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BBCWatcher

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Thank you. I guess I have to drop IRAS A call or should I contact IBKR who is my broker?
If you think either IRAS or Interactive Brokers is the first place you'd go to get questions answered about the French tax code, sure, give 'em a call. But does that seem reasonable to you?

why is this igil so unstable last month? there was a sharp drop followed by an equally sharp rise
Could it be because there's a global pandemic that roiled securities markets? Just a wild guess. ;)
 

ftpofmpo

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Could it be because there's a global pandemic that roiled securities markets? Just a wild guess. ;)

hi you're right, however it seems that short term etf us treasury bond etfs did not face such a situation (a35 dropped by 3 cents only as well, not affected much). why are other types of secure gov bonds affected so severely?
 

adgjl321

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Have you re-positioned your portfolio since the crisis hit? E.g more exposure to bonds?.

Holding a bit of cash, not sure what to do as I feel it'll be pretty bearish going forward for this year so might get more exposed to bonds than equities.
 

BBCWatcher

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hi you're right, however it seems that short term etf us treasury bond etfs did not face such a situation (a35 dropped by 3 cents only as well, not affected much). why are other types of secure gov bonds affected so severely?
IGIL is a much larger basket of sovereign bonds denominated in a variety of currencies: U.S. dollars, British pounds, yen, euro, etc. It's quoted in U.S. dollars (as good a quotation currency as any), and currency variations alone would shift its share price when expressed in any single currency.

Have you re-positioned your portfolio since the crisis hit? E.g more exposure to bonds?.
I liked the April 1, 2020, Singapore Savings Bond and said so, but in my view that's just normal periodic cash management for the bit of cash I keep on hand for normal expenses and emergency reserve. (SSBs are very cash-like.)

No, I can't think of any material changes, really. I cancelled an upcoming vacation if that counts (vacation spending that now won't occur), but I think about half of Singapore has done that. No portfolio allocation changes, but that's pretty much on autopilot anyway, as I've described before.

Holding a bit of cash, not sure what to do as I feel it'll be pretty bearish going forward for this year so might get more exposed to bonds than equities.
Bonds, particularly high quality sovereign bonds, have had a tremendous bull run lately. It doesn't seem like the obvious time to buy them, does it? I wouldn't be trying to time markets, though.
 

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U.S. IRS Delays 2Q2020 Estimated Tax Deadline

For those of you paying quarterly estimated U.S. income taxes, as expected the IRS has now postponed the payment due date for second quarter 2020 estimated tax. It's now July 15, 2020. Consequently all of the following tax payments (and more) are postponed to July 15, 2020:

1. Any remaining tax due for 2019;
2. Your first quarter 2020 estimated tax;
3. Your second quarter 2020 estimated tax.

There's no interest or penalty for these deferrals, and there's no need to request anything from the IRS.
 

BBCWatcher

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Free Money from the U.S. Treasury for Many

If you're a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, legally married to one (same or opposite sex), or a U.S. resident alien, please read on: you may be eligible to receive free money from the U.S. Treasury!

The 2020 CARES Act includes COVID-19 "Economic Impact Payments" of up to US$1,200 per adult and US$500 per child. There's an income limit to qualify for this free money, and it's based on your 2019 U.S. tax return (or 2018 tax return if you haven't filed 2019 yet). If you haven't filed U.S. tax returns for those years because you weren't required to (your income was low or zero), keep reading.

Subject to the income limits, here's who's eligible:


  • U.S. citizens of any age living anywhere;
  • U.S. permanent residents (green card holders) of any age living anywhere;
  • U.S. resident aliens;
  • Foreign spouses (same or opposite sex) of U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents living anywhere who have U.S. Social Security Numbers (SSNs)(*) and who file joint U.S. tax returns ("Married Filing Jointly") via a "Section 6013(g) Election," meaning they elected to be treated as U.S. tax residents.

If you're eligible but haven't filed a U.S. tax return recently because you weren't required to (due to limited or zero U.S. taxable income), then you can use this online tool at IRS.gov to apply for your Economic Impact Payment without filing a tax return.

If you have filed a 2018 or 2019 U.S. tax return and are eligible for an Economic Impact Payment, then you should receive it automatically. If you included U.S. bank or U.S. credit union direct deposit account information on your tax return in order to receive a U.S. tax refund, and if that bank or credit union account is still valid, you should receive the payment via direct deposit as early as next week (second half of April, 2020). If not, then the IRS will mail you a paper check to the mailing address the IRS has on file (except for sanctioned countries). If your address has changed since you filed your U.S. tax return, or if that address is in a sanctioned country but you have a valid mailing address elsewhere, please file IRS Form 8222 right away to notify the IRS of your new home address. It'll take substantially longer for the IRS to mail paper checks since they need to send millions, and even for the U.S. government that takes a while. You may be able to use your U.S. bank's, U.S. credit union's, or U.S. broker's smartphone application to deposit a paper U.S. Treasury check via "Mobile Check Deposit." Depositing a U.S. paper check at a non-U.S. bank is likely to be expensive and slow and is best avoided if possible.

These Economic Impact Payments are U.S. tax free, although conceivably they may be taxable in your country of residence or affect tax credits you might receive for U.S. income tax. It's possible that the U.S. Congress and President will agree on one or more additional rounds of Economic Impact Payments, so please continue paying attention to U.S. media.

For more information on COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments and related topics, please visit the IRS's Web page here. Please make sure you're visiting IRS.gov (and via https), not some scammer's Web site. There are scattered reports of online fraud attempts involving these Economic Impact Payments.

YES, you do qualify for an Economic Impact Payment if you're otherwise eligible even if you have taken the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (IRS Form 2555) and consequently didn't owe any U.S. income tax.

YES, you do qualify for an Economic Impact Payment if you're otherwise eligible even if you're a U.S. citizen (with a Social Security Number) who hasn't lived in the United States since childhood. As a U.S. citizen you're still required to comply with U.S. tax and financial reporting laws, but with those obligations also come some privileges from time to time. The COVID-19 Economic Impact Payment is one of the privileges.

(*) Unfortunately ITINs apparently aren't good enough in this case and in the other cases.
 
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adgjl321

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I liked the April 1, 2020, Singapore Savings Bond and said so, but in my view that's just normal periodic cash management for the bit of cash I keep on hand for normal expenses and emergency reserve. (SSBs are very cash-like.)

No, I can't think of any material changes, really. I cancelled an upcoming vacation if that counts (vacation spending that now won't occur), but I think about half of Singapore has done that. No portfolio allocation changes, but that's pretty much on autopilot anyway, as I've described before.


Bonds, particularly high quality sovereign bonds, have had a tremendous bull run lately. It doesn't seem like the obvious time to buy them, does it? I wouldn't be trying to time markets, though.
Thank you. I have a chunk of GBP on a UK-trading account.

Are there any in particular that you might recommend to look at? Was looking at LQDS.
 

adgjl321

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OK.


Well, what are you trying to accomplish? LQDS is a fund that invests in U.S. dollar denominated investment grade corporate bonds.
Right now I'm mainly exposed to equities, and thus wanting to increase my exposure to bonds. I'm not based in SG at the moment if that helps in terms of allocation by geography.
 

wannabelazy

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HI BBCW, what's your view on the ideal withdrawal rate from one's portfolio? 4% seemed to be the rule of thumb for a while, these days some think 3% is the new 4%, but that almost seems too conservative.

How should one go about finding a withdrawal rate that leaves one with enough money for several decades (say 3) yet doesn't leave a huge chunk of cash behind at the end?
 

BBCWatcher

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Right now I'm mainly exposed to equities, and thus wanting to increase my exposure to bonds. I'm not based in SG at the moment if that helps in terms of allocation by geography.
You picked a heck of a moment to worry about that particular problem. Is it a problem? You should be mainly exposed to equities if you're, say, more than 7 years away from retirement. What's "mainly" mean in relation to your retirement time horizon? Also, where do you plan to retire?

HI BBCW, what's your view on the ideal withdrawal rate from one's portfolio? 4% seemed to be the rule of thumb for a while, these days some think 3% is the new 4%, but that almost seems too conservative.

How should one go about finding a withdrawal rate that leaves one with enough money for several decades (say 3) yet doesn't leave a huge chunk of cash behind at the end?
If we're dealing with standard assumptions (retirement at age 65 or thereabouts, average or better health, spouse of a similar age or single, etc.) then I like using 3% or maybe 3.5% as a planning assumption.
 

adgjl321

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You picked a heck of a moment to worry about that particular problem. Is it a problem? You should be mainly exposed to equities if you're, say, more than 7 years away from retirement. What's "mainly" mean in relation to your retirement time horizon? Also, where do you plan to retire?
I plan to retire in Singapore. Right, if going by the 110 - age theory, I should get c.20% of bonds, and I currently have 0%. So thought it'll be wise to diversify into some bonds vs the equities i have currently
 

BBCWatcher

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I plan to retire in Singapore. Right, if going by the 110 - age theory, I should get c.20% of bonds, and I currently have 0%. So thought it'll be wise to diversify into some bonds vs the equities i have currently
OK, so how about easing into MBH, the Singapore dollar corporate/agency bond fund, such that over the next year or so you reach your desired target allocation? For example, if you're currently investing 1,000 British pounds per month in stocks, then how about something like £400/month into MBH and £600/month into stocks until your MBH share rises to 20%? Exactly how the math works depends on your starting point (portfolio size and the amount of inflow). Of course you cannot buy MBH without Singapore dollars, but you can use Interactive Brokers (for example) to convert British pounds into Singapore dollars in a cost-effective way if you need to do that.

One caveat: MBH might be unfavorable from a tax point view based on your current tax residence. If that is the case, then please post a follow up for additional suggestions.
 

adgjl321

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OK, so how about easing into MBH, the Singapore dollar corporate/agency bond fund, such that over the next year or so you reach your desired target allocation? For example, if you're currently investing 1,000 British pounds per month in stocks, then how about something like £400/month into MBH and £600/month into stocks until your MBH share rises to 20%? Exactly how the math works depends on your starting point (portfolio size and the amount of inflow). Of course you cannot buy MBH without Singapore dollars, but you can use Interactive Brokers (for example) to convert British pounds into Singapore dollars in a cost-effective way if you need to do that.

One caveat: MBH might be unfavorable from a tax point view based on your current tax residence. If that is the case, then please post a follow up for additional suggestions.
Thank you! Will steer towards MBH then. I have a chunk of SGD too sitting in my savings account not earning anything so I’m ok on that front and should be fine on a tax perspective too. Thanks again!
 

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Hi BBCW, is it wise to top up my child's medisave account with $60k cash over time, so that the amount can earn 5% annual interest? 5% is attractive in view of the current economic and COVID-19 situation.

Also, Medisave is more flexible than SA. It can be used for both the child and parents' medical expenses.

Thank you.
 
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BBCWatcher

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Hi BBCW, is it wise to top up my child's medisave account with $60k cash over time, so that the amount can earn 5% annual interest? 5% is attractive in view of the current economic and COVID-19 situation.

Also, Medisave is more flexible than SA. It can be used for both the child and parents' medical expenses.
It's not a crazy idea. Indeed the 5% interest is attractive, and it's fairly liquid for family medical needs in Singapore as you point out. However, it'll depend on your family's broader financial situation. In particular, it's helpful to have financial flexibility for educational investments since some of those investments can yield a lot more than 5%/year, even financially speaking.
 

neanea

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It's not a crazy idea. Indeed the 5% interest is attractive, and it's fairly liquid for family medical needs in Singapore as you point out. However, it'll depend on your family's broader financial situation. In particular, it's helpful to have financial flexibility for educational investments since some of those investments can yield a lot more than 5%/year, even financially speaking.

Bbcw, which investment can yield 5%/year and low risk like medisave?
 

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It's not a crazy idea. Indeed the 5% interest is attractive, and it's fairly liquid for family medical needs in Singapore as you point out. However, it'll depend on your family's broader financial situation. In particular, it's helpful to have financial flexibility for educational investments since some of those investments can yield a lot more than 5%/year, even financially speaking.

Hi BBCW, what do you mean when you say educational investments? Investing in a child's education? Thanks.
 
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Visa4550

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Thanks Shiny things and bbc watcher very helpful for a noob like me

Sent from Samsung SM-N960F using GAGT
 
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