How much of your portfolio should be in cash?

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 14, 2016 | Investing |

We all know it’s important to save and invest. But let’s get down to details: how much are you supposed to keep in cash? If you leave too much in cash, you face inflation rate risk. If you invest it all, you may have nothing on hand for emergencies. Here’s how to find the balance: Why not keep everything in cash? The main reason not to store all your wealth in cash is inflation. In most developed countries like Singapore, the government will target an inflation rate of three per cent per annum. The exact reason would take several...

12 things I learned from Ascendas Hospitality Trust’s FY2016 AGM

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 11, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

Ascendas Hospitality Trust (SGX: Q1P) (A-HTrust) is a stapled group comprising Ascendas Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Business Trust. The group invests in and manages a portfolio of hospitality properties across Asia Pacific. This is the trust’s structure: Source: Ascendas Hospitality Trust I attended the trust’s most recent AGM to find out more about its prospects in the face of a weakening global economy and flat tourism sector in some countries. Here are 12 things I learned from Ascendas Hospitality Trust’s FY2016 AGM: A-HTrust’s portfolio comprises 11 hotels across seven cities in four countries – Singapore,...

Keppel’s offshore and marine unit secures projects worth $120 mil

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 8, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

Keppel Offshore & Marine’s wholly owned subsidiary Keppel Shipyard has secured four contracts worth a total of about $120 million from repeat customers, says Keppel Corp in a aftermarket filing on Thursday. The first contract secured is from BW Catcher, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BW Offshore, for the installation and integration of topside modules for a newbuild Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel. Upon its completion, the FPSO will be deployed to the Catcher Field located in Central North Sea, UK, which is operated by Premier Oil. The second contract is from SOFEC, Inc. to fabricate an internal...

MAS just made saving for retirement a lot easier

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 7, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

The average Singaporean can now get corporate bonds for their retirement portfolio, which yield better returns than a fixed deposit. In a little-noticed Business Times page, it was reported that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) now allows retail investors to buy corporate bonds. The average Singaporean doesn’t know much about these, so it was ignored. But what you should realise is that financial planning for retirement became much easier now that you can purchase corporate bonds. What is a Corporate Bond Anyway? Companies need capital to run. Before they can start manufacturing, for example, they need to hire employees, buy factory...

Stagflation: what is it and why should investors care?

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 5, 2016 | Market Review and Trends |

Following Brexit the term “stagflation” has reared its head, but what is it, what signs should investors look for and how will it affect different investments? While no-one can say for a fact what the economic fallout of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union will be, the prospect of “stagflation” has been floated as the economy faces an uncertain future. Uncertainty is the market’s biggest foe, but investors can protect themselves by improving their understanding of the UK economy and remembering that diversifying portfolios, by holding many different assets, offers the best opportunity to ride out any potential...

10 things I learned from Croesus Retail Trust’s EGM 2016

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jul 4, 2016 | Featured |

On 12 June 2016, Croesus Retail Trust (SGX: S6NU) (CRT) shocked the market when the trust announced it intended to acquire its manager for S$50 million. This will be the first of its kind in Singapore where a property trust is an internally-managed investment vehicle. As the proposed deal required unitholders’ approval, an extraordinary general meeting was carried out on Thursday, 30 June 2016. When the questions were opened to unitholders, one was quick to challenge the board of directors: “Frankly, I do not support this deal because you’re doing all these only for a 1% dividend yield accretion....

2 gold ETFS to consider to hedge against Brexit uncertainty

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 30, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

As we all probably know by now, the UK has voted to leave the European Union and Brexit is the word on everyone’s lips. Stock markets around the world reacted sharply and over US$2 trillion was wiped off global stock markets just 24 hours after the news broke. Markets have rebounded slightly since but the volatility is unlikely to ease in the near future as uncertainty looms over Europe. Investors have traditionally used gold as a hedge whenever stock markets panic. And unsurprisingly, gold prices immediately jumped 6.3% to US$1,336.66 per ounce as investors fled to the asset as...

5 reasons to be bullish about Singtel even with the entry of a fourth telco

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 28, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

The telecommunication landscape in Singapore is likely to get more challenging for the incumbent companies of Singtel, StarHub and M1. Liberty Wireless entered the market recently on 5 May 2016 with its brand – Circles.Life. Among its perks, Circles.Life offers free unlimited data service for WhatsApp and free caller number display which other telcos charge $5 a month for. If this is not sufficient to shake up the market, IDA announced on February 2016 that it would introduce a fourth full service telco in Singapore by April 2017. The intention of IDA is to introduce more competition to benefit...

Expect more central bank easing, strength in yen, greenback and gold post Brexit

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 27, 2016 | Market Review and Trends |

The UK officially decided to leave the European Union on June 23, with leave votes trumping remain by 51.9% to 48.1%. A total of 33.5 million voted. Mayhem ensued in the markets, with the British pound dropping more than 10% to a 30-year low of 1.32 against the US dollar and the Japanese yen strengthening 6.6% past 100 during the day. Gold rose to US$1,315 per ounce, while Brent crude dropped to US$48 a barrel, weighing on commodity currencies like the Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Malaysian ringgit. Finally, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stunned markets with his resignation,...

Singapore May headline inflation contracts for 19th straight month

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 24, 2016 | Market Review and Trends |

Singapore’s Consumer Price Index-All items inflation has fallen year-on-year by 1.6% in May, which is slightly over three times more than the 0.5% decline reported the month before. In a joint release today, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) mainly attribute the decline to base effects associated with the timing of the disbursement of Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC) rebates which are disbursed in May, July and October this year. The negative contribution from the rebates in May will be reversed in June, add the institutions. Another significant factor contributing the...

How to escape living paycheck to paycheck in Singapore

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 24, 2016 | Personal Finance |

Living paycheck to paycheck is not only stressful – it’s dangerous. Here’s how to stop and turn your finances around. If your paycheck seems to vanish as soon as it arrives, and you find yourself surviving on Maggi mee toward the end of the month – you have a problem. Specifically, you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Not only is it stressful; it’s dangerous. A single emergency, such as retrenchment, will send you neck deep in debt. Here’s how to break the habit: 1. Always pay yourself first Before you start spending your money, make sure 20 per cent goes into your savings. We...

9 things I learned from Wilmar International’s FY2015 AGM

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 23, 2016 | Featured |

In my opinion, Wilmar has one of the best AGMs around. Held at the prestigious Shangri La hotel, the variety of food at their lunch buffet always packs quite a punch. But then again, that’s not what we are really here for (except for some AGM junkies who only go for the free lunches). I love Wilmar’s AGM because it’s always very insightful and the company usually holds its Investors’ Day straight after the AGM where shareholders can stay back to ask questions and find out more about Wilmar’s business and next stage of growth. I am always fascinated...

3 reasons to still be optimistic about the stock market

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 21, 2016 | Investing |

As headwinds persist in the global economy, weak corporate earnings and countries over the world are seeking loose monetary policies to keep inflation up, investors wonder if that is the end of the rise of the market. This is given the assumption that dividend stock prices have already been pushed up by yield-driven investors. However, Wharton School’s finance professor, Jeremy Siegel and strategist from Fundstrat Global advisors, Tom Lee (formerly Chief Strategist with JP Morgan) explained that that is not the case. In fact, they have three reasons why the stock market will go higher instead of down. 1....

This is why stock markets hate Mondays

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 20, 2016 | Market Review and Trends |

Many people in the working world – across time and culture – hate Mondays because it’s the first day back at work after the weekend… and love Fridays because they’re the doorway to the weekend. It turns out that stock markets feel the same way. Much of what happens in stock markets seems random. But there are some strong non-random patterns to stock market behaviour. For example, we’ve talked about whether the January barometer is a good indicator of performance for the rest of the year, and whether the “sell in May and go away” strategy actually works. Add...

ThaiBev cut to ‘hold’ by OCBC with higher fair value of 89 cents

Posted by The Fifth Person | Jun 17, 2016 | Shares & Derivatives |

OCBC Investment Research is downgrading its “buy” to “hold” recommendation on Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), while lifting its fair value estimate for the stock from 83 cents to 89 cents. In a Thursday report, lead analyst Jodie Foo notes that ThaiBev’s share price, following 1Q16 results, has “done well thus far” and serves as a “testament to the success of its new marketing strategy for Chang Beer”. It is partially in observation of this sharebro price run-up that the stock has been downgraded. “Recall that (ThaiBev’s) market share for beer had increased from 30% to ~40% and (its) ASP, volume...

Author: The Fifth Person