Mid-July Update

Hi friends, 

I hope that this blog post finds you well and that you have continued to stay frugal and stay vested as the market continues to be volatile. I have been a bit caught up with my internship, side hustles, and my FYP - Which explains for the delay in my mid-month updates. 

But yes, I am only left with 3 weeks of my internship, but I can anticipate that my commitment to this blog post would be further challenged as school is going to start (and my side-hustle of tuition is increasing in demand as the year is heading to an end). Rest assured, I will definitely continue with my mid-month updates and my start-of-month updates even if I stop writing about the financial books that I have read. 

Now, let us talk about the things that have happened:

1. Tesla's potential entrance into the S&P 500:

There has been another round of speculations about Tesla being added into the S&P 500 again (since it became the most valuable car company). Furthermore, if Tesla is included in the S&P 500, it would account for 0.8% of the market. WOW.  But Tesla would have to fulfill 1 more criterion: A) Posting a profit in the second quarter of 2020 (As the sum of the previous 4 quarters' net income must be positive, with the latest quarter being positive as well)

If Tesla is included in the S&P 500, it may mean a 3-5% increase in the stock price as the index funds would be required to put the stocks into its portfolio (driving up demands and price). Thus, if you are already holding on to the stock, please do not sell. 

But do note that I am not advocating for you to buy into the stock with your live-savings. You have to take note of one important situation - What if Tesla isn't added into the index? Considering that the price of Tesla is so high right now (because of the possibility of inclusion), I would expect the price to fall if Tesla cannot enter the index as investors are disappointed. 

2. Market trading side-ways for a month:

From the 8th of June 2020 to 15 July 2020, the market dropped by 0.18% (With volatility along the way of course). So yes, the market is effectively trading sideways for a month now. Whether or not it will continue to happen for the foreseeable future - I do not know. But I know the best strategy for this situation. Dollar-cost-averaging - Slowing investing your cash into the market regardless of how the market is doing. 

That is the approach that I am doing right now and it will be how I will do it for the rest of my life. heh. 

3. Economies closing up again:

I believe that you definitely read it in the news about the states in the US/ countries in Europe that have to begin closing up due to the increase of Covid-19 cases when the economy opened up. This would mean that circuit breaker 2.0 might happen. 

What this might lead to is that we might have another bear market for the stock market (which is something that I am looking forward to). So yes, let it fall, and I will deploy my money like never before. Heh. 

Here are some of the changes ton my investments from the following news:

1. Continue to DCA, but moving into platforms which allows fractional ownership (StashAway)

2. Putting more effort into my side-hustle (for more cash reserves to deploy if another downturn is to happen)

With that, 

I hope that you will be reminded that buying stocks is like buying your groceries - YOU BUY MORE when the price drop. Not when the price increases.

Stay vested, Stay frugal my friends,
Dionysius

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Mid-June Update

Hi friends,

I hope that you have been well, especially after going back to work, and adapting to the "new normal" after Circuit Breaker (CB) is over. It has not changed much for me, as the internship that I am doing is counted as an essential service, so I have been traveling to and fro office every day. The major change for me is that I am just hoping for school to start again, as I feel that my brain is starting to lose its mathematical prowess.

Let's talk about the changes that happened:

1. Standard Chartered reduced the JumpStart account's interest from 2% to 1% from 30th June 2020 onwards

This was really hurtful, as the interest generated from the account was substantial. My house's wifi plan was heavily subsidized from the interest. Furthermore, the account has served as an important place for me to park my cash reserve to slowly deploy into the market.

Because of this change, I have decided to move my cash reserve into Stashaway Simple (which a projected interest rate of 1.9%). This is as it is relatively convenient to deploy the money by setting up an automatic transfer from the Simple account to my portfolio.

2. Nasdaq reached an all-time high on the 10th of June 2020, the other US indexes were also near their original peaks

This was mainly due to the market's optimism about the economy opening up again. As you would remember, I have decided to withdraw a substantial amount of my investment in the mid of May last month as I had anticipated a drop. So I was a bit salty and sad that my predictions were wrong. Until point 3

3. A sudden drop of 5% in the S&P 500 from the 10th of June to 11th June.

Yes! The reason why I was kinda hesitant about deploying my cash reserves was that I felt that the market was way overvalued at the 30% rise from the bottom in March. I really felt that there was too much optimism in investors and we weren't looking at the business impact that Covid-19 has caused to the businesses. 

But the drop has sort of shocked the investors by giving them a taste of reality instead of just being optimistic about the current situation. So, anticipating the fall, I have decided to increase my DCA every week (This is done as I have decided to start putting in the money from the Standard Chartered bank account)

Do comment below and let me know how you feel that the market will behave like in the coming months. Are you optimistic? Or are you pessimistic?

Here are the changes to my investment:

1. $1200 every month into StashAway, 1 unit of the S&P 500 in Kristal and 200 into SG REITs

2. I will still try to time the market with the REITs portion. This is my fun money. Too bad. But please don't practise what I am doing. 

3. I will continue to DCA, as I really cannot understand the market's behavior right now. DCA would be the most appropriate way forward. 

With that, 
I end today's topic. 

Stay vested, Stay frugal my friends,
Dionysius

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June 2020 Updates

Hi friends,

Great news! The Circuit Breaker is almost over. I hope that you will not rush out into the streets straight away. I have also realised that this period did not have as much of an impact as I thought it would on my life. Maybe I am already in a circuit breaker before the virus came in. 

Some updates, I have been rejected for a part-time internship, that would mean that there not be a chance to gain working experience during Y4S1. It was a pity as it was a role that I was interested in. Also, the market has increased significantly. I guess that I was wrong and I am now paying the price. 

Now, let's talk about my portfolio:

1. Stashaway (Invested $1,002, current value $1,312.71) 18.25% money-weighted return
2. Stashaway Simple (Invested $9,554, current value $9,606.68) 0.55% return
3. Coasset (Invested $1,000, expected return of $1,090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested $2,183, current value $1,471)
5. Endowment (Invested $6,000, expected return $6,556.4 in 2022)
6. FSMone - Nikkoam STC Asia REIT ETF (Invested $1,548, current value $1,754) 13.25% return
7 Kristal.AI (Invested $3600, current value $3600) 0% return
8. Singlife Endowment (Invested $5,894, current value $5,897) 0.05% return

Total invested: $28,181
Total Value: $28,311


This would bring my returns to 0.48% (if I include the losses from funding society)

This would bring my returns to 3.37% (if funding society's losses were not included)

I am quite happy with my returns actually as it has finally turned positive (and mostly because my stocks are doing really well, by buying during the dip). This stint with P2P funding has convinced me that I should never put so much money into it. In the future, I shall only put in $1,000 inside. hahaha.

Also, I have added Kristal.AI as a platform for my investment. This is as Stashaway has cut down on the US' market exposure and limited US exposure to health and consumer indexes. I still want to invest in the S&P 500, which is the reason why I will be using Kristal to invest. I will also be DCA-ing into it every month. 

I also hope that the next crash can come faster (If not my maneuver would reflect poorly on myself). Also, in a bear market, the true bottom is not reached until a while later, like 12-18 months. So I believe that we are not at the bottom. 

With that, I hope that you guys will stay safe and keep out of trouble and that you will be fearful when others are greedy, greedy when others are fearful.

Till next time,
Stay vested, stay frugal my friends.

Dionysius

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May 2020 updates

Hi friends, 

Hope that you guys are holding up well during this circuit breaker period. I wish that all of you are safe and that your incomes are not affected that badly. But, good news, I have managed to find a new internship. This should allow me to tide over until school starts again. Also, another good news, I have managed to get a professor for my Final Year Project (FYP). 

Let's talk about the recent stock market rally. It is really irrational, the US unemployment is at an all-time high, businesses are closing down, and yet, the stock market is rallying and we are having a 27% increase from the recent trough. 

This would land us directly in a technical bull-market territory. But if we were to look at the recent financial crisis, the 2000 and 2007, we can see that the market would go through a series of sell-down and rallying before reaching the true bottom. Hence, I would say that we are quite far away from the true bottom. You should wait (not financial advice, just my idea) for the second round of panic selling.

Let's talk about my portfolio
1. Stashaway (Invested $3,306, current value $3,418) 4.91% return
2. Stashaway Simple (Invested $10,250, current value $10,285.73) 0.35% return
3. Coasset (Invested $1,000, expected return of $1,090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested $2623, current value $1,948)
5. Endowment (Invested $6,000, expected return $6,556.4 in 2022)
6. FSMone - Nikkoam STC Asia REIT ETF (Invested $1,548, current value $1,632) 5.4% return

This would bring my returns to -2.22% (if I include the losses from funding society)
This would bring my returns to 1.86% (if funding society's losses were not included)

The reason why I separated the payment into two different portions is that Funding Society's losses are not yet confirmed. I bet a lot of you guys have heard of this news already (https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/collapse-of-singapore-commodity-firm-agritrade-leaves-lenders-exposed). There is a high chance that the loss will be permanent and that I will lose my money. But. When I have signed up with Funding Society, I have already known about the risk. But ... IT'S STILL $675 OUCH MAN. :')

I will continue to put into money by DCA for Stashaway. The $10,000 in Stashaway Simple should last for 12 months of investing before I need to push in fresh funds again. Meanwhile, for FSMone, I will try to time the market for the FSMONE REIT ETF. Wish me luck with that. 

Till next time,
Stay vested, stay frugal my friends.

Dionysius

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April 2020 updates + investment strategy for this period

Hi friends,

Wow. Just wow, it was definitely a blood bath the previous week. I am currently writing on the 4th week of march. But in the 2nd and 3rd week of the month, I experienced quite a big loss in my investment. It was an exciting experience. I was elated when the flash drop occur and the circuit breaker happened in the US market.

So, here are my strategy for this period of extremely turbulence (This is not a recommendation. I am just talking about my plans for my personal investments):

1. Increase my DCA into Stashaway to $1000 a month. (I have about $12,000 in my warchest. As a  bear market would last for an average of 13 months, that is how I will allocate my finances)
2. I have allocated $5000 for "timing the market" (NOOOOO, WHY AM I DOING THIS). I am trying to time the Nikkoam REIT ETF as I believe that there are fundamentally strong companies in the etf and I really like the idea of having 4-5% of passive income from the etf. (If I invest in this period of low valuation, I am expecting a higher dividend yield.)
3. If needed, I will be pulling money from my emergency funds and take this opportunity of a lifetime.

Now, let talk about my portfolio:
1. Stashaway (Invested 2900, current value 2777 )
2. Stashaway Simple (Invested 6900, current value 6929.13)
3. Coasset (Invested 1000, expected return of 1090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested 2623, current value 2720)
5. Endowment (Invested 6000, expected return 6556.4 in 2022)
6. FSMone - Nikkoam STC Asia REIT ETF (Invested 1548, current value 1584)

That would bring my returns to 1.41%. Not including cpf, life insurance etc.

There is this financial saying that more millionaires are made in a crash than a bull market (I will be putting that to the test). I cannot be a millionaire from the amount that I have, but I believe that I can set myself in a good financial position from this turbulent period.

Till next time,
Stay vested, stay frugal my friends.

Dionysius

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March 2020 Update

Hi Friends,

Hope that you are fine in the midst of the virus outbreak and that you have remained healthy and safe in this period. In my opinion, the virus has brought out the worst in us; with all the hoarding of essentials, selfish and inconsiderate behaviours and the panic selling in the stock market.

Let’s talk about the panic selling in the stock market. I would urge each one of you to search for companies with good intrinsic values that are on sale due to the selling. Following the wise words of Warren Buffett, “We should be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy”. For me, I have built up a comfortable amount of money. Hence, during this correction, I am seeking a 30% return by the end of the year (assuming that the market would be back to normal by the end of the year.). This is an opportunity for growth in our portfolio.

Now, let's talk about my portfolio:
1. Stashaway (Invested 1200, current value 1164)
2. Stashaway Simple (Invested 8600, current value 8615)
3. Coasset (Invested 1000, expected return of 1090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested 2623, current value 2720)
5. Endowment (Invested 6000, expected return 6556.4 in 2022)

That would bring my returns to 1.78%. Not including cpf, life insurance etc.

Remember what I mentioned in my previous post? I said that there would be opportunities to take advantage of. Indeed, between 26th Jan to the 24th of Feb, My Stashaway was (Invested 1000, value at 1097) It was a 10% return in 1 month. But this correction took it all and I am in the negative. Wanna guess my response?

I bought more. I pumped in 200 (Sorry, poor intern here and I believe that the market has not finished dropping). I did this as the market would recover in the end.

Also, I have started on my internship and the allowance received from my internship is helping me to invest.

With that, remember to do your own due diligence when it comes to investing and continue to be vigilant.

Till next time,
Stay vested, stay frugal my friends.

Dionysius

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Feb 2020 updates

Hi Friends,

I hope that you had a prosperous chinese new year and a great time of reunion with your loved ones. I have enjoyed this joyous period a bit too much from eating too much cny goodies. 

However, the world seems to be in a bit of turmoil right now, with the coronavirus outbreak, the wildfires in Australia. I pray that each one of us will be safe from these emergencies. 

Let's move on to something more joyous, my portfolio:

1. Stashaway (Invested 800, current value 837.69)
2. Stashaway simple (Invested 6000, current value 6004.10)
3. Coasset (Invested 1000, expected return 1090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested 3020, current value 3102.37)
5. Endowment (Invested 6000, expected return 6556.40 in 2022)

This would bring my return to 2.34%. Not including cpf, life insurance etc. 

My return was also affected by the sudden dip in the US market recently. I suspect that it was due to the coronavirus emergency that shocked the market. But I believe that there will be opportunities that we can take advantage of too. 

With that, I would encourage all of us to take care of our health and continue to be frugal. 

Till next time, 

Stay vested, stay frugal my friends. 

Dionysius

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Jan 2020 Updates

Hi Friends,

I hope that you have a wonderful new year celebration and that the recent stock rallies brought great gains to your portfolio just as it did for mine.

I have figured out a way to calculate out all my investments (partially because the P2P portion was rather troublesome in its calculation due to the different loans that are happening at the same time). With that, allow me to begin with the numbers:

I will be including all of my investments through Stashaway, Funding Society, Coasset, Endowment plans:

1. Stashaway (Invested 800, current value 825)
2. Stashaway simple (Invested 3000, current value 3000)
3. Coasset (Invested 1000, expected return 1090 in 2020)
4. Funding Society (Invested 2520, current value 2593)
5. Endowment (Invested 6000, expected return 6556.40 in 2022)

As of right now, my return now is 2.95%, Expected return would be 2.74%.

The return is kinda bad right now as it has only been 6 months since I started. Hence, it would be more accurate as time goes on.

I look forward to my next update.

Till then,
Stay vested, stay frugal my friends.

Dionysius

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