31 December 2020
Nothing spectacular this month with all investments staying on par. The only exception was cryptocurrency portfolio which recorded 25% increase, in tandem with the general market surge. The big downer was the entry into XRP and very soon, the parent company's founders were charged in court for securitizing the tokens in an unregulated manner, causing its value to drop 70%. As the investment value is small, I shall just leave it. The other notable action this month was to transfer some funds to SRS for tax savings, effectively locking up those funds and lowering liquid savings. The hunt for other asset types is on. I think it's reasonable to expect economies to recover from the low base this year, the push back factors include high debt accumulated, persistent low interest rates and prevalent trade protectionism mechanisms.
30 November 2020
This month can be described as a month of resurgence. All the portfolio items showed increase with stocks being the unsurprising leader. It felt like spring had come a bit early. The litmus test is whether they are sustainable. In that sense, the cryptocurrency space looks most stable while I expect further volatility in stocks. Now that a potential vaccine is in sight and the US election is decided, at least there's some hope for more certainty going into 2021. This should establish some foundation price for all assets and the investment mentality will have to tune to price trending upwards. Whatever saved this month will likely go towards Christmas expenditure even when there's no travel and big celebrations. I need to start looking for decent yielding products that's more liquid than a fixed deposit which is maturing.
31 October 2020
It's been interesting to see the divergence of the stock market from the cryptocurrency market. The former had a wild time swinging high early then coming down at the end. I think it's due to the resurgence of Covid cases globally plus an erratic US election. Looks like the Democrats are headed for victory, contrary to what I predicted in August. Yet, I still have that sneaky feeling of Donald Trump's chances. On the other hand, it's been a great month for crypto investors, almost 20% increase across various major products. It appears adoption rate is gaining traction with Paypal and Square payment putting money on the table. Overall, while my portfolio experienced decline in investment value, it was mitigated by savings, resulting in a slight net positive asset value. Next month should be even more interesting.
30 September 2020
This month is mainly about paying bills i.e child life insurance, condo fee maintenance and tuition fees. On the investment front, I thought to hold back since there are not much market drivers and there's the US election campaign happening soon. Bond yields are staying low and unlikely to breakout soon since Jerome Powell expects interest rates to be capped for much longer. I have also decided to put off Critical Illness insurance purchase as the premium is incredibly high. It's not that I'm not covered but at 100k sum assured, it feels a little lightweight and additional assurance is always better. Stock portfolio took a hit as general market declined, hence it's a relief when I could still squeeze out net positive asset increment.
31 August 2020
I believe the STI is a laggard compared to other markets. It's not due to lack of value counters but rather, one can find more exciting counters eg technology related in DJIA or HKEX. The hot money is still chasing the trails of high interest bearing or potential products amid slow global recovery. Therefore, my preference is to stick to stable cyclical counters that wouldn't go bust in the foreseeable future. This month saw the addition of Capitaland, increased SRS contribution and cash built up, roughly in line with expectations. As I reviewed my insurance plans, they are mostly adequate except for Critical Illness. As the premiums are not cheap, I shall go look around before committing to 20 years of payment. Starting next month, it should be roller coaster in the market place with the US election campaign starting. My bet, a "Trump-hant" return.
31 July 2020
There was a surge in cryptocurrency value after Bitcoin led the way on a mid month climb. Unfortunately, this came too early for me so did not manage to add it to my portfolio. Surprisingly, the savings amount got bumped up despite a stock purchase. Over the next month, I shall look to lock away some savings, review insurance plans and continue monitoring of global economic situation. The expectation is for lousy company results to finally hit some sense into the markets and therefore lead to decline in valuations. Also, I have to start planning for tax deduction relief measures.
30 June 2020
Paid my taxes in full and resulted in savings account drop. It was not spread out in installments as I didn't like the idea of prolonging since this must be paid anyway. I know the opportunity cost is lost but rather spend my time to plan other savings or investment ideas. The slight bump in CDP stock value is the capital appreciation over the past month. Markets are choppy at the moment and with earnings season set to report, I am on the lookout for any dips to purchase. The cryptocurrency space is looking interesting and hope to add Bitcoin soon.
30 May 2020
I have put most of my faith in stable instruments such as CPF and Singlife which should yield around 3.7%. The war chest is on standby to make investments into income generating products especially REITs. Slowly, I will allocate more funds towards global equities through the Syfe platform. This is because I do not have time to monitor and prefer to spend my efforts looking through available investment options and news.
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