Brian811 questions thread.

[unhinged_loon]

It's a tradeoff. Endowment plans give lower returns, but more stable; stocks give the highest returns, but with less stability in the price; REITs are somewhere in the middle.

NTUC Vivowealth only guarantees about a 1.5% yield (the higher numbers it touts are "non-guaranteed), and you have to wait five years for it to kick in.

ExxonMobil stock yields nearly 4%, plus you get capital growth, but the dividend isn't guaranteed, and you might lose money on the stock (but over a very long period, 20-30 years, you're very unlikely to lose money unless XOM goes bankrupt).

You know, why not just... buy VWRD? IWDA doesn't spit out dividends due to reinvestment policies, which then requires selling. VWRD and maybe some US based bond funds.


BTW, I'm getting less convinced to hold SG stocks for retirement even though I hold just about only them. One major factor being that I'm not convinced about being able to live here for retirement.

 

[BBCWatcher]

....And there is some inflation. You'll need escalating payouts simply to maintain a constant standard of living.

 

[Eternit]

A student with $5k who already vested in STI etf? I would suggest continue to DCA on STI etf until you graduate and find a job with stable pay.

Hi DW, what I meant is I think I can allocate 5K to REITs to try first. I have 42K liquid cash in bank as savings, another 6K in STI ETF (increase 300 per month).

Doing Master's (so not young student anymore) on full scholarship with monthly stipend. Looking to learn and try more investment vehicles since quite free now...

What do you suggest? Thanks in advance.

 

[limster]

You know, why not just... buy VWRD? IWDA doesn't spit out dividends due to reinvestment policies, which then requires selling. VWRD and maybe some US based bond funds.


BTW, I'm getting less convinced to hold SG stocks for retirement even though I hold just about only them. One major factor being that I'm not convinced about being able to live here for retirement.

politically and economically no one can predict what Singapore will be like on retirement, so its better to diversify and hedge.

but when it comes to temperature, its probably a good bet that Singapore will be even hotter due to global warming. I might want to retire somewhere cooler

 

[BBCWatcher]

politically and economically no one can predict what Singapore will be like on retirement, so its better to diversify and hedge.

Yes, and that's true whether or not you plan to retire in Singapore.

If you want some "inspiration," look at Japan. Japan has a much bigger stock market than Singapore has. It's much bigger in practically every way. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index -- 225 stocks, not 30 (Straits Times Index), please note! -- reached its all-time high way back on December 29, 1989. It's slightly above half that, as I write this. Yes, to be sure, dollar cost (or yen cost) averaging can help mitigate this sort of problem, but that's still pretty incredible, that the world's 3rd largest economy has a stock market that still hasn't reclaimed the ground lost since 1989, even in nominal terms. And it hasn't come close to regaining that lost ground.

So please don't invest 100% in Singapore. That's not the right percentage.

 

[Brian811]

Yes, and that's true whether or not you plan to retire in Singapore.

If you want some "inspiration," look at Japan. Japan has a much bigger stock market than Singapore has. It's much bigger in practically every way. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index -- 225 stocks, not 30 (Straits Times Index), please note! -- reached its all-time high way back on December 29, 1989. It's slightly above half that, as I write this. Yes, to be sure, dollar cost (or yen cost) averaging can help mitigate this sort of problem, but that's still pretty incredible, that the world's 3rd largest economy has a stock market that still hasn't reclaimed the ground lost since 1989, even in nominal terms. And it hasn't come close to regaining that lost ground.

So please don't invest 100% in Singapore. That's not the right percentage.

Hihi may i know is there any possibility all the reits listed in Singapore will be delisted please? Any other ways for passive income if thats the case?

 

[Shiny Things]

Hihi may i know is there any possibility all the reits listed in Singapore will be delisted please? Any other ways for passive income if thats the case?

That's extremely unlikely. There are plenty more important things to worry about.

And there are plenty of ways to get "passive income". Stock dividends! Bonds!

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

Hi DW, what I meant is I think I can allocate 5K to REITs to try first. I have 42K liquid cash in bank as savings, another 6K in STI ETF (increase 300 per month).

Doing Master's (so not young student anymore) on full scholarship with monthly stipend. Looking to learn and try more investment vehicles since quite free now...

What do you suggest? Thanks in advance.

I can almost guarantee your Master's is by research. My comment is this: figure what the heck you are going to after you finish your degree. Can you get a long term job with it (ASTAR is not a place to build a long term career)? If you are intending to stay in academic research, you should just upgrade to a PhD and then find an industry job. BTW, if you want a tenure track position in SG, then you are doing your degree(s) in the wrong country.

Oh and forget about getting a tenure track position here. A foreigner is more likely to get it than you.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Hihi may i know is there any possibility all the reits listed in Singapore will be delisted please?

Unlikely but not impossible.

However, that's not the only scenario that would cause Singapore REITs to under perform. There's a more prosaic, more likely possibility: falling rents.

 

[FP_IFA]

Hihi may i know is there any possibility all the reits listed in Singapore will be delisted please? Any other ways for passive income if thats the case?

This question already showed how risk adverse you are.

 

[alexchia01]

Hihi may i know is there any possibility all the reits listed in Singapore will be delisted please? Any other ways for passive income if thats the case?

This is like asking, what is the possibility of all the people in Singapore die at once?

The answer is... Yes it can, but by then, why do you care, you are dying too.

 

[Brian811]

This is like asking, what is the possibility of all the people in Singapore die at once?

The answer is... Yes it can, but by then, why do you care, you are dying too.

Dont mind i ask so dividends from reits is best next to pension as they must give out dividends no matter what yah?

 

[anfielder]

Dont mind i ask so dividends from reits is best next to pension as they must give out dividends no matter what yah?

how many times must you ask exactly the same question?

 

[homer123]

Half a million s-reit portfolio will yield a comfortable 30+K passive income.. You are pretty close

Allow me to let you in on a secret - it is never enough.

When I reached a $100k portfolio, I told myself $200k would be enough. After I achieved a $200k portfolio, I convinced myself $300k would be definitely enough. When I finally arrived at $300k, I persuaded myself to push for $400k.

Now, my portfolio has just crossed the $400k mark. Guess what? It is still not enough! Hahaha!

 

[Wood41]

Lol .
Many local stocks & REITs own properties in various overseas locations.
STI & REITs are doing quite well.

So please don't invest 100% in Singapore. That's not the right percentage.

 

[BBCWatcher]

This is like asking, what is the possibility of all the people in Singapore die at once?

No, that's not the only scenario when Singapore REITs could go pear shaped. It's a single sector in a single, small country (with a tiny fraction outside Singapore and heavily skewed into the region). There are some risks in that, and it doesn't take Hollywood imagination to figure them out.

Most Singaporeans aren't buying a broad, low cost REIT index fund, by the way. They're buying one or a couple individual REITs. That's even more portfolio risk.

Many local stocks & REITs own properties in various overseas locations.

They do, but their overseas diversification is limited and, to the extent it exists, heavily skewed into the region. It's not adequate global diversification.

 

[Brian811]

Any ways to get free dividends?

Hihi lets say for example if i hold one counter and saw a stock going to give out dividends, have enough time to sell off my counter and use the money to buy the other counter and so on yah?

 

[crimsontactics]

Depends on stock price and comm fees.

Some times you may end up with negative returns.

Sent from . using GAGT

 

[alexchia01]

Hihi lets say for example if i hold one counter and saw a stock going to give out dividends, have enough time to sell off my counter and use the money to buy the other counter and so on yah?

I like you... your question is so newbie and innocent.

Too bad the world is not so simple.

Once the dividend is give, the stock price will drop, due to market adjustment.

Whatever gain you receive from the dividend will return back due to price adjustment.

Yes, there are some stocks that could maintain it's price after XD, but these are the minority. 1 out of 10.

And you must be a genius to know which one is the one.

 

[alexchia01]

Dont mind i ask so dividends from reits is best next to pension as they must give out dividends no matter what yah?

By law, they are to give out 90% of their profit as dividend.

But are they the best next to pension? Depends on what and when you buy.