Official Shiny Things thread—Part III

[swan02]

I agree with you as well. But the issue of FX risk is real. So how ? I’m always fearful of FX risk and it’s really a dangerous risk. When an emerging currency turns downwards, it does with a vengeance.

FX risk vs diversification of eimi or what about keeping aussie index etf ?

Sti still provides the middle road especially when sufficient reits are allocated to it. Also it does well when China does.

Hi ST, BBC,

Assuming one is invested in IWDA and not VWRA, what do you think of using the ES3 allocation interchangeably with EIMI? I see the past performance of ES3 and EIMI being quite close. That being the case, EIMI would fundamentally provide more diversification compared to ES3 and also provide direct exposure to "China is done rising" China.

 

[chrisloh65]

Indeed! Just look at USD-SGD dropping from about 1.8 to lowest about 1.20 and back to now 1.39 you will know!

I agree with you as well. But the issue of FX risk is real. So how ? I’m always fearful of FX risk and it’s really a dangerous risk. When an emerging currency turns downwards, it does with a vengeance.

FX risk vs diversification of eimi or what about keeping aussie index etf ?

Sti still provides the middle road especially when sufficient reits are allocated to it. Also it does well when China does.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Look, firstly, low taxes are pretty fantastic.

Well, they can also buy nice things. Fewer nice things is less fantastic.

(And you get some pretty great services in California for the money; good roads, good schools, good everything.)

Generally higher incomes, too.

Why are you buying a tiny 100-a-month slug of Chinese SOEs, and why are you buying it on the Nasdaq where it becomes subject to US estate tax?

If you buy IWDA, you get all of that stuff, and you get it for just one transaction fee.

VWRA includes stocks listed in China, not IWDA.

 

[celtosaxon]

Well, they can also buy nice things. Fewer nice things is less fantastic.

Unless you are a minimalist.

The only expense category that I have consistently saved on over the years in Singapore is transportation. For those who feel burdened by car payments in the U.S., this can be a dream. But for many people here who only dream about or struggle owning a car, it may feel more like a nightmare.

The price of cars here totally quashed any desire I had for car ownership. When I walk by a car, I can almost hear depreciation clock whirring. But I somehow feel grateful to each car owner that I see on the road - if not for them, I would surely pay higher income tax.

 

[chrisloh65]

Thanks to CoVid-19, it gives me great justification as to why it is better to own a car than take public transport and the price of running the car is definitely worth every cent of it

Unless you are a minimalist.

The only expense category that I have consistently saved on over the years in Singapore is transportation. For those who feel burdened by car payments in the U.S., this can be a dream. But for many people here who only dream about or struggle owning a car, it may feel more like a nightmare.

The price of cars here totally quashed any desire I had for car ownership. When I walk by a car, I can almost hear depreciation clock whirring. But I somehow feel grateful to each car owner that I see on the road - if not for them, I would surely pay higher income tax.

 

[flyingeagles]

OK, my advice is that you’re spreading yourself way too thin. You don’t need a USD-hedged Nikkei allocation, or any Nikkei allocation at all, because you already get that in IWDA. Why are you buying a tiny 100-a-month slug of Chinese SOEs, and why are you buying it on the Nasdaq where it becomes subject to US estate tax?

If you buy IWDA, you get all of that stuff, and you get it for just one transaction fee.

Hi ST, thank you for taking your time to reply my post.
The reason why I chose Nikkei and CXSE is because I wanted to expose myself to JPN and CN stocks. I am not really a BIG fan of US stocks, but am getting IWDA for its stability.

I understand that STI is included in IWDA, not a big fan of Singapore stocks as well, therefore IWDA is sufficient for me to have a stable and increasing growth ETF in the global sense.
However looking at their holding, they did not include any companies from Japan / China.

I am confused as to why you said that Nikkei and CXSE is already included in IWDA. I am getting the USD of Nikkei as I only wanted to exchange SGD to foreign currency once, rather than to convert into multiple foreign currencies.

You also replied to someone else in the same post that many people wanted to get China stocks due to the concept that "China is rising". I am not going to lie, I am leaning towards China stocks. Therefore I tried to compare EIMI/VWRA and CXSE, CXSE seemed to be performing better, although riskier.

Although there seemed to be a difference in preference when choosing between US and CN stock, I would still like to understand why Nikkei & CXSE is included in IWDA??

As I am totally new in Investing by my self, really appreciate your time reading this and replying to me

Do you have any idea why you’re looking at these stocks in particular, instead of buying ES3? Why do you think these stocks will outperform the index?

I am not a big fan of STI as it is in IWDA. My only reason for wanting to get specific stocks in SGX is for their dividend income. After I posted the post the other day, I decided on just OCBC and AREIT. I also thought that having an all ETF portfolio is a lazy investment style, so I wanted to find something of my own to manage. Unless this is a bad idea?

Again—you’re spreading yourself too thin. Is this a tip you got from someone?

With regards to the Indonesia stock, it is cheap, so I just wanted to play around as a pennystock.

I am not sure if this is really spreading myself too thin, as I am intending to put $500 in ETFs and $500 in Govt Bond ETF (A35) through FSMOne RSP program monthly.

My remaining free cash will go into stocks.

I was thinking my portfolio could be:

One-off purchase:
- SGX Stock

Monthly Purchase:
- ETFs in US/JPN/CN companies in USD 50%
- SG Govt (&Linked) Bond in SGD 50%

In that way, I could hedge geographically and USD/SGD.

Unless I could be doing this whole "hedging" thing wrongly.

 

[chyn_no]

Hi shiny.. For those who bought private property in sg, they used up quite a big % or almost all their funds. Probably they would need to service their loan for 10 20 years. What advice can you give to this group? To them, having a substantial global diversified portfolio seems near impossible.

 

[razoreigns]

I agree with you as well. But the issue of FX risk is real. So how ? I’m always fearful of FX risk and it’s really a dangerous risk. When an emerging currency turns downwards, it does with a vengeance.

FX risk vs diversification of eimi or what about keeping aussie index etf ?

Sti still provides the middle road especially when sufficient reits are allocated to it. Also it does well when China does.

Fx risk cover - your sg properties, sgd bond portfolio, cpf, your recurring salary. For most people, these portions are substantial. Can't avoid risk totally for returns, just need to manage accordingly. Even within STI, there is embedded fx risk. When you buy eimi, just like iwda,you are buying companies priced in usd. For sti you are buying companies priced in sgd. For all these investments, you are not taking fx risk directly. Embedded fx risk exist for all these investments. However, over the long term, this risk should be acceptable.

 

[razoreigns]

Hi shiny.. For those who bought private property in sg, they used up quite a big % or almost all their funds. Probably they would need to service their loan for 10 20 years. What advice can you give to this group? To them, having a substantial global diversified portfolio seems near impossible.

Why not? ETFs are an economical way to achieve diversification. If there is absolutely nothing left to invest after servicing mortgage, probably that individual could have over stretched in the property purchase. Otherwise, start small and invest whatever is possible.

 

[hwckhs]

Although there seemed to be a difference in preference when choosing between US and CN stock, I would still like to understand why Nikkei & CXSE is included in IWDA??

As I am totally new in Investing by my self, really appreciate your time reading this and replying to me

IWDA has 8.22% exposure to Japan as of today. Check its website.

IWDA does not own China stocks. If that's what you want, just use VWRA instead of IWDA. Simply buy 1 ETF (VWRA) and own the whole world (almost). VWRA is about the same as IWDA (90%) + EIMI (10%).

After I posted the post the other day, I decided on just OCBC and AREIT.

That seems like a good recipe for losing sleep when either/both of these counters under-perform, unless they form a very small allocation in your portfolio.

 

[isaacsayshi]

Hi guys,
Do you know any ETF that have a tilt to value or small cap companies listed in the UK, that have good liquidity and close bid offer spread?

Thanks guys!

 

[swan02]

Looks like it’s pretty much concrete a floor is set by the FED.

How has this changed your way of investing ?

1. More USA stocks ?
2. More into tech such as Inuit or cndx ?
3. low interest rates and high prices how ?
4. Double down on stocks in general now ?
5. Double down on corporate debt now ?
6. Buy aud ?

 

[highsulphur]

Looks like it*********s pretty much concrete a floor is set by the FED.

How has this changed your way of investing ?

1. More USA stocks ?
2. More into tech such as Inuit or cndx ?
3. low interest rates and high prices how ?
4. Double down on stocks in general now ?
5. Double down on corporate debt now ?
6. Buy aud ?

Stick to my "enhanced" DCA set out at the onset of the outbreak in Mar to continue to deploy my reserve to IWDA and ES3 till Dec

 

[beefjerky]

Hi guys,
Do you know any ETF that have a tilt to value or small cap companies listed in the UK, that have good liquidity and close bid offer spread?

Thanks guys!

Im not sure abt liquidity but you can check out

small cap - WDSC - SPDR® MSCI World Small Cap UCITS ETF - https://www.ssga.com/doc/factsheets/FS2881_English.pdf

value - VDVA - Vanguard Global Value Factor UCITS ETF - https://global.vanguard.com/portal/site/loadPDF?country=fr&docId=19630

 

[RuiQi_91]

A question for those who manually DCA every month. Do you try to wait till the price has dropped to some amount or do you simply log in on a fixed date, purchase without hesitation, and log out? I would assume the latter but I might be wrong.

 

[flowerpalms]

A question for those who manually DCA every month. Do you try to wait till the price has dropped to some amount or do you simply log in, purchase, and log out? I would assume the latter but I might be wrong.

Dont time the market!

Posted from PCWX using SM-G973F

 

[chrisloh65]

Make sure you keep a large war-chest to pick up bargains when it arise (like flowerpalms)!

A question for those who manually DCA every month. Do you try to wait till the price has dropped to some amount or do you simply log in, purchase, and log out? I would assume the latter but I might be wrong.

Dont time the market!

Posted from PCWX using SM-G973F

 

[CarlJung]

I read there are some bond ETF that has a maturity date. Is there any of those ETF that can be purchase in Singapore?

 

[highsulphur]

A question for those who manually DCA every month. Do you try to wait till the price has dropped to some amount or do you simply log in on a fixed date, purchase without hesitation, and log out? I would assume the latter but I might be wrong.

I give myself 3 days to execute the dca from the day designated. I usually execute by the second day

 

[Investnewbie82]

With the interest rates on bank accts and FD coming down, what do you think of buying putting the money into MBH or A35?