31 December 2013

December has been a quiet month for Singapore stock market. The market seemed concerned by the US tapering of QE3. STI traded in negative territory in the first half of the month with thin volume. Towards the end of the month however, the market started to move upwards, probably due to the year-end “window dressing” effect.

At the end of the month, STI closed at 3167.43, down 8.92 points or 0.28% from last month. My portfolio performed slightly better. Its value rose by 0.32%.

I received some MapletreeLog, MapletreeInd, AscottReit and Cambridge shares through script dividend scheme and rights issue. I received a total of S$9,437.16 in cash dividend.

Below are the top 30 holdings as at 31 December. Compared with last month, there is hardly any change in the list. Only difference is AscottReit replaced FraserCT due to the right subscription.

1.   SPH

2.   ComfortDelGro
3.   OCBC Bk
4.   DBS
5.   Semb Corp
6.   SP AusNet
7.   ST Engineering
8.   Starhub
9.   SGX
10. FraserComm
11. SembMar
12. CapitaLand
13. MetroHldg
14. CitySpring
15. CapitaComm
16. Nikko AM STI ETF 100
17. Kep Corp
18. GlobalInv
19. Yangzijiang
20. Sing Inv
21. SATS
22. Ascendasreit
23. Sabana Reit
24. SIA
25. SingTel
26. MapletreeLog
27. UE
28. PanUnited
29. AIMSAMPIReit
30. AscottReit

For the whole of 2013, STI was almost flat. The closing position was only 0.01%, or 0.35 points higher than a year ago, despite US and Japan stock market hitting historic high.

For the year 2013, I have stuck to my “dividend income” and “buy and hold” strategy. This same investment plan did not work as well as a year ago. For the whole year, my portfolio value was down S$16,283, or 1.18% on surface value. When I take into consideration the dividend received from shares minus the fund invested, the total return for the year is 2.24%. This is a far cry from last year, when I had a return of over 30%. This is also lower than Singapore’s economic growth of 3.7% in 2013. Anyway this is still a better return than leaving the money in the bank.

I received a total of S$95,000 in dividend from stock and unit trust portfolio. This has exceeded my dividend target of S$70,000 set a year ago.

Come next year, I will still continue the same investment plan. I will be cautious in adding new counters or long position since the index has reached quite a high level. Buying will be done when there is good opportunity offered, being a dip or correction in the market. I may add on to my UT portfolio for more dividend income.

For the dividend income, I set a target of S$110,000 next year. This will translate into a passive income of S$9,000 per month.

Let’s hope for a better year in 2014. Cheers!

29 November 2013

November has been quite a lull month in the local stock market. Market sentiment seemed to be dampened by the talk that US will scaled back the bond buying program next year, and the coming debt ceiling deadline early next year. Towards the end of the month, US market rallied, with index hitting highs. However, the local market went into an unusual lull period, moving side way for the past few days.


STI ended last month at 3176.35, down 1.07% from last month (October). My portfolio perform slightly worse than that, down 1.35% compared to a month ago. This could be timing issue, when counters go Ex Div, it usually drop a bit.

I did not do any trading this month. The only investment is receiving some Capital Retail China Trust units through subscription to rights issue. I also participated in script dividend scheme of MapletreeLog and Mapletree Ind Trust, as well as the rights issue from Ascott Reit.

Total dividend received this month was S$6,752, including those from UTs.

Here are my top 30 holdings as at 29 November. There is no change in the participant list, lest some changing of positions.

1. SPH
2. ComfortDelGro
3. OCBC Bk
4. DBS
5. Semb Corp
6. ST Engineering
7. SP AusNet
8. Starhub
9. SGX
10. FraserComm
11. SembMar
12. CapitaLand
13. MetroHldg
14. CitySpring
15. CapitaComm
16. Nikko AM STI ETF 100
17. Kep Corp
18. GlobalInv
19. Yangzijiang
20. Sing Inv
21. SATS
22. Ascendasreit
23. Sabana Reit
24. SIA
25. SingTel
26. UE
27. MapletreeLog
28. AIMSAMPIReit
29. PanUnited
30. FrasersCT

31 October 2013

The US politicians did not find a solution to raise the government debt ceiling on time and part of the US government was shut down for 2 weeks. The equity market reacted negatively to this. However when the politicians agreed on a temperary solution and the shutdown Wayang ended, market recovered immediately. The positive earning results of US corporation (and some SG companies) supported the market as well. As a whole STI ended in positive territory in October.

STI closed at 3210.67 on 31 Oct, or 1.35% higher than last month. My portfolio did slightly better, its value rose 1.78% for the month. In this month, I only did one buy transaction. I bought some K-Reit shares. As the index rose pass 3,200 level, I thought I should slow down in buying and build up my cash .

I received a total of S$6,700 in dividend from shares and UT (incl. capital return from MIIF). With the SG companies annoucing their results and dividend payout in next two months, I am already certain that I will exceed my dividend target for this year.

Below are the top 30 holding as at 31 October. There is no change in the list participants, except some swopping of positions.

1. SPH
2. OCBC Bk
3. ComfortDelGro
4. DBS
5. Semb Corp
6. SP AusNet
7. ST Engineering
8. Starhub
9. SGX
10. FraserComm
11. SembMar
12. CapitaLand
13. MetroHldg
14. CitySpring
15. CapitaComm
16. Nikko AM STI ETF 100
17. Kep Corp
18. SATS
19. Ascendasreit
20. GlobalInv
21. Yangzijiang
22. Sing Inv
23. Sabana Reit
24. SingTel
25. SIA
26. MapletreeLog
27. AIMSAMPIReit
28. UE
29. PanUnited
30. FrasersCT