100,000 and 170,000 Milestones

Happy New Year to all!  It is a bit late as today is already the 4th day of the Goat Year.  But as the saying goes, "better late than never", wishing all "Huat Ah" in the new year.

Yesterday there was a spike of the page views on my blog and the page view counters crossed "100,000".  I started this humble blog as a personal tracking on my investment and also a logbook for my small boat on the journey to Financial Free Kingdom.  Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support!

On the other front, my stock portfolio values have crossed 170,000 just before the Chinese New Year.  This was more due to the recent stock market run rather than injection of capital by me.

Because of this run, many of my counters are at or near 52 weeks high and it is now more difficult to find VFM (value for money) investment opportunity.

Lastly, wishing everyone luck on the $12 million TOTO Hong Bao draw on 27th February.  Huat Ah!!!

Another piece of the jigsaw - OCBC Bank

In the past week, I took a small nibble in OCBC Bank, and hence collected the first banking stock into my portfolio. Then came the news that OCBC failed to sell United Engineer...

Anyway this is just for diversification and it was really a very small nibble, just 200 shares.  So whatever bad news do not worry me.

I am still short of commodities at the moment.  In the past, I do have Noble Group for a very brief period of time.  At that time, Nobel was still a $2+ stock.  I did not like the volatility, the low dividend yield and got rid of Nobel with a small profit.

I was very lucky with Nobel.  After I sold it off, Nobel keeps sliding downhill.

The FIFA World Cup squad consists of 23 players.  I already have 22 stocks and probably will not go beyond 23......

My Stock Portfolio @ end Jan 2015

No.	Stock Name	Shares	Portfolio%	Avg Cost$	Breakeven$	Market$
1	SGX	4,000	18.53	4.95	3.75	7.77
2	Starhub	6,000	14.95	3.36	2.85	4.18
3	SPH	5,000	12.31	3.99	3.25	4.13
4	SingTel	2,190	5.33	3.37	3.03	4.08
5	SATS	3,000	5.29	3.02	2.95	2.96
6	CapitaMall Trust	4,000	4.98	1.76	1.29	2.09
7	Suntec Reit	4,000	4.48	1.58	1.24	1.88
8	AIMS AMPI Reit	5,000	4.38	1.47	1.36	1.47
9	CapitaLand	2,000	4.15	3.91	3.61	3.48
10	Starhill Global	8,000	3.96	0.74	0.59	0.83
11	CDL HTrust	3,000	3.22	1.66	1.06	1.80
12	SIA Engg	1,000	2.60	4.86	4.68	4.36
13	Keppel Corp	500	2.59	8.18	8.30	8.70
14	Sembcorp Ind	1,000	2.57	4.06	4.12	4.31
15	SPH Reit	4,000	2.52	0.99	0.99	1.055
16	Frasers CT	2,000	2.47	1.81	1.72	2.07
17	CitySpring	5,000	1.62	0.60	0.48	0.545
18	HPH Trust	3,000	1.59	0.90	0.81	0.715
19	Boustead	1,000	1.07	1.44	1.36	1.80
20	Frasers Com Tr	1,000	0.86	1.46	1.52	1.485
21	FE HTrust	1,000	0.50	0.93	0.85	0.845

Movement in my portfolio in Jan:-
Sold:- Sing Post
Bought:- Keppel Corp.

Dividends collected in Jan: $168.92
2015 avg dividends/month: $168.92 [108.7% up month-on-month 2014]


Boring process of building up my passive income portfolio brick-by-brick (bit-by-bit).  

Highlight - Finally overcame my hoarding mentality and sold off Sing Post for 161.0% gain inclusive of dividends collected.  Too bad I did not buy more Sing Post previously.

Smaller bricks in the market

My passive income portfolio is building up gradually by the brick-by-brick process.  In the past, 1 brick AKA 1 lot AKA 1,000 shares.

Using this method, the higher priced blue chips are beyond my reach.  Moreover, whenever there is money in my investment account, my fingers start feeling itchy and usually I will buy something before the money could be accumulated enough for those high priced stocks. 

From tomorrow onwards (19th Jan 2015), the minimum lot size in the SGX security market will be reduced from 1,000 to 100, making higher priced stocks more affordable.

Furthermore, on the POEMS trading platform, the promotional minimum commission starts from as low as $10 for trades less than 1,000 shares, and for contract value up to $3,500.

Finally, chance for me to buy some of those branded stocks!

My Stock Portfolio @ end Dec 2014

No.	Stock Name	Lots	Portfolio%	Avg Cost$	Breakeven$	Market$
1	SGX	4	19.05	4.95	3.75	7.81
2	Starhub	6	15.19	3.36	2.85	4.15
3	SPH	5	12.84	3.99	3.25	4.21
4	SATS	3	5.58	3.02	2.95	3.05
5	SingTel	2.2	5.21	3.37	3.10	3.90
6	CapitaMall Trust	4	4.98	1.76	1.29	2.04
7	Suntec Reit	4	4.78	1.58	1.24	1.96
8	AIMS AMPI Reit	5	4.31	1.47	1.36	1.415
9	CapitaLand	2	4.04	3.91	3.61	3.31
10	Starhill Global	8	3.90	0.74	0.59	0.80
11	CDL HTrust	3	3.18	1.66	1.06	1.74
12	Sembcorp Ind	1	2.71	4.06	4.12	4.45
13	SIA Engg	1	2.57	4.86	4.68	4.22
14	SPH Reit	4	2.54	0.99	0.99	1.04
15	Frasers CT	2	2.31	1.81	1.72	1.895
16	CitySpring	5	1.62	0.60	0.48	0.53
17	HPH Trust	3	1.57	0.90	0.81	0.69
18	Sing Post	1	1.17	0.875	0.62	1.92
19	Boustead	1	1.09	1.44	1.38	1.79
20	Frasers Com Tr	1	0.86	1.46	1.52	1.415
21	FE HTrust	1	0.50	0.93	0.85	0.815

Movement in my portfolio in Dec:-
Sold:- Nil.
Bought:- Sembcorp Ind, SPH Reit.

Dividends collected in Dec: $1,001.70
Total dividends collected for 2014: $6,812.13
2014 avg dividends/month: $567.68 [19.15% up from 2013]


Boring process of building up my passive income portfolio brick-by-brick (bit-by-bit).  

Highlight - My portfolio value crossed the $160K milestone.

Looking Ahead to 2015: Dividends (明天会更好)

Some translations first.  明天会更好 means A Better Tomorrow.

My projected dividends for 2015 (based on current portfolio):
1. Starhub: $1,200
2. SGX: $1,120
3. SPH: $1,050
4. AIMS AMPI Reit: $540
5. CMT: $432
6. Starhill Global: $400
7. SATS: $390
8. SingTel: $368
9. Suntec Reit: $368
10. CDL HTrust: $315
11. SIA Engg: $240
12. Frasers CT: $216
13. SPH Reit: $216
14. HPH Trust: $180
15. Sembcorp Ind: $170 ?
16. CitySpring: $164
17. CapitaLand: $160 ?
18. Boustead: $90 ?
19. SingPost: $62.50
20. FCOT: $56
21. FEHT: $53

Total: ~$7,800
Avg/month: $650

With additional injected capital, my dividends will easily exceeding $8K for 2015.  From the modest $3k+ dividends in 2012 to the $8k+ in 2015, this shows that this strategy is working for me.  

So, the wish for the new year: Wishing everyone 明天会更好!

2014 Portfolio Review (Part 2): Foundation Stocks

My portfolio was set up using SGX, Starhub and SPH as foundation stocks, while Reits and other dividend stocks are supporting casts.

For the purpose of diversification and not to tie down the well being of my portfolio to the fortune of any single company, my three foundation stocks should not exceed 20% of the overall portfolio.  On the other hand, the supporting casts should not exceed 10% of the overall portfolio.

Now, as all dividends are collected and all tradings done for 2014, it is time to review the 3 foundation stocks:

1. SGX

there was a rare massive system failure that

there was a rare massive system failure that paralysed trading on the local bourse for over three hours. - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/business/markets/story/traders-and-investors-bemoan-yet-another-disruption-singapore-stock-mark#sthash.AG2cxYa3.dpuf

First, there was a rare massive system fault that paralyzed trading for over 3 hours, then the opening of the market was delayed to 12.30 pm because of a system problem caused by a software defect.  These incidents had tarnished the reputation of SGX as a top trading exchange.

Next, trading activities and volumes continue to languish after the infamous penny stocks crash of 2013. And we do not see mega IPO listings to SGX. When will we see an IPO blockbuster?

Trading activity fell in the first six months of the year - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/opinion/eye-the-economy/story/time-sgx-shake-the-blues-20141204#sthash.3TFV2Nhv.dpuf

Despite these failings, recently SGX share prices continue to trend upwards possibly because of the anticipation or expectation of the lot size reduction in Jan 2015.

I have added one lot of SGX when it was traded near to $7.  I was impatient then, else I could have gotten it below $7.

Chance of SGX failing as a company is minimal and together with the quarterly dividend payouts (almost like a REIT), SGX stays as my foundation stock.

2. Starhub

Several system failures too.  Seems like Singapore's infrastructures are falling apart?

The company also facing stiff direct streaming competition on cable TV and mobile phone operations.

A bit disappointed about the dividends payouts. $200 a year for one lot was great for a $2+ stock just a few years back, but not so fantastic when it is now a $4+ stock.

As Starhub has long history in consistent dividend payments, even during the financial crisis, it stays as my foundation stock for another year.

I have added one lot of Starhub, when it was near its 52 weeks low.

3. SPH

Everybody says it is a company in a sunset industry and a dying business, but the share price of SPH stays strong and not even affected much by the recent stock market dip.  The other non-core business are helping and compensating for the poor performance of the newspaper business.

There is also a psychological barrier for me on SPH.  As my average price for SPH is $3.99, I am hesitant to make a $3+ stock into a $4+ stock.

SPH dipped below $4 in February.  Then, I was too patient or hesitant and missed the chance to add SPH.  SPH never again dip below $4 for the rest of 2014.  Look like the old stalwart is not about to die yet.  

As mentioned in my previous post, SPH is my top dividend contributor, then perhaps I should forget my average price and collect some more SPH in 2015.

So, in conclusion, no change to my foundation stocks in 2015.