Tag: etf

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

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

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

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

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

ESG Portfolio

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

 

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

SRS Portfolio

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

 

CPF Portfolio

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

 

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

 

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

Fund Smart Portfolio

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

 

Overall: 52% Equity and 48% Fixed Income

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

b. 45% in Equity Funds (2 Funds)

i. Focus into China Play [10%]

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

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

c. 40% in Bond Funds (3 Funds)

i. Climate Bond Fund Play [20%]

ii. Core Fixed Income Play [20%]

Retirement Portfolio

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

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

The reason for Endowus

Like a broken recorder, the pros once more:

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

Thank you all in advance for using my referral code.

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

Disclaimer

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

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

These pictures were taken off Endowus website for reference.

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.

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.

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.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) – Reits Version

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

The Singapore equity market is really slow to say and there are only a handful of reits ETFs that were launched previously (that was like 3 to 4 years ago). Quite a number of people were rather yield starved back then. With that bullish USD interest rate hike (Before Covid-19) it was almost a guarantee that this will happen.

I kind of blame the media for setting off such rumours. The central bank will never act on just pure speculation but rather more than data and in today’s world. There will be even more data that they can ever get. A big economy like the USA is something that most people watch. This trend has slowly diminished after successful propaganda by the emergence of the Chinese. Don’t get me wrong, it is kind of good that they are getting their act together. It is just that there’s much more skepticism more than ever since anything and everything can be fake. The Chinese just look at profits over anything.

Back to the point here. I was trying to look for yield related stuffs that could add on to the portfolio. When I did a quick filter away from reits, there isn’t much that is available on the SGX that is sizeable. (i.e. blue chip enough) To diversify that reits risk, I went into the details and tried to see if I could mimic the fund portfolio. As it turns out, it might be too much of a challenge.

Diversification

Diversity lies in the location: Singapore, Hongkong, China, Australia with the scope to add on more countries according to the fund manager. (Exposes some FX risks along with fees, fund management, platform fees)

Diversity in the types of holdings: Office, retails, industrial, others and more diversified real estates (Exposes to certain sectors that are cyclical in nature)

Lower fees as compared to a fund, as it is structured as an ETF (Exchange Traded Funds), it’s annual management fees are also lesser than usual. (Cheaper but more passively managed)

Yield: Approximately 4-5% p.a. Nett for all the trouble. Perhaps even using different brokers and also different FX rates. Believe it or not, institutions get a better Forex rate just because they have the size to do so and sometimes. The fees on the allocation can be rather cheaper than a retail customer. It’s pretty much how you value it. Some people prefer total control, counting the pennies. (every cents counts) Some prefer to delegate via a fee based model.

Reits ETF

NIKKO AM – Straits Trading Asia Ex Japan ETF (Check that out here: Nikko AM reits ETF)

Philips SGX APAC dividend Leaders reit ETF (Check that one here: Poems reits ETF)

Both are much similar in context just that with Philips, the majority holdings will be Australian reits (about 60%) while Nikko AM will be the majority with Singapore reits (about 60%).

Always do your due diligence, after all everyone has different risk levels. There are always other options. ETFs are just one of the many tools.