Tag: syfe

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.

Syfe – Performance Aug 2021

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

Here is yet another robo advisor that I get on my portfolio since the start of 2020. It has been okay I feel. Ever since 2020, it has been a year and till today – I’m not exactly convinced though.

I am caught in both minds. I like reits but yet I don’t quite like Singapore equities in general. Dividend paying equities are definitely good but yet I have more appetite for a growth company. It is just not that sustainable over the long term I feel. Where are the money coming from to build more creativity and expand their business.

Why Syfe?

When the markets were down during March 2020, it was quite exciting times because those were the kind of period which I actually will put money into investments. To a certain extent, I have also put money into other robo advisors such as Endowus and StashAway. While those are more of a “global diversification”, Syfe is more of a local bias for it’s Reits+ Portfolio and truth be told I then took the plunge for a small amount just to try it out a non-DIY approach to Reits investing.

Next, what I struggled with then over the period is that there were quite a discount off many equity tickers and I didn’t really know what to buy or what to expect since the market was in a downtrend. As with every investment, making a rational or emotional decision can only be determined after the event has passed. Reits has since risen, dropped and risen yet again. Frankly, I’ve been busy to keep looking into my own portfolio.

I haven’t got around to increase the investment funds so it is only a very small initial amount. Partly, my mind tells me to do dollar cost averaging for my other investments so we still have to see how things go.

Performance (August 2021)

 

12 months has gone by and +28.65% is pretty insane in my opinion. The last time I looked at this was 6 months ago in March 2021 and it has increased by slightly more than 5%. Then again, the base that I started out with is quite a fantastic benchmark so maybe that isn’t too fair. From here, there isn’t fresh funds invested as I am think more about my overall portfolio. I do think I have enough of the local investments and typically Singapore equities are rather slow and neutral in performance. Even the STI isn’t that exciting in my opinion. If you really look at a 50 year and beyond horizon for S&P 500, it is an amazing uptrend with good returns.

Do use my referral code to get some benefits when you sign up a new account with Syfe. Referral Code: SRPTSMQ5J

You will get (Find our more about their referral scheme here Syfe Signup) :

a. S$10 bonus if you invest S$500

b. S$50 bonus if you invest S$10,000

c. S$100 bonus if you invest S$20,000

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

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

The pictures were taken from Syfe website for this article.

Syfe – Performance Mar 2021

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

Here is yet another robo advisor that I get on my portfolio since the start of 2020. It has been okay I feel. Ever since 2020, it has been a year and till today – I’m not exactly convinced though.

I am caught in both minds. I like reits but yet I don’t quite like Singapore equities in general. Dividend paying equities are definitely good but yet I have more appetite for a growth company. It is just not that sustainable over the long term I feel. Where are the money coming from to build more creativity and expand their business.

Why Syfe?

When the markets were down during March 2020, it was quite exciting times because those were the kind of period which I actually will put money into investments. To a certain extent, I have also put money into other robo advisors such as Endowus and StashAway. While those are more of a “global diversification”, Syfe is more of a local bias for it’s Reits+ Portfolio and truth be told I then took the plunge for a small amount just to try it out a non-DIY approach to Reits investing.

Next, what I struggled with then over the period is that there were quite a discount off many equity tickers and I didn’t really know what to buy or what to expect since the market was in a downtrend. As with every investment, making a rational or emotional decision can only be determined after the event has passed. Reits has since risen, dropped and risen yet again. Frankly, I’ve been busy to keep looking into my own portfolio.

I haven’t got around to increase the investment funds so it is only a very small initial amount. Partly, my mind tells me to do dollar cost averaging for my other investments so we still have to see how things go.

Performance (March 2021)

12 months has gone by and +23.44% is pretty insane in my opinion. Then again, the base that I started out with is quite a fantastic benchmark so maybe that isn’t too fair. From here, there isn’t fresh funds invested as I am think more about my overall portfolio. I do think I have enough of the local investments and typically Singapore equities are rather slow and neutral in performance. Even the STI isn’t that exciting in my opinion. If you really look at a 50 year and beyond horizon for S&P 500, it is an amazing uptrend with good returns.

Do use my referral code to get some benefits when you sign up a new account with Syfe. Referral Code: SRPTSMQ5J

You will get (Find our more about their referral scheme here Syfe Signup) :

a. S$10 bonus if you invest S$500

b. S$50 bonus if you invest S$10,000

c. S$100 bonus if you invest S$20,000

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.

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

The pictures were taken from Syfe website for this article.

Singapore Reits or not?

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Investments, Deals, New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Robo AdvisorsLeave a comment

Singapore Reits is something that many Singaporeans understand and take heart to. Some folks actually build their income/passive income via this source and I can see why.

My take on Reits on SGX

a. First it is based in Singapore – There is this local bias that it can do well given most people like to see for themselves if the malls are working out well in terms of retail quality, crowd, spending and how many shops are still in business.

b. SGD payouts avoids the currency risks. For a retiree or someone drawing on income from dividends, this payouts serve as a source of bill payment.

c. An alternative and cheaper way to enter the real estate market in Singapore is really through the reits/stock exchange. I know that people will argue that it is different but technically in my view, it is the same (And you do not need to pay stamp duties, get a mortgage and pay sales charges)

d. It is more liquid than real estate.

For a long time now, Reits have been growing big and popular within the investing community. Again, all investments comes with risks – Most people have more comfort in dealing with things they can see or get a sense of. For a long time, there have been plenty of wins for reits but as you can also see, the Circuit Breaker period in April through May have affected them in a way or another.

Diversification?

So again diversification is key to investing once more. If you put all your eggs into the Reits for passive income, then with such dividend cuts your bottom line is definitely affected. Currently, it doesn’t seem like this Covid situation is going back down or slow down whatsoever so dividend cuts is going to be prolonged in order to save businesses and jobs. Then again, there are certain sectors who might see a booming business such as Data Centres or even certain suburban reits. Sub-urban malls are definitely crowded but the former shopping aisles in orchard and high end malls are definitely missing the tourist crowd which rakes in the cash and spending. It is no wonder why people are worried about their livelihoods.

It is not all doom and gloom. Sectors will emerge while some will recover. It is definitely time to pick up some if you did not have any. The idea is to really have a long-term goals when you pick a stock and stay disciplined. Once you sell it off, you may never be able to pick back the company at their valuations again.

The Passive or Lazy Choice

If you are lazy, let Robo-advisors do the trick for you. For e.g. Syfe. https://www.syfe.com/ Initially i only took on the Reit+ portfolio some time in April 2020 to test it out so that I do not need to manage the portfolio and incur those trading fees. They have expanded other products such as a Global ARI portfolio (Long term investment into equity,bonds and commodities) and Equity100 portfolio which is 100% into global Equity ETF (US and UK listed ETFs)

Auto-rebalancing

Syfe has invented their ARI (Automated Risk Investing) methodology, which is a risk-based rebalancing strategy, which changes the allocations of your portfolio according to changes in risks in the market in order to limit your losses. In short, once it triggers a certain level, the system will trigger an alert and things start to sell off to re-allocate. It also means that over the longer term, you will naturally see a better performance of the portfolio.

Every rebalancing of course depends on what portfolio you choose from so everyone is different. I personally like the idea of investing into a portfolio of reits instead of picking it on my own. In terms of fees, it depends on your investment amount with them.

In terms of pricing, I think it is cost effective. Do find out more about it here https://www.syfe.com/pricing

a. Management fee per year is at 0.65% p.a. for investment amounts S$0 – S$20k.

b. Management fee per year is at 0.50% p.a. for investment amounts S$20k – S$100k.

c. Management fee per year is at 0.40% p.a. for investment amounts S$100k and above.

Do use my referral code to get some benefits when you sign up a new account with Syfe. Referral Code: SRPTSMQ5J

You will get (Find our more about their referral scheme here https://www.syfe.com/magazine/how-can-i-invite-a-friend-to-join-syfe/) :

a. S$10 bonus if you invest S$500

b. S$50 bonus if you invest S$10,000

c. S$100 bonus if you invest S$20,000

Disclaimer

This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy. 

If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.

The pictures were taken from Syfe website for this article.