Tag: advisor

AutoWealth Performance – March 2021

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

Here we go for March 2021 performance for another Robo Advisor. Different robo advisor really does things differently. They concept, the drive and the unique selling point are all different. Some just have more marketing power than others while some just like to lay low. It is a little like a new acquaintance to a friend and eventually to a close friend. Wondering if you made the right choice? I guess only time will tell.

Why Autowealth?

Every month, I’ll just to just remind myself why was I a friend of Autowealth. My two reasons for doing so is really just (a) try out one more robo advisor/segregate a portfolio to find out how they invest and what their model is and (b) Diversify my investment assets through different companies.

Against all odds, the costs of robo have set a bar in the local scene that they are one of the lowest cost solutions to build a portfolio. These options used to be only available to people who have access to unique solutions like private banks or high networth individuals. Then again, the manager takes a big cut from their investments by taking risks.

As Usual, overall market goes through peaks and troughs. Every time it drops, just pick some up and let the robots do the work on balancing and re-balancing. As long as fees remains low, the portfolio will grow over time and over a longer period. It should remain in the black based on some back testing. I like it that they have already breakeven into their third year so something is working right for them.

So far, no change in asset allocation. I think I have been rebalanced two times now. It’s a little like locking in gains due to the rising market.

 

Performance – Mar 2021

Looking at the portfolio, the last few months have been stagnant and I still feel that it will continue to do so through 2021. My investment horizon would be estimated to be 15-20 years. This is a portfolio which is set at roughly 40% equities and 60% bonds. The investment vehicles will be through ETFs. It does look like it can withstand long term peaks and troughs. What i really like is that i can switch between the SGD and USD currency performance portfolio as well as the impact on USD SGD forex on performance. USD has been steadily increasing versus the SGD.

 

Overall, since funding to date (in SGD currency) performance is +10.66% and I like this. (compared to Feb 2021, it is up +1.2%) The impact of USD on SGD is about -2.69% and by referencing the portfolio in USD, absolute return would be at +13.14%. No complaints thus far.

 

Looking into the details if I were to look at the portfolio value at $5334 (end Dec 2020) versus today at $5533. Some simple and manual YTD calculations below

YTD Performance[($5533-$5334)/$5334] x 100% = +3.73% (YTD 8 Apr 2021 and +1.4% as compared to 10 Mar 2021)

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 Referral and Recommendations

The pictures were taken from Auto Wealth website for this article. If you need a referral code, drop me a message and you can indicate my full name during registration. From there, both of us will  get $20 each to supplement the fees.

StashAway Performance – Mar 2021

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

I have been later for one quarter in 2021 in terms of updating. Nothing much has changes for the StashAway portfolio. Similar to Endowus, it is on auto-run and monthly additions are placed into different portfolios. I am still on the risk index of below 20%, split all the risk portion for 3 different portfolio. I still maintain that having calculated risk per $ makes more sense in my opinion. It doesn’t mean high risk high rewards although it can give you high rewards.

As I have always preached, the important thing is that I am not left on the sidelines. If Mr Market decides to go either way, it would matter that much to me in my opinion. If Mr Market drops, then I will add on more to the portfolios. That is what I believe will work for me for my traditional and rather stable investments.

Retirement Portfolio A (risk-14%)

The SRS account since deposit is currently at +2.11% as on 8 Apr 2021 (Time-weighted return). I think this is quite okay as I entered the market at a high before it dropped in March 2020. Performance wise, I think it is decent and also this is a super long term portfolio – I would say close to 25 years horizon so I’ll just leave it there to monitor on the progress. It was at around +3% in Dec 2020 but oh well. Let it be i guess.

In USD performance, that’s about 5% (Time-weighted return). That’s expected.

 

Education Portfolio B (risk-16%)

This portfolio is set out to be on a 15-18 year investment horizon. It is at 7.63% on 8 Apr 2021 and I think that this is pretty good. 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.

In USD, I’m looking at double digits 11.75% (Time-weighted returns)

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 14.42% (Time-weighted return) at inception as at 8 Apr 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 18.81% (Time-weighted return). Looking great I feel.

Conclusion

So far StashAway has been a great supplement as a robo advisor. I will try to do more regular updates as a reminder to self. After using a few robo-advisors, I find that SA will play second fiddle to my Endowus Portfolio. The year of 2021 should be a test of time for most portfolios. I still believe that rebalancing regularly will be the key.

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. I can’t see those actions being translated into customer’s returns.

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 March 2021 & YTD + New ESG Portfolio

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

Time in March 2021 seem to just go by in a quick frenzy. Stock markets have retraced and between Tech and Cyclical equities, it seems to sway from side to side. There isn’t seem to be any clear signs for any particular trend. The slightest event such as the cargo tanker remained jammed up in the Suez Canal seem to have caught commodities in a stir for a week or two.

I’ve been talking about Endowus for a while now. I think there is something that attracts me to them. Perhaps it is the way they present themselves or maybe it is their mindset of investing that struck a chord with me. I would actually recommend them to anyone I know to be honest and I know that my investments will be safe with them. Further, they raised their first ever Serie A fund raising for expansion. It does sounds like a great step forward. Whatever was private, we don’t know but their first fund raising after being around for sometime does spark some confidence about how prudent they are and how much the founders value their own equity in the company. To me that is a plus when the founders want to keep stock value mainly because they see value in their own company.

ESG Portfolio (New)

I am quite intrigued in their new ESG portfolio that was constructed through the different fund houses. To a certain extent, I do want to put more into it but I am unsure since I’ve not read up on this but I do know that ESG have performed relatively well in the European zone. 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 saving this earth for our next generation – a little step goes a long way.

This is at +1.97% since inception some time in Mid March 2021. I like what I am seeing. Of course this 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.

SRS Portfolio

Overall, portfolio is up 18.51% 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 5 Apr 2021, it is a 18.51% increase in absolute terms – Fantastic. From Jan 2021 to 5 Apr 2021, the fund was stable and rising more  at 4.86%+ increase in portfolio. Not too bad really.

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at 4.86%. I’m happy. Definitely topping up if there are any corrections (By definition a correction is more than 10% drop in a single day)

CPF Portfolio

For the CPF portfolio, it is also doing pretty well though not as well as my Dimension Fund portfolio. I’m still looking at 12.23% returns from May 2020 through to 5 Apr 2021.

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at 1.68%. This is quite expected so not much of a surprise. I have no requirement to login daily to view my portfolio performance. Just a monthly review will be sufficient.

Similar to the previous months, cash management accounts have started to report a decline. This is also expected since LOW interest rate environment is here to stay for the long term.

I have been procrastinating about the Cash Smart Portfolio. Perhaps I will take a plunge to do it in April 2021. Takes a bit of courage to do that.

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, it isn’t Cryptocurrency. Super high risk = Potentially Super high returns. Fair enough in economic terms. Just remember that = Potentially Super high decrease in portfolio as well.

I’m not ruling cryptocurrency as an asset class here. What I do see is that they will be a disrupter in traditional currency in the future. What I am saying is traditional investments brings stable, slow and disciplined returns. I do have a portion of my funds in cryptocurrency and the latest trend of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). I deal with these two investments separately and realistically.

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.

ESG & more on Endowus & Why Endowus

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

There’s a lot of hype around Robo-Advisors these days. I still go by the same rules, if nothing is broken, there isn’t a need to fix anything. Robos are here to stay for sure and they have been rather un-emotional when it comes to investing (That is a good thing by the way if you are thinking otherwise)

Trust

Trust – It is the pinnacle of consideration when you invest or put money with a certain institution. Endowus has been – I would use the word trustworthy to describe them. A lot of these have been shown in how they conduct their business. Firstly, I have a finance background and for the longest time, I’ve worked in Finance. To be honest, there wasn’t a single day I felt happy until I truly left the industry. Finance is all about numbers and money. People are motivated by the fact that they make the quickest buck from the fastest source. However, what I am seeing here is quite the opposite. They are pretty truthful and walk the talk through their actions.

The points in Summary

  • The introduction of institutional class funds. If you are not in the know, you will not know. The more funds/money you have, the more you will be in the know hence you save more on fees.
  • The exclusivity in certain funds that only that few can launch with other fund providers. Sometimes, it’s about the expertise that is focused on the fund type
  • The fund rebate. No need to explain more about it. Fund fees and rebates are very transparent and apparent in how they rebate it back.
  • Quarterly fund charges are charged only end of the quarter. I’ve never seen that before or not many does it. Most funds and banks does the front loading. The worst type of funds are ILP – They embed the bid-ask to 5% (That’s just rip off and I say that those who offer these may not even know about it)
  • First and only digital advisor to be able to use your CPF to invest. Speaks a a lot about the trust of the board to allow them to do so.

New Point to Note (& ESG)

  • Recently, they launched an ESG fund portfolio that is made up from several well known fund houses specific to the ESG criteria. It is important to invest responsibly and sustainably. ESG has been around for the longest time. In Asia, we hardly ever hear it until only recent years and by quickly moving on this front – They are really one of the fastest to bring this up to scratch. No doubt, this is one to invest for the generations to come.
  • To secure your funds, all your investments are not held in custody. You own your own account in UOB Kay Hian but the investment is managed by Endowus. This is to safeguard your own money should they decide to close down one day (which I don’t think they will in the near term)

Finally, i recently received an email from them. For the longest time, they have the bar set at an initial S$10k investment. This has been slowly reduced and to date. For every friend who invests with Endowus, you both get $20 in Access Fee credits, equivalent to $10,000 advised free for 6 months. There is no limit to the number of friends you can invite.

There is anything much to add on and nothing to complain about other than your investment and redemption takes times to complete.

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

These pictures were taken off Endowus website for reference.

AutoWealth – Performance Update & YTD (February 2021)

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

AutoWealth is my long-term portfolio approach. For my child’s portfolio, this is to  add on over time and have a good 20 years horizon. My only gripe is that I cant measure YTD performance. Of course, there is no reason to do that expect for measurement purposes. A time weighted performance is more of an important indicator in my opinion. Just a reminder for myself and on why I chose Autowealth:

Why Autowealth?

My two reasons for doing so is really just (a) try out one more robo advisor/segregate a portfolio for a sole purpose and (b) segregate this fund for any other purpose other than the kid’s investment journey.

Don’t sweat the small things, the costs of robo are so low. We are talking about a 15-20 year horizon here so heck those low costs. You need to pay them to keep their lights running.

Perhaps Auto Wealth is in a different segment all together but they are the ones I see positively after the other two. After signing up in June, I finally got to funding the account in September and October when markets were on the downside. The idea of doing this over the long term is to really to buy in when markets drop.

Markets will go up and each time it drops, just pick some up and let the robots do the work on balancing and re-balancing. As long as fees remains low, the portfolio will grow over time and over a longer period. It should remain in the black based on some back testing. I like it that they have already breakeven so it would be less of a pressure as a company.

As a pretty new kid on the block, it does look like they are one of those companies who keep things lean, mean and transparent for others. Many times, I do not mind paying slightly more for better service or better app/products. I speak for myself though as I do know many who penny pinch and I shall not comment more on this. My philosophy is to never sweat the small stuff – To have bigger dreams, you will have to let go of the small things. No change in Portfolio allocations.

Performance – Feb 2021

Looking at the portfolio, it is pretty expected as the market has been pretty neutral.  My investment horizon would be estimated to be 15-20 years. This is a portfolio which is set at roughly 40% equities and 60% bonds. The investment vehicles will be through ETFs. It does look like it can withstand long term peaks and troughs. What i really like is that i can switch between the SGD and USD currency performance portfolio as well as the impact on USD SGD forex on performance. USD has been steadily increasing versus the SGD.

Overall, since funding to date (in SGD currency) performance is +9.13% and I like this. The impact of USD on SGD is about -2.08% and by referencing the portfolio in USD, absolute return would be at +11.00%. No complaints thus far.

Looking into the details if I were to look at the portfolio value at $5334 (end Dec 2020) versus today at $5457. Some simple and manual YTD calculations below

YTD Performance[($5457-$5334)/$5334] x 100% = +2.30% (YTD 10 March 2021)

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 Referral and Recommendations

The pictures were taken from Auto Wealth website for this article. If you need a referral code, drop me a message and you can indicate my full name during registration. From there, both of us will  get $20 each to supplement the fees.

Endowus – Performance Update & YTD (February 2021)

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

So I have been busy recently so I missed January 2021 performance update. There are just so many things to keep up with and with the pandemic still ongoing. There are just simply too many changes. At the same time working from home seems rather mundane these days. Humans as social creatures and so eventually, we cannot stay and work individually over a prolonged period of time. Plus, there are just that many telecommunications that you can make.

December through January 2021 has been interesting filled with US elections and more printing of money. In the market news, no matter the situation, a systematic approach about investing is quite important. Month on month, diversification has been really important. Slowly but surely, I’m actually feeling that Endowus and my investment goals do align pretty nicely on the investment portion.

The newly launched Cash Smart looks pretty decent. I might take a crack at that to put in some money consistently. Plus wow, if you use my referral code, you will get an addition $100 that will be added to your portion when you invest S$10k worth. So, it means referral bonus $20 for you and me (Check out my referral link at Endowus Referral Link + additional $100 for you. Only applicable for new customers of Endowus. The $100 is also available for you in the promotional LionGlobal All Seasons Fund (Growth) units after a 90 days holding period. Great news though for new investors.

SRS Portfolio

Overall, portfolio is up 15.25% 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 is already up 3-4% versus the SGD since start of the year in 2021. 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 9 Mar 2021, it is a 15% increase in absolute terms – Fantastic. From Jan 2021 to 9 Mar 2021, the fund was stable with just roughly 2%+ increase in portfolio. Not too bad, knowing markets were rather choppy and moving more negative on most days so far.

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at 2.34%. I’m really like what I am seeing here. Definitely topping up if there are any corrections (By definition a correction is more than 10% drop in a single day)

CPF Portfolio

For the CPF portfolio, it is also doing pretty well though not as well as my Dimension Fund portfolio. I’m still looking at 10.59% returns from May 2020 through to 9 Mar 2021.

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at 0.29%. This is quite expected so not much of a surprise. I have no requirement to login daily to view my portfolio performance. Just a monthly review will be sufficient.

On a side note, the cash management accounts have started to report a decline. This is also expected since interest rate environment is here to stay for the long term.

Also, I would be looking at the new Smart Fund DIY portfolio which looks really interesting. I would definitely be looking this up as interest rates are still pretty low and I got some cash lying around.

Like every month, 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.
  • I believe all retail investor should try them out because of how they are trying to disrupt investing and make investing work for everyone.

Again, I will shamelessly thank all of you in advance for using my referral code.

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.

Autoweath – Performance Nov 2020

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Investing especially in spot market is a tough business. Most people cannot accept fluctuations in their portfolio. Autowealth is yet another solution for me. Just that this time around, this is for my kid to start out her investment journey when she can. Teaching financial literacy is something I would recommend to anyone.

Summary on my review on Autowealth:

(a) try out different more robo advisors to understand more about them and how they invest and

(b) segregate this fund for any other purpose other than the kid’s investment journey.

My take about the investing journey has been the same since day one. Don’t sweat the small things, the costs of robo are so low. We are talking about a 15-20 year horizon here so heck those low costs. You need to pay them to keep their lights running. For companies like Endowus and StashAway, these guys have the experience and passion and these translate into actions. I am satisfied on how they are prudent and still maintain the low fees.

In my previous performance to compare the performance, I discussed about the historical S&P 500 chart for the last 50 and 100 years. Markets will go up and each time it drops, just pick some up and let the robots do the work on balancing and re-balancing. As long as fees remains low, the portfolio will grow over time and over a longer period. It should remain in the black based on some backtesting.

Performance

Looking at the portfolio again in November, it still looks pretty nice ahead of the 15-20 years horizon. This is a portfolio which is set at roughly 40% equities and 60% bonds. The investment vehicles will be through ETFs. It does look like it can withstand long term peaks and troughs. What i really like is that i can switch between the SGD and USD currency performance portfolio as well as the impact on USD SGD forex on performance. I wouldn’t say this does as well as the portfolios but to be fair, markets were already slightly upwards and I would like to deploy funds out into the market in tranches over time.

As compared to October 2020, +5.66% absolute is decent in my view (that is +2.66% comparing to October) and this is as at 11 Dec 2020. If markets drop, the rule is to fund the account more. Do note that all of these will have USD exposure. Time versus DIY – it is really about what is important. I usually will want to see the ultimate end goal whenever I start anything.

 

For this month, I also tried to look at the impact of FX and without the weakening USD, performance in USD is actually 8.56% year to date. That is on course to double digits returns once more.

The impact of the USD FX exchange is actually affecting the performance by -3.1%. These FX risks are part and parcel of investing unless I just intend to invest into the Singapore Markets. However, it is just too boring to do so.

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 Auto Wealth website for this article. If you need a referral code, drop me a message and you can indicate my full name during registration. From there, both of us will  get $20 each to supplement the fees.

Endowus – Performance Nov 2020

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

It is the time of the month again. I must say I have been really satisfied with the way it Endowus has been working out well for me thus far.

November has been a quiet month. The portfolio makes diversification much more important. As I have always said, being systematic about investing is quite important. Month on month and it still fulfills what I am seeing so far. This is going to be one of my core robo-advisors that I would like to be on for the long term.

SRS Portfolio

Overall, portfolio is up 4-5% month on month in terms of SGD. In USD terms, due to no FX impact as the portfolio is USD ETFs, the performance will definitely be better. We are spending Singapore dollars so this is our reference currency. This is the SRS/Cash portfolio which consists of my favourite Dimension Funds in a 40% bonds/60% equity. Overall from May 2020 to 11 Dec 2020, it is a 11.30% increase in absolute terms.

 

CPF Portfolio

For the CPF portfolio, it does not come with the Dimension Funds due to the restrictive nature in what you can invest in but I think this is excellent performance compared with the 2.5% in CPF.

Month comparison from Oct to 11 Dec 2020, that is 9.32% in absolute returns ever since investments were made in May 2020. and comparing the previous month, that is estimated to be around 3% higher.

This is very good in my own opinion that I have not been doing anything to this portfolio.

Recently they came up with a SmartFund DIY portfolio which looks really interesting. I would definitely be looking this up when there is a market pullback like i mentioned last month.

A quick review once more:

  • Endowus is the first and only robo-advisor to be approved by the CPF board to use your CPF OA excess funds to invest.
  • 100% trailer fees back to the consumer, not the fund management fee.
  • Content and education still remains relevant at least in my opinion.
  • At least they are one of the robo I trust that wants to help retail investors.

Thank you for using my referral code.

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

These pictures were taken off Endowus website for reference.

Grab Invest (Robo)

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

During the earlier part of 2020, Grab announced an acquisition of a wealth start-up, Bento. The have since re-branded them to be GrabInvest. It looks like they have ambitious plans to expand into South East Asia with Singapore as its base. We have seen quite a number of new services and products that Grab has been rolling out. That is the benefits of having strong backers as well as a branding that aims to disrupt some industry. I’m not too sure how big they can become but they have been throwing marketing dollars for some time to build their brand. You can read more about the acquisition here at Bento As GrabInvest.

Invest, Save and Grab

It sounds like Grab is going to bring out the brand in their app once more. They probably want to integrate this into the Super App that we often hear about. The tag line is pretty effective I say.

Almost No Barrier to Entry

It takes only a small amount to start investing. I don’t think Syfe and StashAway has a minimum amount to start investing but this set them apart from the usual investing through micro-investing. I’m not too sure about the effectiveness though.

Saving Money

Each time you use the app to do certain actions, you get to choose an amount that will be used to invest automatically. Good habit though.

Spend

There is no lock-up for your funds so you can transfer your money back to the wallet anytime. Talk about flexibility.

Underlying Investments

Okay, looking at how things are. This is similar to the other robo-advisors as to their cash solutions. The underlying funds would be Fullerton Fund and UOB asset management. My guess is the usual short duration bonds or assets as close to cash funds. Due to the nature of the expected returns projected at 1.8% p.a., it is most likely the case.

Fees are simple at 0.45% p.a. Similar or higher than other solutions. If you ask me, I’ll go for Singlife account where you can deposit up to S$10k at 2.5% p.a. and it is SDIC protected. Micro-investing versus Singlife – Singlife wins hands down but integration wise and branding, Grab edges forward a little more.

Read about my previous post on Singlife here at Where to Park Your Funds? Singlife

For excess funds of more than S$10k, get into Dash and Earn. The first year will be at 2% p.a. capped at $20k. Then go for Tiq Gigantiq at 2%p.a. (For the first year) capped at S$10k. On the options available, I’ll give grab a miss unless I have too much spare cash in their wallet that I can’t take it out.

Conclusion

It seems like it is a hype for now. Other for convenience, I can’t find much differentiation from the rest of the many options available in the market except for convenience. It doesn’t help that Grab is trying to take over the world by trying to integrate everything. I don’t support a monopoly so that is a minus. However, I do think that there are other services which will show up on the app in the near future. Coupled with the fact that digital banking license will be announced in Q4 2020 or in 2021 should there be any delay. As a consumer, we should be happy about competition.

I do see more pros than cons though, given their history of data breaches and bad marketing. Also, I don’t see that they are MAS licensed or approved nor are they working with any financial institutions other than the mentioned fund houses or asset managers. On top of that, monies are held in custody of Grab. Reading their Terms and Conditions, it seemed like they got their own ass covered as compared to the consumer so I’m not too sure about that.

I still don’t see it on my Grab App even after updating the app so I’m wondering how buggy their app can be over time.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post and 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. Don’t be too fixated with what is the best.

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

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.