Wednesday, December 30, 2015

My 2015 In Review

In slightly more than 24 hours time, we will bid farewell to 2015 and welcoming a brand new year. So, I thought it is a good idea to recap some key events/milestones in the year 2015 chronologically. It is not restricted to my investment journey, in fact, as my investment portfolio is still in minion size, it only formed a small part of my year 2015.

My memory is rather poor but luckily I do post quite actively in my Social Media (mainly Facebook) on my major life events, it is a breeze for me to recap my 2015. 

Without further ado...let's get started.

Jan 2015
1. I've spent 15 days with wifey in Melbourne Australia, get to know the city slightly better, as my wife will be in and out this very live-able metropolitan city regularly for the new few years or so, I am sure will be back soon. Do check out my earlier post on some key observations in Melbourne. Who know, we might decide to retire there one day? ;-)  
Melbourne
Panoramic view from my rented apartment
Feb 2015
1. Back to my home town to celebrate Chinese New Year and managed to meet with a few secondary classmates (by chance) that we've never met for more than 20 years. Still keep in touch with some of them occasionally via social media. The funny thing is most of them can still recognize me but I can only recall a few of them. That's how "powerful" my memory is.   

Mar 2015
1. First anniversary of this blog as well as my Investment Journey. I am still baby as far as my investment portfolio is concerned. 

Apr 2015
1. Passing of my beloved mother. She (and my dad) will be forever in my mind.

2. Added UMS (558.SI) and EV Energy Partner (EVEP) to my portfolio. 

May 2015
1. Added King Wan (554.SI) to my portfolio. 

2. Participated in an half-day volunteer work (for the first time) in distributing rice/bread to the needy. I like the name of the the campaign : From me (米) to you! 
From me to you volunteer campaign
From me to you campaign
Jun 2015
1. Visited St John and Kusu island for the first time and enjoy the serenity of the place.
St John Island
St John Island

2. Participated in an half-day volunteer work in distributing rice/bread to the needy (second time). 
From me to you volunteer campaign
From me to you volunteer campaign 2
Jul 2015
1. Return to Malacca after donkey years for a short weekend getaway. More tourist attractions with a pricier goods and services.
Malacca
Malacca re-visited
2. Participated in the Hair For Hope charity campaign for the 3rd time. This is how I look like when I am botak :
Hair For Hope 2015
Hair For Hope 2015
Aug 2015
1. Returned to Taiwan for the second time, still love the country and the locals.
Hair For Hope 2015
Taipei, Taiwan re-visited
2. Attended the first ever Sports Day of the company and first time playing the human foosball. Tiring but quite fun.
Human Foosball
Human Foosball
 Sep 2015
1. Singapore Election and you know who won! ;-)

2. Added Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (D5IU.SI) to my portfolio

Oct 2015
1. First staycation experience and quite like it. 

2. Visited Coney Island, walking distance from my place ;-)
Coney Island
Coney Island
3. Attended the Purple Parade (a movement that supports the inclusion and celebrates the abilities of persons with special needs) for the second time and get up close with our PM :
Purple Parade 2015
Purple Parade 2015
Nov 2015
1. The launch of Medishield Life. Why is it related to me is because I am involved in the system enhancement in supporting this product revamp at my company. 

Dec 2015
1. First time volunteered myself to bring elderly to visit Trick Eye Museum, Sentosa. Quite an experience in handling the Dos and Don't in approaching the seniors as well as navigating the wheelchair :
Trick Eye Museum with the elderly
Trick Eye Museum with the elderly
All in all, I am quite happy with my 2015 and I hope 2016 will be even more awesome!

How about you? What is your 2015 like? 

Cheers!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Want Happier Life? Don't Focus On Wealth, Focus On _______ Instead (Video)

Will you be happier when you obtained more wealth?

Will you be happier when you obtained more fame?

According to the recent survey of the millennials, they ranked "to get rich" (80%) and "to get famous" (50%) as their most important life goals. Of course, that does not directly translated into an happier and healthier life, even if they achieved their life goals. 

So what make an happier and healthier life? According to this amazing study that lasted 75 years and still counting, non of these two (wealth and fame) got to do with happier and healthier life. The one that tick is actually a good RELATIONSHIP. Relationship with your loved ones, family, friends and community are all counted. 

For more details about the study and the 3 key learning points, check out this amazing TED talk by Robert Waldinger : What Makes A Good Life? Lessons From The Longest Study On Happiness :


So, besides focusing on building your wealth or financial freedom, do pay attention to building some good relationship(s) too. Nothing beat warm relationship, not even cold hard cash (pun intended).

Cheers!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Is Social Trading Here To Stay?

Recently, I came across a term called "social trading" and have not much clue about what it is but basing on my active involvement in the social media scenes like Facebook, Twitter etc, I sort of guess that it is making use of the power of social media to facilitate the trading activities. 

According to the Wikipedia, Social Trading is defined as:
"The process through which online financial investors rely on user generated financial content gathered from various Web 2.0 applications as the major information source for making financial trading decisions"
So, it is not that far off from my own definition ;-)

Upon further searching, it seems that Social Trading has been around for quite a while and many of such Social Trading platforms (one example is copyop social trading) are promoting the "copy and trade" model i.e. copying/following other successful traders' (gurus') trades and do the same thing. 

It sounds easy but of course, just like any other strategy of trading/investing, there are always pros and cons. Following are some of my pointers:

Pros of Social Trading :

1. Save Time - You could rely on the successful traders and mimic their trades within seconds (with a catch, see point 1 in the Cons category below)

2. Fun Time - You could have fun trading experience with the added layer of interaction with your online peers/social circle.

3. Minimal Capital - Most of the Social Trading platform allow you to get started with a rather small capital e.g. 100 bucks. 

Cons of Social Trading:

1. Nothing Is Guarantee - Even the successful traders can be wrong, so, avoid following blindly.

2. Rush Into Action - You might rush into taking trading action without much thinking due to say, peer pressure or showing your "support". 

Having said that, I personally think that Social Trading is here to stay but it is not for everyone, always do your homework before taking the plunge. If you like to learn more about Social Trading, check out the site called Social Trading Guru

Meanwhile, following are a couple of Dos and Don’ts if you are planning to take a plunge into Social Trading:

Dos of Social Trading:

1. There are quite a number of social trading platforms/apps in the market, always do your homework in establishing the reliability, stability and usability of the platform/app. 

2. Read the full Terms and Conditions of the use/restriction of the platform/app in your country, if any.

3. Understand the process or charges involved to cash out/redeem your profit before you do your first trade.

4. Set aside a portion of your investible fund for social trading only i.e. not to put all eggs in one basket. 

Don’t of Social Trading:

1. Follow the winning traders blindly. If possible, try to interact with the traders and understand more of their trading rationale, take action only if it strikes a chord with you.

2. Don’t get greedy. One or two winning trades will not guarantee any of the future trades. Trade responsibly and never trade beyond your means. 

Do you have any experience in social trading? If yes, what is your experience so far? 

Cheers!

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Giving or Contributing Can Be As Fulfilling As Accumulating (Wealth)

Sometimes, when you stared something, you can never stop which is a good thing. What I am talking about is doing charity work. Ever since I started involved in the Hair For Hope charity program 3 years ago, I've been in the look out for the similar charity programs which I can do my part in contributing (on top of the monthly small donation directly contributed from my salary-deduction). 

Good thing is that I've a few friends with similar interest and got me involved in other programs like distributing the rice-pack to the needy and bringing seniors for outings. Today, I have the maiden experience in bringing wheel-chaired bounds senior to Trick Eye Museum for half-day excursion. It is an experience that I will never forget and I've learnt a few things myself along the way, like how to operate the wheel-chair properly and the Dos and Don't in communicating with elderly as a volunteer.  

Sarah SAC (the charity organization of the outing)
Inside the Trick Eye Museum
I know many of the financial blogger peers are working very hard to accumulate their wealth (via investing, generating multiple streams of income etc...) to achieve the holy grail of financial freedom, which is the good thing. However, if we are too rigid/strict on the aim, we might missed the true meaning of life, which is not only accumulating, but contributing/giving.   

Personally, I don't really buy it that by attaining the financial freedom status, we will automatically turn ourselves into a better person. Yes, with such freedom, we can do much more things that we might not be able to do now, but at what cost? Besides, there is no end to it, once we achieved it, we will "work" even harder to maintain it and it seems to be an endless target.  

Don't get me wrong, I am not discounting the importance of achieving the financial freedom, I am just saying that our life will not be drastically changed even we achieved the financial freedom (except maybe you can admire the additional 0s in your bank accounts and feeling more "secured" financially), so don't neglect the moment that we are truly living which happens to be NOW! 

Do share your most precious "wealth" (which to me is TIME)  often with your loved ones, family, friends and the less fortunate ones, before you are running out of time yourself :-)    

Cheers!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

100 Ways To Save Money In Singapore (FREE eBook)

In exactly one week's time, we will be celebrating the most celebrated festival of the year. During this season of givings, many of us are busy shopping for the perfect gifts for our colleagues, friends and loved ones. 

Talking about shopping, either you do it online or offline, impulse buying is common scene if you are not religiously strict with your shopping budget, this is especially so as many of us have just gotten our year end bonus and/or early salary payment.

A couple of days ago, one of the counter part at SingSaver.com.sg sent me an eBook titled "100 Ways To Save Money In Singapore". It is gorgeously compiled with practical tips on how to save money in various different sections like on retail, dining/nights out, groceries, household costs and travel.

I especially like the tips in the Travel category as tips like "Know the Tourist Traps", "Most Museums have free entrance days" etc... never cross my mind when I am planning for my trips.

If you are interested to download this eBook, feel free to download it here FREE!

Cheers!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Cache Logistic Trust - My CNAV Analysis

As per my earlier post (click here to see more), Cache Logistic Trust (K2LU) is one of the REITs that I am digging in further this month. Potentially, this is my last buy of the year (2015) for my Income Portfolio.
 
As usual, I've done a quick CNAV (Conservative Net Asset Value) Analysis on Cache and here is my findings :
 
The Key Quantitative Indicators of CNAV Strategy (Basing on the mixture of 3rd Q 2015 Report and the 2014 Annual Report):

Net Asset Value (NAV) = $0.969
Conservative Net Asset Value (CNAV2) = $0.963
Current Price = $0.90
Discount For CNAV2 = 7%

Conclusion : From the price's perspective, it is traded at a discount of 7% against the CNAV2 which is a positive sign. 
The P.O.F Scores of CNAV Strategy:
Profitability Score = 1 (With the PE ratio of 10.7. Basing on the Diluted EPS in 2014 Annual Report)

Operational Efficiency = 1 (with three consecutive years of positive operating cashflow)

Financial Efficiency = 1 (Debt To Equity Ratio of 69%)

Conclusion : A perfect POF indicators.
 
Of course, there are other factors we need to consider when investing in REITs, here are some key ones that I've obtained for Cache:
 
1. Dividend Yield : 9.52 % (basing on the 2014 Dividend Distribution Per Unit of 8.573 cents and current price of $0.90)
 
2. Gearing Ratio : 38% (slightly higher than the average 35% but not alarming)
 
3. Weighted Average Lease To Expire (WALE) : 4.3 years (which is very decent to me)
 
In short, Cache Logistics Trust is an attractive candidate from the CNAV2 Analysis perspective. However, as reminded by a friend (B) via a group chat, those who are interested in the REITS should wait till after 15/12/2015 in view of the upcoming announcement of the potential Fed Rate hike. So, I will hold my horse and KIV my decision until then to take potential advantage of the temporary knee jerk reaction from the market ;-)  

Cheers! 

Sunday, December 6, 2015

One Stock And Movie I Am Determined To Check Out/Watch In December 2015

We are officially into the most celebrated season of the year and many of my friends and colleagues are clearing their leaves and enjoying the season by travelling. This year, I choose to stay in Singapore during the month of December and will start my travelling plan only early next year. In any case, we can already feel the festive mood at home with the elaborate Christmas decoration everywhere. 

Sorry that I missed the November post for this blog series due to my work schedule (ok ok, partly also due to my laziness too, no excuse), I will try my best to make this a monthly blog series. Just for the record, last month (November), I've watched Spectre (James Bond) and Our Times, 我的少女时代 (Chinese movie from Taiwan).   

This month, I determined to check out/watch the following stock/movie :

STOCK/REIT : Cache Logistic Trust (K2LU.SI)
I am a believer in REITS investment (click here and here for my earlier posts on REITS in general) but so far only managed to accumulate Lippo Mall in my portfolio. In view of the recent lacklustre performance of the REITS in general, I am in the phase of closely monitoring on selected REITS before taking the plunge. One of the REITS that I am checking out now is Cache Logistic Trust, an industrial trust with strong dividend yield history (> 8% since 2011) and steady financial health.

Cache Logistic Trust - Dividend Yield History (source : dividends.sg)
Even though its Gearing Ratio of 38% is on a bit of the high side but with its current price of SGD 0.91, it is trading at P/B Ratio of 94.2%, which make it a possible candidate as my REITS portfolio.

MOVIE : Star Wars The Force Awakens
I don't think many people will disagree with me if I said Star Wars The Force Awakens is the MOST anticipated movie of the year! There were so much buzz created around the online arena just purely from the trailer(s) alone. The most clever part of the trailer is it shows enough to entice the fans but not enough to know what's going on?

I've already made an advanced booking for a movie date with my wife (in IMAX 3D) and am really looking forward to it.    

If you have not check out the trailer, for whatever reason, check them out here:


Cheers!
Click for more details : You Could Be NEXT!

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Do You Know That This Week (1 to 7 Dec) Is Singapore's Giving Week?

Time flies, we are already in the very last month of 2015 and soon we all will be celebrating the most celebrated season of the year, Christmas and soon after that will be welcoming yet another brand new year. 

I deemed (myself) to be one of the lucky bunch who have a shelter, a job, still in considerably good shape of health and do not have much to worry about daily life (financially). Having said that, I am sure we all know that there are many others who are not as fortunate us living their lives in an undesirable condition and any help granted to them is god send.

Just last week, I've received an email from Kevin of Turtleinvestor.net about the upcoming Giving Week (which is this week) but due to my busy work schedule, I've totally forgotten about this until seeing an article (about Giving Week) in today's Straits Times.  

I like the motto of the Giving Week campaign :

"Giving Is Easy"
In fact, it is truly easy and everyone can do it. I do believe that if everyone can do just a little bit more (say "thank you" with a smile, give out seat to the needy or donating to the charity, just to name a few), we can make our environment a better place!

To learn more about the Giving Week campaign as well as what the organizer (Giving.sg) can do to help the needy (for 360 Non-profit Organizations), do check out their official website

So, now you know why it is "Give and Take" and not "Take and Give"? Because Giving should come before Taking.

Cheers!
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