Tag: crypto

Portfolios Test – Baptism of Fire (Robos, Cryptos, Value Investors & more)

On By RistrettzIn Macroeconomic, Performance, Personal Finance Series, PsychologyLeave a comment

Portfolio Drawdowns

In the year 2020, almost anything that you buy in any asset class will make you some money. Going into the year 2021, it is going to be a tough year. As I mentioned many times, portfolios will go through their baptism of fire. Perhaps it is the month of May. As the saying goes, sell in May and go away? It is going to be a trying year. This year, we will most likely see portfolios taking a hit. This is the time to put all those concepts to use.

Equity markets are pricing in the real leverage, over trading and over optimism with inflation risks and other factors to concerning investors. What are the other reasons? Frankly no one will know. Risky assets are always risky and they reward you with the rewards if you are spot on.

It is always hindsight

No one has any crystal ball so stop looking for gurus. As emotional as many people out there, I see green with envy for others who make the one hit wonder and 1000x their portfolio. The truth is, I doubt that I will even go into that kind of trade. However, it doesn’t stop me from trying stuff out. You never know which one might hit the jackpot.

Cryptocurrency – The way?

Dreaming of 100 BTC at USD 10? If it ever gets there again, will you buy a 100 of those? This is a question only every individual can answer on their own. To put things to perspective, d not look at what others have. Instead, look at your own portfolio and see what make sense of it. What does it serve and what is your target?

There are plenty of blogs out there who have different styles and objective. Their aim is not yours. We are all unique in nature. Learning to cope with drawdowns are key to the investment journey. Don’t panic, keep calm and keep buying. Just continue to do what you are doing consistently, results will show for itself when the time comes.

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion. 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 relevant website for this article. Stay Safe!

Endowus Performance – April 2021 + New Fund Smart Portfolio

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

Equities have retraced and between Tech and Cyclical equities, it seems to sway from side to side – With Tech equities taking a big hit currently. There isn’t seem to be any clear signs for any particular trend. It just seems tough out there for the hottest equity star in 2020

I’ve been talking about Endowus for a while now. I feel that their corporate story sells to me. I would actually recommend them to anyone I know to be honest and I know that my investments will be safe with them.  To me, it is always a plus point when the founders want to keep their company stock value because they see value in their own company. There are people who are passionate about building a business.

I feel that at least they are genuine and passionate about their work coming from big financial names. I came from finance with a little experience from work and I never liked the way bank works with revenue and hard selling. Having a charismatic leader doesn’t mean that they can play with their words and make glory with their decision making. However, who am I to say that. I just feel that the culture is toxic and it doesn’t mean that they don’t acknowledge it. The money is just too good for them to walk away.

ESG Portfolio

I started this last month and I do know that ESG have performed relatively well in the European zone for the longest time possible. 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 +4.80% 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. I like it even better now. You do good and it brings you sustainable returns.

SRS Portfolio

Overall, portfolio is up +20.85% 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 +20.85% increase in absolute terms – Fantastic. For YTD performance, the fund was stable and at + 7.31% for 2021. Sweet. Long term guys, long term view.

 

CPF Portfolio

For the CPF portfolio, it is looking at +13.07% since inception in May 2020.

 

In Terms of YTD returns in 2021, I’m looking at +2.54%. 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.

Fund Smart Portfolio

Finally, I setup my Fund Smart portfolio this month in May 2021. I tried to build a balance portfolio. I’m not exactly sure but I will go in via RSP monthly as I wasn’t sure but I do want to deploy some of my cash because It has been lingering around for 6 months already.

Overall: 52% Equity and 48% Fixed Income

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

b. 45% in Equity Funds (2 Funds)

i. Focus into China Play [10%]

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

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

c. 40% in Bond Funds (3 Funds)

i. Climate Bond Fund Play [20%]

ii. Core Fixed Income Play [20%]

The reason for Endowus

Like a broken recorder, the pros once more:

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

Thank you all in advance for using my referral code.

Last point is to do your own diligence. What works for me may not work for you. Investing in traditional portfolios is about risk management, 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 because I do trade this asset class as well. 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.

StashAway Performance – April 2021

On By RistrettzIn Performance, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

The first quarter of 2021 has gone by and my portfolio remains pretty similar. Well, slow and steady. Nowhere similar to what I have in my crypto portfolio.

As a usual reminder, 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. If you have not taken the first step, action early so that you can start doing this early and learn from any mistakes along the way.

Retirement Portfolio A (risk-14%)

I still am pretty sad about my timing on this as this was invested before the pandemic outbreak came out. The SRS account since deposit is currently at +2.86% as on 11 May 2021 (Time-weighted return). I think this is quite okay i suppose timing isn’t everything. Performance wise, I think it is ‘doing okay and also this is a super long term portfolio – I would say close to 25 years horizon so I’ll just leave it there to monitor on the progress.

In USD performance, that’s about +7.79% YTD (Time-weighted return). That’s quite a bit of FX i am losing out here. Then again, I wouldn’t sweat on the exchange rates since I am going to stay invested and into these portfolios. They are just a mean of reference as I look back at the performance.

Education Portfolio B (risk-16%)

This portfolio B is set out to be on a 15-18 year investment horizon. It is at +8.40% YTD on 11 May 2021 and It’s steady. It’s the same as the last time i measured during Dec 2020. I have been averaging in whenever there are market dips. The risk index is at 16% and I will adjust those risk levels as and when I feel that there is a risk on or off.

In USD, I’m looking at double digits +13.89% (Time-weighted returns). Again on the Forex rate as reference

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 +15.48% YTD (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 +21.35% (Time-weighted return). Looking great as usual. Although I feel that this isn’t exactly the year to take on higher risk for better returns.

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’m not too sure about you but looking at cryptos seems to be better than these. A lot more risk but yet a lot more excitement. I guess we need some excitement in our lives to look forward to.

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

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

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

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

Disclaimer

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

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

SHIB or Shit Coins (Cryptocurrency)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Alternative Investments, CryptocurrencyLeave a comment

There has been a number of crazy movements in the crypto world. No one can really explain the reason fundamentally but it created a bunch of young millionaires especially from Elon Musk little tweet about Dogecoin.

With only 11 days in the market, Shiba coins seems to be the next trend of meme coins. Woof Paper perhaps of white paper: https://www.shibatoken.com/

Pretty funny comments I would say reading the whitepaper. I hope VB burns or keep SHIB.

Buy or Risk? It really depends on your risk taking level. No pain no gain, no risk no returns.

Currently, it seems like you can use 2 ways to purchase SHIB:

a. Buy via Crypto.com App

b. Buy via metamask [Through the Ethereum (ETH) network]

c. You can buy it through Binance now. That’s pretty huge.

Crypto trading and currency is not for everyone so do your own diligence. Don’t FOMO, invest wisely. Good luck! Now, to the moon.

Disclaimer

If you decide to sign up with Crypto.com to trade any other coins, Use this Crypto.com App to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD. Referral Code: im3py887ty

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 SHIB website for reference.

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.

When exactly is the best time to invest?

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

At last, the million dollar question – When is the best time to really invest. I really doubt anyone can really answer that question. To take on a serious note, the below points in my own opinion matters to when exactly is the best time to invest.

There is no best time

a. It depends on which part of your life you are at.

b. It depends a lot on how ready you are to commit. It takes a tad effort to do so when you want to invest.

c. Mental plays a big part. I don’t know or I’m not sure doesn’t cut it in my opinion. Everyone need to start somewhere. Today’s world is extremely informative so there isn’t really an excuse other than being lazy. (To a certain extent, it means that you have to take that effort to understand and learn)

d. It is never too early or too late. (Investing $10 you have today let you kick start your journey. If you don’t start, you probably won’t as well)

e. Everyone’s horizon and comfort is different. You have to stay disciplined and well-informed at the same time.

f. Never say never. Things changes and things happen – your chance will come but waiting is sometimes your worst enemy so comfort might be the best choice of word here.

Now, this isn’t a clickbait topic but recently I heard about being people rushing in to get their monies to invest in certain asset classes. While I am a big fan of new ventures and new exploration in investments, you kind of need to be in the know in order to assess the risk if a certain investment is worth it.  A recent trend about FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is getting a little out of hand. I think in investing you need a clear mind. If you know what you are getting into, heaving FOMO is actually okay. At least it calls you to action. Most people just wait for things to happen which is rather meh.

There are many alternative asset classes available today. This is quite amazing as the banks used to hold the “Traditional” Asset classes such as Bonds, Forex, Equities, Structures, Options, hedge funds and private equity. Some of these access are only available to the rich.

Today, there are a huge variety of investing asset classes such as fine whiskey, fine wine, NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens), cryptocurrency, trading cards, Pokémon cards and many more. Money (Also known as Fiat Currency) are going through a digitisation process. No one ones what the future holds but for now, the adoption is still relatively low so my take is that there are still legs for growth.

The point of this article is to really remind ourselves what is a comfortable price valuation for anything that we do or purchase. Once that is being decided, then we have to move on and not harp over the fact that there is a price drop or if you should have bought it a few months ago.

Every step of the investment process is always a dilemma. The choices we make in life is very different and it varies the sec, min, hour or days. Even having a bad day at work also affects our decision.

Factors

The following is what I personally feel affects our investment decision emotionally:

a. FOMO

b. Stock tips or special investments (never succumb to rumours)

c. New investment asset classes (It excites me because I would think it is the new BTC – 1000x)

d. Alternatives to traditional investments (Regular investments are boring seriously)

e. A bad day/heated discussions or arguments

f. People showing their wealth from certain investments

g. Unique and exclusive (Limited) investments (Pre-IPO related)

Investment knowledge comes a long way and is always revolving. I personally believe banks are growing to be passé over the longer term. Wealth Management is only required for the selected few or many. There are so many options available to invest your money into that there isn’t any need to seek any alternative opinion. If you don’t care about your own money, then no one else will. Then again, others will have no time to manage that part of their finance and will require some managers to do so for them. That said, I always like to repeat my stance about investing and it is never one size fits all.

The sole duty of investments lies on yourself. Eventually, with or without a manager/expert analyst, the investment decisions and risk is one that you take on your own. So, we can’t really blame anyone for this. Some choose to pay a premium for the service rendered to save time while others choose to DIY and explore cheaper alternatives. There is no right or wrong in doing so – However there is a difference between penny wise pound foolish.

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/

These pictures were taken off certain website for reference.

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.

The Brave Browser (Side Hustle)

On By RistrettzIn New IdeasLeave a comment

Side Hustles are stuffs that you need to take time to work on so being lazy or saying that it is too troublesome doesn’t make the cut. There’s is going to be some level of work or readings that is required to understand how things work. Some things work out and some doesn’t but my style is that I try it out, figure if it works, how it works. Calculate the time spent and or effort and if it is worth doing the side hustle. I guess constantly reviewing your side hustles is also key to saving time.

Brave Browser

As I do some form of crypto investing in my portfolio and exploring crypto apps, I came across this browser which is named as Brave. This is similar to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and many more. They are similar search engines just that they have curated advertisements instead of those massive adverts that you receive while surfing on the internet.

Downloading the Brave Browser is easy. Visit https://brave.com/ and choose the file to download.

Sign up and login the Brave Rewards to check on the rewards you have obtained.

 

You can then set the maximum number of advertisements that will push to you. You can also download the browser on your mobile app.

Before you get the BAT credited to your wallet. You can sign up for a Gemini or Uphold Crypto Wallet account to temporarily hold the tokens.

Before you start, if you have content, Websites, YouTube, etc… to connect your channel to, you will need to verify your channel. One way is through WordPress plugin. It is not instant and requires sometime to verify so be patient. Visit here to read more: WordPress Installation Guide

Benefits of the Brave Browser

  1. Pages load 3 to 6 x faster.
  2. Importing and continue where you left off.
  3. Support your favourite sites with Brave Rewards
  4. Safer Browsing with privacy and security
  5. More curated advertisements which you can view to get some BAT Tokens.

You can send a tip to my website if you wish to.

There is a guide here to do so here: Thank you for your support

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 Brave browser website for this article.

Crypto.com (MCO swap to CRO)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Cryptocurrency, Interest RatesLeave a comment

Crypto.com (MCO) has been around for almost 4 years now. I have not seen any utility crypto company who has delivered what they want to deliver to consumers over the last 4 years. They are as similar if not the same as any other company with a physical product that works.

Crypto.com

My first serious foray into crypto was the MCO card introduced by a friend of my. The great deal initially was a referral fee of USD 50 for both referrer and referee. Then comes the Spotify, Netflix and free airport access (via Lounge key – Not so much now but still it is okay) all these comes in at 100% cash-backed to the card via the utility token (Used to be MCO but now it is swapped into the CRO)

For many users, especially the pioneers or even global users who have been approved in their countries to issued MCO Visa cards (Debit card), it is certainly not what was listed in the white paper but hey, it is a pretty good move in my opinion and while the Wirecard Fiasco is still ongoing, I think it is a win-win for all Crypto.com users. Some users think otherwise but I find that this is an option once more to think bigger profits which a 10x margin might be possible. Of course crypto comes with risks. It is a big risk but it should also return big as well.

The community has been negative for such changes. I guess there is no right and wrong answer to it. I still choose to believe that is moving in the right direction for customers as well as sustainability. So in all that, I will still hold and wait on for more good news on their end. The CRO staked amount has also been adjusted lower which means more good news and more CRO released for usage.

The Swap Value

There’s the alert and actionable items: Action is required before 2 Nov 2020 at 23:59 UTC, or you will lose the functionality currently associated with your MCO. We will not perform the MCO swap on your behalf and the swap will not happen automatically.

Crypto.com will use the following formula based on the volume weighted average price as expressed in United States dollars (“VWAP”)to determine the number of CRO allocated to you that reflects each swapped MCO:

1 MCO = (30-day VWAP of MCO / 30-day VWAP of CRO) x 1 CRO

(30 days between 4 Jul 2020 to 2 Aug 2020, both dates inclusive)

So it will be fixed at 1 MCO = 27.4639 CRO

Crypto.com will offer an Early Swap Bonus in CRO if the MCO swap is performed before 2 Sep 2020 23:59 UTC, based on the following formula and criteria: So Swap early for

1 MCO = 33.1726 CRO

The pros is now that the stake and interest has now increased as CRO terms are on better rates. Development of De-fi is on its way. More flexibility in terms of usage and managing the tokens. Benefits are better now for existing customers.

The cons would be the way they initially managed and wrote on the white paper. This definitely lost some points as well as how MCO was originally the golden boy which has turned obsolete now.

All Benefits remains the same and on the same tier. Not bad I supposed, just that the quantity of CRO is now much more than before. I don’t think that’s a big deal. The whole idea is adoption, more utility and more users. It spells 10x to me more. Just be patient.

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 Crypto.com website for this article.