1. Core Portfolio
| Asset | Avg Bought | Amount | Price | Valuation | Allocation |
| STI ETF | $2.94 | 9,800 | $2.86 | $28,028 | 28.5% |
| Berkshire B | $131.59* | 80 | $139.64* | $15,416 | 15.7% |
| SSBs | $1.00 | 15,000 | $1.00 | $15,000 | 15.2% |
| Cash (SGD) | $1.00 | 40,000 | $1.00 | $40,000 | 40.6% |
| Total | $98,444 | 100.0% |
With most stock markets staging impressive recoveries in the past month, I couldn’t see any opportunities to add to this core portfolio. Coupled with the fact that the recent SSB rates have been disappointing, there’s been no addition on this front too.
Compared to the previous month, the value of this portfolio is up by almost $3,000.
*The two numbers are in USD
2. Local Stock Portfolio
| Stock | Amount | Price | Valuation | Allocation |
| Kingsmen | 27,700 | $0.63 | $17,313 | 14.27% |
| ST Engg | 4,000 | $3.14 | $12,560 | 10.35% |
| OCBC | 1,200 | $8.95 | $10,740 | 8.85% |
| PLife Reit | 4,000 | $2.37 | $9,480 | 7.81% |
| Semb Corp | 3,000 | $3.08 | $9,240 | 7.62% |
| Ho Bee | 4,500 | $2.02 | $9,090 | 7.49% |
| HK Land | 1,000 | $8.67 | $8,670 | 7.15% |
| MCT | 6,000 | $1.43 | $8,580 | 7.07% |
| Boustead | 9,000 | $0.77 | $6,930 | 5.71% |
| Genting | 8,000 | $0.82 | $6,560 | 5.41% |
| LKH | 10,000 | $0.57 | $5,700 | 4.70% |
| MTQ | 10,000 | $0.55 | $5,500 | 4.53% |
| M1 | 2,000 | $2.57 | $5,140 | 4.24% |
| Super Grp | 4,000 | $1.01 | $4,040 | 3.33% |
| Bou Proj | 2,700 | $0.66 | $1,782 | 1.47% |
| Total | $121,325 | 100.00% |
I will be honest here. With a core (and somewhat passive) portfolio that I target to reach $200,000 by the end of 2017, I can visualise myself becoming quite comfortable holding another 5-10 stocks separately.
With that in mind, I have actually made quite a few transactions this month. I sold off my holdings in Wilmar & Dairy Farm and initiated new positions in developers/property investment counters HongKong Land & Ho Bee. I even added to my position in Kingsmen in what has been nothing short of an active trading month.
Nonetheless, in the attempt to streamline this portfolio, I have to constantly remind myself to minimize potential churning costs.
On a separate note, I have stumbled upon SGXcafe, a site that helps you to keep track of your SGX portfolio. After fiddling with it for the past week, I have been impressed by the intuitive, user-friendly and aesthetically-pleasing features on its platform. So much so that I have even included a new Stock Portfolio page on this blog.
If you ever own stocks across various brokers, you will understand how useful the above can be to monitor your holdings. I also feel compelled to share since Evan, the programmer behind SGXcafe, had mentioned that “SGXcafe will always be free to use”.
3. Emergency Funds
| Asset | Amount |
| CPF OA | $35,000 |
| Cash (SGD) | $20,000 |
| FCL Bonds | $21,000 |
| Alternative Currencies | $15,000 |
| Total | $91,000 |
With the recent weakness in the UK Pound, I have accumulated a further $1,000 in alternative currencies during one of my recent trips down to Raffles Place.
I have also given myself the task of finding out more about the tax reliefs of a self-employed before I make a voluntary contribution to my CPF accounts. After half a year without any CPF contributions, my entire CPF balance has dipped below $60,000 and I do believe it’s quite silly of me not to enjoy the entire extra interest the government provides.
Berkshire B ! Looks cool !
CPF OA can be more like a warchest in SA or paying down home loan usage. And a retirement fund when old. Emergency fund seems a risky classification.
Hi Cory,
I am using CPF OA as emergency funds because we still have a mortgage to contend with. In case we cannot service our loan with our monthly incomes, that’s when the buffer built up in the CPF OA will come in handy.
Hi,
Is your core portfolio going to be build up to be larger than the local stock portfolio? Is STI etf going to be your largest holding eventually?
Hi Dividend Knight,
I think it’s a matter of time before the STI ETF becomes my largest holding eventually. It’s hard to time the market and the rebalancing of the core portfolio will be able to “allow” me to buy low and sell high slightly.
Nonetheless, I would try to maintain the local stock portfolio. I.e. just hold the stocks (hopefully forever).
Hi 15hww
Looks solid there, still a lot of cash after buying this month!!!
Hi B,
Seems like being largely vested for the past few months (which you did) was the best strategy.
Hi Mr15HWW,
Leaving a message here to inform you that a new blog has been setup with a name inspired by you :p
Best regards,
Mr400K
Hi Mr 400K,
I will definitely pop over and take a look. Thanks for the support and it’s good that 400K is enough for you!
Hey! Thanks for recommending the portfolio tracker by SGXcafe. Auto calculate the p/l with or without dividend and get updates on company announcements. Appreciate it!
Hi calculative father,
No problem. You must thank Evan instead for programming such a great site. I am also a happy beneficiary.
Hi Mr15HWW,
I have been reading your blog for sometime and find it really informative and easy to read!
As a fresh graduate, I have just started working for near 3 months and have been saving a large portion of my salary.
My aim is to achieve a passive income of $3,000 pm through dividends earning, similar to what you are doing at the moment.
For a start, with $6k in my bank (through saving $2k pm), I would be buying my first stock soon.
What would be the advice you give for a starter when it comes to buying a stock? I’m looking at getting one lot of bluechip (Singtel), or a Kingmens. Any advice?
Hi Farmerboy,
Thanks for your encouraging comments. Hope you continue to enjoy the content.
With regards to advice on investing or buying stocks, I find it hard to suggest anything other than STI ETF. If you are convinced of a particular stock, by all means go ahead. Otherwise, STI ETF is one of the best ways to achieve diversification while getting started.