everyone is safe and sound, healthy and well! 

Next Episode..... Read: 2018 in 10 Mins

Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) - 2.01% (Jan 2019)

SSB for Jan 2019 has gotten itself to the next level - Offering 2% for the first year!! 

It seem to be going higher and higher, making short term deposits further and further unattractive as compared to SSB!

Image taken from SSB's site - www.sgs.gov.sg

I've written briefly on several issues of SSB previously which you might wish to refer to for some of my thoughts:
Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) - 1.78% (July 2018) 
Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) - 1.68% (June 2018)
Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) - 1.65% (May 2018)
Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) - 1.55% (Feb 2018) 


As a recap, on my thoughts about the shiny part for the Singapore Saving Bonds:

1. The flexibility in your funds
2. A risk-free place for you to park your money with no capital loss
3. A relatively lower amount and attractive rates compared to FDs.  (In fact, SSB is offering a higher interest as compared to FD today)
4. Certainly a place for you to park your monies to avoid you from overspending (Upcoming post) 

Below is the interest rate table for the upcoming SSB Jan 2019:

One must always remember that despite the flexiblity of SSB, the fund here has to spare fund to you and that you can last for at least a month while waiting for proceeds from redemption.

Do take note that everyone's situation is different and unique. Actions should never be done because majority are doing so, but to consider upon your own situation before acting.

I've also recently shared with some of my peers on how they could utilize SSB as a form of forced savings to help them with saving up, which I will write more about it in the upcoming post. 

Personally, I will be grabbing up this edition of SSB. 

For more information on redemption, please check on from SSB's official website here.

Here are some important dates for this bond for anyone who's interested to consider:
Issue Date: 2 January 2019
Maturity Date: 1 January 2029
Interest Payment: 1st interest payment will be made on 1 Jul 2019, and subsequently every six months on 1 Jan and 1 Jul every year.

Application Period: 
Opens: 6.00pm, 3 December 2018
Closes: 9.00pm, 26 December 2018
Results: After 3.00pm, 27 December 2018






You may also subscribe to receive my latest email updates here.

Portfolio - November 2018

Current Portfolio (30/11/2018)

No.	Counters	No. of Shares	Market Price (SGD)	Total Value (SGD) based on market price	Allocation %
1.	SingTel	1,400	3.08	4,312.00	30.47%
2.	APTT	11,500	0.167	1,920.50	13.57%
3.	Wilmar Intl	500	3.04	1,520.00	10.74%
4.	Starhill Global REIT	1,700	0.67	1,139.00	8.05%
5.	Far East Orchard	800	1.26	1,008.00	7.12%
6.	AIMS AMP Cap REIT	400	1.36	544.00	3.84%
7.	ComfortDelGro	100	2.10	228.00	1.48%
8.	Singapore Saving Bonds	1	1,500.00	1,500.00	10.60%
9.	Warchest	1	2,000.00	2,000.00	14.13%
	Total SGD:			14,153.50	100.00%

November too, like October had been a really exciting month for investors, including myself. With the volatile market swinging from up and down, there has been many traders around that are rejoicing over such days! 

Recalling back... I still miss the winter in Japan while I typed this out a year ago!

Read: Portfolio - November 2017

In November, I've made a small trade for YZJ right before the announcement at 1.26 and had divested shortly after at 1.31, pocketing about 3+%. And yes, this is how significiant the transaction is to such small amounts, stripping almost 1% of my profit down! 

But once again, the above trade is one of the experiment I'm doing and with a fair share of luck, I'm really glad it is went in the right direction. 

Next up, in November, we witnessed the crash of APTT once the guidance have been announced. During this event, I've ultilized a small fraction of my opportunity funds with some additional cash injection to get some APTT from the market, something which I believe most investors steer away from.




And I'm in the midst of adding more counters to my portfolio should opportunity presents. I also do hope to revamp my portfolio or rather declutter it a little in the upcoming months. 

Read: Getting Some APTT

To add on a little on why I got myself some APTT, you may wish to read a little on my comment below: 

I do agree very much with your take that the sunset business APTT is engaged in is of a concern, in fact with a sea of red today, there is indeed many opportunity that is up for grab.

When the guidance is announced, Mr Market had reacted very strongly to it and had been extremely pessimistic with APTT, which I would try to be a little optimistic when I look at such situation, hopefully I will be a little more rational.

There is a considerable amount of risk to take when one were to invest in this company here, especially when they have a relatively huge debt with them and not forgetting on the risk for interest to be go up in the future.

The rise of interest will essentially means that APTT will be paying more money out of their earnings, which will cause the cash flow to be impacted once again. With the recent announcement of refinancing onshore facilities, the interest margin will be reduced. Maturity date had also been extended to 2021.

With the guidance, they will have a little more cash flow for themselves for debt repayment which will eventually bring down their level of debt. This will also push down it's gearing ratio to a slightly healthier one, however this will take sometime and based on their latest earnings, it might even take them years to do so.

When the "years" goes past, their business might not even be relevant anymore! But I would tend to believe that there is a little light to the end of the tunnel and a small little trading element is present in this trade.




In view of this, I would see that the management is trying to be prudent to improve on their sentiments, a big move to take for APTT that indirectly resulted caused a crash in their share price. A management in a business is relatively important to keep the company going.

To take a deeper look in their latest report, the RGU for premium Digital Cable TV and broadband has seen some small improvement since June 2018, however with a declining ARPU due to the intense competition they're facing in Taiwan and to the other providers as well. Once this is eased, I would believe that there is some turning point for them.

The uncertainty is what that punishes APTT and increases the risk for positions taken up with APTT. However, we must remember that APTT business could be phased out in the future, but it couldn't be easily replicated for things such as the 5G roll out, which might improve on their future earnings.

With the big cut in dividends, it also seems like APTT is starting to lean slightly away from a business trust. They will have cash flow to support other things now.




With the prudent approach, management from Hon Hai that is leading as well as the upcoming prospect, I would believe that there is some reward we could see some time ahead. At the price today, I see some bargain that I'd not see at 30 cents.

I believe that there is some value to be seen.

I might be wrong but I feel that the risk to take for the reward seem a little itchy for me to scratch!

Well, not to be too lengthy in this post, but this should be one of my final months that I will be doing such a portfolio update as I will be moving changing the format up a little in the upcoming month. 




In November, I've also gotten myself some small little presents from Clarke Quay.

Any guesses?

And, yes you're right. This post will be coming up next.




Overall Portfolio Performance (as of 30/11/18):
Total (Capital Injection) in 2017 = S$ 6,566.79
Total (Capital Injection) in 2018 = S$ 6,218.80
Total Capital Injection 2017 & 2018 = S$ 12,785.59

Realized P/L = 13.31% or S$ 1,668.77 (Based on total injection)
Unrealized P/L = -5.70% or -S$ 733.97 (Based on total cost for each counter)
Cum. Dividends + Interest = S$ 489.26
Realized + Unrealized P/L + Dividends = $ 1,424.06 (11.14% base on cost)


Current Portfolio Value: S$14,153.50 (+5.28% m.o.m due to capital injection, dividends and portfolio performance)

CAGR = 5.81% (Based on start date at 14/02/17) - Days Count: 654
XIRR = 2.35% (This high % you see here is due to the wild card from Crypto in 2017 and relatively short duration)

Do take note that both XIRR and CAGR % is on a relatively high side due to the short duration that I'm in the market. As a reminder, a simple bear market should be sufficient to wipe out all the positivity you see up there.


As the time goes on, the % will be significantly reduced and adjusted based on time.

Current Cash Position (based on Opportunity Funds + SSB) = 24.73%

 

Dividends/Interests received in November: $23.85
Total dividends received in 2018: $393.96
Average dividends/month: $32.83


You will also be able to look for me on some other platforms:
1. FB Page - The sleepydevil
2. InvestingNote - sleepydevil
3. SGX Cafe - sleepydevil
4. You may also subscribe to receive my latest email updates here. 

Getting Some APTT

*Apologies as this post is supposed to be out some time ago, but due to my busy schedule, I'm not able to complete the post till today*

Asian Pay TV Trust is one of the companies I'm looking on SGX in the very beginning of my investing journey and one of those I actually started doing a homework for... or rather... an analysis. 

A simple one.

I was pretty much attracted by the yield back then and I started to source out some in our local market.

I remember going through Mapletree GCC Trust at about 1.00 range (something that I pretty much regret till date), APTT at around 38-39 cents, AA REIT at 1.35 range and HPH Trust at 48 cents USD.

Just as I'm doing some homework on APTT back then, the prices started to pick up even before I've completed analyzing it to 45 cents and I decided to drop the idea of having it as I'm not intending to chase any "boats".

And yes, you're right. I've bought myself some dustbins in International Business Park at Jurong for my Valentine's day present to myself.
I got a little more curious when APTT prices scaled even higher up to 50s and 60s range in late 2017 and decided to pay a little more attention to it. To be honest, I'm pretty much disgusted by the level of debt APTT got itself in and I did punch myself a little for not acting back then.

The high level of CAPEX and FCF back then also serves as a warning for me to not enter a position with them. I felt that the risk taken for entering at that range could not be compensated by the dividends.
 
APTT had announced a dividend cut and will only be paying only 1.20 cents annually, at least for the next 2 financial year ahead when the 3rd quarter financial results are released. 

From: APTT 3Q Financial Presentation

The market reacted very strongly and punished the shareholder severely by crashing half it's valued of the next market day to 16 cents. 

How about now when it had fallen by 16-17 cents to 16-17 cents??

Is the compensation fair now? I'm not certain. But definitely, it looks much better than it is at 30, 40 and certainly 50 cents.  

For those that had paid a higher entry price to APTT, this will translates to a big pay cut and probably even a big unrealized loss we're looking at. 

How is it then to non-APTT shareholders?

With this move to cut their distribution, APTT will now have a much more sustainable payout ratio and in fact with some additional room, which could be used for repayment and certainly further development in the future.

Aside from this, with the completion of digital cable TV upgrade, CAPEX should start to taper off and this should bring in more positivity along with the dividend cut for its future cash flow, something which is extremely important. Hence, I would like to believe that the management is being prudent in doing so.

The position initiated with APTT is a relatively adventurous one, or rather like what some would call it, a risky one as compared to the other counters due to the high level of debt they are in and the business they're engaged with. However, if we look at things from a different angle, we might get to see some light. 




APTT will continue to face headwinds and challenges in their business, but I believe at the new move should allow them to do more things than they originally could. 

We must be reminded that as investors, we are paid for the level of risk we take. The risk to take today seem a little more delicious and tempting for me which resulted in my itchy fingers pulling the trigger.

With today's price hovering around 16 cents, we're looking at somewhere between 7.5% yield for this investment, which is somewhere what one would typically demand for APTT, probably even higher. 

I'll certainly be happy to increase my exposure with APTT should the price continues to fall. I will soon write a little more about my thoughts on APTT.




*Coincidentally, right after my purchase, I happen to see many bigger hands scooping some of APTT shares!*

Read: APTT Q3 Financial Presentation 

Personal Wealth Building: Money Management

Money management is the greatest key to unlocking all the treasures on your road to wealth. This post is somewhat inspired by STE once again on his latest post (Is Winning the Lottery Cursed?)

I strongly believe that it is never about how good of an investor you are or how high your income is neither about how great your windfall will be. If one is not prudent and does not manages his/her monies well, I believe that no one should be blamed for your mishap. 

I personally know many of such people around my life. Those high flyers with a household income of $250-300k annually, having debts and live from paychecks to paychecks with insufficient funds to tie them through when a misfortune happen. And surprisingly, I’m even more shock to know that they’re blaming everyone aside themselves for the bad luck that is shown on them! 

The significance of money is presented differently to every individual and it is very subjective to be making any comment about it. It would not be expensive for a watch enthusiast to spend $100k on a Richard Milles but it would be a crazy to majority out here who doesn’t know how to appreciate them. 

Most commonly, I refrained myself from making any comments or talk about finances to anyone I know personally as much as possible as I’m not in any position to do so. I also don’t enjoy the stereotype that is given from people about the fact that I’m only 20 years old and it’s never wise to act smart. 

The topic about finances is a very sensitive one and it’s very subjective to each person’s profile. 

To regular readers, I believe most would know that I will keep my explanation to the simplest term possible for easier understanding and to avoid further complication. Ha! Please pardon me for that terrible excuse here to cover on the fact that I’m actually not that smart. 

Back to where the topic started - Money Management. 

As shared in my previous post on Cashflow, this post will be a small supplement to the topic and to keep things simple, we’re back down to the 2 points again to improve on your financial situation. 

1. Increase your income

2. Decrease your expenses

Yes, it’s that simple to type it out. And I’m placing a relatively big bet that majority of the population knows about this. But the question is how?! 

As an investors, most are screwed towards buying a company that is consistantly poses an ever-increasing revenue. While that is not wrong, but can you imagine that the expenditure and cost is also increasing as well? The whole key to looking at the picture is to identify if the company’s profit is growing steadily. 

Perhaps a small simple example below in a few words could explain this:

FY2015 Revenue = $100M, Cost = $50M, Profit = $50M

FY2016 Revenue = $150M, Cost = $100M, Profit = $50M

FY2017 Revenue = $250M, Cost = $220M, Profit = $30M

FY2018 Revenue = $400M, Cost = $380M, Profit = $20M

This company we see above has it’s revenue increasing steadily from $100M-400M in 4 years! Which is nearly 100% growth a year we’re looking at! How impressive is that! But taking a look at the cost, it’s increasing much more steadily as well. 

But if we take a look at the profit, the company actually doesn’t earn as much as it used to in 2015. They’re infact earning less than half of what they used to earn! 

In fact, as an investor, we might even see our dividends get thinned out if they’re paying it from their free cash flow!

But it is always the case that it is more glamorous for a company to pose that they’re getting a greater revenue than it is to tell you it is reducing on it’s cost. Most commonly, when cost reduction comes into play, it represents that the company might be trying save themselves from something. 

It is also widely used that if a company has it’s cost increased due to the start of a new project, it is fine. But the only question will comes when the CAPEX could not taper off after sometime. 

It’s important to have FCF, and it’s even more important when we invest, we invest in a company that manages their monies well. Which is why I always believe that, it is important for a company to have an excellent management. 

A little too much here.. let’s relate this back to us, personally on the money management front. 

Person A is earning $2,200 when he first step into the society and slowly after years, the salary 

increases. But here’s one thing that is still common, which is that he will still have to live on his paychecks with no significant progression in savings because as his income increases, so does his expenses. 

Person A will pamper himself a little more than indulge in some form of luxury that depletes his wealth. Unknowingly, restricting himself from further savings despite having a growth in income.

It is important for one to have a higher income to accelerate the speed of savings to build more wealth. But it’s more important for one to have discipline and some form of money management in order for them to be able to accumulate wealth faster. 

So simply, the very first step is MONEY MANAGEMENT. 

I shall end this small idea about money management here before I progress into the next topic. 

Portfolio - October 2018

Current Portfolio (31/10/2018)

No.	Counters	No. of Shares	Market Price (SGD)	Total Value (SGD) based on market price	Allocation %
1.	SingTel	1,400	3.18	4,452.00	33.12%
2.	Wilmar Intl	500	3.16	1,580.00	11.75%
3.	Starhill Global REIT	1,700	0.675	1,147.00	8.54%
4.	Far East Orchard	800	1.26	1,008.00	7.50%
5.	AIMS AMP Cap REIT	400	1.32	528.00	3.93%
6.	ComfortDelGro	100	2.28	228.00	1.70%
7.	Singapore Saving Bonds	1	1,500.00	1,500.00	11.16%
8.	Warchest	1	3,000.00	3,000.00	22.32%
	Total SGD:			13,443.50	100.00%

This month had been a really really bloody month for most people and I'm definitely not excluded. STI had fallen through it's 3000 support level days ago and had regained itselves briefly before closing today at 3060. At the closing price today it translates to a fall of 16% since its high of 3641 earlier this year. 



Aside from the bloody month in the market, I'm also experiencing a terrible month and I believe there's a little more to go before anything will change. 

My portfolio is not spared from this bloodshed this month too. And I'm thinking that I might be a little bit too stupid to not act this month. As mentioned earlier, I'm looking to optimize my portfolio a little and I might certainly revise a little on the format of my portfolio updates soon too.

Having that said, I'm looking to concentrate my portfolio and leave out exact details for the portfolio upon optimization. Having an extremely small capital here, it is difficult for anything significant to happen. 

I'm also looking to do some trading on SGX which I will soon be doing an update about. Hopefully, with these practical lessons, I will be able to learn more. 

With that in mind, I will sum up this month's portfolio update here. In the next few posts, I move on slowly to touch more on the different thing that I'll be doing in the upcoming days.
 




Overall Portfolio Performance (as of 31/10/18):
Total (Capital Injection) in 2017 = S$ 6,566.79
Total (Capital Injection) in 2018 = S$ 5,337.30
Total Capital Injection 2017 & 2018 = S$ 11,904.09

Realized P/L = 13.31% or S$ 1,583.95 (Based on total injection)
Unrealized P/L = -4.37% or -S$ 477.49 (Based on total cost for each counter)
Cum. Dividends + Interest = S$ 465.41
Realized + Unrealized P/L + Dividends = $ 1,571.87 (13.20% base on cost)


Current Portfolio Value: S$13,443.50 (+1.95% m.o.m due to capital injection, dividends and portfolio performance)

CAGR = 7.36% (Based on start date at 14/02/17) - Days Count: 625
XIRR = 14.07% (This high % you see here is due to the wild card from Crypto in 2017 and relatively short duration)

Do take note that both XIRR and CAGR % is on a relatively high side due to the short duration that I'm in the market. As a reminder, a simple bear market should be sufficient to wipe out all the positivity you see up there.


As the time goes on, the % will be significantly reduced and adjusted based on time.

Current Cash Position (based on Opportunity Funds + SSB) = 33.47%

 

Dividends/Interests received in October: $0
Total dividends received in 2018: $370.11
Average dividends/month: $30.84




You will also be able to look for me on some other platforms:
1. FB Page - The sleepydevil
2. InvestingNote - sleepydevil
3. SGX Cafe - sleepydevil
4. You may also subscribe to receive my latest email updates here.