Finance Sharing 2021

31 December 2021
Now that I have tracked a full year, I'm happy to report there was an increase of 18% in total assets. While this is simplistic, the good thing is my loan liabilities have also lessened. However, I'm not satisfied enough and hope to find more avenues to earn higher returns. Recently, Coinhako started having coin staking service which I have since used for Eth and Pol. The returns are so so and have to manually enter a contract. I'm considering stock options and crypto enhancement to bolster returns.



30 November 2021
It was going quite well on several fronts until the Omicron Covid variant created a new level of anxiety globally. Nevertheless, I decided to add on to SRS portfolio by making a first purchase of Straits Trading Company. Looking ahead, I am likely to continue further acquisitions to utilize idle cash. Crypto assets continued their price appreciation to the tune of 12% as I swapped BCH for BTC and bought more XRP. With interest rate rise around the corner, it should be an interesting cat and mouse game on where hot money flows. Better to park money in assets than hold cash.



31 October 2021
The investor mood must have been lifted as earnings news generally were positive. The big news was the launch of a Bitcoin ETF and signaled the increasing acceptance of this asset class. I'm glad that in Singapore, the authorities are very much in favor of supporting the crypto industry by making basic infrastructure available and a sandbox for trials. I tell myself to be patient and wait for a dip to invest. Fortunately at the moment, cryptos went up 30% from a month ago and while I'm increasingly confident, I have yet to add funds due to other priorities eg tax planning and education.



30 September 2021
It wasn't a subdued month in terms of news that roiled the markets. China came out strongly with a ban on any crypto related transaction with Sparkpool becoming an immediate victim. US Federal Reserve hinted on expected year end interest rate increase, causing stocks to move unevenly. Japan and Germany held elections for their leaders that saw a major change for the latter as incumbent Merkel's party lost. In my portfolio, things came to a standstill and saw more cash and CPF contributions. I'm undecided now. Rumors of an impending stock market shock are running on the grapevine. If Evergrande's situation does worsen, that could signal a period of weakness to come. Perhaps it's better to stay nimble and be ready to bolt or buy when the time comes.



31 August 2021
The star contributors to increased assets were cash derived from company bonus payout, crypto assets showing good gains and top up of CPF SA. One thought kept bugging me through the month as I grappled on how to improve returns in short term investments of up to one year. While it was nice to see some dividends received but the amounts are small and hence I do not actively track. Next month, I expect stocks to trend downwards due to end of reporting season and refocus on global issues. If a dip was to occur, I think the first portion of funds would go to crypto assets and subsequently stocks. A group of friends said they make decent profits as active traders in cryptos while juggling day work in their respective careers. While I feel it's mostly luck and patience involved, the missing element when I compare myself to them is their risk appetite. They make thousands per closed transaction cycle while I hover in the early hundreds. Perhaps a change of mindset required?



31 July 2021
The overall investment portfolio across the board rose slightly while cash dipped, resulting in a net gain of assets. Stocks have gone into an uptrend following positive news in both local and overseas markets. MAS had signaled a lift on bank dividend payout cap and thus interpreted as confidence in the economy. Dow Jones had broken record highs repeatedly in a month for which brave investors get rewarded. I think the feel good factor will persist into next month. There wasn't much movement on the crypto assets as I traded Aave for small profits while waiting for clearer direction. I was involved in a discussion with a financial consultant for an investment linked policy but decided against it as I don't have the spare cash for now and not willing to pay management fees for unit trusts that I could buy on my own. A new instrument that I'm trading is Dow futures and still in experiment stage. Meanwhile, I will continue to search for good yield stocks to utilize Tiger Brokers vouchers.



30 June 2021
This was a month where it started cautiously, investment value dropped and recovered to be level. So it's nothing gained or loss in monetary terms. The only significant thing was the registration and trades started on Tiger Brokers account. Also referred some friends and earned free vouchers. It is not captured in the above as I did not plan on having this at the start of the year. Hence I put it as an 'Others' investment listed in My Goals page. With major expenditures out of the way, next month should see some funds go into income generating activities. I'm hopeful of positive news coming from various sources due to the low base of last year. Jobs numbers, unemployment rate, GDP etc should spur asset reflation in the short term. It's probably a good time to look at growth related industries and not be afraid to risk some money.



31 May 2021
One month of price swings ended with most investment assets on the downside. Stocks were flat and cushioned by some dividends received. An addition of ST Engg shares bumped up the SRS portfolio and should continue to gain in portfolio weightage in coming periods as I build passive income mentioned previously. Crypto assets were back to the position (-20%) from two months ago. On hindsight, I should have traded some while at its peak since the run up was too spectacular to be true. One bit of relief was that the tax bill had been settled and cashflow should generate positively with no major upcoming bills. I've also started counting down to the final installments of my car loan. This gives me some excitement on where "freed" funds can be put to good use.



30 April 2021
As expected, savings dipped as the tax installment payment kicked in. It was buffered by good performance (+2%) on the investment front with stocks earning season providing positive vibes to the market. The crypto assets also continued to show strength (+20%) and has creeped up to be quite significant. While the overall portfolio growth was negative (-0.4%), it's temporary and I believe more investments are needed to create passive income streams to avoid such extreme movements.



31 March 2021

Overall a good month in terms of investment returns eg Syfe portfolio turned positive for the first time, stocks gained 5% in line with market momentum and cryptos jumped 25%. Also received a little bonus from government's CPF contribution of $5500 for completing half my ORNS cycle. I'm expecting some dividend announcements next month while hoping for market dips to add a little more. Split my income tax bill into 3 months of credit repayment as the burden is rather taxing on cashflow while also utilizing the DBS Multiplier tiered interest to my advantage.



28 February 2021

It's been a stellar month for crypto portfolio as the paper gains were nearly 30%. However, the volatility was also very evident as prices kept swinging. If one is a trader, this would be an ideal asset. I'm hoping for a pullback to buy in since institutional players seemed to be onboarding in droves. The Syfe Cash+ account achieved nearly 4%, way better than estimation. It actually made me more wary on whether to increase the stake. Some dividends were received although the amounts were pretty minor. In all, cash flow was neutral, better than what I expected.



31 January 2021

Nice feeling to see CPF interests credited and did some portfolio shuffle by selling STI ETF and Capitaland shares due to adverse results while taking the opportunity to increase cash holding. If there's any potential share purchase, the SRS fund would be utilized first. Tried out the Syfe Cash+ account with $3000 and been seeing slow improvements. If it can come close to 1.4% pa return by end Feb, I will transfer the fixed deposit money over. Crypto investments were quite stable so long one can stomach the intra month volatility. Need to keep spending amounts in control for next few months as there would be many bills to pay.




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