Category: Personal Finance Series

Value and the concept of Perceived Value

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, Psychology, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Value is a very interesting concept. In the world of investing and valuation of companies, there is no one size fit of the valuation of a company. This also create an inefficiency into the market where there are enough buyers sellers to take in price and also to sell out. This is also a great definition to split up what buyers and sellers view certain companies or certain things. This is extremely interesting for me – Over the years there is no doubt brands bring out a certain stature in beings. (Beings as in humans) In Singapore – The last 10 years have seen a big bunch of folks growing with affluent wealth significantly.

Perspective

Let me just put things into perspective – many might know what a KIA Picanto is. Just about 7-8 years ago, COE prices were sky rocketing to above S$80k. The brand new Picanto actually cost cost to a S$100k here and I actually do know some people who own these. With the same S$100k, you can actually get a Toyota Vios or a car with a smaller engine such as the Toyota Yaris (Which is a sportier hatchback). To some, owning a car is just not feasible or it just doesn’t make sense. This is where things get interesting. For S$120k, you can almost get into the entry level continental cars such as Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen. Driving an Audi versus a KIA – what perceived value do you now have?

Concept

Before beginning on the concept, i need to have a disclaimer that I am not a qualified psychologist nor am I a specialist. I just find that stuff like Feng Shui, Human Psychology, Behaviours and Ideas are built on a single platform. This platform is known as Common Sense. While it is easy to understand, many may not practically use or realise until much later.

For me, I think that it is necessary to always stay an open mind. There isn’t really such a thing as a one man show, it is always a team effort to succeed in a project.

A Story to tell about

Side tracking a little about team effort. This reminds me about a story. I knew something who was working as a Management Associate working in a bank many years ago. The selfish bugger intentions were to let the higher ups know that he single handedly solved and produced many solutions for the bank. In reality, he simply used his intern or ex-intern to do so. In summary, he took all their work and claimed the full credit. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps for the money? Most likely that is the case.

Currently, he heads a department but he is an empty shell. This is simply because he gives no credit to those below him. That’s no way a good boss should behave. He is no role model and in no capacity to lead people.

Value

It is precisely because different people view value differently, the variation of behaviour changes from one to another. Even family members do not behave or think the same. This “unique” behaviour is partly why there are so many inefficiencies in the equity market. At any point in time, there are sellers and buyers in the market. That was how a buyer and seller market was formed. Then came the “trend followers” – Because everyone enters into a position, they create a buy volume or trend which pushes the momentum of the company. Often, that is translated to share price as well. However, always remember that the price on the stock market is the sentiment of an investor, not the situation which the company is in.

Herding

Over time, people behaviour will naturally act as a herd. When the momentum is to buy or sell, a natural phenomenon is to follow. If you follow, it doesn’t feel like you are missing out. This theory actually touches an emotional aspect of our being that we do not like to be left out. That sounds a little needy but as humans, we are generally weak in such situations. Hence, the word “FOMO” appeared. It means Fear Of Missing Out especially when cryptocurrency coins started to increase exponentially to 100x or 1000x. No one likes to miss out on a good deal.

Not saying yes to everything

Well, I can’t really say much about when is good time to buy unless you are an insider. That being said, it is illegal because it is not a level playing field. Eventually, you will be exposed so make money the right way. I guess that only successes and failures bring experiences.

You can’t just buy anything and everything. There’s the existence of curating for a reason. You have to understand and know what are you buying certain stuffs for and what is your exit strategy.

There are things eventually that you can take risks on and some you don’t. That does not mean that it is not a bad thing. I am an advocate that if there is something new that is worth investing or exploring. Try it out with an open mind. You can be disappointed for 99 times but it only take 1 opportunity to get it right.

Disclaimer

This is purely my own opinion that I am writing about in my thoughts. 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 like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

Crypto.com Exchange (Crypto Trading)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Cryptocurrency, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Crypto Trading has been something that I was looking to go a couple of years ago. However the process and understanding the steps were just complex and seems daunting. The whole idea of buying crypto through a block-chain transaction and also when you transfer ETH through the ERC-20 system and so on and so forth.

I didn’t even know what was gas to begin with! Then came Crypto.com that was my initial foray into crypto currency and it gave me confidence because of how simple the setup was. It was built into 2 segments and eventually developed into a brokerage style (Crypto.com Exchange) at Exchange

Crypto.com App

The app is divided into two sections: The first is the Visa Debit Card and the second the purchasing wallet in the Crypto App. You can sell your crypto into the Visa Card (This is only one way) in the form of BTC to Fiat Currency. You can buy and sell and convert from different coins/tokens within the app itself as long as they list it in the App.

The next development that they built was the earn functions. It works like a fixed deposit. You need to put in a minimum sum, it can be no terms, 1 month or 3 month and they pay you the interest every week. The presumed interest rates are not fixed and are subject to changes. I find that the flexible terms plans allow for such flexibility. I previously talked about Crypto.com here Foray into Cryptocurrency with a Visa Card

Crypto.com Exchange

Recently, Crypto.com built an Exchange platform. This is what most people define traditionally as the brokerage. This exchange platform will allow you to set triggers for all coin pairs that is tradable on the exchange. You can also set limit buy and sell or market orders through the platform. This gives some form of control as the rates are always moving even during weekends. On the App itself, the rates are probably held for 5/10 secs depend on how volatile the trading pairs are but the exchange will provide live and almost instant conversion at the price that one would like to get.

You can also soft stake in the exchange with other coins that is listed on the page. It means that certain coins get some form of interest just by putting it on the exchange. You do not need to do anything but just take note that it may change from time to time.

Above is the referral programme for both referrer and referee for NEW Users.

They also have a referral programme now. You can also read more about it in detail here at Exchange Referral

The sky is the limit for now. Look at the referral bonus paid out in CROs Tokens. The rich gets richer.

Above is the referral programme for both referrer and referee for EXISTING Users

Benefits

  • No referral limits – You can refer as many friends as you want; you and your friends will each be rewarded upon meeting the requirements.
  • Bonus credited instantly – Referrer/Referee will receive their bonuses immediately once all conditions are met.

If you would like to give it a go or just to try it out, do use my referral code. Meanwhile, if you have any questions about funding or what to use to buy and how to buy, just drop me a note anytime.

Referral Link: My Referral Link

Referral Code: im3py887ty

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

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

What Will I Invest with S$10,000

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Cryptocurrency, Personal Finance Series, Robo Advisors, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

I realised that such posts actually attract more viewership as compared to technical breakdowns. I get it that most people want a quick and fast way to read content and download views. The first 3 seconds of every post will most likely decide if the reader would like to continue reading, be skeptical or just scoff at it. In my earlier posts, I talked about having an emergency fund. It takes time to build such things so don’t forget, the little things count.

In this article, I’m going to discuss more about what to invest and why especially for folks who just got out of school. When I graduated, I remember vividly that it seemed to be pretty hard to save money. A few years on, I realised what constituted the bulk of my spending and why I could not save more. These life experiences cannot be bought so I would say the money spend networking and forging friendships are my human capital.

Going back in Time

Going back to 5 years ago, there wasn’t many choices to invest extra funds into. It was the standard brokerages, fund houses or at most bank/custodian brokerages. There wasn’t a lot of tools to invest in and let’s be honest, the retail bankers can’t be too bothered with a S$10,000 fund. It just isn’t worth their time. So, like many others who preaches, I shall say it again – If you do not care about your own money, no one will. I remember I used to buy funds via FundSupermart, trading some Forex with CMC Markets/Saxo Capital and used Standard Chartered Brokerages to buy US/SGD equities. Nothing fancy that you can really do though.

Moving forward 2020

With the current options we have available, traditional investments seems really cool. (At least it is for me) I really like the options out there for me to pick and choose. You can Insurance Tech, Robo Advisors, Cryptocurrency, Real Estate Block-chains, ETFs, Leveraged Equities/Indexes and many more. With the upcoming digital bank in Singapore, I think that this is going to be great for consumers. The key problem now is to get more people interested in their own personal finances.

What to do with S$10k?

We are going to take away the cash solutions for this since this is on the assumption that cash funds are kept away in a safe place. With the new funds, this is money that you can afford to lose. I used to know something who likes to take a punt, he would leverage and buy options on the same counter without considering the risk. Well, he wanted to win big but eventually his portfolio became pathetic and he lost his job while these options expired and markets dropped. The objective of sharing this story is to always abide by your investment discipline.

I am reminded of the rules:

  • No one has the crystal ball and you will never know when the markets decide to be green or red.
  • A small amount of leverage is fine but not when it is concentrated into one counter. Remember to diversify but not over diversify.
  • Always use option to your advantage, not to speculate.
  • When you lose to the market, blame no one but yourself because no one forced you to invest. You can keep cash and seek cash solutions but if your cash deflate, that’s on you and no one else.

With a S$10k portfolio, I would split it up into a few tranches.

Robo Advisors

  1. Robo Advisors are a great tool if you do not know what to buy or when to buy. The whole idea is to buy when markets go up or down. The entry level for robo investing is so low that anyone can invest. Let’s also be real, all platforms have a cost upkeep so fees are unavoidable. For this I would Assign at least S$6k (~60% – 70%) into such funds and this forms the Core part of the long term portfolio
    1. The first option can be Endowus (USD ETFs) which i discussed before here at Endowus
    2. The second option can be Stash Away (USD ETFs) which i discussed before here at Stash Away
    3. The third option can be Syfe (For SGD related equities or the Global Equity Portfolio) which i discussed before here at Syfe

Now, you must not forget to top up your investment on a monthly basis. Treat that as a form of savings. The earlier you save, the faster your will reach your retirement goals.

From the robo advisor portfolio construction, you can choose a partial bond|equity balanced fund. This is where your bond exposure comes in. Do not waste your time with SGS or SSB during this period because they returns are not great.

Cryptocurrency

2. They say that trend is your friend. The trend now with all the hype is about Cryptocurrency. I can’t help but would add a small amount to the portfolio. They are supposed to act different as compared to fiat currencies. For this I would assign at least S$1k (~10%-15%) and i consider these as alternative asset class.

    1. The first option is to buy Bitcoins. They are by far the largest Cap in the Crypto World.
    2. The second option is to get a foot in to Crypto.com. I previously discussed about this as well here at Crypto.com App/

Funds

3. Personally, I like income or dividend equities or funds. If you are more risk adverse i would suggest to put some money into the PIMCO income funds. They are just the best in class for bonds. Depending on what you like, the average dividends is roughly around 3-4% p.a. For this, I would assign at least S$2.5k (~25%-35%) and these are supposed to be a stable source of dividend funds.

Trading

4. Finally, what fun is there if you leave everything in the Core Portfolio. The balance 15% of funds (~S$1.5k) can be use to buy in specific equity counters in the SGX. (for e.g. bank stocks or reits whenever there is a market pullback) If you really wish to fully invest these monies, just put them back into the Robos or ETFs.

What other options would you do or suggest to do? Feel free to comment. The whole idea of writing is to really share about opinions and you never know when an idea strikes you.

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

Images seen in this article were take off the relevant websites for illustration purposes only.

StashAway – August 2020

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

Stash Away is another Robo Advisor with different proposition. In my previous posts, I discussed about why I chose different Robo-advisors. Part of me is really to try out what works for me and if I would stay with them long-term. After using Stash Away since Jan 2020, my answer would be a yes. This is the first time I am writing about Stash Away and the experience has been good so far.

Stash Away has a ERAA® (Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation) based robo-systematic allocation system and there is nothing much to complain about. For any SGD funded into the account, it would have to convert to USD in order to buy into the portfolio which involves fees. For dividends distribution, most likely there will be the usual withholding tax. (30%)

One little tip that I realised with cash deposits is that when the US market comes off and I deposit some cash into the portfolio. Within the day, I can see the prices in the app. With SRS funds, It is not that simple. It takes about 2-3 days to do so.

On my view on Stash Away

The Good so far

I really like the App. It is simple and easy to navigate. The colours are all nice and warm, it makes you feel secure with your funds. I like the way they use the technology and methodology to invest the money. The idea is based on an algorithm approach. Recently they reallocated to add on Gold to the portfolio and I think that it was a great move. For cash funds get invested almost immediate in the morning without any lag time sounds good.

One of my habits is to listen to market outlook but that is hard to come back these days. Stash Away has a weekly market commentary by the CIO, Freddy Lim. The very first time i heard him speak was right before the circuit breaker where he shared about risk reward ratio for Stash Away in 2019. Thereafter, his views and comments about the market have been succinct and easy to digest. This makes it easy to understand for everyone. The market commentary is only 15 minutes so it doesn’t take up too much of my time yet it allows me to take back a lot more.

The bad so far

They use a custodian account so the funds are not under your own name. That said, it just means that they have more control and flexibility about the fund flow in a legal way. Even though the move to add commodities into the account, I still feel a little uncomfortable but then I have a long horizon of 10 years so I guess only time will tell. I also do not quite like that they use Saxo Capital to execute the trades. I find that Saxo is generally more costly and offers poor FX rate for the retail and private clients. Given the options we have for brokerage these days, Saxo is not competitive at all in my opinion.

Summary of my portfolio

I have separated three portfolio:

A. Education Funds A – Risk Adjusted to 26%

B. Education Funds B – Risk Adjusted to 22%

C. Retirement Funds C- Risk Adjusted to 30%

From time to time, I will adjust the risk portfolio in the app accordingly when I feel that markets are moving up or down. I take certain risk in that but that is just a very small tweak I make. This is an extremely interesting feature for Stash Away.

Fund A Performance

Since April, the portfolio is up about 7.0% annualised which is pretty good.

Fund B Performance

Since April, the portfolio is up about 4.0% annualised and if markets were too pullback, it would be a good time to top up. Fund A and Fund B was invested in the same time. The main objective was to find out how the fund would perform while using different risk matrix.

Fund C Performance

Fund C was invested since February 2020 before the market pull back. This portion of the fund wasn’t doing well back then in march 2020 and at one point in time, it was at the – -30% mark. But it has since recovered and I have put in more funds into this retirement fund. This Fund has a 20 year horizon so it has a long way to go and I’m not too worried about where it is going in the next 5 years.

As a totality, the full portfolio performance is doing pretty good at around 3.8% annualised.

As you can see in the transaction reports, the details in SGD conversion to USD (1/0.7268 = 1.3759) and investments into the respective US based ETFs that the portfolio chose to follow before funding.

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 https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

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

 

Electricity Retailer – Open Electricity Market (Saving on your bills)

On By RistrettzIn New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

The Singapore electricity market decentralised some time around 2015 and that made way for the big commercial companies to change their electricity supplier. The bulk of electricity are consumed by the business/commercial companies. As an estimate, the ratio of consumption is probably around 65/35 in terms of consumption. The Open Electricity Market started out in phases since November 2018. There was a trial run for 100k households and small businesses in the Jurong Area in April 2018 and these guys get to save at least 30% off the electricity bills! That is such a good deal and a first mover advantage.

The Start of OEM

Since November 2018, it was a phased launch to open up the entire Singapore to all residential households and smaller businesses. By May 2019, Singaporeans can choose the electricity retailer of their choice. It is interesting and unique to see this happening in this small island because SP Group is the monopoly in such nationwide infrastructure. I used to know nothing about the electricity market until such an initiative was discovered. The fact that SP Group remains as the electricity grid provider and transmission lines is indeed unique only to Singapore.

What this means is that all generation in Singapore has to go through the National Grid and in return, the power supply remains consistent, stable and reliable. Not much of a difference I would say.

If there are power outages or blackouts, the whole responsibility still lies with SP Group and you have to contact their 24-hour hotline. These outages has nothing to do with the generation firms. So the key question is still, how is it that these retailers can provide a lower pricing as compared to regulated tariff. (Electricity Rate Tariff is revised every January, April, July and Oct)

Electricity Retailer

From digging up articles and information online as well as speaking with the respective retailers, the simple answer to this question is:

Regulated tariff was formulated. It is similar to how Airlines price their seats which oil prices play a part in that calculation. From only buying electricity from SP Group (It takes in and calculate the 2.5 months of Brent Oil in USD) as part of the formula.

The retailer price, however depends on the bring of electricity they buy from the wholesale market (www.emcsg.com) and from their portfolio in Electricity Futures.(Which is traded in SGX) As a result of a different formulation, this allows the retailers to price in roughly about 15-25% cheaper as compared to the Regulated Tariff.

There is an interesting write up that talks about how prices are cheaper from Ohm Energy here Ohm Market Outlook. Of course, there are also retailers who are willing to absorb all costs to get more customers. As long as there are no hidden costs, we stand to benefit.

The Power to Choose

Now, for the exciting part. there are a 12 choices to choose from. We, as consumers should benefit from the increase in competition from different retailers. I will try my best to let everyone know what are the things to look out for before you switch to a retailer:

All Retailer

Not just the Price

a. First thing first – Do not sweat the small stuff. Cheap does not mean that it is good. Cheap is just the first step to getting your attention. Prices can be compared at the Price Comparison Website which is the official comparison website at Compare. 

Good Reviews Online

b. Check out the reviews first. You can go to Facebook, Google, Retailers’ website, Value Champion, SeedlyReviews and many more. Do not underestimate the power of reviews. Don’t let cheap cover your eyes.

iswitch

This retailer penalises you for forgetting to renew your contract at 5% off the tariff.(What a rip-off! I’m sure there are a few more of such retailers around) A friend of mine told me that Geneco, Tuas power and Union Power renewed their contract at 10% off regulated tariff so please check your contracts.

Renewal Clauses

c. Look at the renewal clauses. It is extremely troublesome to keep switching retailers once every 6/12 months. Some retailers are just out there to rip consumers off by renewing you on a bad renewal contract if you forget. You have to write these guys off permanently.

Choice of Billing

d. What do you prefer? Consolidated fuss-free billing or more separate billing?

What Type of Plans?

e. No perfect plans. Just what s more comfortable for you.

  1. If you want to be paying cheaper than Regulated Tariff then go for the Discount off Tariff price plans. The cons is that if the tariff goes higher, your rate may be higher as well.
  2. If you wish to have some form of fixed pricing, then go for the Fixed Price plans. The cons is that if the tariff goes lower, then your rate will remain at the fixed rate.

Fees and Hidden Charges

f. Take note of Fees and Charges. If you want to just take on a long term contract, make sure you do know the criteria if you can transfer your contract to a new address without incurring an ETF or other fees.

  1. For example Early Termination Fees if you terminate your contract Early.
  2. Late Payment Charges
  3. Transmission Loss Charges
  4. Extra fee for Hard Copy bills
  5. Fee charges for failed payment (Credit Card/Debit Card)
  6. Fee charges for failed GIRO application
  7. Admin Fee if you failed to provide the proper documents to a retailer

Consumer Safeguards

g. There are consumer safeguards so there is no need to worry that your lights will go off. It’s just that it is going to be a little troublesome if anyone goes bust. You can read more about these safeguards here: Consumer Safeguards

It is a no-brainer and there is no catch. Just switch and you are on your way to cheaper bills. You just need to be wary about the retailer you choose from. There are no risks – What you have is literally a financial contract on a rate you agree to sign up on for a certain period. (If you decide to go on a contract plan) If you wish to go on a no commitment, no contract plan, you can check out Ohm Energy. They are one of the rare retailers who offer such plans.

Who did i choose?

Personally, I really prefer Ohm Energy. You can check them out here at Ohm Energy.

Positive and Good Reviews

A. The reviews are literally positive and they look rather solid. They are also Most Popular at Seedly Reviews.

Ohm

Great Customer Service

B. The customer service seems to be the center of all the buzz which I really like. When I have a query, the response that i get from the customer care is quick and concise. Not quite what I have seen elsewhere.

2

Nice Colours and Branding. Even the Name Sounds Cool

C. The branding is just appealing to me and everything is done online. I am so done with roadshow salesperson. They are just out there for a single purpose.

Renewal Bonus

D. When you renew, they have a renewal bonus and also they renewal you at the market rate during the renewal period. That is fair.

Referral Program and more Savings!

F. You can also refer as many friends as you want. That is S$20 for both referrer and referee with no cap. Thumbs Up!

Consolidated Bills

G. Consolidate SP Billing with them means that the payment arrangement, Security Deposit, Hard copy bills all remains the same. That is really easy.

Trial Period

H. For New Customers, they have a three month trial period to try them out. If you decide to switch out before then, there are no fees involved. That gives me confidence about how much they are willing to let you “Try them out”.

If you do select Ohm, do remember to use my referral code: OHMREF3F28B7 (Input into the promocode field and click apply at Step 3 of the application)

Disclaimer

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 the respective retailer and EMA/OEM website for this article.

Where to Stash (Dash) your cash and Grow Money (EasyEarn)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Interest Rates, New Ideas, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Stashing Your Cash

In my earlier posts, I talked about the need for an emergency fund and other than Singlife, which caps the 2.5% p.a. for the first S$10k. No other financial institutions have been able to match this super high interest yield for a pretty risk free approach .(Given that Singlife is under SDIC so the first S$75k is covered and safe) In recent months, we have seen some insurtech or alternative ways to put your money and entice people with relatively decent interest rates for your cash/emergency funds.

Emergency Funds

To recap, your emergency funds should have some level of liquidity so that you can utilise when necessary and not be penalised for doing so. This is by far my personal first rule. It is extremely interesting and exciting to see what might happen to the digital banking sector where there is a mixed bag of consortium lining up to be licensed to offer financial services. It looks like it is going to be something similar to what these insurtech is offering or even more innovation. (e.g. bundled products, higher interest rates or even offering curated financial products, robo-advisors and payment channels) It does seems exciting to see what new innovation these services can offer and retail customers will benefit from this digital drive.

Dash EasyEarn

Dash Easy Earn is a collaborative work between Dash (Singtel payment service) and Easy Earn (Tiq – An Insurance arm of Etiqa and a subsidiary of Maybank)

Let’s go for the Pros first:

a. Flexible no lock-in period hence no penalties for cancelling the plan.

b. First year interest rates stands at 2% p.a. (So this part is locked in and low interest rate environment is set to stay)

c. Relatively low barrier to entry. With S$2k minimally as maintenance amount that you keep, you get the interest accrued on a daily basis.

d. Capital Guaranteed.

e. Interest earned can be transfer to Dash Payment Service with no extra charge and they have a suite of deals and payments which you can use to pay your bills with. There is a $2 cashback for your first Singtel Dash transaction! Sign up with the referral code DASH-RYJKN or tap on this link https://appserver.dash.com.sg:443/mgm?DASH-RYJKN now

f. You can top up anytime to this account.

g. 105% of the account value is the sum assured should something happen to you.

Now for the Cons:

a. You need to download and register for yet another app. This is the Singtel Dash App. I mean, I really hate Singtel but I will not say no to free money.

b. You have to remember to maintain at lease S$2k in the EasyEarn Account.

c. 2% p.a. only applies for the first year and I believe that it will drop to 1.5 % p.a. thereafter. (From the terms and conditions: *Guaranteed 1.5% p.a. + 0.5% p.a. bonus for first policy year, available on a first come, first served basis) – Seems like there is sort of a cap to this.

d. There is a maximum amount to this. Once you have Topped Up to S$20k, that is the cap for every individual account. So there is this element of troublesome to remember and track for a 2% p.a. but if it suits you, then by all means go ahead.

e. Here is the key part to this which you will not hear it from Dash themselves. For any transaction that you transfer out via PayNow back to your own transact or savings account, there is a payment fee of S$0.70 per transaction. This is free if you transfer to Dash payment as described above for Pros point (e).

Seriously

To some, the S$0.01 is money which they refuse to let go of but to others, not so much of a great deal. Don’t be penny wise pound foolish or you will never see the bigger picture. You will not gain anything by spending time and energy on pinching 1 cent. I personally know 8 out of 10 people does it and it annoys the hell out of me. If you have time to pinch 1 cent, I would rather you take that time to find ways to make $10 instead of ruining your own mood, wasting your time and fussing over the small things. I don’t get it and I still don’t today.

The User Interface

Here is how the screen looks like on the Dash EasyEarn App. You can see the Grow Money (New) in the Dash App which you can access and see your funds and interest. Do note that the interest are not accumulative though so it means that whatever you have in excess of S$20k earns no interest.

1

When you log in to EasyEarn, that is how the app looks like below.

2

Conclusion

Before I end off, I saw an interesting product which is on similar terms as Dash EasyEarn. They are from Tiq Insurance – meaning GIGANTIA but this works in their own Tiq App. (First year 1% + 1% p.a.) I’m not too sure why they have something similar to Dash EasyEarn. There can be a variety of reason. It could be that they have extra tranche of funds to offer customers or it could be that this is a longevity version of their product as compared to having inflexible Dash systems. I would explore Tiq option as well but let’s see what kind of proposition it makes to consumers.

If you like what I am sharing, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is just a tool and exploration to find out cash solutions, interest rates as well as a market survey. It is never too much to learn and know more about.

This picture image was taken off Singtel Dash and EasyEarn for illustration purpose only.

 

Endowus – August 2020 performance

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

Endowus

Roughly about three months ago, I made the call to go with Endowus to try out the Robo-advisor. I must say that I did and still having a good experience with them. I guess it is time to let people know that they are a dependable and competent group of people whom you can trust your money with. They also have a bunch of good content, the only thing is that their video content always over run but it just means that they have too much to talk about.

They are also one of the first robo-advisors to allow CPF investments into the funds and that tells a lot about this company. Of course, the investment funds that they use to build the portfolio is different for the Cash or SRS options which uses the competent Dimension Funds which used to be only available to institution clients (Meaning big corporate and deep pockets could only access to these funds)

Fund Fees

Now, Dimension Funds are available to retailer clients like anyone else on the street. The problem is that most places actually charge you a trailer fee, platform fee, recurring fee on top of the management fee and upfront fund fees. Yes, it is the financial industry. Endowus actually rebate those fees so that they only charge what they should be charging – the Fund level fees.

Something that  really like – Endowus will only charge you fees at the end of the quarter. Comparing an upfront fee or taking a fee after your portfolio actually returns something. I would choose the latter. Don’t get me wrong, i am agreeable to paying fees and it is necessary to keep good companies running. In general, fees are the ones which keep your investment returns compounded at a lower rate.

When to Invest?

In my previous articles, i discussed about the best time to invest and frankly there isn’t any. To get a head start, the best time is really to plonk in some money to a diversified asset class when the markets have come off. Simplifying things, if you only invest 10% of your Networth each time there is a correction. Doubling the portfolio just means roughly about 9% of your portfolio. (assuming it doubles)  So, it is something worthwhile to think about the risk and rewards. It also doesn’t mean that higher risk will eventually give you a higher return. In all conditions, the nature of things is that by taking a higher risk, you should get a higher return.

Portfolio

I had split up my portfolio into two parts. The first – A S$5000 SRS portfolio invested since May 2020. The second – A S$5500 CPF OA portfolio invested since May 2020 and YTD the returns have been pretty decent.

Figure one below is the SRS portfolio:

1

Figure two below is the CPF OA portfolio:

2

If you use my referral code to sign up and invest minimum S$10k, we both get $20 each which can be used to offset the management fees to keep their lights running: https://endowus.com/invite?code=EDZ8M

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. I will still add on more of my CPF OA money regularly. I will definitely pick up more when markets come off to add on to my portfolio.

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/

These pictures were taken off Endowus website for reference.

CPF (Assisting your Retirement?)

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Whenever we touch on the topic of CPF, also known as Central Provident Fund (Pension Fund – The Europeans and Americans call it), people get kind of edgy and upset. What I do observe is that mostly a certain group of people is really anti CPF. The first group is those who are anti-government, not fueling anything here but just a general consensus. The second group is the retirees or about to retire folks who didn’t have a decent education (At that point in time, it wasn’t necessary to have the paper qualifications) and the last group is the self-proclaimed Warren Buffet who claims to beat the market.

The Central Provident Fund

The CPF in my opinion, is something of a great system. There are certainly flaws to it but in my view it is the perfect, AAA grade, higher yield returns that can supplement all our retirement fund. There are certain risks but There are no investment tool has no risk in reality. I finally conclude that as a result of these 3 group of people, these are the reason why so many people dislike the CPF system.

The AAA rating

a. Unfortunately, it is a complex system – You need to read up and understand how it works to appreciate the system

b. Inflation rate is here to stay hence the increase in the minimum sum yearly

c. No one is taking your money away.

d. No. There is no crystal ball. Statistically, it is proven that you can never win 100% of the time. Anyone who have tried or attempted to invest their monies will know that there is no clear strategy out there but a lot of hard work so you will not be able to beat the benchmark all the time.

e. Good quality investments and yields are hard to find these days. Perhaps it is a reality check and time to reflect about strategies as well as accepting facts and the markets

Understanding what CPF is about

When I first explored CPF, it was when I was out of school into my first job. At that time, CPF seems like a Goliath – You think you know but eventually, you slowly find out stuff which you never know before and for a long period of time I put off reading up more about them. It was many years back that I started reading financial blogs and it became like a ritual. I’ll do that almost any other day.

Back in those days, there were less bloggers so you will still need to dig deep to find out how stuff works. Then came Technology advancements, social media and super apps/content apps. I also discovered a few more bloggers who actively shared about CPF. One one those whom I follow really closely is 1M65. His is a well-known blogger for CPF and he developed his own strategies around what the CPF has been doing for many years.

Life Cycle

1M65 is really about having a million in your CPF by 65 years old. Depending on how you look at it, he is preaching a 4M65 these days and base on his concept – I do think that is possible if you start really young. Anyway, his idea about have these sum of money is really to get you thinking about your own retirement early, not just when you are in your mid stage or even late stage of your life cycle.

Everyone is different

Most importantly, everyone is different. There is no need to look at it in the form of a showboat or saying that it is impossible. Being open and understanding how these people are doing do help yourself to be ready for retirement – You are doing your next generation a favour so that they will not fall into the sandwich class or fall in the same cycle again and again. Of course, teaching the value of money to the next generation is something that needs to be worked on as well. It’s not like they were given a sum of money to deal with in life.

Some people actually worked two jobs or even saved excessively so that they can put all their money into retirement. Again, lifejourney preaches about having your own quality of life. If you need to feel like you have to give up everything just to be thrifty (It is a really thin line to term it as miserly), then you would most likely have to re-think your strategy.

The Practical Approach

There are a lot of concepts that you can read about but most of them come from a theory. Personally, I don’t really like to dissect those as they are so technical and heavy. Most importantly, it is extremely boring to put them down in words and executing them is really the best way to practice

Stock market digital graph chart on LED display concept. A large display of daily stock market price and quotation. Indicator financial forex trade education background.

As 1M65 says, you can hate who or whatever but don’t hate free money. Initially, it sounded like a money grubber statement but eventually I came to realise that, it is really free money. If you have no plans to be an entrepreneur, there is a few things you have to take note of in CPF. Yes, I am sorry but everything has to start from the basics.

My View on CPF

a. My biggest take on CPF is to compound the interest. The more you have, the greater the growth. The younger you fill up your CPF account to accumulate interest, the faster and bigger your pension fund will grow.

bi. If you are below 55 years of age – Your first $60k in CPF will gain an extra 1% p.a. (This is capped at S$20k in your OA) The current base Ordinary Account (OA) is 2.5% (3-month average of major local banks’interest rates, whichever is higher)

bii. For most people, the next S$40k will most likely be in your Special Account (SA). For others who are still building your SA, that will be whatever that is in your MediSave Account (MA). The base rate for your SA and MA is at the current floor of 4% p.a. (which is also the 12 month average yield of 10-year Singapore Gov Securities – 10YSGS)

My Tips:

Your CPF interest is computed monthly based on the lowest balance for the month. This means that for interests paid out on your CPF accounts in Year 2020, the interest amount is based on what was captured monthly, compounded and only paid out to you in full before 1st Jan of 2021. (This is subjected to changes if you have transactions every month)

c. As much as possible, you have to try your best to hit the minimum sum as early as you can. (Combined OA and SA)  Once you manage to do that, you do not need to worry about the annual increase in minimum sum that is subjected to inflation.

My Tips:

Don’t lose faith if you have not or still very far from this. Everyone starts from $0. Let the small actions and do up your checklist one by one in order to build the financial confidence. Everyone is different – it is the end goal that matters.

d. Depending on your circumstances, you can choose to invest your CPF OA money after the S$20k accumulation. Similar to cash, have a long term goal and build your portfolio. Good companies and investment ideas doesn’t come easy. You have to make sure what you invest is more calculated risk. There is a risk to everything.

My Tips:

Don’t be affected by market noise. My tip is to buy when there is a price drop if the investment moat for the company still makes sense. (but always do your own diligence) You can also have different pockets of funds so that when there are opportunities or if there is a correction, you can be ready to enter the market. The rule is to always stay invested.

Summary

In Summary, CPF is not the perfect solution but a supplement of your retirement goals. In this aspect, we are responsible for our own money and retirement. No one else will take care of your money as much as you will do.  Only you will know your own financial situation. The question is to ask to meet these financial goals is that if you can cut back on your lavish lifestyle or even saving more to add to your pool of funds. No one can coerce you to do what you do not wish to.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion about CPF and retirement. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy as usual

Do check out some of my referral codes for other services here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from CPF website for this article.

Code of Conduct for Pedestrians

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Earlier something nearing the end of July 2020, LTA (Land Transport Authority of Singapore) announced that there is a code of conduct for pedestrians. Hmm…okay….Initially, I was kind of like – Do we really need something like that. As a human, common sense will prevail. You know, e-scooters, mobility devices and all things including cars and bicycle are at fault all the time.

Annoyingly and also partially true, pedestrians do cause some of these issues similar to what these personal mobility devices does. So, eventually I read and I came to terms with the new code of conduct (It is not a rule or regulation) but a recommended code. So fair enough, if you have one for everyone sharing the footpath, there need to be one for the pedestrians.

Sharing FootPath Sensibly

But truth be told, when there wasn’t such devices available back then. All humans walked on pavements and not watching a show/movie on their devices. Frankly, it is annoying – How are people watching shows while walking on the pavements and crossing the road. It is akin to someone who lights up and walks in front of you. There is just no regards for anyone around you. Since I was young, I was often told to be alert when walking and when I was really young, I had to be yanked back from a traffic light pedestrian crossing by my aunt because a car wanted to beat the red lights.

The smart phone is and will be the greatest invention in the history of mankind. The way you can use a handheld computer in the form of a mobile is just pure genius but that in the same sense has made life and our lifestyle extremely different. Sure enough, it makes it better to avoid awkward silence when you see someone you don’t really know very well in a public space. To a certain extent, I’m sure we are all guilty of using the phone as an excuse not to see someone on the streets.

But the real issue here is that people stop talking to each other. People stop doing stuffs that communicate with one another (like looking into the faces and chatting meaningfully) Tech and gaming companies are going to grow even bigger. The Chinese Tech firms are just bringing that addiction to the next level. I can’t really say that it is a bad thing.

People actually like certain genre of stuffs (Facebook, Snapchat, Tiktok, Instagram and plenty more), it even create a different industry of jobs/entrepreneurship) – so it isn’t a bad thing but eventually anything excessive is. Even work counts – I would say.

Summary

In Summary the pedestrian code of conduct and simply put:

a. Use the footpath and pedestrian crossing whenever possible.

b. Pedestrian to keep left at all times. That is fair, we are a right-hand drive.

c. Stay alert and avoid operating mobile communications and/or other functions (Listening to music) in a way that preventive of dangers that may creep up to you or in front of you.

Click here to read the actual code of conduct: (https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/dam/ltagov/getting_around/active_mobility/rules_public_education/rules_code_of_conduct/pdf/am_coc.pdf)

Will anyone read it? Yes. Will many read it? No. Will anyone obey it? Probably, after many years. Nothing will change habits and these are too harsh to be implemented as rules. The Pioneer and Merdeka generation wouldn’t really give a damned though. Mobile phone usage has become more widespread and the result from distracted walking will eventually be accidents occurring more frequently.

The whole idea is to continue to engage and educate the public on how all can play a part in building “a safer and more responsible path-sharing environment”, hopefully people become more gracious over time.

Disclaimer

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

The pictures were taken from LTA website for this article.

Singapore Reits or not?

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Deals, New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

Singapore Reits is something that many Singaporeans understand and take heart to. Some folks actually build their income/passive income via this source and I can see why.

My take on Reits on SGX

a. First it is based in Singapore – There is this local bias that it can do well given most people like to see for themselves if the malls are working out well in terms of retail quality, crowd, spending and how many shops are still in business.

b. SGD payouts avoids the currency risks. For a retiree or someone drawing on income from dividends, this payouts serve as a source of bill payment.

c. An alternative and cheaper way to enter the real estate market in Singapore is really through the reits/stock exchange. I know that people will argue that it is different but technically in my view, it is the same (And you do not need to pay stamp duties, get a mortgage and pay sales charges)

d. It is more liquid than real estate.

For a long time now, Reits have been growing big and popular within the investing community. Again, all investments comes with risks – Most people have more comfort in dealing with things they can see or get a sense of. For a long time, there have been plenty of wins for reits but as you can also see, the Circuit Breaker period in April through May have affected them in a way or another.

Diversification?

So again diversification is key to investing once more. If you put all your eggs into the Reits for passive income, then with such dividend cuts your bottom line is definitely affected. Currently, it doesn’t seem like this Covid situation is going back down or slow down whatsoever so dividend cuts is going to be prolonged in order to save businesses and jobs. Then again, there are certain sectors who might see a booming business such as Data Centres or even certain suburban reits. Sub-urban malls are definitely crowded but the former shopping aisles in orchard and high end malls are definitely missing the tourist crowd which rakes in the cash and spending. It is no wonder why people are worried about their livelihoods.

It is not all doom and gloom. Sectors will emerge while some will recover. It is definitely time to pick up some if you did not have any. The idea is to really have a long-term goals when you pick a stock and stay disciplined. Once you sell it off, you may never be able to pick back the company at their valuations again.

The Passive or Lazy Choice

If you are lazy, let Robo-advisors do the trick for you. For e.g. Syfe. https://www.syfe.com/ Initially i only took on the Reit+ portfolio some time in April 2020 to test it out so that I do not need to manage the portfolio and incur those trading fees. They have expanded other products such as a Global ARI portfolio (Long term investment into equity,bonds and commodities) and Equity100 portfolio which is 100% into global Equity ETF (US and UK listed ETFs)

Auto-rebalancing

Syfe has invented their ARI (Automated Risk Investing) methodology, which is a risk-based rebalancing strategy, which changes the allocations of your portfolio according to changes in risks in the market in order to limit your losses. In short, once it triggers a certain level, the system will trigger an alert and things start to sell off to re-allocate. It also means that over the longer term, you will naturally see a better performance of the portfolio.

Every rebalancing of course depends on what portfolio you choose from so everyone is different. I personally like the idea of investing into a portfolio of reits instead of picking it on my own. In terms of fees, it depends on your investment amount with them.

In terms of pricing, I think it is cost effective. Do find out more about it here https://www.syfe.com/pricing

a. Management fee per year is at 0.65% p.a. for investment amounts S$0 – S$20k.

b. Management fee per year is at 0.50% p.a. for investment amounts S$20k – S$100k.

c. Management fee per year is at 0.40% p.a. for investment amounts S$100k and above.

Do use my referral code to get some benefits when you sign up a new account with Syfe. Referral Code: SRPTSMQ5J

You will get (Find our more about their referral scheme here https://www.syfe.com/magazine/how-can-i-invite-a-friend-to-join-syfe/) :

a. S$10 bonus if you invest S$500

b. S$50 bonus if you invest S$10,000

c. S$100 bonus if you invest S$20,000

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

The pictures were taken from Syfe website for this article.