Month: July 2021

Moomoo Quiz and Cash Rewards

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, DealsLeave a comment

Once you are a Moomoo customers, there is a knowledge based quiz that you can enter every day. A total of 3 attempts a day and it says that you may win up to S$1,888. I’ve been attempting all week and could get S$0.18. There was a day when I got S$0.28

Sample quiz questions and answers

Below are some of those I got and from online sources. Wish you all luck in your quest:

Qn: Are you able to trade REITs on moomoo?
Ans: Yes

Qn: Can you receive dividends on moomoo?
Ans: Yes

Qn: Does FUTU SG charge for any inactivity or custodian fees?
Ans: No

Qn: Is currency exchange available on moomoo?
Ans: Yes

Qn: Is Moomoo’s in-app customer service available 24/7?
Ans: Yes

Qn: Level ___ market data for US market is provided free by FUTU SG.
Ans: Level 2

Qn: What feature can you use to view activities of Pre/Post-Market trading hours?
Ans: Pre/Post-Market

Qn: Where can you redeem your points for rewards on moomoo?
Ans: Rewards Club

Qn: Which of the following can you trade on moomoo?
Ans: Stocks, Futures, Options, ETFs, China A-Shares

Qn: Which of the following is NOT a daily task in the Task Center?
Ans: Change username

Qn: Which level of the free market data is provided for the SG market?
Ans: Level 1

Qn: Which stock markets can you trade in on moomoo?
Ans: US, SG, HK and China A-Shares

Qn: Which tab do you select to view your available Coupons?
Ans: Me

General Investing Questions:

Qn: A basket of securities that tracks an underlying index is called ETF.
Ans: True

Qn: A margin account allows you to buy stocks with borrowed funds using your cash or shares as collateral
Ans: True

Qn: A margin account is?
Ans: An account that allows stock buying using borrowed funds.

Qn: A stock is?
Ans: Fractional ownership of a corporation.

Qn: A part of a business that is bought and sold on the stock market is called?
Ans: Stock

Qn: An index fund is?
Ans: A fund that tracks components of a financial market index.

Qn: Free market level data provides information on the?
Ans: Bid and Ask spread.

Qn: IPO refers to a company offering its stock for sale to the public for the first time.
Ans: True

Qn: Market Cap in financial terms stands for?
Ans: Total market value of a company’s outstanding shares.

Qn: Select the option which is a US stock exchange.
Ans: NASDAQ (other options: SGX, HSI)

Qn: Short selling happens when an investor borrows a stock to sell then buy it back later.
Ans: True

Qn: The US Securities in your FUTU SG account is protected up to USD _ by SIPC.
Ans: USD 500,000

Qn: What does ETF stand for?
Ans: Exchange-Traded Funds

Qn: What does Market Cap stand?
Ans: Total market value of a company’s outstanding shares.

Qn: What does REITs stand for?
Ans: Real Estate Investment Trusts

Qn: When an investor borrows a stock to sell and buy it back later, this action is called short selling.
Ans: True

Qn: Which of the following is true about a margin account?
Ans: All of them.

Qn: Which of these is a good example of diversification?
Ans: Investing in different types of securities and markets.

Futu Holdings as a Company:

Qn: Futu Holdings Limited is strategically backed by which company?
Ans: Tencent Holdings

Qn: FUTU SG is a subsidiary of Futu Holdings Limited that is listed on ______?
Ans: NASDAQ

Qn: How many users does FUTU have worldwide?
Ans: 15,000,000

Qn: Which credit rating grade did FUTU receive from S&P Global?
Ans: BBB-

Qn: Which of the following funds hold a position with FUTU?
Ans: All of the above

Qn: Which stock exchange is Futu Holdings Limited listed on?
Ans: NASDAQ

Have fun!

If you have not signed up for a moomoo/Futu Account and would like to do so. Please read up more on the T&Cs and use my referral code below. Read about the promotions here at 1 free apple share

Read more about their T&Cs here: https://support.futusg.com/en-us/topic128

Read about the Fees you need to pay: https://support.futusg.com/en-us/topic76

I personally think that it is a no brainer to get the perks. Thank you in advance for using my referral code: https://j.moomoo.com/004Fsa

For reference, please refer to the official website or contact their representatives.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures and information that I am using are taken from Futu’s/Moomoo’s website for the purpose of this blog post.

1 free APPLE and NIO Stock for Moomoo users (One up for new sign ups)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

I’m just going to bring this Moomoo brokerage app up again on my blog because the promotion is too good now to be true. I’m not sure how fast this will run out but giving a new user 1 free APPLE stock and 1 free NIO stock is unheard of. There is just too good to not get this up now.

Let’s do the Math: USD 146 + USD 46 = almost USD 200

That’s just free money so let’s not waste any time.

To be honest, I am a little cheesed off that I signed up earlier as it feels like I got penalised for being faster and earlier on this.

You can click on my previous post to read more about it: Previous Blog Post

Who is Moomoo?

Who is Moomoo? Moomoo are a nasdaq listed company known at FUTU Holdings Limited. FUTU SG is a subsidiary of their parent company. Moomoo/Futu is also backed by Tencent and for those who don’t know who they are, they are a China based global gaming, superapp, entertainment, internet giant, etc. If you did not know, they do not charge commissions for stock trading for US, SGD and HK markets. They also do not charge a custodian fee. I am guessing that volume plays a big part in this whole scheme of things.

Promotions

Let’s just sum up what you will be getting first:

a. 1 AAPL Share

b. 1 NIO Share

c. Up to 20 Free TWTR shares

d. Unlimited Commission-free Trading for US, HK and SG Market, however you continue to pay the other fees such as trading, platform fees, etc.

d. Free Level 2 Market Data for US stocks

e. Free SGX securities Level 1 real-time data

f. SGD 50 Cash Coupon for stock transfer in.

Conditions to get your promotions (No free lunch)

Now, nothing comes free so these are required but do check the T&Cs officially to avoid any disappointment. These days, there are so much information flow that most of us can’t keep up.

a. You need to be a NEW Customer and be in Singapore to get this offer (You have to be above 18 years of age and have a valid bank account in your own name) – [For KYC purpose obviously]

b. Commission free trades does not apple for stock options, futures and China A shares. The promotion commission-free promotion is only valid for 180 days.

c. You can only transfer in shares that are for US and HK positions and you will get that S$50 cash coupon for the first transfer in.

d. In order to obtain your referral rewards, you will need to do some work. Referral rewards will be capped at a maximum of 20 Twitter Shares and 600 days of commission-free trading. So, get those referral coming.

e. To get your 1 free APPL share, you need to deposit funds worth S$2700 or USD 2000 or HKD16,00 within 30 days from account opening + Open an account by 2 Aug 2021.

f. As for your  1 free NIO share, you will need to unlock Level 1 trading bade or complete 5 successful trades within 30 days of account opening + deposit funds worth S$2700 or USD 2000 or HKD16,00 within 30 days from account opening.

Read more about their T&Cs here: https://support.futusg.com/en-us/topic128

Read about the Fees you need to pay: https://support.futusg.com/en-us/topic76

I personally think that it is a no brainer to get the perks. Thank you in advance for using my referral code: https://j.moomoo.com/004Fsa

For reference, please refer to the official website or contact their representatives.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures and information that I am using are taken from Futu’s/Moomoo’s website for the purpose of this blog post.

A New Service in Town – Goldback on Hugo

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Deals, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

With the internet, news and services get rolled out pretty at a light speed. Recently, the blog community and several other channels (likely paid/sponsored) has seen a new service in town. It isn’t your usual savings or investment account but instead a Goldback account. At at current, it looks really simple at this point in time. I’m not sure what they have in store for future development. (https://onelink.to/hugosave)

Hugo Save or Wealthcare

Savings are made made simpler through the Hugo Save App. How this works is through Roundups – every transaction on the Hugo Platinum Visa Debit Card is rounded up to the nearest dollar. This weekly Roundup savings are then automatically invested into real physical gold via the Hugo Gold Vault.

There are also other options such as:

1. Micro Investments – Grab Invest (Nothing Fancy but also nothing exciting). These have no lock-ins.

2. Micro Insurance – SNACK by Income. They offer small insurance benefits that build up over time. They can be a good source of insurance coverage for freelancers or folks who just came to employment.

3. With Hugo, they focus on savings and what more can they do to provide it as a platform to save eventually rounded into Gold.

a. You sign up with your details here at Hugo: https://www.hugosave.com/, click on the download button.

b. Fill and submit your details. I believe they have a pretty quick turnaround. Meanwhile, you will need a photo of your NRIC and selfie as a check.

c. Within the next business day, you should have your account setup and proceed into the app to get your physical card. This portion takes about 2 weeks minimally to obtain the physical card and start spending.

Each account is provided with an account number and a DBS Swift Code which is safeguarded within DBS Bank. You can load money via FAST to your account at Hugo

c. You can then explore to create moneypots (Savings) and if you spend on your card, there will be a round up function which will complete your micro savings into what they call Goldback.

Features

There are several features on the app:

  1. You can add money pots to create saving goals. (for example – different kid, PS5, new gadget) Take note though that there will not be any interest earned.
  2. Separately, there is a Gold Vault which you can:
    1. regularly invest in by setting a monthly date and amount to put into Gold
    2. Ad-hoc invest into the Gold account.

The Gold account in the Gold Vault is physical gold allocated against your investments. They are stored in an accredited London Bullion Market Association vault and insured by Lloyds of London.

Some Partnership links

It seems like HugoSave have a couple of partnership links that users can take advantage of:

a. From Circles (Telco): https://bit.ly/HugoXCirclesLife (minimum S$40 payment for 5 bills, get $S20 in staggered Goldback payment) You will need to be a Circles customers I suppose and looks like they have a promotion code to sign up too.

b. From Ohm Energy (Electricity Retailer): https://bit.ly/HugoXOhm (minimum S$40 payment for 5 bills, get $S30 in staggered Goldback payment) You will need to be an Ohm customer I suppose and looks like they have a promotion code to sign up too.

My Personal Thoughts

Pros

Good things first – When i first checked this out, the first thing that came to mind was a structured way to save money. This works for me in terms of setting saving goals for myself and pocket money for my kids.

The idea of roundups came in as a fresh perspective. Putting it into Gold was a little off-putting initially but i figured out that it is a safe haven so no harm to do so.

Next, I eventually thought about freelancers and people who say that they can’t really save every month. This put in to practice what you can really do now. Putting money pots and fix your savings without spending it.

With the increase and new generation into freelance work, this will help people in terms of educating savings. You have a fixed

Cons

I’m just thinking as a devil’s advocate. Should there be more than Gold as an option in this roundup function?

Next up, the physical card took rather long to arrive before I can use it. Perhaps, there can be consideration for spending on the numberless card before it arrives.

Are there any signup perks for customers? Since the objective is driven by savings instead of an interest bearing account. Considering that I can do the same via a Bank app, what is the edge other than purely savings.

Afterall, I’m pretty seasoned in this new app, new services stuff. They spend money to acquire customers, then roll a tight budget to stay sustainable. Nothing wrong in doing so, that’s just entrepreneurship and staying relevant.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from Hugo Save’s website for this article.

MoneyOwl Performance to date – June 2021

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, New Ideas, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

I have been investing regularly into my MoneyOwl portfolio monthly for some time now. While the amount is nothing to be shout about. It is just regularly fixing something so that I can save and invest at the same time.

Who is Money Owl?

MoneyOwl is an initative from NTUC Social Enterprise. They are sort of a Robo-advisor coupled with a suite of wealth planning tools such as will writing and insurance solutions. What really attracted me is their rather simple way of investing and using Dimension Funds as part of their portfolio construction. I believed back then I was comparing them versus StashAway. It was only when I found out about Endowus that I went full on robo-advisors.

As a retail investor, you will most likely not be able to access such funds. When the market tanked sometime in Feb 2020, I picked a few Robo-advisor to invest into and look into performance a few months later. Almost 18 months has passed now and I will most likely show some of the performance in my later posts but I must say, by doing nothing much, all advisors reported positive returns as compared to my own stock picking.

June 2021 performance (Since Day One Deposit)

In portfolio terms, it is up +17.77% on 30June 2021 since inception in June 2020. The portfolio size isn’t something great. Just a net deposit of 2,300. I kept the regular investing of $100 per month and it’s looking rather slow. I shall decide if I would want to up that amount soon given that I have quite a bit of commitment in the coming months. June was a stable month at least.

If we look at Time Weighted Returns, it is the more accurate to account of deposit and withdrawals. Again, this returns is just for reference. At the end of the day, what you originally invest in and the final amount will be the absolute profit.

In terms of the portfolio allocation, it is at 60% equities and 40% fixed income and makes up of 4 different funds. Everything will be on Dimensional Funds. I kind of wished that I had a small cap fund in there. But I guess, as long as my main robo has that exposure that would be good as well on an overall basis.

 

Personally, I like the allocation % because it is just widely diversified for equities and widely disperse in terms of investment grade.

In the details on the profit and loss sheet:

a. The Global Core Equity Fund will be the largest allocation and makes up most of the returns to date and continues to do well.

b. The Emerging Market Large Cap Fund will be the lowest allocation and makes the least of the returns to date. I don’t mind some EM exposure at this point in time.

c. The Global Core Fixed Income Fund will be my main steady income Fund and finally.

d. The Global Short Term Fixed Income Fund will be the last stabiliser in my portfolio.

 

MoneyOwl fees

A few months ago, MoneyOwl announced that they have lowered their investment advisory fees as well as absorbing the platform fees due to the pandemic.

a. For asset under management S$10,000 and below, there will not be any fees charged through 31 December 2021. This amount will be rebated back in the portfolio. So take note that only Cash investments are eligible for this rebate. The cash management accounts do not have these in place and your total portfolio value has to be above S$50.

b. There is an introduction fee of S$99 which is worth about S$535 for a comprehensive Financial Planning. Money Owl’s advisors will sit down with you to review your portfolio. The review is expected to contain detailed report and recommendations (It is estimated to be around 2 hours). I do think there are some discounts if you use some linked services of sorts such as Ohm Energy (You get a S$20 off)

c. Additionally, they are introducing free financial resilience workshops to focus on cash flow management and debt management. Likely through Webinars and anyone can join in.

It is nice to see that as a partner to our national social enterprise, they are making moves to help Singaporeans. The reduced fees on investments which is one of the key points in long term investments. The more fees you pay, the more it affects your long term goals.

If you would like to give MoneyOwl a try do remember to use my referral code: 1JIC-91CM

Both of us with get S$20 worth of GrabFood Vouchers for every product or service that you sign up so that means that both of us will get up to S$60 worth of GrabFood Vouchers. (Total of 3 services/products)

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

If you would like to give MoneyOwl a try do remember to use my referral code: 1JIC-91CM

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

The pictures were taken from Money Owl’s website for this article.

StashAway Performance – June 2021

On By RistrettzIn Performance, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

The first half of 2021 has passed by and it wasn’t too long before we had resolutions and new ideals. There’s only 6 months left for us to actually do anything to plug the gap. For those who actively review their goals and are on par or exceeding it. Keep on pushing, make it count. At the same time, it does seems like it has also passed rather quickly. StashAway has been rather stagnant but considering the environment, I think it is holding out well. Then again, it is about comparison. If I compare it with my core Robo then it seem to be a tad shy from the performance.

Repeating to myself that if Mr Market decides to go either way, it would matter that much to me. Why is that so? If Mr Market drops, then I will add on more to the portfolios. If you have not taken the first step, action early so that you can start doing this early and learn from any mistakes along the way.

Retirement Portfolio A (risk-14%)

My longest term portfolio for retirement. A little off on the performance level. I could have done a lot better but I shall not look back and will pop in a little more when i contribute to my SRS account. The SRS account since first day deposit is currently at +3.87% as on 30 June 2021 (Time-weighted return). Oh well. Performance wise, I think i is okay and also this is a super long term portfolio – I would say close to 25 years horizon so I’ll just leave it there.

 

In USD performance, that’s about +7.26% YTD (Time-weighted return). That’s quite a bit of FX i am losing out here. It dropped about 0.6% from last month. Then again, I wouldn’t sweat on the exchange rates since I am going to stay invested and into these portfolios. They are just a mean of reference as I look back at the performance.

 

Education Portfolio B (risk-16%)

This portfolio B is set out to be on a 15-18 year investment horizon. It is at +9.42% YTD on 30 June 2021 and It’s steady. It’s the same as the last time i measured during Dec 2020. I have been averaging in whenever there are market dips. The risk index is at 16% and I will adjust those risk levels as and when I feel that there is a risk on or off. For just a 2% risk increase, I see a better performance already.

 

In USD, I’m looking at double digits +13.28% (Time-weighted returns). Again on the Forex rate as reference. This has dropped almost 1% month on month.

Education Portfolio C (risk-20%)

For this portfolio, I look at this at shorter horizon of 12-15 years so I feel that I need to take on some risk to achieve my goals. This SA risk index is currently at 20% and will take on to be one of my riskiest portfolio. Return is at +16.74% YTD (Time-weighted return) since day one as at 5 June 2021 Not much of it has changed or rather it has dropped slightly but this is just a note to self and measure the monthly performance. Over time, more funds will be added to achieve the targeted invested goals.

 

In USD terms, we are looking at +20.87% (Time-weighted return). Looking great as usual. Although I feel that this isn’t exactly the year to take on higher risk for better returns. This has dropped 1.2% month on month.

Conclusion

It is now more than one year since I started using StashAway. I still think that it has been a great supplement as a robo advisor. After using a few robo-advisors, I find that SA will play second fiddle to my Endowus Portfolio and true enough that fits exactly into how I plan it to be.

StashAway does have their own advantages. They do hedge their portfolios against huge crashes and take a stand on some positions which I do like because a lot asset managers don’t and even though they talk big about macro. The gold move was bold but it protects the portfolio. Again, Rome wasn’t built in a day so I guess you need to safeguard some of your monies to future proof it.

To find out more about the pros and cons of using StashAway, do refer to my previous posts.

To sign up or try out Stash Away, visit the website and use my referral code at Stash Away Referral

We’ll both get up to $10,000 SGD managed for free for 6 months which is a good deal.

Disclaimer

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

The pictures were taken from the Stash Away website for this article.

Endowus Performance (1 New Pimco GIS Income Fund Added) – June 2021

On By RistrettzIn Performance, Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

I must say that I kind of like to do the Endowus monthly review as it has been stellar since inception. For performance in June 2021, it seems like market moved sideways and finished a little more on the positive side. I’m seeing new index highs but yet careful on what is going to show in the near future. The whole portfolio seem to be steady and going on a good long term growth.

Like many of my previous post, I kind of trust Endowus. Recently they wrote to users to write reviews on their platforms to get additional rebate fees (their quarterly fees for managing the money) and that’s a no brainer. I feel that their corporate story sells to me. Frankly, I would actually recommend them to anyone I know. I know that my investments will be safe with them.  I also read in their newsletter that traditional banks and investing firms are starting to put in monies in the company as part of the drive to stay relevant.

Whatever it is, they have been quite reasonable about everything. Another plus point is that they have also given me a lot of comfort in the way they allow investors to reduce their initial investing sum. Minimum sum should not be the way to investing. Overall, I feel that I take more pride in knowing who is holding my money and how they do it. Lowering the bar also allows people who are younger to start early in this long-term process.

ESG Portfolio

I started this ESG Portfolio during March 2021 and I have some high hopes for this fund to do pretty well. This segment would serve me well for a long term portfolio because I do see the value in investing in sustainable companies an practices. After all, we are trying to make a difference for our little ones. So, a little step goes a long way.

 

This is at +7.55% since inception some time in Mid March 2021. This is moving in a good direction to date. The allocation is a 80%/20% Equity/Bond portfolio allocation so there will be more movement on the equity side. This is long term so, just leave it in there. You do good and it brings you sustainable returns. It is for the future and the next generation.

SRS Portfolio

Overall, portfolio is up +23.06% since May 2020 in SGD. As usual, in USD terms, due to no FX impact as the portfolio is USD ETFs, the performance will definitely be better especially when USD becomes stronger. Of course, the reference will be SGD since I use SGD. This is the SRS/Cash portfolio which consists of my favourite Dimension Funds in a 40% bonds/60% equity. Overall from May 2020 to 30 June 2021, it is a +23.06% increase in absolute terms – Fantastic. For YTD performance, the fund was stable and at + 9.27% for 2021. Sweet. Long term guys, long term view.

 

CPF Portfolio

For the CPF portfolio, it is looking at +14.98% since inception in May 2020.

 

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at +4.27% and that’s about a 1.80% increase from the previous month. Marvellous – The way I see it.

 

Similar to the previous months, interest rates for cash has been dropping like crazy. That’s pretty expected.

Fund Smart Portfolio

I started this semi medium term Fund Smart portfolio this month in May 2021. I tried to build a balance portfolio. I’m not exactly sure but I will go in via RSP monthly as I wasn’t sure but I do want to deploy some of my cash. I have put in just a little during the correction and it is at +1.24% to date. This is done monthly on RSP until end of the year.

 

Overall: 52% Equity and 48% Fixed Income

a. 15% in Multi Asset Fund (1 Fund)

b. 45% in Equity Funds (2 Funds)

i. Focus into China Play [10%]

ii. Global equity with dividend accumulation (Re-invest) [20%]

iii. Small Cap equity play (For the Alpha) [15%]

c. 40% in Bond Funds (3 Funds)

i. Climate Bond Fund Play [20%]

ii. Core Fixed Income Play [20%]

Retirement Portfolio

So last month, I got down into building a portfolio of unallocated funds to the institution Pimco GIS Income Fund. 0.55% will be the fees annually so that’s going to be start of the accumulation of the coupons from the funds. I will add on 2 or 3 tranches of the same should the time allows. Otherwise I would look at the Lion Global fund that matches the S&P 500 Index for a long-term portfolio. Since inception, it is up 0.37% (reinvest) on 22 June 2021. We shall see where we are heading towards.

I don’t really know how it will go from here but I really do need to deploy some cash as I can’t get 2% on cash solutions.

The reason for Endowus

Like a broken recorder, the pros once more:

  • Endowus is the first and only robo-advisor to be approved by the CPF board.
  • 100% trailer fees back to the consumer, not the fund management fee. This is really one of a kind I’ve seen so far.
  • They do have a decent team who makes sense when introducing their platform in my personal opinion.
  • I believe all retail investor should try them out because of how they are trying to disrupt investing and make investing work for everyone.

Thank you all in advance for using my referral code.

Last point is to do your own diligence. What works for me may not work for you. Investing in traditional portfolios is about risk management.

Disclaimer

If you decide to sign up with Endowus, do remember to use my referral code: https://endowus.com/invite?code=EDZ8M

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations

These pictures were taken off Endowus website for reference.