31 December 2024
The result is out. The overall portfolio value rose 20.5% as compared to same period last year. That meant it beat my personal target set in January by 0.5%. What an exercise it had been. It made me cautious and deliberate in allocating funds for investment and expenses. Then in the second half of the year, more risk was taken in options. As indicated by the apps, the trading returns were 18% but that pales against crypto where I held onto old positions and they shot up 50%, by doing nothing. Cash savings increased by 16%, helped by the DBS, SCB and HSBC monthly account promotions. Another boost came from dividend contributions that improved by 70% year on year! I'm excited over the achievement but let me stay calm as next year will see several big ticket expenses which I will update later.
30 November 2024
Oh yeah, it's been an incredible month. The single factor can be attributed to Trump. His election victory sparked market traders to go on overdrive. Any instrument deemed to be in his tariff crosshair suffered while others surged. That's pretty alarming given that he's only due to assume office in Jan 2025. Bitcoin was a huge beneficiary and my crypto value similarly shot up by 30% although it’s still a small amount overall. Indirectly, I rode on this trend and traded options on Mircostrategy. It was another roller coaster ride, reliving my experience in Jun. Fortunately, I survived and this added extra topping towards an overall portfolio improvement of 0.8%. Key now is to keep focus on risk management and ensure a smooth end to the year.
31 October 2024
This was an expense filled month, resulting in net zero cash saving. Yet, the overall portfolio edged up a teeny 0.3% due to improvements in stock values and profitable option trades on Netflix and Microstrategy. I had the privilege to be in the audience of a Ray Dalio session who mentioned the importance of differentiated income streams in a diversified portfolio. My current count is eight and it can be better. This also prompted me to look closer at what's my ideal retirement sum. I am unable to reach a conclusion for now.
30 September 2024
Within a month, the conflict in the Middle East has gotten much worse with Lebanon and possibly Iran being involved from now onwards. While global markets seemed to be insulated, this would not last as various happenings continue. China clearly acknowledged that all is not well with a string of measures to combat economic slowdown. The US is pulled in different directions with an all time high national debt on its back. EU is caught in a web of imbalances across faltering economies and disunity. Summed up, should a recession occur, it will likely be a deep one (save for a massive QE). No region is capable enough to stand independently strong and resistive. My portfolio recorded 1.3% improvement month on month as Reits rebounded and dividends came in. Company valuations are a little high and while waiting, maybe I'll just add bond funds as a counter weight.
31 August 2024
The stock market has not moved much as we await the magnitude of the interest rate cut. Lower bond yields and USD weakness are signs that the transition is well underway. Yet, there could be a spanner in the works. Increasingly, the Israel and Russia battlefronts appear to harden. We are just a nuclear accident away from flipping the markets into a tailspin. Add the potent mix of US-China hostilities and their individual domestic issues, the odds of a slowdown are higher than before. In my portfolio, cryptos got whacked even as I thought sentiments have been warm in recent times. Four consecutive rounds of SSB applications were done and I will pause for now. Next investment stop is likely towards a higher equity allocation to catch good companies at low prices.
31 July 2024
Looking at the overall portfolio value this month, I am rather disappointed. Although there's an increment, my expectation was thrice that amount. The reason wasn't difficult to find, it's simply expenses and they are mainly household related. What held up were the various investments as every category showed positive results, likely due to improved market sentiment. Another good indicator is the stock portfolio is finally above water! Hope to keep it that way as I plan to accumulate more.
30 June 2024
Politics is a game of irony. It's like bluff and trying to persuade the other party to believe otherwise. In so many instances relating to trade and territory, we see constant arguments yet a reconciliatory handshake is offered almost always, in the same released statement. The financial market is another contradicting place. Recent data shows that inflation seems to be slowing but uneven across different countries. In this moment, do people want higher or lower interest rate? I have since learnt to hope for the best but plan for the worst. What that means (in my context) is to fund into SSB for long term and Tbill or options in the short term. The latter is more risky and I even surprised myself this month by trading a company that go beyond my comfort zone. It started due to the online chatter about an influencer showing his trades on a meme stock named Gamestop. The price action was volatile and I just dipped in and out. This was unlike my investment style but in acting like a skillful politician, I would like to say it's been a good learning experience for future reference. Actually, my heart was in over drive. This month focused on cash reallocation and will continue this way till year end.
31 May 2024
The dry season has arrived early. Most days, I felt sweat beads forming over the body, causing a constant drenched shirt. So I have been looking for indoor cafes to hide inside. Whether for work or not, these places are just crowded, even during off peak hours. Students to retirees hog each space with laptop or newspaper in hand. Everyone seemed to be in a happy state, a latte and small bite as a default presence. Seemingly, the economy must be doing well but when I spoke to several business owners, the consensus says otherwise. Customers are still around but overall spending per person has decreased. I checked this against my colleagues' views and they are watching their expenses tightly. It appears people are finding it hard to save. Me too, until a recent salary increment, coming two years after the last one. Therefore, after mostly paying annual insurance premium, road tax and income tax for past few months, I'm hopeful to start saving again. In a nutshell, my portfolio value is flat as compared to last month. I will stay calm, keep to investment goals and trade carefully.
30 April 2024
Tax season is here again and I'm paying more than last year. To be able to do so is a privilege. For the remainder of the year, it's to work towards rebuilding cash reserves and continue improving portfolio value. It doesn't matter whether there will be interest rate cuts or not. The earnings reports are almost ending and my verdict is there's good resilience in many places especially in technology and healthcare. While the current environment doesn't favour Reits, I thought it would be good to accumulate slowly.
31 March 2024
The anticipated secret is out; US Fed decided to keep interest rates steady while BOJ brought its target to 0%. What has the market impact been? Nothing. That's because there really wasn't much to deviate from as the world had settled into a "comfortable" zone of moderate inflation. Currencies remained steady and various indicators pointed to a familiar trend of quite resilient economies. This was what the policymakers wanted, a soft landing. My only gripe is the great price increase across everything is likely to stay the same into the future. Imagine a just retired couple who had worked towards a certain budget, they now require 30% more just to maintain their purchasing power. For those still in the workforce, the challenge is to stay employed and hope for salary raise but companies generally won't match 1:1 with inflation rates. Therefore, I try to achieve a high savings rate and investment outcome. The jump in my cash portfolio was a result of bonus received. Other parts remained status quo. Next month would be interesting as I look to put some cash to work.
29 February 2024
The STI earnings report generally felt like a mixed bag of sweets. Some were pleasant and their results showed good resilience while keeping dividends payout stable eg banks. Some were sour and likely to be downbeat for a while eg Reits and properties. My stock portfolio movement in the past month was negligible. The only gains came from cryptos which jumped massively as investor sentiments were positive, especially since the Bitcoin halving event is about to happen in two months. Cash dipped a little as I topped up CPF and SRS for tax savings.
31 January 2024
Last year, I kept track of my asset movements closely which in turn gave good insights into the cashflow situation and investment allocation plus returns. Majority of funds went to SSB, T-bill and fixed deposit. A fine example of the most conservative form of investment. About S$10k of interest/coupon income was achieved. This was a result of active management as the funds were moved around to capture yields especially when there were promotions. While I'm pleased with the overall gains, I feel the need to move a little faster to riskier assets. For the first quarter, I will not do much portfolio tweaks. Thereafter, the plan is to accumulate Reits and global equities. This could be in managed funds or other means. To give myself a push, I'm setting an ambitious target to achieve 20% portfolio increase. Good luck to me!
