Tag: robo

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

Today’s Deal of the day – Dobin App

On By RistrettzIn Deals, Finance, Interest, Macroeconomic, New Ideas, Performance, Personal Finance Series, Promotion, Random, Wealth & Health2 Comments

At the start of 2024, there were signs that new offerings were being put out for deal seekers but as it seems, after January, there has been a drag of three months. Nothing much now except for Dobin. Before we start, let me just say that this is an affiliated link and by doing some actions, you do help me in keeping the lights on this blog. Please do try the app out. I have been using it for the past 6 months and I must say it has one of the better apps available without annoying advertisements.

At the same time, I can track expenses and connect my banking apps. Today is the last day for the referral. You can sign up and refer your friends and family to get cash rewards too. Besides that point, the main aim is to use the friendly app for tracking personal expenses. Personally, I prefer this app over the rest since there are no pesky advertisements and they are done here locally in Singapore. Support local I guess.

Here is the download link: Dobin Download

Do use my referral code please: ZUPUNWI

And remember to connect at least one bank account or one credit car on Dobin.

What You Need to Do:

  • Open the Dobin App and tap on the referral widget on your home screen.
  • Share your exclusive referral code with your friends & family.
What Your Friends Need to Do:

  • Download Dobin and enter your promo code during sign-up.
  • Connect at least 1 bank account or credit card on Dobin.

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

Do use my referral code please: ZUPUNWI

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

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.

MoneyOwl Performance review – Mar 2022

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, New Ideas, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

Money Owl has been the regular investing strategy monthly for about close to 2 years. While the amount is nothing to be shout about. It is just regularly fixing something so that I can save and invest at the same time.

This is really a small part of my portfolio at $100 monthly RSP for around two years for now. I Probably will stick with MO for now just to compare them versus Endowus. I like the management team, honest and no conflict of interest. Maybe I add on other investment strategies on their platform if the timing is right.

Who is Money Owl?

MoneyOwl is an initative from NTUC Social Enterprise. They are a Robo-advisor coupled with a suite of wealth planning tools such as will writing and insurance solutions. What really attracted me is their rather simple way of investing and using Dimension Funds as part of their portfolio construction

As a retail investor, you will most likely not be able to access such funds (Dimension Funds). When the market tanked sometime in Feb 2020, I picked a few Robo-advisor to invest into and look into performance a few months later. 

One of the reasons I went into MoneyOwl and Endowus initially was because of the Dimensional Fund. These are not readily available to retail investors but the investing landscape has changed. Retail is kind of king now.

Context

My MoneyOwl Portfolio is one that does not hold a lot. It isn’t my main Robo Portfolio but they kind of become slightly more trusted over the last few months. At the same time, for folk who have just started the investment journey, S$100 is definitely doable for a long long term portfolio. The whole idea of this blog is to also show that it does not take a lot to start building your own retirement pot. I still envy folks who are in the twenties and build their portfolio early. 

However, when you are young – Money is a limited resource. As usual, personal finance also have to revolve around each individual situation and understand the situation will determine what is required.

On top of the asset that we acquire, there is a need to tweak the insurance coverage due to a new child and an increased mortgage. Should there be any issues that happen to any one of us, at least the full liabilities are covered.

Mar 2022 performance (Day One Deposit)

In portfolio terms, it is up +8.56% and compared to my last review in Aug 2021 which was at +18.30% on 2 Sep 2021, it has dipped quite a bit in terms of percentage points. The portfolio size isn’t something great. Just a net deposit of $3,200. I kept the regular investing of $100 per month and it’s looking rather slow. I might increase this monthly amount to build the base up a little more. 2022 has not been kind to the markets and will continue to do so. So far, the defensive nature is what I have seen as a plus point.

If we look at Time Weighted Returns, it is the more accurate to account of deposit and withdrawals at +24.63%. Again, this return is just for reference. At the end of the day, what you originally invest in and the final amount will be the absolute profit.

 

In terms of the portfolio allocation, there is no change and it is at 60% equities and 40% fixed income. The portfolio consists of 4 different funds. Everything will be on Dimensional Funds. I kind of wished that I had a small cap fund in there. But I guess, as long as my main robo has that exposure that would be good as well on an overall basis.

Personally, I like the allocation % because it is just widely diversified for equities and widely disperse in terms of investment grade.

In the details on the profit and loss sheet:

a. The Global Core Equity Fund will be the largest allocation and makes up most of the returns to date and continues to do well.

b. The Emerging Market Large Cap Fund will be the lowest allocation and makes the least of the returns to date. I don’t mind some EM exposure at this point in time.

c. The Global Core Fixed Income Fund will be my main steady income Fund and finally.

d. The Global Short Term Fixed Income Fund will be the last stabiliser in my portfolio.

e. The government bonds remains to be on the downside which is expected though it recovered a little as compared to the previous month. The impact is negligible.

f. Recently, the russia exposure was mentioned to investors that it was removed and likely due to the sanctions.

MoneyOwl fees

A few months ago, MoneyOwl announced that they have lowered their investment advisory fees as well as absorbing the platform fees due to the pandemic.

a. For asset under management S$100,000 and below, there will be a 0.6% p.a. management fee and 0.5% p.a. for amounts above S$100,000. This amount will be rebated back in the portfolio. So take note that only Cash investments (Wise Income will also incur management fees), the cash management accounts do not have these in place and your total portfolio value has to be above S$50.

b. There is an introduction fee of S$99 which is worth about S$535 for a comprehensive Financial Planning. Money Owl’s advisors will sit down with you to review your portfolio. The review is expected to contain detailed report and recommendations (It is estimated to be around 2 hours). 

c. Additionally, they are introducing free financial resilience workshops to focus on cash flow management and debt management. Likely through Webinars and anyone can join in.

It is nice to see that as a partner to our national social enterprise, they are making moves to help Singaporeans. The reduced fees on investments which is one of the key points in long term investments. The more fees you pay, the more it affects your long term goals.

If you would like to give MoneyOwl a try do remember to use my referral code: 1JIC-91CM

Both of us with get S$20 worth of GrabFood Vouchers for every product or service that you sign up so that means that both of us will get up to S$60 worth of GrabFood Vouchers. (Total of 3 services/products)

Personally, I think that they are decent. A very conservative bunch.

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 would like to give MoneyOwl a try do remember to use my referral code: 1JIC-91CM

Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations

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 Money Owl’s website for this article.

StashAway Performance – Mar 2022 Performance

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

Here goes for the March 2022 StashAway performance. Nothing much to shout about.

StashAway has been rather stagnant but considering the environment, I think it is holding out well. I continue to question of this robotic/AI system if it is more human driven. Shouldn’t it be systematic driven for a robo advisor instead of attempting to drive better returns. With an ERAA approach, these actions seems rather active. Now, there are more steps taken to actively manage the volatility. I’m not sure if this is the right call.

If Mr Market drops, I’m not sure if I will do this more or do Endowus more. We shall see. I am also not sure of consolidating into one account.

Retirement Portfolio A (risk-14%)

2022 is indeed volatile.  I started out with $1500 and March 2022 ended with me losing -$12.59. Just to put things to perspective,  I made $10 in 2021. Haha….Oh my word. Very Very flat indeed.

Pretty standard outcome and the YTD is definitely down for sure.

Education Portfolio B (risk-16%)

I started out with a base of $3200 and ended Feb 2022 at $3205.30. Haha, no surprises. Every month, I RSP $100 into the portfolio for 6 months until June 2021 so my absolute gain will be $5.30. Okay, this is holding up okay.

YTD wise, small gain.

 

Education Portfolio C (risk-20%)

I started out with a base of $3200 and ended Feb 2022 at $3342.49. That’s a $142.49 gain! The portfolio strategy was to RSP for 6 months until June 2021 so my that makes a +9.48% gain.

Year to date wise, it is also flat. The Russia Ukraine war is not a good thing for the markets and that is ongoing

 

Conclusion

It is now almost 2 years since I started using StashAway. I still think that it has been a great supplement as a robo advisor. After using a few robo-advisors, I find that StashAway will play as a competition to my Endowus Portfolio and true enough that fits exactly into how I plan it to be. Recent months, I’ve been thinking and I did not add on any regular monthly investing amount as I’m beginning to think twice about their strategy and if they have grown to a level where institutional belief is starting to take over instead of that pure robo fintech as compared to what they were in 2020.

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. No one knows so we have to try to know.

One thing for sure is that the cash funds is doing much better than Endowus and looking at SSB. I’m not sure if their cash funds makes any sense now.

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.