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My Asset Portfolio
By Derek  •  January 25, 2015
Most of the time, I see people listing out their investment portfolio or their assets but hardly anyone combine the both. I think it would be interesting to see how much I am investing in relation to all my assets. Hence, while everyone is talking about Keppel Corp and Keppel Land, I decided to distract myself by doing my own asset portfolio.   Asset Portfolio Since I do not own a property, my assets are pretty straight forward - Cash and Shares. I am not going to take CPF or Insurance into consideration because it is not something that I can easily convert into disposable cash. Shares Trading Account: POEMS, SCB Trading Account and UOB Kay Hian My largest asset. I would think for most home owners, their property is their largest asset. However, if you already own a property and shares are still your largest asset class ... *grin* War Chest Account: UOB Savings, SCB SGD and USD trading account I use UOB for the convenience of applying IPO and it is not hard to guess that I am using SCB trading account to buy shares. I will be switching back to POEMS and will like to consolidate the monies into one account. However a sizable portion is in SCB US trading account and given the higher USD, I will be keeping it until the exchange rate comes down. Future Fund Account: SCB e$aver The future fund is used for the major milestones in my life e.g. marriage, property, pregnancy etc. Emergency Fund Account: OCBC+ Savings Account I chose this account because the no withdrawal bonus will give me an added psychological boast not to touch this money unnecessarily. I will like to highlight that without a basic insurance coverage, I will have to increase my ER fund many times over. Bills Account: SCB XtraSaver All my Credit Card, Insurance, Utilities etc are paid under this account. Luxury Fund Account: OCBC Starter's Account This is use to fund my 'luxury' needs e.g. travel, shopping, fine dinning etc. I have neglected this fund in the past because I thought I can lead a life of thrift. How very wrong - I've blown my budget with increasing regularity. This post by LP sums it up best. Daily Expenses Account: POSB Savings This is the only account that I will physically withdraw money from. It is used for normal meals, transport and some basic necessities. I mention about blowing my budget and I have contemplated merging the Luxury Fund and Daily Expenses together but I have a feeling that by doing so, I will actually spend more. A better solution is to look hard into my non-essentials spending. Blogging Fund Account: PayPal and Phillip Cash Management Account This is the account that I will use to fund my website. Hopefully, it will grow without having to fund it from my own pocket. I am not sure if I am the only one but I like to have different accounts for different purposes. It may be a hassle but I have grown used to it. In fact, I am looking at how I can benefit from POSB 1.88% promotion and OCBC 360 Account. This is my maiden asset portfol so feel free to comment and discuss ya.
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By Derek
Derek is an investor who follows Peter Lynch style of investing. He prefers to use simple and straight forward information for stock analysis. He started TheFinance.sg with the intention to bring together all bloggers and professionals who are interested or already in the area of Finance and Investing, and to create a community where everyone is free to write and to share their articles, experience and opinions.
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15 Comments

15 responses to “My Asset Portfolio”

  1. Mike says:

    Hi Derek,

    The idea of a luxury fund is really cool. Maybe I should start or allocate money to it.

    I know what u mean, I always pay myself first, then spend the rest, but I always overspend such that I need to transfer back the money to pay for expenses.

    Now I do the reverse. I calculate the amount I can spend on dining and “luxury” after deducting insurance prenium etc. Whatever left is for me to keep, end I am more motivated to save.

    If the insurance endowement cash value is about break-even point, I think one can include it in cash calculation already.

    • Derek Lim says:

      Hi Mike,

      You should. No prizes for guessing how I come out with the word “Luxury”, think Rolex, Bally, LV etc. I wanted to call it “branded” but I think “Luxury” sounds more classy. LOL.

      ‘Glad’ to know that I am not the only one overspending but unlike you, I don’t transfer the money back. I just rollover the debt to the next month – like credit card debt but without the interest. Even then, the figures can be mind blowing.

      I have already cleared out all my endowment plans. My policies are for solely for coverage so to cancel any of them means losing my coverage. However, I may be over allocating too much into insurance. I’m not sure if I want to blog about it least it open a can of worms.

  2. kyith says:

    you should blog more. i like the way you do the envelope segregation.judging by your expenses your warchest looks humongous

    • Derek Lim says:

      Thanks Kyith, I will.

      Physical segregation is so much easier than virtual segregation. My War Chest in terms of absolute value is not a lot and if I compare it to my modest investment portfolio, it is about 30%.

  3. La papillion says:

    Hi Derek,

    For me, I call it the ‘play fund’ :) I don’t practice putting money physically into different accounts, though I do it on a portfolio level. Basically I follow an envelope kind of budgeting where each dollar has its own use. Same thing lah, except I didn’t transfer it out physically.

    I’ll do out one using your definition, so that you have a basis to do some comparison ;)

    • Derek Lim says:

      Hi LP,

      You know what. Prior to 2015, I also used the name ‘play fund’ but I wanted a more ATAS sounding name. LOL

      Like what I have mentioned to Kyith, I feel that a physical account will allow me to manage my money better. I just applied for the POSB 1.88% promo and I’m a bit worried that I will accidentally touch that money. Hence, I have decided to open the OCBC 360 and my POSB will be put into “cold storage”.

      Thanks man. Hopefully more bloggers will follow suit. Are you one of those whose Shares % exceed that of your property? Kekeke

  4. La papillion says:

    Hi Derek,

    No lah, where got so wealthy where my property is lesser than shares held? LOL

    Here’s my portfolio asset based as closely as your definitions as possible: http://bullythebear.blogspot.sg/2015/01/lps-asset-portfolio.html#.VMTy8f6Ufmc

    请多多指教!

  5. B says:

    Hi Derek

    Good to see you blogging about your allocation of assets.

    Your future fund constitutes about 17% of the overall assets and they are mainly used for expenses relating to wedding and pregnancy. You sure have a lot in your pocket there!!!. Anyway, great to see how you divide your allocation play. They are the most important part of financial planning.

    • Derek Lim says:

      Thanks B.

      17% is high in percentage terms but low in absolute value. LOL

      The Future Fund as the name suggest will change in future to reflect my needs at different stages in life. E.g. Children Education Fund, Retirement Fund etc.

      Would you like to share your asset allocation too?

  6. Richard says:

    Wah, your luxury fund is a big as your blogging fund… Just curious, what does the blogging fund covers (e.g. hosting, site development etc..)?

    • Derek Lim says:

      Hi Richard,

      Yep but only because it is my first time allocating a a blogging fund and I did a one time top up. Moving forward, I will only top up the blogging fund if necessary but I will continue to make regular contributions to the Luxury Fund.

      The Blogging Fund covers hosting and development work e.g. a more robust email delivery, logos, themes etc

  7. Jes says:

    Hi Derek, good portfolio you got there! I just hope your future fund is enough because it never is nowadays with the reno and banquet cost.. I have never thought of separating out so many funds but I will give it some thought to see if my allocation is too risky or too conservative. Thanks for the idea :)

    • Derek Lim says:

      Hi Jes,

      Definitely! the Future Fund has to keep growing. One reno or banquet will easily wipe it off and it also has to keep pace with inflation. I intend to divide my monthly savings into three equal components – War Chest, Future and Luxury Fund.

      It will be interesting to see your allocation. LP has already shared his and the general trend seem to be 40-50% in equities.

  8. Naro says:

    Hi Derek,

    You have a lot of your portfolio in cash! You are so detailed to include how you segregate your cash into!
    That’s great!!! I only have cash, equities and insurance.

    I guess you’re still single. Once marriage and children comes along, cash level will become very low!

    Anyway, I think it would be good to include the cash value of your insurance. The cash value is very liquid.

    Cheers,
    Naro

    • Derek Lim says:

      Hi Naro,

      Yep I am still single. I also think my cash reserves will drop significantly once I have other commitments so got to buck up now. LOL.

      My insurance policies are for coverage only, hence I don’t have any surrender value unless you are talking about Whole Life Plans which I can’t cancel or I will lose out on the coverage.

      I think all our assets can be grouped broadly into Cash and stocks, but it is how we segregate the cash portion that makes it interesting. Do you split up your cash into Emergency Fund, War Chest, Luxury Fund etc or just one lump sum for everything?

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