Portfolio Update Oct 2020

It’s been a while since I posted a premium article. I have made some changes to my portfolio and I wanted to keep you guys up-to-date. I’ll be emerging out of hibernation soon as well, probably mid Nov, just as long as I don’t get overwhelmed by assignments.

Fixed Income

Name	Bought price	Current Price	Market Value	Gain/Loss (SGD)
Temasek 3.625%	102.2	118.622	USD $294,000	$53,505
CMZB 7% perp	106.85	101.748	USD $203,000	-$13,877
HSBC 5% perp	104.4	98.4	SGD $246,000	-$15,000
Pimco Income Fund 4%	10.08	9.93	SGD $216,726	– $3,274
Lifelong Income insurance plan	–	–	SGD $220,000	–
Sum	–	–	SGD $1.365m

No changes to the fixed income portfolio. I’ve decided against buying more bonds for now, mostly because stocks seem to offer better returns at lower risk.

I’ve come to realise that my relationship managers have lost me money, to the tune of about $35,000. With the sole exception of Temasek (which I requested as it wasn’t one of the bonds suggested to me), all my fixed income instruments are in the red. While the coupons have blunted the pain, it shouldn’t mask the fact that my money would have grown much more elsewhere.

While my RMs have generally led me to money-losing investments, I can’t really blame them as I made the decisions. In addition, the market for high-yield bonds has been muted. But it remains noteworthy that I have made much more money buying stocks of my own choosing. It’s a good reminder to take advice from investment professionals with a deep sense of scepticism.

Total = 1.365 mil x 30% asset value = $409,692

Stocks

While returns in 2020 have been good, there’s reason to believe 2021 will be better. There will be massive stimulus after the US elections, the pandemic should end, and interest rates will be low. I now think and hope Biden will win. As such, I’m positioning myself more in growth stocks like Tesla and AMD. They will stand to benefit from a green energy plan and an end to the trade war.

I’ve been moving towards being a growth investor, and having highly concentrated positions. I have just 6 positions for a portfolio of $647,000. It’s interesting to see how my investment style has been evolving. I’ll like to talk about it, but that’s a post for another day.

I’ve sold my stake in Microsoft for a return of 13% or USD $5,000. Nothing against Microsoft, still a good stock. I just need to raise some cash to take advantage of volatility in the coming months, and I rather inject into my growth stocks.

Name	Market Value (USD)	Gain/Loss (USD)	Gain/Loss (%)
AMD	98,100	23,333	29%
Alphabet	38,898	11,790	43%
Amazon	109,378	44,679	69%
NVIDIA	102,873	28,943	39%
SPDR S&P 500	45,669	13,769	43%
Tesla	85,911	-2,642	-3%
Sum	SGD $647,000 (rounded)

Margin

I use a modest amount of margin for stocks. Total margin valuation is sitting comfortably at 199%, allowing for a 20% – 30% drop. I realised that 200% is quite safe, and I think I can use a bit more. But I’ll always stay above 180% for safety.

Total = $647,000 – $120,000 (estimated margin) = $527,000

Cash

• $10,000 in Singlife
• $20,000 in Singtel Dash/Etiqua
• $10,000 in OCBC 360
• $7,000 in CIMB accounts
• $15,000 in joint account with wife

Sitting on $62,000 in cash. Not much movement. I’m likely to move money into the margin account as the interest charged is higher than what these accounts are paying.

Networth

Total portfolio value = $409,000 bonds + $527,000 stocks + $55,000 cash = SGD $991,000.

I’m tantalising close to $1 million, and hopefully I’ll reach that by the end of the year. At the same time, it is a fairly arbitrary number and my life won’t change after reaching it. It’s just a nice milestone.

On a related note, I’m wondering how much is enough. When I started working, $10,000 was a lot. After 8 years of working, I had saved over $100,000.

After the insurance payouts, I had about $800,000, and now, close to $1 million. Counting CPF and our home, my wife and I should be worth well over $2 million easily.

But yet, I don’t feel “rich”. My definition of that is to not think about the cost when spending. I’m comfortable, but I still watch what I goes out of my pocket. I realise that even with a lot of money, if you recklessly spend, it will disappear no matter the starting amount. I have to make it last the rest of my life.

It’s also easy to feel poor again. Upgrading to a condo will quickly wipe out our savings and reduce my cash-flow. So I take having $1 million in liquid assets as not a big deal. Money will never feel like its enough, and that’s just how it is.

Hence, I won’t even celebrate crossing the $1 million mark. I’ll likely pass it while sleeping quietly at night.