Review and Reflection for 2016

As the year is going to end in 4 days time, let's review and reflect what I had achieved for the year. First of all, let's look at my resolution for 2016 post here, whether I had accomplished or I can continue working on it for the coming new year.

First in the list is to actively writing on my blog by setting a target of 52 posts in a year. Including this post, I had published 51 posts which is short of 1 post. Quite a sense of achievement that I had made for this year as compared to only 11 posts in 2015 and 45 posts in 2014. Whether I will continue to write more for the next year, I believe I will still continue to write as long as I have the eager to write.

Second in the list is to save more than S$10k in 2016. For this, I had failed to achieve yet again. There is simply too many expenses that I had to spend on the family. A family vacation to the Japan and the failure to increase my active income, only 3% increment this year and no promotion. Stock Investment passive income for this year is great, 12.3%. However it only covered a portion of my Japan holiday. I had to reflect on this area and brainstorm how I can improve for 2017.

Third in the list is to exercise regularly and have BMI of below 25. For this area, I had clocked a total running distance of 194km for the whole year and managed to lose 2.5kg. BMI sitting at 25.03 as compared to 25.33 for 2015. Well not too bad actually. I will continue to work hard on it for next year. That's sum up what I had achieved for 2016.

December 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Total Value
Frasers Centrepoint Limited	10000	$1.545	$15,450
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT	3000	$1.29	$3,870
Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust	2000	$0.915	$1,830

Capital Invested	$20,808
Current Market Value of Portfolio	$21,150
Total Dividend Collected 2016	$1,026.40
Total Capital Gain 2016	$1,339.09
Total Investment Gain 2016	$2,365.49

I hadn't been updating my blog for quite some time due to my hectic work schedule recently as I had been assigned to take on a higher role. But that does not stop me from monitoring the movement in the market.

This year had been a great year for me. I had made quite a far bit from trading as you can see I had a total capital gain of $1,339.09 as compared to a total dividend collected of $1,026.40 for the whole year. There are some misses and there are some great profits taken off the table before the price falls. The greatest miss I made is to sell my DBS too early, if not I will be rewarded handsomely. Key point taken from this episode is not to time the market. Go with the flow, when the price keep shooting up, wait for it to stablise before making the decision to keep or sell. The greatest profit taken off the table is Keppel Corp. I had made quite a couple of trades on Keppel Corp and my last trade on selling Keppel Corp is at $6.20 when OPEC gave a surprise shock to the market by cutting down on oil production. Now it is trading at $5.83 based on today closing.

I knew as a value investor, we should not be trading frequently or time the market to make some quick bucks. But when the opportunity arises, I feel we should seize it to bring more values to build our portfolio. All in all, total gain for my tiny portfolio in 2016 is $2,365.49.

Moving forward in 2017, I will adopt the value investor strategy to buy and collect dividend. As i will be more busier next year, given the higher role and responsibility assigned. I had lesser time to monitor the movement of the market. Let's see whether this strategy rewards me better or not.

FCL FY 15/16 Full Year Result Quick Summary

Frasers Centrepoint Limited posted their FY 15/16 Full Year earning report in summary below.

• Revenue of $3,439.6 million, 3.4% lower than previous year
• PBIT of $938.2 million, 15.1% lower than previous year
• Profit before tax of $960.3 million, 19.7% lower than previous year
• Attributable Profit of $597.2 million, 22.6% lower than previous year
• Profit for the year of $766.1 million, 24.3% lower than previous year

The drop in revenue was mainly attributable to lower contributions from the group's development portfolio in Singapore, Australia and China. These declines were partially mitigated by the recognition of profits from North Park Residences and the completion of Twin Fountains (EC) project. Beside profit recognition from the property development, FCL also achieved healthy earnings from recurring income sources, which provided a strong and stable income base.

Property Development Key Highlights

FCL’s 80:20 joint venture with Keong Hong launched its 628 units Parc Life EC project in April 2016 at Sembawang with only 119 units sold as at 30 Sep 2016. FCL is working towards the launch of a 19,310 sqm private condominium land parcel along Siglap Road in 2017. It is a 40:40:20 joint venture with Sekisui House and Keong Hong that can potentially yield around 800 to 900 apartment  units.

Commercial Property Key Highlights

Profit contribution from Waterway Point mall commenced operations in January 2016, had 21 million shoppers visited the mall as at 30 Sep 2016. The Asset Enhancement Initiatives (AEI) at the Centrepoint had completed in September 2016. Tenants had progressively opened for business. Construction of Northpoint City is on track for completion in 2017. With the recent acquisition of Yishun 10 by Frasers Centrepoint Trust, FCL is gaining their strong foothold in Yishun on both residential and commercial property development.

REIT Key Highlights

FCL listed the Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust (FLT) on 21 June 2016 and got off to an upbeat start with more than 6 times of over subscription by institutional investors. It was the largest pure-play Australian Industrial REIT listed in Singapore with a portfolio of 53 Industrial and Logistic properties for about S$1.6 billion in asset and had Net Property Income (NPI) of A$35.7 million as at 30 Sep 2016. 

The economy is expected to be slow moving forward. FCL Group strategy is to achieve sustainable growth and deliver long-term shareholder value through significant development project pipelines, investment properties and fee income. They will grow the asset portfolio in a balanced manner across geographies and property segments. They will also optimise capital productivity through REIT platforms and active asset management initiatives. On 10 Oct 2016, FCL announced a $520 million investment, about 40% stake in a Thailand Industrial Developer called TICON. They are the leading logistics and industrial platform in Thailand. With this investment, FCL is extending their exposure in Thailand to be their 4th biggest market after Singapore, Australia and China.
   
The full year result was indeed very disappointing but we had to bear in mind that the economy is expected to be slow moving forward. They had declared a final dividend of 6.2 cents per share which had been the same for the past 2 years which I feel we should be contented with after the disappointing result. If they are able to continue giving me good returns of 5% or more for income, I will be more than happy to keep investing on them. Not forgetting about the growth of this company, it is now trading at approximately 34% discount to its NAV of $2.30 per share. If you are looking for stable dividend income with potential growth, this company should be able to fit your bill.

Today happened to be also the US Presidential Election result and majority of the world was shocked to see Mr Donald Trump win the presidential. Market had reacted badly and we are expecting to see more selling in the stock market at least in the next few weeks.

DBS 3Q FY 2016 Result Quick Summary

DBS Bank posted their 3Q FY 2016 earning report in summary below. It was a resilient 3Q operating performance underpinned by income growth and cost containment. These strong operating results provide substantial headroom for higher allowances to be taken as prudent measure. 

• Net Profit increase 2% to $1.071 billion
• Total Income stable on quarter to $2.93 billion
• Expenses decline 7% on quarter to $1.2 billion
• Profit before allowances increase 6% on quarter to $1.73 billion

The marginally increase of 2% net profit was due to an increase in general and specific allowances. Profit before allowances increase 19% y-o-y led by higher contributions from wealth management and investment banking. The asset quality continued to be sound. Non-Performing Loan (NPL) rate rose moderately to 1.3%. Allowance coverage was at 100% and 204% with collateral. Total allowances more than doubled to $169 million, which were taken as a prudent measure. The strong balance sheet is sufficient to weather further NPL increases. The exposure of Oil & Gas sector has come off to $3 billion from the previous quarter of $20 billion. Exposure in Commodity sector has also come off to $14 billion. DBS Bank is very well positioned for challenges ahead.

Today, DBS also announced that they are acquiring the wealth management and retail banking business of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Bank in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia for $110 million above book value. This acquisition is expected to add $23 billion to its wealth Assets Under Management (AUM), bringing the total to $182 billion.

Over the years, DBS had consistently proven their ability to successfully integrate multiples wealth and retail acquisitions and partnerships across the region. This acquisition makes good strategic sense to cement their position as a leading wealth manager in the region.

Keppel Corporation 3Q FY 2016 Result Quick Summary

Keppel Corporation posted their 3Q FY 2016 earning report in summary below. 3Q earnings decline 38% to $225 million from $363 million a year ago. Keppel said the higher contribution from its property division at 55% helped to partially offset lower profits from Offshore & Marine division at 26%. This is due to the lower volume of work, deferment of some projects and the suspension of Sete Brasil contracts.

• Net Profit fall of 38% for 3Q 2016 to $225 million
• Earnings Per Share was 35.3 cents, down 43% from 9M 2015's 61.7 cents
• Annualised Return on Equity of 7.6%
• Economic Value Added decreased to $39 million from $456 million
• Cash inflow of $552 million, compared to cash outflow of $784 million a year ago
• Net gearing was 0.57x

Keppel Corporation faces a challenging environment on

• Slow global growth
• Continuing challenges in offshore sector despite gradual recovery in oil price
• Resilient urbanisation trends in Asia

Although there is a gradual recovery in oil prices from the February 2016's low of US$27 per barrel to the recent US$50 per barrel, offshore & marine division is still far from full recovery. Keppel Corporation had been looking to grow their LNG business to complement the loss in profits from their offshore & marine division. They see a promising future for the LNG market over the long term.

The only good news for 3Q result is the cash inflow of $552 million in this quarter as compared to cash outflow of $306 million for 1Q and $262 million for 2Q. This was due mainly on the reduction in the working capital requirements. They had been laying off close to 8000 or 26% of their workforce for the first 9 months of the year.

The Group will continue to execute and focus on its multi-business strategy, they will remain poised for new opportunities to deliver sustainable value for their customers and shareholders in the long run.

What's next after achieving financial freedom?

Once your investment dividend return is able to cover your expenses, you can safely declare yourself financial freedom and get out of your rat race. Have did you think through what you are going to do next after leaving your job? Many will give yourself a good break by going for a deserved holiday. But what's next after your holiday?

I was on medical leave for 2 days after a hectic work schedules for the past few weeks. The 2 days break was indeed a good break. Beside resting on my bed after taking some medication, I also spend my day looking at stock market looking for opportunity and reading market news. I began to ponder, since I am already financial freedom, why do I need to keep on looking at the stock market? Do I need more money? My expenses are already covered by my dividend. Suddenly, there is a lost in direction.

Readers will say aiya you will know what to do when you are free to do anything but I beg to differ. What if I achieve financial freedom earlier than expected? I still got a good 20-30 years down the road till the day I lie in the coffin. I should plan what I am going to do after achieving financial freedom, if not I will be living a life meaningless without a aim.

After some thoughts, here are my plans. I will still continue to work if my health permit me to do so. I would like to continue contributing to the economy. But I will opt to work for shorter hours. Don't need to work so hard lah, just work to pass time. Then use the income to go for holidays with my spouse. Afterall, we need to enjoy ourself after working for so hard for so many years in our career and upbringing our children. Time spent on the market will definitely be lesser as I do not need so much money anymore. Ouch! Who throw eggs on me! Where got people 闲钱多?

August 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
DBS	600	$14.990	$8,994
Keppel Corp	1000	$5.180	$5,180
Frasers Centrepoint Limited	2000	$1.510	$3,020
Cash			$3,300
Total Value			$20,494

I had divested Accordia Golf Trust after Reuters reported MBK Partners scraps plan to buy Japan's Accordia Golf Co Ltd for about $1.6 billion. I had made a profit together with dividend collected of 16.4% for holding onto Accordia for 10 months. Accordia Golf Trust is a very good investment for income. I will be revisit them again if the price is right for re-entry.

I had been accumulating DBS actively since the Swiber news last month. They are now trading at a very good price for both growth and income. I will be either adding another 200 shares if the price goes down below $14.80 or I will be adding more shares on Keppel Corp to bring down my average price. The price now is also very attractive to accumulate again. Let's see how it goes the next few trading days on both DBS and Keppel Corp.

Accordia Golf Trust 1Q FY 16/17 DPU increased 3.4%

Accordia Golf Trust posted their 1Q FY 16/17 earning report in summary below

• Available Distribution of 1.82 cents for 1Q FY 16/17
• Operating profit of JPY 2,975 million and Total Distributable income available for distribution was JPY 1,526 million
• Net Asset Value (NAV) rose to SGD $0.96 mainly due to Japanese Yen appreciation
• Number of visitors to AGT's golf courses in 1Q FY 16/17 was 3.2% lower than the previous 1Q FY 15/16

Japan Economy Outlook
1. The number of golf plays in Japan is expected to continue as golf continues to be a healthy leisure activities for the seniors.
2. Year 2020 Tokyo Olympics is expected to increase popularity of golf in Japan including the younger generations.

Inbound tourism in Japan
1. Positive impact on demand for golf in the mid-to-long term.

Accordia Golf Trust has a very strong branding and is the largest golf operator in Japan. The operation team and management is very efficient in managing the golf course operation. Their strategy is to target middle class working people into playing golf in Accordia. They provide casual atmosphere with reasonable play fees. They had a large pool of loyal customers base that subscribed to their golf club membership.

This quarter result is not as good as the previous year due to heavy rains in June and also the earthquake in Kyushu. But however due to appreciation of Japanese Yen currency, the DPU increased by 3.4% helped to improve the returns for shareholders. With the Tokyo Olympics in Year 2020, I am sure the shareholders will be rewarded with the growth and stable income distribution by investing on them. The only downside for investing in golf business is, they are at the mercy of weather conditions.

When is the good time to buy?

This is always a millionaire dollar question to answer when someone is to find out when is the good time to go into the stock market to buy. Different person will give you different answers and I summarise below on the answers that you may find.

• 52 weeks low
• 200-days Moving Average 
• Trading below Net Asset Value (NAV)
• Price-to-book value (P/B)

There is no right or wrong one to use any of the indicators I mentioned to trigger the buy call. It is just a gauge or tools whereby investor or analyst used when they think it is the good time to buy. Among this 4 indicators, which one do you think will give you the optimum result? For me, I am adopting the 52 weeks low and trading below NAV as my indicators for buy call. To use only one indicator, I feel that it is not enough to gauge. Another strategy I used is "Buy at prices you will not sell and Sell at prices you will not buy" - quote from AK.

Is it better to stay on a job for years or job hopping?

This is one question I always ask myself whether which one is more beneficial in long terms if one would to stay on for a job for many years or job hopping every 2-3 years. Before we discuss on this topic, let us do a comparison on the Pros and Cons between these two.

Pros for staying a job for many years
Leadership or Competent - If you are competent and have good leadership skills, your boss will always give you the opportunities to lead the team to run a new project.
Seniority - If you stay at a company for the long haul, you will be more likely to rise in seniority, rather than having to start from scratch and fight to establish a stronger role in the company.
Stability - If you are constantly worrying about where you will be in the next year, it is very difficult to make long term plans. A little stability in your career or workplace can help you to cope more effectively with the stresses that are sure to happen in your life.
Flexibility - Most people who stay in a company for many years, progress through multiple challenging roles when they are in the company. They are typically trying many roles to help them to determine what they are most passionate on. They get to retain their status and benefits and also free to experiment new areas.

Cons for staying a job for many years
Taking for granted - When you are in the company for many years, you have the tendency to take things for granted. You think that you can set the rules and everyone had to follow suit which does not align the company's policies or directions.
Stagnant Increment - Your annual increment is not as great as you joined a new company. Your annual increment would probably be around 2-3% as compared to 10-20% if you choose to job hopped.
No more passionate - When things had became a routine, you no longer have any passionate in your work nor do you find any motivational drive in pushing yourself in the next career milestone.

Pros for job hopping
More money - When you job hop, you will always ask for a salary increment of 10-20%. You do not change a job if it is of the same as your current or lower unless you want a change in your job roles to undertake lower responsibility.
New environment - A change in new working environment entices you to be more motivated to learn new things and more passionate in contributing in the new company. It give you the opportunity to experience new company's culture and the way how the company run their businesses. You are expanding your network to a new pool of professionals.

Cons for job hopping
Employers will be hesitant to invest in you - When jumping from job to job, you are showing future employers that there is a high likelihood that you will do the same to them. By putting in the number of years working with them proves your loyalty as well as strengthening your job security. Loyalty goes a long way and from the employers perspective, it gives them the dependability that they can count on.
Your job maybe less secure - If your employer is forced to retrench staffs, you might be the first to go given your track record of job hopping.
Loss of seniority - When you joined a new company, you have to start afresh and build your career in the new company. Everything had to start from zero to build your way up in the corporate ladder.

I had been with my current company for coming to 2 years. A new startup and a new industry that the company is venturing with. It is always good to be a pioneer in a new startup with the company. You get to try everything under the sun and your words tend to be more heard than the juniors joining the company. A very good 2 years with the company and team bonding with fellow colleagues. But however, the company does not pay well in rewarding the staffs. A typical employee gets an annual increment of 2-3% and promotion will only come probably 3-4 years in your stay with the company. The increment for the promotion is only about 5-8%.

With the continuous rising standard of living in Singapore and inflation, the increment does not help to sustain the rising cost. The question to ask oneself is whether should we change a higher salary job to meet the inflation and also to increase our income to eventually be financial freedom. There are too many considerations one need to consider to stay put in the company or job hop. There is no right or wrong answer. Ultimately you have to ask yourself when you made this decision, are you comfortable with it?

To me, if I am a fresh graduate that just embarked in this new journey. I will focus on my areas of work and gain more experiences before I job hop. Then I can command better salary package with the number of years of experiences. If I am in the peak in my career, I would probably choose to stay put. Firstly, age is consideration when you choose to job hop. A company would not be keen to invest on you as you are already of certain experiences and you commanded a higher salary if the company employ you. Secondly, once you hit a certain amount of salary cap, the company will try to slow down your salary by giving you lower increment. In a way, they are favoritism in new graduates by giving them more increment. If old timer like you or me are not happy, the door is always open for you to move out.

A guideline below on what I think you should stay put or job hop based on your age. By looking at the table tells you the prime time to job hop is between 26 to 40 years old. Anyone above 40 years old, it is best that you stay put with the company for your own good. This is based on my opinion, readers may beg to differ.

Age	Decision
20-25	Stay put
26-30	Stay put / Job hop
31-35	Stay put / Job hop
36-40	Stay put / Job hop
41-45	Stay put
46-50	Stay put

Frasers Centrepoint Limited 3Q FY 15/16 Result

Frasers Centrepoint Limited posted their 3Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

• Revenue declined to $682 million, 32.5% lower than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• PBIT declined to $166.8 million, 46.8% lower than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Profit before tax declined to $68.2 million, 62.4% lower than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Profit after tax is $154 million, 15.1% lower than the corresponding quarter a year ago

The drop in revenue was mainly attributable to lower contributions from the group's development portfolio in Singapore, Australia and China. These declines were partially mitigated by the recognition of profits from the Twin Fountains (EC) project following its completion.

Property Development Key Highlights

FCL’s 80:20 joint venture with Keong Hong launched its 628 units Parc Life EC project in April 2016 at Sembawang with only 12.3% units sold. FCL is working towards the launch of a 19,310 sqm private condominium land parcel along Siglap Road in 2017. It is a 40:40:20 joint venture with Sekisui House and Keong Hong that can potentially yield around 800 to 900 apartment  units.

Commercial Property Key Highlights

Maiden profit contribution of $9.1 million and share of fair value gain from Waterway Point mall which was officially opened on 19 April 2016 and receives an average of 2.5 million visitors each month. The Asset Enhancement Initiatives (AEI) at the Centrepoint are expected to be completed by September 2016.

REIT Key Highlights

FCL listed the Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust (FLT) on 21 June 2016 and got off to an upbeat start with more than 6 times of over subscription by institutional investors. It was the largest pure-play Australian Industrial REIT listed in Singapore with an initial portfolio of 51 Industrial and Logistic properties for about S$1.6 billion in asset. 

Looking ahead on the development front, transaction volumes in the Singapore residential property market continue to be low as prevailing property cooling measures remain in place. While the number of new private homes sold rose from 3,400 units in the first half of 2015 to 3,800 units in the first half of 2016, the residential property price index declined marginally in the quarter ended June 2016, marking an eleventh consecutive quarterly decline. While the Singapore residential market continues to face headwinds, Singapore remains as the Group's home market.

Although their 3Q result is very disappointing but my opinion on FCL is still very optimistic. They are the 3rd largest property developers in Singapore after CDL and Capitaland. They had been giving 8.6 cents of dividend per share for 2 years. If they are able to continue giving me good returns of 5% or more for income, I will be more than happy to be investing on them. Not forgetting about the growth of this company, it is now trading at approximately 30% discount to its NAV of $2.19 per share. If you are looking for stable dividend income with potential growth, this company should be able to fit your bill.

July 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.67	$6,030
Keppel Corp	1000	$5.250	$5,250
DBS	200	$15.450	$3,090
Frasers Centrepoint Limited	2000	$1.515	$3,030
Total Value			$17,400

I had recently divested ST Engineering and 1000 shares of Keppel Corp after it went exercise dividend. Just in time to collect some dividend from Keppel Corp and at the same time make a small profit before it head down lower due to recent news from Swiber Holdings winding up. If I had choose to stay on, I would be incurring a loss now.

With the news from Swiber Holdings winding up, DBS had also been impacted heavily due to the $700 million loan to Swiber as they can only recovered half of the loan. I took the opportunity to add 200 shares of DBS into my portfolio after the massive sell down in the last 2 days. The news of Swiber winding up had triggered a fear to Oil & Gas industry on their market outlook as the industry does not appeared to recover although oil price had recovered from the low of US$26 per barrel to now US$43 per barrel.

I had also added 2000 shares of Frasers Centrepoint Limited into my portfolio as the current price is too good to miss. They are now trading at 30% discount to book and had a 5.7% dividend yield. I will be looking to add more on DBS next week if the massive sell down still continues.

June 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Keppel Corp	2000	$5.520	$11,040
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.605	$5,445
ST Engineering	1000	$3.140	$3,140
Total Value			$19,625

I had recently divested 1000 shares of Keppel Corp at $5.88 and buy back again at $5.30, making a profit of 10.83%. The reason of the divestment is to lock some profit off the table. The Brexit referendum allows me to buy back again when the price weaken last week. This looks a win-win situation for me, if I choose not to divest and hold on to it, I would not be making additional 10.83% profit into my investment fund.

Other than that, this month portfolio is the same as previous month but with a lost in value of $295 due to the dividend received from Accordia Golf Trust. Market had been recovering very well after 2 days of massive losses from the Brexit referendum. I will be looking to lock down some profit if opportunity arises and realign my portfolio to achieve maximum gain for the year.

Half yearly review 2016

Time had been passing so fast and now we are already half way to the mark of 2016. I shall do a quick review of my Target Setting 2016.

My goal is to save at least $10k from my primary income yearly. Although, as of now, I had already contributed $7,300 into my saving plan. Most of the savings come from my bonus in March 2016. I will not be expecting any bonus from now till the end of the year. So in a way, I had to rely on my monthly income saving in hoping to add up to $10k. It look certain that I won't be able to achieve this goal again by end of the year. Unless, there is a promotion for me and a good salary review plus increment next month.

The good side of my next goal is to achieve a compound saving of $22,149.00 based on my calculation of 7% dividend yield by investing on equities. As of now, my compound saving for this year had already achieved $21,723.62 which translated to 7.44% yield currently. Based on this set of result, I will definitely achieved this goal to have a compound saving of $22,149.00 by end of the year.

Dividend collected and capital gain as of now stands at $1,504.75. This was partly due to my recent divestment of Keppel Corp at $5.88 per share. After my divestment, Keppel Corp had been falling to $5.32 per share on today closing. STI had also been dropping because of the Brexit syndrome, as well as the falling of oil price below US$50. I will be looking to buy back Keppel Corp again when the price is more attractive for long term investment.

Year	Age	Proposed Yearly  10k Saving	7% Dividend Based on  Compound Saving	Actual Saving	Compound Saving
2015	37	$10,000	$10,700.00	$8,800	$12,918.46
2016	38	$20,000	$22,149.00	$7,300	$21,723.62
2017	39	$30,000	$34,399.43	-	-
2018	40	$40,000	$47,507.39	-	-
2019	41	$50,000	$61,532.91	-	-
2020	42	$60,000	$76,540.21	-	-
2021	43	$70,000	$92,598.03	-	-
2022	44	$80,000	$109,779.89	-	-
2023	45	$90,000	$128,164.48	-	-
2024	46	$100,000	$147,835.99	-	-
2025	47	$110,000	$168,884.51	-	-
2026	48	$120,000	$191,406.43	-	-
2027	49	$130,000	$215,504.88	-	-
2028	50	$140,000	$241,290.22	-	-
2029	51	$150,000	$268,880.54	-	-
2030	52	$160,000	$298,402.17	-	-
2031	53	$170,000	$329,990.33	-	-
2032	54	$180,000	$363,789.65	-	-
2033	55	$190,000	$399,954.92	-	-

May 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Keppel Corp	2000	$5.430	$10,860
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.650	$5,850
ST Engineering	1000	$3.210	$3,210
Total Value			$19,920

I had recently divested my NeraTel and AIMS AMP Reit in my portfolio and added another 1000 shares of Keppel Corp and ST Engineering this month. The reason I choose to divest NeraTel is, their payment solution business had sold to Paris-based Ingenico Group for S$88 million. Payment solution business although contributed 26% of Company's revenue which is not really that significant. But however, this payment solution business is very easy to predict their income generating and the revenue is recurring. Once they sold this asset, it is very hard to predict the growth of NeraTel. Are they able to continue giving a 5% dividend payout to their shareholders after this episode?

As for AIMS AMP Reit, I choose to divest is because, I can received another quarter of dividend payout without waiting for another 3 more months. I believe my portfolio will do better with this divestment and I can used the funds to purchase on Keppel Corp and ST Engineering. Oil industry is expected to recover more significantly by end of the year. I added another 1000 shares of Keppel Corp to bring down my average price to $5.70. I strongly believed they will recovered and gave me a better returns by the end of the year.

I also added 1000 shares of ST Engineering into my portfolio. This is more of a speculative play, if their price increased to $3.40 to $3.50, I will choose to divest it. If not, I will keep it for dividend play.

My portfolio position had increased by 3.37% as compared to last month. Next month, I will be receiving dividend from Accordia and AIMS AMP Reit. Accordia had been a good income generating asset for my portfolio. I had received 10.4% yield from them for FY 15/16. If they can continue giving me good income, I will increase my exposure on them.

Accordia Golf Trust 4Q FY 15/16 Result

Accordia Golf Trust posted their 4Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

• Total Distribution per Unit (DPU) for FY 15/16 of 6.63 cents
• Second Distribution of 4.31 cents for FY 15/16
• Operating profit of JPY 8,828 million and Total Distributable income available for distribution was JPY 6,041 million
• Net Asset Value (NAV) stood at SGD $0.89
• Number of visitors to AGT's golf courses in FY 15/16 was 2.1% higher than the previous year

Japan Economy Outlook
1. The number of golf plays in Japan is expected to continue as golf continues to be a healthy leisure activities for the seniors.
2. Inclusion of golf as an Olympic sport in Year 2016 Rio de Janeiro is expected to enhance the popularity of golf in Japan.
3. Year 2020 Tokyo Olympics is expected to have positive impacts on the Japanese economy.

Inbound tourism in Japan
1. Estimated number of foreign visitors increase 47.1% y-o-y and reached 19.7 million in 2015.
2. Positive impact on demand for golf in the mid-to-long term.

Accordia Golf Trust has a very strong branding and is the largest golf operator in Japan. The operation team and management is very efficient in managing the golf course operation. Their strategy is to target middle class working people into playing golf in Accordia. They provide casual atmosphere with reasonable play fees. They had a large pool of loyal customers base that subscribed to their golf club membership.

With a strong set of good result from this FY 15/16, I am very happy to be vested in Accordia Golf Trust and they are rewarding me with a 10.4% income distribution yield. However they are at the mercy of weather conditions. Even if weather conditions is unfavorable to shareholders, I am positive they will be able to distribute good income distribution and there is still a potential growth in this counter.

To be Financial Literacy

Today I had the opportunity to educate my younger brother on financial literacy, which was not taught to us in our education. He had no idea about investing for income or for retirement. He only know that he need to save for rainy days. Just like a normal person, he put his savings into a normal saving account which earn a peanut interest annually. So I bring up the question to him, does he know that how much interest is he getting annually? How much interest will he be getting in his CPF account etc? To my surprise, he did not know how much interest is payable to his Ordinary, Special and Medisave in his CPF account. He only know his CPF account grow faster than his saving account. I almost fainted.

So as an elder brother to him, it is my responsibility to share with him some financial literacy. I told him how does CPF works and why the money grow so faster than his saving account. I share with him how he can replicate what his CPF account is giving him by investing on STI ETF. If a beginner like him who do not know anything about investment, my advice is to invest on STI ETF. The dividend yield for STI ETF give him about 3.5% annually which is way better performance than his saving account or the ordinary account in CPF.

After today sharing with him, I am glad that he is very positive toward investing for income. He know that by putting his saving in a saving account will not be enough for his retirement. The next step is for him to digest what I had shared with him today and then open a trading account and start investing for income.

It was not his fault for not knowing how to manage his own finance. We were not taught in school and the peers that he mixed with does not invest as well. We often heard from our parents that investment will burn our finger and it is true on what they say. If we do not know anything about investment and we went in blindly, obviously we will get burnt. However, if we read more and learn more, we can better prepare ourselves to be financial literacy. The reward is priceless if we can master this. I will end this post by sharing one of the famous quote from Warren Buffett.

Frasers Centrepoint Limited 2Q FY 15/16 Report Card

Frasers Centrepoint Limited posted their 2Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

• Revenue increased to $898 million, 103% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• PBIT increased to $226 million, 14% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Profit before tax increased to $110 million, 11% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Profit after tax is $123 million, 13.8% lower than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Declares interim dividend of 2.4 cents per share, same as corresponding quarter a year ago

The revenue and PBIT increased was due to profit recognition from the completion of Twin Fountains (an EC project, TOP in March 2016) and the progressive development profits from North Park Residences (a condo project, expected TOP in 2019). Profit after tax slips 13.8% was due to the FCL's share of fair value losses of joint ventures and associates.  

Property Development Key Highlights

FCL’s 80:20 joint venture with Keong Hong also recently launched its 628 units Parc Life EC project at Sembawang and also the 40:40:20 joint venture with Sekisui House and Keong Hong secured a tender for a 19,310 sqm private condominium land parcel along Siglap Road in January 2016 that can potentially yield around 800 to 900 apartment  units.

Commercial Property Key Highlights

Frasers Centrepoint  Malls officially opened Waterway Point (My visit to the mall) in Singapore in April 2016, building on a strong performance that has seen the mall receive over 6 million visitors since its soft opening in mid-January 2016. Meanwhile, the Group completed the sale of its 19% interest in Compass Point for around S$80 million in February 2016. The sale of One@Changi City for S$420 million by the Group’s 50% joint venture was also completed in March 2016. The sale of these assets were in line with the Group’s active capital recycling strategy.

REIT Key Highlights

Currently, FCL had 3 reits namely Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Frasers Commercial Trust and Frasers Hospitality Trust. Yesterday news release that they are looking to list their Australian logistics and industrial properties in the Singapore Exchange next month worth about S$800 to S$900 million. If this would to be materialise, it would be called the Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust.

Looking ahead, development property transaction volumes will still remain low and are expected to
continue declining amid slowing economic growth and the ongoing effects of property cooling measures in Singapore. For the commercial front, with the increase in average household income and low employment, FCL will continue to support non-discretionary expenditure in the retail market. For office space, vacancy levels are expected to rise as major developments are completed. The outlook for the hospitality market in Singapore is soft due to the country’s uncertain macroeconomic
landscape and oncoming supply of 4,000 additional hotel rooms.

My thoughts on FCL is very optimistic. They are the 3rd largest property developers in Singapore after CDL and Capitaland. With a stable 8.6 cents of dividend per share yearly, we are looking at a 5% or more returns from this property giant. Not forgetting about the growth of this company, it is now trading at approximately 32% discount to its NAV of $2.22 per share. If you are looking for stable dividend income with potential growth, this company may fit your bill.

STI in the red for consecutive 8th trading sessions

STI had dropped by 6.4% from the recent high of 2964 points to today closing of 2773 points. This mark the consecutive of 8th trading days losses. Reasons for the weakness were the general worry over global growth starting in China, growing awareness that monetary stimulus by central banks has not worked, volatility in the oil market and concerns over whether US interest rates will continue to head upwards.

With all these negative sentiments, are we heading into bear run again or is it the effect of "Sell In May And Go Away" myth? One of the main reason I believe is, most of the stocks are going into exercise dividend in May and June period after the recent announcement of their financial earnings and together with the negative sentiments, this trigger a bigger fall than expected with referenced to the dividend payout they are paying to the shareholders.

My approach towards this episode is to stay on the sidelined first and observe if there are more bloodshed to come. With a small correction of 6.4% does not attract me to take out my warchest and deployed them. Probably a 20% correction or so, I will take action.

April 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Keppel Corp	1000	$5.400	$5,400
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.645	$5,805
NeraTel	5000	$0.640	$3,200
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit	3000	$1.395	$4,185
Cash			$680
Total Value			$19,270

I had added 3000 shares of AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit into my portfolio this month. Keppel Corp had recently go into XD on 22nd April, so there is a drop in the portfolio value and the recent recovery of NeraTel and Accordia Golf Trust had increased my portfolio position by 4.3% as compared to last month. Cash on hand had dropped to $680 due to the purchase of AIMS AMP Reit, but I will be looking to increase through the dividend that will be collected in May and June.

This morning, NeraTel had declared that they are in the advanced stage of discussions with a third party regarding the possibility of disposal of the payment solutions business of the Company. Meanwhile there is no binding agreement yet and there is no assurance the transaction will actually proceed. I am still researching on what it is going to happen if the disposal of payment solutions business is to go through. I will either wait for the confirmation of the news from NeraTel or if there is any sudden surge in the price, I may choose to divest it. Let's see how it goes.

MGCCT 4Q DPU up 10.4% at 1.923 cents

Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust posted their 4Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

•  Available Distribution per Unit (DPU) for 4Q FY 15/16 of 1.923 cents, 10.4% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• FY 15/16 DPU increased 10.8% year on year
• Gross revenue grew 15.2% to $87.8 million
• Net Profit Income (NPI) rose 17.3% to $73 million

The growth in revenue and NPI was mainly due to the acquisition of Sandhill Plaza and steady contribution from Festival Walk and Gateway Plaza. There is rental uplifts of 37% from Festival Walk and 25% from Gateway Plaza. 94% of the portfolio leases due for expiry in FY 15/16 had renewed.

MGCCT have also been consistent growth in Distributable Income and DPU since IPO. Today closing price at 99 cents give you an annualised distribution yield of 7.35% which is very attractive to invest for income.

MGCCT have adopted a prudent risk-based approach to position for further growth. They had created a resilient portfolio that enable high portfolio occupancy and positive rental reversions. Asset management are effective in bringing down the cost management with innovative marketing and promotion. They are always on a lookout for asset enhancement initiatives and make prudent and rigorous acquisition.  

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit 4Q DPU at 2.95 cents

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit posted their 4Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

•  Available Distribution per Unit (DPU) for 4Q FY 15/16 of 2.95 cents, 1% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Gross revenue and net property income for FY 2016 increased by 7.8% and 2.9% respectively
• Distribution to Unitholders in FY 2016 increased by 4.1% to S$72.1 million
• DPU for FY 2016 of 11.35 cents, 2.5% increase over FY 2015 of 11.07 cents

For the full year to March, revenue rose 7.8% to $124.4 million, with the rental contributions from 20 Gul Way and 103 Defu Lane 10 as they became income producing in 2014, and the higher recoveries from 29 Woodlands Industrial Park E1 and 8 and 10 Pandan Crescent.

AIMS AMP Reit had been consistently paying good dividend over the years as compared to Singapore Government 10 years bond and also CPF. The good leaderships of the management had rewarded the shareholders year after year with increasing DPU returns. If you are looking to invest for income, AIMS AMP Reit is definitely one of the better Reit to invest in.

Keppel Corporation 1Q FY 2016 Report Card

Keppel Corporation posted their 1Q FY 2016 earning report in summary below. 1Q earnings decline 41% to $211 million from $360 million a year ago. Keppel said the higher contribution from its property division at 47% helped to partially offset lower profits from Offshore & Marine. Its Offshore & Marine division delivered three drilling jackups in 1Q, including one unit to Gulf Drilling International at the start of the year. It also delivered a lift boat and a Transformer platform.

• Net Profit fall of 41% for 1Q 2016 to $211 million
• Earnings Per Share was 11.6 cents, down 41% from 1Q 2015's 19.8 cents
• Annualised Return on Equity of 7.1%
• Economic Value Added decreased to $2 million from $122 million
• Cash outflow of $306 million
• Net gearing was 0.56x

Keppel Corporation faces a challenging environment on

• Weaker global growth
• Oil & gas sector remains challenging
• Continued economic and political challenges in Brazil
• Opportunities in Asia underpinned by urbanisation trends

With the challenges ahead in the Oil & gas sector, Keppel earnings will not be recovering soonest during this turmoil period. They had to stay focused on their multi-business strategy and ride on to their improved earnings from other businesses to offset the poor performance of Oil & gas sector. With their financial discipline and resilience built from the Group’s competencies in their chosen core businesses, they will remain poised for new opportunities to deliver sustainable value for their customers and shareholders in the long run.

Recent Action: AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT

 

I had added 3000 shares of AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT into my portfolio today. With a decent 8% or more of dividend yield yearly, it does make sense for me to add this REIT into my portfolio for income. They were listed in the SGX since 2007 and had been paying strong and regular dividend to it's shareholders since then.

Recently, Standard & Poor's (S&P) has reaffirmed a 'BBB-' investment grade rating with stable outlook for AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT. The stable outlook reflects the expectation that AIMS AMP REIT will operate within its financial policy and generate steady cash flow over the next 12 to 24 months.

March 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Keppel Corp	1000	$5.890	$5,890
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.610	$5,490
NeraTel	5000	$0.540	$2,700
Cash			$4,400
Total Value			$18,480

The month of March portfolio had recovered another 6%. Together with last month portfolio recovery of 8.43%. A total of close to 15% had been recovered in my portfolio. But my portfolio is still down 7.2% due to the poor performance by NeraTel. Although there is indication of sign showing we are already out of the bear, but investors are still not optimistic based on the current market sentiments.

There is no movement in my portfolio this month as I am still on the sidelined to wait for the right timing to go in. I have my cash ready to deploy when the moment has come. Meanwhile I will still be actively monitor the market to see if there is any gems to be found next month. If not I will just continue to wait for the right moments. Remember, it is not necessary to always be vested all the time when you have spare cash. It is always good to have a warchest ready when you know it is time to went in when everybody is trying to get out.

Income received from blogging is taxable now

Yesterday, some fellow bloggers have revealed that they received a letter from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), requiring them to clarify their income sources, which include products or services received via their websites. Payments in exchange for services performed by social media are required to file for income and be taxable.

There are some FAQs posted in IRAS which you can find here to answer some of your queries or concerns. Some bloggers use their own money to host their website to publish their ideas or thoughts as a personal blog and in return make some income from advertising to cover their expenses. Do you think they should be liable to file for income and be tax? Will this piece of news impact you as a blogger and you stop blogging?

My personal thought on this is, I will still continue to publish my ideas or thoughts through my personal blog. But will probably remove those advertisement that will allow me to earn some income from it. How about you as a blogger? Does this piece of news impact you?

Singapore telcos to continue exploration for innovations

Technologies advances over the past few decades had a great impact on telecommunication industry. Today the telecommunication companies are no longer just the "phone companies" but an IT companies offering wide range of services ranging from Internet access, managed services, cloud computing platforms and online security. Traditionally the telcos revenue comes from voice calls and Short Messaging Service (SMS).

With the transformation of technology, messaging services like WhatApp, WeChat and Skype had overtaken SMS and phone calls as the major means of communication. Revenue was affected and they must come out with innovative ideas and applications to maintain their earnings in order to answer to their shareholders and benefits the consumers.

Singtel is not greatly affected by the transformation of technology as they had a very diversified business operation globally such as phone services, TV services, internet fibre/broadband services, managed services and data centre services etc.

Starhub has a slight impact on their earning as they had lost the English Barclays Premier League (BPL) broadcast to Singtel few years ago and for the next 3 years the broadcasting rights still belong to Singtel. They also shared the network infrastructure with Singtel for their internet fibre/broadband services which limit their capabilities in this service aspect. In general, they only provide phone services, TV services and internet fibre/broadband services. They also had a small market share on managed services.

M1 will be the worst hit as compare to Singtel and Starhub. They only had phone services and internet fibre/broadband services. With such a limited services or applications available, how to entice the consumers to engage their services.

With the introduction of the 4th telco, the 3 telcos will certainly lose some of their market shares. They had to continue to innovate with new ideas or create new applications to benefit the consumers to retain their services with them.

Are we experiencing the bull run now?

STI has recovered from the recent low of 2531.79 points on 12 Feb 2016 to the closing price of today at 2823.51 points. A good 11.5% recovery for a period of one month. So what has triggered this bull run? I treat the current rise as a strong counter-trend rally rather than the start of a new bull market. Given the sharp rise over the past 1-2 weeks, we should be expecting a pullback from the 2840 level. Traditionally, March to April period is a benign period for Singapore market as blue chips tend to be well supported ahead of their XD period.

Technically, we are experiencing a slight recovery in the short term. Whether it will continue to rise to STI 3000 points and above, I am not too sure whether we will see it after the XD period. One thing for sure is, I will slowly take some profit of the table along the way and stay on the sidelined to see what the market is moving to. If the market starts to pull back now, I will just sit on it and collect the dividend once the XD period.

Why I want to invest?

It is a common question one will ask why you want to invest. Investment can be profitable or can be destructive if one did not manage it properly. Investor must do their due diligence before they embark into this investment journey. So what are the things that investor should do before they invest?

1. Get educated
Read more on investment related finance books to equip yourself with the knowledge on investment. By doing so, you will be more prepared than those who know nothing about investment and blindly follow analyst report when they give a buy call rating.

2. Ask yourself why you invest
First of all, you have to ask yourself this question. What is the rationale behind this investment? Is it because you want to make your money work harder for you or you work hard to make more money? Don't simply make an investment because the people around you are investing and you follow suit. There is a reason why you invest.

3. Invest on money you can lose
When it comes to investment, always bear in mind that you will lose money. No one can always make money when it comes into investment. It take times to unlock the value of your investment in order to make money. So bear in mind, do not invest on money that you need it in the next 6 months or 1 year.

4. Track your investment transaction
Once you started your investment, keep track on every single transactions you made. Reflect on why this investment make or lose money. If this investment lose money due to certain decision you had made, make sure you do not repeat this mistake again. If this investment make money for you, do not be too happy over it.

Back to the question why I want to invest. Firstly, I do not wish to see my savings in my bank account earning miserable interest from the bank. Due to inflation, the money in your bank will not be the same value few years or decade down the road. You need to invest to beat the inflation. Secondly, by investing I will be able to generate another stream of income to supplement my expenses or to build a bigger nest for my savings. Lastly, by investing for income, I will be able to get out of the rat race if my investment is able to support my yearly expenses. With that I will be able to choose the lifestyles I want to lead before my retirement. If I will to continue to work in order to support my expenses, it will not be a scene I want to see. So start early with your investment, let the time unlock the true value of your investment. The earlier you start, the earlier you can get out of the rat race.

February 2016 Portfolio Update

Stock Name	No of Shares	Current Price	Current Value
Keppel Corp	1000	$5.160	$5,160
Accordia Golf Trust	9000	$0.585	$5,265
NeraTel	5000	$0.570	$2,850
Total Value			$13,275

This month portfolio recovered back 8.43% from the recent drop of 20% show here. But my portfolio is still down 12%. Things are slightly better this month as the economy start to recover from the January massive selling. However, there is still no strong indication whether the economy will be heading towards north or south moving forward.

There is no movement in my portfolio this month as I am on the wait and see situation. Another thing is I am waiting for my bonus to come in next month to inject more funds into my war chest. This month Accordia reported strong set of results for the 3Q as compared to 1 year ago, I am happy that it is doing very well and will be expecting more returns from them in the next income distribution. As for NeraTel, the full year result is not as promising as Accordia and they have reduced their income distribution from 2 cents to 1 cent per share. I will still keep a look out on NeraTel but will not be increasing my exposure on them for the time being until I see better result from the management.

Have you attended the 5th Singapore Airshow 2016?

Amid a global economy slowdown, the recently ended Singapore Airshow 2016 reported fewer major deals as compared 2 years ago. The trade segment of the 6 days Singapore Airshow has concluded on last Friday with 11 deals worth US$12.7 billion, down from the 20 deals worth US$32 billion in 2014. However there are 41 deals with undisclosed values, an increase from 24 deals in 2014. Commercial sales of air plane has dropped but defence sales is up.

The chart below show the deals value that had been reported since the very 1st Singapore Airshow in 2008. This year is the 5th Singapore Airshow being organised in Singapore. It was reported in 2008 US$13 billion, 2010 US$10 billion and 2012 US$31 billion.

From the chart, we can tell that in 2012 and 2014, the global economy pick up after the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. So in general, with strong sets of economy data and stock market booming period, the economy is doing better, same goes to the Singapore Airshow. This year, the economy is not doing that well due to rising interest rate, oil price slump crisis and the slowdown of the China's economy etc. triggered the drop in the number of deals being closed.

I do enjoyed the Singapore Airshow especially seeing the fighter planes flying around and creating lots of stunts in the air. Somemore we only got to see it once every 2 years. It is definitely a nice event you will not want to miss.

How much is enough to retire?

In my previous blog post show here I talk about keeping track of your monthly expenses. Why is it so important to keep track of your expenses? By keeping track of your expenses, you will know how much is your "fixed expenses" and also roughly know what is your spending habit and how much you spend yearly.

Once you got the sums, if you got retrenched one day or you declare yourself financial independence, you will know how much you need in order to sustain your current lifestyles. Of course, if you are retrenched and do not have sustainable savings or passive income to tide over the period, you got to adjust your lifestyles accordingly.

Beside keeping track of your expenses, it is still not enough. Why? Our age will keep on incrementing year after year. We need more money for medical expenses when we grow old. Our medical policy premium will be more expensive as our age is catching up. The medical policy premium you paid now will not be the same year after year.

Recently there is misleading news by Rebecca Lim, saying she is retiring from showbiz. In fact it was a collaboration between NTUC Income and Rebecca to promote on retirement.

So how much is enough? We must invest to generate more income. We do investment as we want our money to work hard for our retirement. Once our investment portfolio income able to generate an amount equal or higher than the expenses we spent yearly, we can actually declare ourself financial independence. We do not need our day job income to sustain our current lifestyles anymore. Isn't good if we are able to achieve that?

Keeping track of your monthly expenses

In order to know how much you have been spending on every month, you need to keep track of your daily expenses diligently so that, at the end of every month, you are able to tabulate how much you have spend and how much remaining is left for saving.

There are 2 types of saving plan people commonly used to save their income. First is to set aside an amount of money every month to transfer into a saving account. This is called forced saving. Second is to spend whatever they have, any remaining left will be transferred into saving account. The latter type of saving plan is very dangerous as you are not in control of your expenses. You only save when there is any remaining. The first type of saving plan is a better option, as you know how much you will be able to save in a year. Any extra savings from the planned expenses can also goes into the saving account.

To find out how much you are able to set aside for saving every month, you need to record down what are the "fixed expenses" first. Example of fixed expenses are handphone bills, insurance premium, parent allowance etc. Next is to record down the daily expenses which are variable day to day. You can make use of Microsoft Excel to keep track of your monthly expenses or apps that can be downloaded from your handphone which I found most people are using it to keep track of their expenses. I know it is very tough to keep track especially you have to know how much you have in your wallet and also remember what you had spent on and how much. It is not easy but you still have to do it.

In summary, you need to do this if you planned to retire or to achieve financial independence. Without a saving plan, you will not be in control of your finances. Needless to say about retirement or even financial independence. I had been diligently keeping track of my monthly expenses since 2006, a good 10 years and many years to go until the day I achieve financial independence. So how about you? Have you start keeping track of your monthly expenses?

Accordia Golf Trust 3Q DPU up 12% at 2.16 cents

Accordia Golf Trust posted their 3Q FY 15/16 earning report in summary below.

• Available Distribution per Unit (DPU) for 3Q FY 15/16 of 2.16 cents, 12% higher than the corresponding quarter a year ago
• Operating profit rose 17% to JPY 4,234 million, attributed by the favorable weather conditions in October to December 2015
• Net Asset Value (NAV) stood at SGD $0.89
• Distribute back the 10% Retained Distributable Income from 1 Apr 2015 to 30 Sept 2015 back to Unitholders

Japan Economy Outlook
1. Economy recovered from the earthquake in 2011 and has been stimulated by Abenomics (refers to the economic policies advocated by Shinzō Abe since the December 2012 general election. Abenomics is based upon fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms.)
2. Year 2020 Tokyo Olympics is expected to have positive impacts on the Japanese economy.

Sound demand from senior players
1. Golf continues to be a popular and good sport for seniors
2. Baby boomers have been retiring who have the money and more time to play golf

Inbound tourism in Japan
1. Estimated number of foreign visitors increase 47% y-o-y and reached 19.7 million in 2015 (I am sure alot of people would like to visit Japan as one of their choice for holiday.)
2. Potential to impact demand for golf in the mid-to-long term

Accordia Golf Trust has a very strong branding and is the largest golf operator in Japan. The operation team and management is very efficient in managing the golf course operation. Their strategy is to target middle class working people into playing golf in Accordia. They provide casual atmosphere with reasonable play fees. They had a large pool of loyal customers base that subscribed to their golf club membership.

With a strong set of good result from this quarter result, I am very happy to be vested in Accordia Golf Trust. If they continue to churn out good results on every quarter, I'm sure by Year 2020 when they hosted the Tokyo Olympics, the shareholders will be rewarded with the growth and stable income distribution by investing on them. 

What do you know about leap year?

This month we will be celebrating leap year. Those who are born on 29 February can only celebrate their birthday once every 4 years. So what is leap year? A leap year is a year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, calendars that have the same number of days in each year drift over time with respect to the event that the year is supposed to track. By inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.

Every 4 years, we are given one extra day (29 February) to spend on things we liked. Unfortunately, most of us are working, so it simply means that employers who pay fixed salaries get an extra day of work from their employees for free. It also means we get an additional day of trading for this year. So Happy Trading and I wished everyone here Happy Lunar New Year 2016! Huat ah!

 

4 steps to Financial Freedom

There are many ways that can lead you to Financial Freedom. All you need is to have a plan and execute it. Without a plan, you can never achieve something you want in life. In fact, in your working environment, your supervisor will always draft out a work plan for you on the start of every new work year, they call it Key Performance Indicators (KPI).

In order to achieve Financial Freedom, you must have a plan. The following are 4 steps that I believe can lead you to Financial Freedom.

1. Save your income

You need to have a saving plan to save a portion of your earned income into a saving account. It is very important to have a saving. In the event, something happens to you and you need a sum of money urgently, you have the money to solve the problem. Here's an example if you save $500 per month, 1 year later you will have $6,000. In 10 years time, you will have $60k of savings. This is assuming you are not promoted and has no salary increment which I don't think it will happen to anyone.

Period	Savings
Year 1	$6,000
Year 2	$12,000
Year 3	$18,000
Year 4	$24,000
Year 5	$30,000
Year 6	$36,000
Year 7	$42,000
Year 8	$48,000
Year 9	$54,000
Year 10	$60,000

2. Lower down your expenses

First of all, you need to keep track of your expenses monthly. Next is to allocate what are the money that can be used for your expenditure, example insurance premium, handphone bills, allowance for parent etc. Then work on the expenses that can be lower down or cut away. Spend on items that you "needs" rather than you "want" if you get what I mean.

3. Work on passive income

Brainstorm on what additional income you can bring in to increase your income? For example, giving tuition or teach swimming lessons. These can bring in extra income to build your saving nests. Having multiple streams of income definitely can grow your savings even faster. So think about it and see what works well for you.

4. Invest for income

The last thing is to invest the savings in the stock market for income. By putting the money in a saving bank only earns you miserable interest. Invest in high dividend yield stock with 5-7% annually can leap frog your net worth substantially. Not forgetting to reinvest the dividend collected annually into the market to compound it even faster. You will see the effect of compounding once your portfolio starts to grow bigger.

In conclusion, if you do these 4 steps diligently, you will achieve financial freedom one day. It is only a matter of time when you will achieve this milestone. There is no right or wrong when you start this journey. Someone who started the journey earlier gets to enjoy the fruits earlier. Those who started late does not mean you will never reach the destination. The key point is to start early. If you never start or is still deciding whether you should start this journey, my advise to you is to do it now.

Buy Low, Sell High

It is always investor's mindset to "buy low and sell high" to make money in the stock market. Who doesn't want to do that? You can always say you use fundamental analysis to decide a stock's intrinsic value so you know when is low and when is high. But in reality it is never that simple in investing.

What does it mean by buy low? Investor usually uses 52 weeks high/low as an indicator to tell a particular stock is trading at which level currently. First of all, they will set their investment time horizon to be 6 to 12 months. If the stock is trading at 52 weeks low, they will think that the price now is low which signal a buy call when that is not the case. Usually, when a stock is trading close or below 52 weeks low, it often show weakness in the stock, people are selling that's why it causes the price to keep on dropping. Normally the stock will test its 52 weeks low or even go lower if poor set of financial results come out to make the matter even worse.

If buying low is difficult, selling high is even harder. In a rising market, everybody make money. People who sell later, however, make much more money than people who sell early. Sell too early, you will have the tendency to jump back in to ride on the momentum.You buy back what you sold at a far higher price. Once the bull market ends, you will be caught in a situation whereby you are buying at 52 weeks high.

It is always good to research more on the stock that you are interested to buy currently. Ask yourself these 2 questions before you act on it.

1. What is your investment time horizon for that stock? 
2. Are you looking at the stock for its growth or dividend?

If you are investing for dividend and the current price matches the yield you are interested in. Just buy and keep it for dividend and income. However, if you are investing for growth, it will be more difficult to know how low is low. You have to judge yourself, what is the comfortable price you would enter, should it hit your buy call? Buy in batches. At least you can still buy if the price keep going down after you had bought.

Now for sell, as long as you hit a profit. I guess it does not matter how much you had made. You probably will grumble if you sell too early. However, it is still better when you want to sell, you are not selling it at a loss.