*Official* BBCWatcher club

[BBCWatcher]

I think the video below does a relatively good job explaining the investment-related pros and cons of buying versus renting a home. Yes, it's an oversimplified comparison and uses U.S.-oriented data. As an example of an oversimplification, the renter surely would've invested the down payment in installments as it was accumulated, not waited to amass the down payment in a bank account before investing it. But the general principles still apply here in Singapore. If anything, the higher relative taxes associated with homes (especially second homes) and the more unfavorable price-to-rent ratio here Singapore tend to favor the renter. We also often have leasehold decay complications here.

But the presenter is exactly correct, and I've emphasized the same point in this forum. The fundamental mathematical "secret" to wealth accumulation is to start saving early and to maintain a dogged, consistent, and high savings rate over the long term. Even if Saver A picks a lower yielding investment portfolio than Saver B, Saver A can still win by practicing better savings habits. Mortgages and illiquid home equity effectively enforce some good savings habits. Many people need the persuasive power of monthly mortgage bills.

In any event, if you prefer being a renter, that's very OK! The financial math is probably on your side if you take advantage of it. And you have huge flexibility including the option to zero out your housing costs in Singapore to spend 18 months working in Brussels (random example) if that'll help boost your career and earnings. Likewise, if you're a home buyer, that's OK too. Make sure the home isn't too lavish in your circumstances. For example, you probably shouldn't buy the most expensive home a mortgage lender is willing to help you buy.

 

[BBCWatcher]

Financial market consensus currently assesses the odds the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates next week (on September 16) at about 87%. If it happens it’ll be the first rate hike since July, 2023.

 

[FlyGuardX]

Thank you, BBCWatcher. Yes, I have just switched to VALU for my DCAs going forward.

For the shifting of existing holdings, will wait a bit more and will prioritise IWDA and ISAC since their expense ratio is the highest at 0.2%.

I have also obtained these info regarding whether to select tier or fixed rate pricing for the IBKR fees, and will select the appropriate rate pricing if and when I decide to switch. Thank you!

"For popular London Stock Exchange (LSE) UCITS ETFs like IWDA or ISAC (which are commonly traded by regional investors), the tipping point for switching pricing structures depends entirely on the trade size value in USD.

The amounts and thresholds break down as follows:

• Go with Tiered Pricing if your transaction size is under approximately $9,000 USD.
• Go with Fixed Pricing if your transaction size is between approximately $9,000 USD and $85,000 USD.
• Go with Tiered Pricing again if your transaction size is massive, exceeding approximately $85,000 USD (because Tiered caps out its base commission at $39, whereas Fixed scales linearly at 0.05% with a higher minimum and no cap)."

are you using ibkr for VALU dca? i tried finding it on recurring investment but unable to

 

[mr_beanz]

are you using ibkr for VALU dca? i tried finding it on recurring investment but unable to

I am not using auto DCA in IBKR.

It shows up as this and is in USD:
"VALL LSEETF
VANGUARD FTSE GLB AL-CAP ETF".

 

[BBCWatcher]

Diesel fuel prices in the U.S. continue to climb quickly. AAA reports that the national average diesel price is now up to US$6.2040 per U.S. gallon (September 13) — yet another all-time nominal high. That's getting very close in real terms to the previous nominal peak briefly touched in mid-June, 2022: US$5.8159, equivalent to about US$6.58 in today's U.S. dollars.

From what I've read the primary problem seems to be the loss of refining capacity in the Middle East, Russia, and to some extent in Asia. U.S. refineries are basically running flat out, at 98% in the latest report.

Here in Singapore we'll likely feel some impact especially if diesel prices remain elevated. Diesel literally fuels agriculture and heavy transportation (trucks, buses), so it's reasonable to expect higher food and public transport prices. Moreover, the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC meets this week and will take diesel and other inflationary pressures into account when they decide whether to tighten monetary policy. Singapore dollar interest rates are somewhat correlated with U.S. dollar interest rates.

Update #1: Diesel rises again to US$6.2301 on September 14.
Update #2: US$6.2694 on September 15.
Update #3: US$6.3103 on September 16.
Update #4: US$6.3956 on September 17.
Update #5: US$6.4476 on September 18.
Update #6: US$6.4866 on September 19.
Update #7: US$6.5050 on September 20.

 

[cherynsq]

Hi @BBCWatcher , im intending to start DCA into ETF . decided to stop buying individual stock for awhile as the volatility is too much .

I was reading between ACWD and VALU . understand ACWD is more established low cost, while VALU is even lower cost, newest with smaller size. As im completely new to etf, would you kindly share abit more why you have stronger conviction with VALU? thank you so much and I greatly appreciate it

im using iBKR

 

[BBCWatcher]

I was reading between ACWD and VALU . understand ACWD is more established low cost, while VALU is even lower cost, newest with smaller size. As im completely new to etf, would you kindly share abit more why you have stronger conviction with VALU?

The lower cost you mention is great. Vanguard is a solid fund manager, and I don't have any fund size concerns since it's Vanguard with a solid product. The market seems to agree with me; the fund size is growing rather quickly.

 

[cherynsq]

The lower cost you mention is great. Vanguard is a solid fund manager, and I don't have any fund size concerns since it's Vanguard with a solid product. The market seems to agree with me; the fund size is growing rather quickly.

Good morning Thank you

 

[BBCWatcher]

Apple has effectively cut the price of their Apple TV streaming service to S$1.48 per month (equivalent to S$17.76 per year), effective later this month (September, 2026). For those of you looking to cut your home entertainment costs, it's a good option.

 

[JetStorm]

Apple has effectively cut the price of their Apple TV streaming service to S$1.48 per month (equivalent to S$17.76 per year), effective later this month (September, 2026). For those of you looking to cut your home entertainment costs, it's a good option.

where do you see this? im still seeing $13.XX per month?

 

[Euqorab]

where do you see this? im still seeing $13.XX per month?

Should be take time to kick in

 

[BBCWatcher]

where do you see this? im still seeing $13.XX per month?

I linked to Apple's own press release. Apple says they'll make these changes later this month (September, 2026).

 

[BBCWatcher]

The financial market consensus was correct: the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC hiked U.S. dollar interest rates by 25 basis points. It's the first rate hike since July, 2023. The vote was unanimous; all 12 FOMC members agreed.

Markets are less confident about the FOMC's next decision. Market participants currently think there's about a 50-50 chance of another rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 28, 2026.

 

[rubicon]

anyone buying US TIPS? real yields look attractive if held to maturity

 

[BBCWatcher]

anyone buying US TIPS? real yields look attractive if held to maturity

I agree, and so does tipswatch.com. For a certain type of investor, for a certain portion of that investor's portfolio, U.S. TIPS can be useful.

If you wish to invest in U.S. Treasuries, and if you're not eligible for a U.S. TreasuryDirect account (most readers aren't), you can invest through a broker such as Interactive Brokers or Moomoo. U.S. Treasuries (including TIPS) are the world's safest available vehicles for parking U.S. dollars. They're well suited for holding conservative investors' U.S. dollar positions for at least 4 weeks (the shortest tenor U.S. T-bill). TIPS are real return (a.k.a. inflation-indexed) U.S. Treasuries that are available in 5, 10, and 30 year tenors. On the secondary market you can purchase TIPS with a wide variety of maturity dates across the 30 year window. U.S. Treasuries are available in US$1,000 face value increments, although brokers and secondary markets might have higher minimums and increments.

Directly held individual U.S. Treasuries (i.e. not in fund form) are completely free of U.S. tax when held by a non-U.S. person.

There are some circumstances when buying U.S. Treasuries is close to a "no brainer." As an example, if you have a big vacation, wedding, or university bill in the U.S. (or in a U.S. dollarized country such as Panama) to pay starting 18 months from now, it can make a lot of sense to buy one or a couple U.S. Treasuries that mature shortly before the bill is due. You know the bill is coming, you know it'll be in U.S. dollars, and you can defend against possible adverse exchange rate movement — and earn some nice interest (even inflation-adjusted interest) on U.S. dollars until the bill is due. Maybe you don't cover the whole bill this way since you might want to take some SGD-USD exchange rate risk in the meantime (and may not want to reduce your Singapore dollar holdings that much that soon), but you could buy some amount of U.S. Treasuries to support this future spending goal.

 

[demoforce1]

The financial market consensus was correct: the U.S. Federal Reserve's FOMC hiked U.S. dollar interest rates by 25 basis points. It's the first rate hike since July, 2023. The vote was unanimous; all 12 FOMC members agreed.

Markets are less confident about the FOMC's next decision. Market participants currently think there's about a 50-50 chance of another rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 28, 2026.

Wah, Trump will not be happy, no?