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!