Tag: invest

Aug 2024 Investment Portfolio Performance Update: A Review of Endowus, AutoWealth, Tiger Brokers, and Crypto Platforms

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

So, the whole idea of updating on a per-month basis quickly fades away with changes in my life. It is also not feasible to update as regularly as I could have done so in 2020. Eventually, the updates plateaued for a shocking 2 years where many of my decisions were to take profit and reduce positions and were too difficult to document in detail.

Nonetheless, we can proceed for a fresh 2024 and hopefully be about to stay disciplined about everything else on investment, family, work, and health. We have to always keep our hopes and maintain the discipline for everything.

This is a YTD performance. This year it is up almost 6k which is decent in my opinion. In the last 3 years, the entire portfolio is up about 20%. That makes it annualised around 6.5% p.a. which is palatable. The main idea is to stay invested.

Portfolio Summary

Two years have gone by and interest rates have been the talk of town. Gone are cheap money but in Singapore Real Estate prices are still pretty crazy and will still continue to be. Meanwhile, surprises in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices in recent weeks have been rather interesting, breaking upwards followed by a couple of down days. No one has that crystal ball on hand. We just have to understand the concept of being brave and buying it low and riding the high waves when Mr Market picks up.

Performance of the different portfolios in different advisors

During the pandemic, there were a lot of people doing interesting business and many specific sectors boomed like a million times. When the world opened up, it was both amazing and scary that many of these businesses were no longer relevant. That included some of the robo-advisors. Of course, 90% were expected. Some of those unexpected ones probably came from MoneyOwl. My personal experience with Income and the way they work is rather unimpressed so it has to be a management decision that closed that down. Leaders have to take a stand and sometimes they can be wrong however, I only see leaders trying things out without a clear understanding of the final goal. This was probably one of those incidents in a big corporation.

Politics – They say. To me, I’ll say that it is more like a face-saving grace or a change of mind. Probably a top-down approach to ‘why or who did this?’ It can be pretty lame to hear that. I’m not a fan of finger-pointing but that’s the sad reality even as adults. We can’t even have a proper conversation about what went wrong.

Enough of the comments, these are the performances since inception. I prefer to talk about absolute returns in dollars and sense. Not in percentages or year-to-date or month-to-date comparison. Unless I’m comparing of some sort, I probably would like to talk about the true profits or losses.

Currently, What I have now is a few of these active platforms;

  1. Moomoo Brokers
  2. Tiger Brokers
  3. Endowus
  4. Asia Wealth
  5. Crypto Portfolio

I can’t help but think that overall, Endowus really works well for me.

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

Endowus – Cash Fund Ultra Portfolio

This was bad. No one took responsibility but I cut it and earned it all back with a money market fund coupled with promotional cash deposit fresh funds. Keeping it in the same cash fund did not do me any good. That’s a done deal so we move on.

Endowus – ESG Portfolio

I started this ESG Portfolio in March 2021 and I have some high hopes for this fund to do pretty well. They do well for the investment portfolios. Not too much for cash funds.

The allocation is an 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. I can’t explain more.

This is good. Overall up 17.96%.

Endowus – SRS Portfolio

Overall, the portfolio is still up +34.56% 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 SRS/Cash portfolio consists of my favorite Dimension Funds in 40% bonds/60% equity.

Overall from May 2020 to Aug 2024, it is a +34.53% increase in absolute terms – quite okay. This is for the long run. I’m just going to keep it simple to report it overall as I have less time on my hand these days. But do try it out and put out your own performance and tell everyone about the experience. Unless you nitpick aggressively – I think you will be fine. YTD, it is definitely down.

Endowus – CPF Portfolio

The CPF portfolio is looking at +21.04% since its inception in May 2020. That’s a huge drop of almost 9% from its all-time high. This portfolio is being beaten down for now.

The portfolio is doing well.

Endowus – Fund Smart Portfolio

I started this semi-medium-term Fund Smart portfolio this month in May 2021. I tried to build a balanced 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. The all-time absolute return is +0.58%. haha. This is done monthly on RSP until 2021. I stopped that contribution a year ago since I had a small China play which did not pan out well but still. This is a 20 years portfolio.

Overall: 52% Equity and 48% Fixed Income

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

b. 45% in Equity Funds (2 Funds)

i. Focus on 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%]

Endowus – Retirement Portfolio 1

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 the start of the accumulation of the coupons from the funds. I am down -5.22% for March 2024 and with the current news it is at +2.98% for Aug 2024

Endowus – Retirement Portfolio 2

Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.

Overall, absolute returns are at +29.64%. Surprising because at one time it was down for a bit.

Endowus – Income Portfolio

I initiated this 6-8 months ago. Hopefully, over time the income portfolio can be passed on to my kids to continue as a form of RSP. Returns are pretty good now. Close to 20% returns on income given that the year has not ended.

Endowus – New China Portfolio

This is a new one that I put into. This is a long-time view given the current valuations. It looks good. I am willing to take some risks.

AutoWealth – Portfolio

Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.

Tiger Brokers – Trading Platform

Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.

Crypto – Portfolio

Crpyto finally went back to normal and my portfolio is back to the place it was 2 years ago. It has been rather hurtful for the past 2 years or so. All those additional profits are gone as no profit taking took place. Perhaps it is time to review about taking a portion out once more once the trend sets in and takes off again. The season is still higher but still currently plateaued.

The reason for Endowus (As sustainable as it is)

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 that makes sense when introducing their platform in my personal opinion.
  • I believe all retail investors 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. They are not perfect but in my opinion good investment strategies.

The 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 the internet websites for reference.

Alternative Real Estate Investments

On By RistrettzIn Finance, Interest, Personal Finance Series, Random, Wealth & Health1 Comment

As a global city with a robust economy, Singapore’s real estate market is driven by a confluence of factors. We have a well-regulated environment, a highly developed infrastructure, and a strategic location. The city-state’s status as a major international financial centre, and a reputation for safety.

We have a wide range of properties and by-products in real estate. From high-end residential properties in the heart of Orchard Road, trophy assets to hardcore township out of CCR. Especially in the OC Region which has seen significant rises in property prices over the last 3 years.

I’ve always been a fan of investing and also owning real assets. In Singapore, we are quite a different animal as compared to the rest of the world. Two main factors will be:

  1. Our really long-term and sound housing board strategy
  2. Our high occupancy rate

These did not just come by chance. There is a drive from the government which was successful. The plan for FDI and local brands going overseas made the difference. That was how we succeeded in making our name and reputation known to the rest of the world.

Owning real estate is more of an emotional decision sometimes and one has to be prudent. As we do not have a crystal ball, we always have to depend on experience and research to make decisions. Most recently, many people would have been priced out of certain types of real estate. There are still other ways of getting into real estate with a lower notional or quantum via investing.

One way is Reits Investing and again everyone should really do their own due diligence. I’m not a fan of chasing market upside. (All that said, it really also depends on the situation). I put in some monies into Reits and also into Syfe Reits portfolio when markets were lower 2 months ago. My expectations of a Federal interest rate reduction were taken into consideration.

If you would like to try out Syfe Robo Reits, do check it out via my link here: https://www.syfe.com/invite/wealth/SRPTSMQ5J

I’m a little concerned about picking stocks usually. First of all it is because of my own experience, second because most of the time I was too busy while I was working. Many times, I am unable to adjust my portfolio due to market changes and sad to say, the losses then slowly became bigger. Either I cut loss or I continued to be a long-term holder. Heh.

During COVID, there were several businesses, robos, investing firms that came up. It was pretty interesting. That was also when I discovered Real Vantage. I have invested in that for almost 3 years now and they are sort of an overseas REITs player who makes deals available to the retail investor. The investing form is similar to REITs but in the form of debt or fixed income.

They are a local firm with founders formerly in REITs or real estate businesses. They source deals globally but over the last three years, I’ve seen deals from the United States, the United Kingdom, From HongKong, mostly Australia and once for Singapore (if I remember correctly it was to fund the development of a pair of bungalows or Semi-Detached). Technically, appreciation depends on the deal. Most of these investments is similar to a fixed income investment where you receive coupons on a monthly or quarterly basis.

One thing I’m certain is that they are pretty sustainable. It isn’t some fly-by-night firm and there’s some shared interest. It is a little bit like crowdfunding for the masses but it is licensed and done properly. I’m quite comfortable with how they do things and it does look like they are expanding slowly as business picks up.

Pros

  • Global investing
  • Investing amount is small. Easy to fund via SGD
  • Options to invest in local CCY or the investment CCY (Risk will be FX risks)
  • Quite an experienced team
  • They have been around for more than 3 years now
  • Every opportunity comes with a webinar to understand the investment better
  • Q&A to answer all the questions
  • Pretty good reviews on the internet.

Cons

  • Some mixture of foreign currency
  • Limited to mostly income sort of returns
  • For people who are not too open to non-financial and well-known financial institutions, it is probably a stumbling block.

I don’t see why it is not worth a try since some of the deals do look interesting. I have invested in some industrial, some residential and some mixed developments. If you don’t mind, give it a go at my link here https://www.realvantage.co/register?ref_uuid=07e38f8c-eb0b-11ec-88a3-0273d1e11af4

You get a benefit of the 0.25% additional on the investment amount which is pretty decent. I’ll get the same in return.

Conclusion

I can’t tell anyone this is worth your time to do all these because we have different values in terms of time and what it gives back to you. If you would like to give it a go, please do use my referral link: https://www.realvantage.co/register?ref_uuid=07e38f8c-eb0b-11ec-88a3-0273d1e11af4

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 AI visuals for reference.

Resilience and Adaptability = Confidence

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, Random, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Life is like a game. You play a game and this game cannot unwind or move back or restart. You will face good and bad decisions. More often, you will face a dilemma. I like to listen, adapt and use psychology to understand and comprehend most things. I find that humans are a handful and psychology is the best way to understand someone instead of a concept or a model.

Our life, work and family revolve around integrating these into our day-to-day life. When faced with challenges, it saps the energy out of us and makes us feel down, upset or even dejected at times. However, the same can be said about joy and happiness. More importantly, these moments never last forever and instead come and go like the rides of a roller coaster. It is a simple measurement of life that nothing lasts forever.

Comparing ourselves with other makes a good benchmark on where one would like to be at a certain point in time but it should not turn into envious or jealousy. Let’s say that let us be glad we can do the things we do, no other should influence you into turning green nor should that affect your decision to change your values and principles.

More often than not, we as humans are more resilient than we think we are. Most of us need time to get over things, some people are made different, and they move on faster than the rest. It is not a good or bad thing. What I meant to say is that there are trigger points in life that are essential and these triggers are due to an in-built mechanism that moves subconsciously within us. This means, that when one person does not think he can achieve or do this, situational issues may have triggered a situation where, over a period, this person continuously pushes forward better than he thought he was. (In the sub-conscious

As I get on with my morning exercise which I am trying hard to change and get used to in order to reduce the cm on the waistline for my own good. There were alot of thoughts that flowed through my mind. Things such as wisdom words, mentoring and coaching stayed with me even within the last 10 years where I no longer meet my ex boss, inspiration mentor or coach. Here I am trying to be a notice inspiration leader.

Simple headlines and things I learnt

a. What i the one thing that no one takes away from you. This is what my first real boss told me and that is Knowledge. The wisdom of apple is one that no one can take away from you. It is unquantifiable and only shows when you act on certain aspects

b. Learning and training. Is there really a need to learn and train in an environment. I’m learning everyday, I just need the credentials but guess what those around me whom I worked with studied in University of Imperial College, MTI, Colombia, Havard and Cambridge. I learned valuable lessons without going through the official program. Do we really need to study for the sake of studying. We only work 40-50 years of our lives and spending more time in school – Unless I want to be a researcher or educator, I’ll consistently go back to school.

c. No experience, no skills, no other relevant education. We should really rid ourselves of this concept. Who started off with experience, skills and relevant education. Most leaders just forget where they once were and just want to get their shit done quickly and productively. It is hard to find a mentor or coach. Why? because it is a time value and what they can be doing.

d. Spiritual – It is not meant to be a preaching session. When all else fails. Look to where your beliefs bring you. You will be surprised at the result. What is Faith?

i. Scenario 1: When you fall forward and see your friend/partner in front of you, you fall forward with the confidence that the will catch you.

ii. Scenario 2: When you fall backwards and you see your friend/partner still in front of you. you fall backwards without fear and worries. That is faith. (Please do not do this in real life or you will end up hurt)

e. Everything happens for a reason and nothing lasts forever. The question is how long so make the best out of your time.

Conclusion

I meant to write this as a form of inspiration. I am a nobody and I’m not an inspirational leader. However, I aim to be one and no one was a leader at birth. The same can be said about skills and experience. We are born equal and we choose our own path. So, Sulk and Swear all you want – then move on and don’t prove anyone anything. They don’t even care or even know what you are thinking. If you show ethics and integrity, be real and honest – Things will fall into place eventually.

When you find small success in life, that’s where positivity exudes. This is where you find confidence. The saying “fake it till you make it” holds some truth because marketing sells and you have to keep selling yourself and your own USP until someone values what you are talking about.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Thank you in advance. It would help in every little way now that I’m in between work.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Keyboarding Warriors

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

I would like to keep things positive on this blog channel. I have no sponsorships of any kind nor do I have any paid users. I keep this blog clean and with the objective of journalling and hopefully or eventually being able to monetise. Any referral or affiliate links are how I keep the lights on this blog going. My time, effort, domain, email, research and other miscellaneous costs are worth something. My rate card per hour is not cheap and when I say not cheap I mean it, it is not cheap.

Whatever I recommend or suggest, I don’t put a gun to anyone’s head to use it. One, like any investment decision – Do your own diligence. It gets under my skin when someone starts to blabber nonsense or type in comments online without using their brains. When I get angry or upset, no one messes with me and trust me – No one does. In my roles, I don’t give two hoots if your corporate rank or life acquires you a “managing director” or “CEO”, as long as you talk shit or do funny things, I shoot my missiles in that way. The toilet cleaner and the CEO are the same = Both Humans. Sometimes the toilet cleaner would make a better people person than the highly-paid CEO.

This is a free world. We are free to choose, free to select. Don’t undermine others of their selection and choices. If you have comments that don’t help, do the favour and keep it to yourself. Unless there is a solution, don’t just rattle. I’m so sick and tired of overconfident people who don’t even hear themselves and what they say. The worse part is, they still think that they are the best or better than the rest. It is a very dangerous mindset.

I’ve said what I said. I’ll end it here and move on positively. I’m just sad for those who don’t realise it but again, I don’t mince my words. Good luck.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Thank you in advance. It would help in every little way now that I’m in between work.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Consolidation

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

Consolidation is quite the generic word to use when we consider downsizing, restructuring and/or a natural progression some would say. Similar to any business or investing cycle, there are peaks and troughs across any period. Opportunities and investment ideas are fewer now. Low-hanging fruits are being snapped up quicker than ever before. Deals and good stuff will go out much faster in a phase where people are coming to the realisation that free money is going to be harder to come by.

This is apparent from the closure of the grab pay card (since GXS is there and it can do much better than what it originally can), credit card deals have more excluded components, nerfed perks and an increase in legal T&Cs on rewards. New payment cards have harder requirements to earn referral fees, and investment platforms have started to consolidate. With the way things are, it does look and feel like many are taking a cautious approach. People, families corporations and those with job would hold to ride through this mini storm which I call a transition or consolidation.

This also comes to fact from an unprecedented Covid travel closure which sparks an acceleration in a few sectors. Though many did not expect things to turn out that rough, they still did and made some industries redundant. In return, multiple new entrepreneurship sectors evolved, giving rise to other types of demand.

With that in mind, things will likely slow down in the next 3-6 months with the possibility of an extended period. Certainly, it would not be easy for those finding a good deal. It is however important to stay upbeat and be resilient. Things can only get better.

With that, Just to keep light on this small deal blog, check out the referral shop.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

Thank you in advance. It would help in every little way now that I’m in between work.

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Everything is Expensive Today

On By RistrettzIn Deals, Interest, Macroeconomic, RandomLeave a comment

We have been in a deflationary world for the longest time and in the last year, everyone has been fighting inflation. It isn’t that fun to know that what you have now buys less of everything. The resulting outcome is that every single item such as consumables, staples, and costs would have increased.

There is a laggard in the sense that the resulting costs of home purchase would mean that home prices have crept up. The cost of hiring has increased since the waste management, your electricity and water bills and the employees behind maintaining the order of infrastructure would have increased. Eventually, this would lead to a higher annual value of everyone’s home prices and that subsequently leads to a higher property tax and so on and so forth. You will get the idea.

When we talk about homes, there’s always something in me that worries for the young. I’m thinking about my kids yes it is and I think it is always at the back of our minds that how are they going to afford housing in another two generations or so? Personally, in a land scarce Singapore, it is hard to agree that property prices will drop. What it currently does is that it is slowly down the increase that Hong Kong failed to do so many years ago resulting in small houses and social issues.

Home prices
This came from CNA

Inflation

With inflation rates normalizing globally, the same effect will be a laggard. However, let’s also be real because no business will reduce prices knowing inflation would have normalized. Moreover, GST has increased in 2024 and it just means that costs will have increased yet again. It would take at least two quarters for anyone to see the easing effect.

While looking at the most recent CDC vouchers, I also started my hunt for CNY purchases. Things like drinks, Bah Kwa, and consumable items: CNY Shopping Items have crept up.

I do hope that I am wrong. I do sense that there is a soft landing rather than a hard one. Recession is a strong word and we have to come to a reality. Recent job cuts in the news is not by chance. What we do not know are the unofficial ones.

Inflation rates have plenty of benchmarks such as the Big Mac. In Singapore, we have the Milk Powder Benchmark:  Milk Powder haha

I do remember that during the “covid period” a lot of homeowners became pet owners. I do hope, they did not discard their pets because that is not great behavior. Hopefully, you can find some good deals here at Pet Shopping

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals. Join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you are doing some shopping, click on the affiliated links here: CNY Shopping

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Investing or Gambling or Punting

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

I recently read quite a bit of online articles to explore fresh new ideas and I came across some blogs discussing the fact that investing is gambling and also several others that discuss Singaporeans being overly confident with themselves. I mean there’s really no right or wrong answer to these and I personally feel that it is a little bit of a righteous standout or declaration. Yes, we all know that many people are snobbish but I would like to think that most Singaporeans are smart, clever, and full of empathy. The ones who are snob are usually the affluent group. Probably think that with a 6-digit asset, they have the right to everything.

That said, our small country has exceptional talents. These people don’t voice or come out to talk about their opinions in public. Usually, they can avoid it in its entirety or put their opinion on where it matters the most. After all, we are still humble Singaporeans, aren’t we? There was an increasing trend in the last decade about some topics that irk me a lot, let me list them down:

Kiasu/Kiasi

Meaning scared to lose or scared to die. It was prevalent in the last decade where FOMO exists today and I felt that it was uncalled for because people just flock to what most people did. It kind of made many next-gen be contrarian

Best

The concept of best has been something I disliked for some time now. At least for 30 years. For 30 years, I have been hearing the words best and “bestest”, even words that do not exist in the English dictionary appear in my everyday life. My question is, what is best? Who determines the best or why is it the best? Is what one defines as the best really the best? I beg to differ in all aspects. There is no best, there’s only what one thinks is the best. By the way, it doesn’t mean cheap means it is no good.

Similar to the way one measures a valued company. It’s not the best but it is the most valued. Then again, value is perceived hence my point – beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.

Invest in gambling

It is said that gambling is punting, investing is gambling of sorts and investing is a study of risk management. If one sees risk management the same as gambling then I’ll ask, why invest and spend so much time understanding a company or an investment? Life is an entirety of risk and we understand the risks, manage the risks, and reduce risks to enhance our lives, our experiences, and our money.

Lady luck plays a big part in our lives no doubt. Some people seem to have more of those but I’ll say, you make your own luck. If lady luck is not on your side, it is probably because it is the wrong lady. Some find their lady earlier and some later. There’s no loser at the end, it is part of the risk management and tools we can use to enhance our priority.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy or general rule for your every life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join in the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services. 

If you have not opened a Moomoo account to start your investing journey, you can give it a go here to recieve rewards up to S$660 (T&Cs apply). Cliek here to Open a Moomoo account

Thank you in advance. It keeps the light running on my blog. Cheers!

Retirement Series (Part 2)

On By RistrettzIn New Ideas, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

My part 2 version came a year and a half late. My apologies really.

In the previous discussion, I discussed about retirement. In the past, it was a buzzword only for people in their 40s or 50s. That is quite normal I would say. Given the financial literacy and knowledge of Generation X. Not many people make an effort to think about the future. I would say that partly it is due to the conditions of the past and education. Fast forward 30 years, the trend is gradually changing. The young are concerned about their futures and the future of their younger ones. An additional factor is that personal finance and financial literacy are increasing among the young.

Including myself, I love my kids and I want the world to be in a better place than it was when I am no longer around. It depends on which stage everyone is in. Some people have more resources while others have lesser. However, that does not make you any less by starting out early. Even if you are late to the game, making the start of this means that you are already on your way to some form of freedom.

There are so many investment tools out there in the market to put your money in and it’s a matter of understanding the risks and taking the right risks to grow your money. Of course, the basic step is to spruce up an emergency fund first. You cannot confuse your pot to be of multiple use. Different funds that you raise have to be for a different purpose. If you have fewer resources, then focus on the things that will give you the confidence such as building a pot of emergency funds. For example, 9 months’ worth of extras. Do not undermine the power of achieving milestones because the small effort often counts for bigger things to come.

Once your basics are covered. We have to think about the next step of risk – This is the part where I term it as risk transfer. This is short is coined as Buy an insurance. The basics are buying your personal health insurance and protection against illness, treatment, sudden medical conditions as well as other unforeseen circumstances. Life itself is uncertain and as time goes by, it will be more prevalent. Getting insurance is never enough but there are many ways to kick-start that. It also involves a bit of planning.

I’m no financial expert. All I know is you probably should find out more to convince yourself that you need to risk transferring your future.

a. Health Insurance

b. Whole Life Plans with TPD or Term Life Plans or Hybrid Plans

c. Critical Illness

d. Early Payout Critical Illness

e. Disability Income or Elder Shield Enhance

I’ll say start working with the Health portion followed by Death or permanent disability coverage. Because if you are gone, your potential future earnings are gone and your dependants depend on them. Once you have covered yourself, then start thinking about the rest. Baby steps. This works well if you are still young.

Things like Mindef or MHA term insurance coverage or SNACK Income microinsurance work well to supplement this insurance at a low cost. That’s something most advisors probably would not share with you.

That’s probably enough information for Part 2. We should talk more about insurance in Part 3.

Disclaimer

If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join in the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services

Endowus Performance Review – Dec 2022

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

The time has come for the December review. I have changed the way I present as a totality. For example, my cash solutions, ESG, Pimco Income Funds, Dimension funds, CPF Funds and S&P 500 funds. To date it is still down overall but again because I am with a robo-advisor, I don’t expect to take any action on this.

Thank you to those who have used my referral code. If you wish to venture out and build your financial goals, please visit my referral code page thank you in advance.

Portfolio Summary

Again, like many other months when I look at my portfolio, I look at it as long-term growth. I am quite positive about US equities. My Ultra cash portfolio isn’t doing too great. In hindsight, I repeat that I do regret my decision because I thought I can take my liquidity out within 3 months but no. Now, I have to do it at a loss. This really sucks because Endowus did a boo-boo by saying that it can be a short-term cash-fund holding. Now, I am becoming a long-term investor and had to find cash for my large purchases that were coming up. I am still miffed about it but I’m not taking it out at a loss. It doesn’t mean that Fixed Income will stay down all the time. In fact, I might add on more Fixed Income related funds or investments going forward.

Like any other period, I still trust Endowus and I would actually recommend them to anyone I know for the investment concept. (Maybe not the cash solutions and also review them on a more frequent basis – In case they lose their goals or focus for any reason) I know that my investments will be safe with them. I’m happy with them for the investment part of things. I also learned that different people/companies have different expertise.

Lower Investment amount (This is quite important for new investors)

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. A minimum sum should not be the way to invest. 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. The other point is what many people are talking about which is the fees. They are probably the only ones in the market to rebate trailer fees. I like that bold big move as compared to the other advisors. I will slowly shift my funds over to them. Everyone is different so, you have to try them out first before you decide.

There’s something else which I like about them and that is how they use the power of retail investors to put money into institutional class funds. These funds are accessible only to people with the money and volume to purchase. Yet, they are now available to retail investors.

Total Portfolio

I decided to scrap away all those segmented accounts with different goals and look at the portfolio as a whole instead.

I don’t really have a strategy. But for now, I will move more into the Fixed Income space with my spare cash.

I’m do think that once we see some flattening of inflation, S&P 500 should start to see some bull legs.

As you can see, the all-time record is that I am now down -3.77%, which is rather disappointing considering that I have a relatively balanced portfolio. The bulk of the unrealised loss is actually from my cash funds. If you look at YTD performance, it is down -5.89%, which is rather in line with the current markets but I do expect better considering I had a good entry-level during the start of the covid investing when the markets were pushed down in a synthetic way in 2020.

The reason for Endowus

Like a broken recorder, why do I like using them for now:

  • 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 investors 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.

The 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. My Cash Funds are bleeding. That was a super bad call by Endowus.

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 the Endowus website for reference.

Endowus Performance Review – Nov 2022

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

After a short break and some self-sustained recovery, I think it is time to get back to updating the portfolios. During this period when I was down, I was not really monitoring the markets. In fact, I set my RSP up over these 8 – 9  months that I was missing in action. Partly, it was due to work and also self-discovery wellness. In my last post, I discussed being away and not being able to do anything to your portfolio and again I was away. I find that robots suit my style of investing. In good times and in bad times because I am just not in the right frame of mind to manage my portfolio. Not anyone can just buy in when the market is down. You need to understand your own investment appetite.

Thank you to those who have used my referral code. If you wish to venture out and build your financial goals, please do visit my referral code page thank you in advance.

Portfolio Summary

The whole portfolio has taken a big hit this year in 2022 and there’s nothing much to shout about but I look at it as long-term growth. I am quite positive about US equities. My Ultra cash portfolio isn’t doing too great. In hindsight, I repeat that I do regret my decision because I thought I can take my liquidity out within 3 months but no. Now, I have to do it at a loss. This really sucks because Endowus did a boo-boo by saying that it can be a short-term cash-fund holding. Now, I am becoming a long-term investor and had to find cash for my large purchases that were coming up. I am still miffed about it but I’m not taking it out at a loss. It doesn’t mean that Fixed Income will stay down all the time.

Like any other period, I trust Endowus and I would actually recommend them to anyone I know for the investment concept. (Maybe not the cash solutions) I know that my investments will be safe with them. I’m happy with them for the investment part of things. I also learned that different people/companies have different expertise.

Lower Investment amount

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. A minimum sum should not be the way to invest. 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. The other point is what many people are talking about which is the fees. They are probably the only ones in the market to rebate trailer fees. I like that bold big move as compared to the other advisors. I will slowly shift my funds over to them. Everyone is different so, you have to try them out first before you decide.

There’s something else which I like about them and that is how they use the power of retail investors to put money into institutional class funds. These funds are accessible only to people with the money and volume to purchase. Yet, they are now available to retail investors.

Total Portfolio

I decided to scrap away all those segmented accounts with different goals and look at the portfolio as a whole instead.

I hope can recover some of the losses but as a function of market-related money market funds, I think it will take longer than i expect.

I hope that I will be able to add more funds to the S&P 500 if it dips over the next few months.

As you can see, the all-time record is that I am now down -4%, which is rather disappointing considering that I have a relatively balanced portfolio. The bulk of the unrealised loss is actually from my cash funds. (Sad to say that FI instruments are still doing that badly) which is why it is true that no one has the crystal ball and we have to diversify. If you look at YTD performance, it is down -6%, which is rather in line with the current markets but I do expect better considering I had a good entry-level during the start of the covid investing when the markets were pushed down in a synthetic way in 2020.

I’m still looking forward to the day when S&P 500 goes up the roof and I see my portfolio doubling.

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 investors 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.

The 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. My Cash Funds are bleeding. That was a super bad call by Endowus.

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 the Endowus website for reference.