My Report Card : 2017

                         
Time flies, we are counting the last two days of 2017 to welcome 2018 and again is time to take stock of the year gone by and make plans for the coming year. We try to justify (or made excuses ) of what we didn’t achieve in 2017 and set the new resolutions for 2018.

2017 should be a good year for most of the investors as STI gained 18% ( exclude dividend ) and closed at 3402.92. A rising tide lifts all boats, if you have counters like banks, property or electronic manufacturing, your performance should be better than STI as these are the counters rebounded strongly in 2017.

Our Report Card: 2017

Total Return ( Including dividend ) = 26.6%

Total Return ( Including Div/ Bond / Cash ) = 22%

Net Worth ( Including Div/Bond/ Cash/ CPF Balance ) = 18.1%

** Combine STE and Mrs STE’s portfolio

I am really happy that my portfolio has out-performed STI by 4+% ( including dividend ) and by luck that my holding consists of sectors that performing well in 2017 e.g  Banking / REITs and O&G couple with few short term play like YZJ / Sabana/ Global Log.  Of course, this is nothing to shout about as compared to 1800% return of investing in Crypto-Currencies but we knew that both are totally different kind of investments/animals. Depending on your RISK tolerance, please DYODD if you choose to invest in Crypto. ( here ) (here )

Base on my calculation, REITs & Biz trust improved by $232K as compared to 2017 and follow by Banks ( $51K), O&G ( $44 K). Of course not to forget the privatization of CROESUS Retail Trust which I have a blog about it ( here ).

Obviously, not all investment turns out to be good in our portfolio, I also have few poor performing stocks  in my portfolio which dragged down my overall ROI. I am still sitting with a paper loss of -$26.7k in 3 Telcos, Industrial REITs ( CACHE & Soilbuild ) -$15.7K, Comfort DelGro -$7.2K and TTJ Holding -$8.4K.

I would reckon that 2017 is an exceptional year that we could achieve double-digit returns, one should not expect such investment returns year in year out and remember that market move in a cycle.

This is the chart I like the most  :

image credit to amarginofsafety.com

Always remember that although markets tend to be in positive territory in the long run but a negative return of -20% to -30% is very commons in any market.  We will need to “psychologically prepared “ that our portfolio will swing to -20 to 30% and be ready with our war-chest to take advantage of such an event.

The Wealth Effect (by Investopedia.com)

What is 'The Wealth Effect'

The wealth effect is the premise that when the value of stock portfolios rises due to escalating stock prices, investors feel more comfortable and secure about their wealth, causing them to spend more. For example, economists in 1968 were baffled when a 10% tax hike failed to slow down consumer spending. Later this continued spending was attributed to the wealth effect; while disposable income fell as a result of increased taxes, wealth rose sharply as the stock market moved up. Undaunted, consumers continued their spending spree.

Does our spending habits change with 18% increase in our net- worth? No, we didn’t upgrade our house and continue to stay in HDB and taking public transport, eating at the hawker centre and not buying luxury items.

Remember to “Live within your means” and avoid the situation of “ Lifestyle Inflation “ that will increase your spending more than what you earn and one may end up in never ending “rat race “, where I have a blog about it (here ).

Yes! YOLO and this is the holiday season starting from Christmas till New Year where everyone is in Holiday Mood, enjoying good food , shopping for a gift and having a wonderful time with your family and loved one.

 But remember …..

7 Ways to Avoid Overspending this Holiday Season

Last but not least, wishing all “  A Very Happy and Prosperous 2018 – 888”, May This New Year All Your Dreams Turn Into Reality And All Your Efforts Into Great Achievements !!

Portfolio Summary :

No change in total stocks (45 ) but I have reduced my exposure in Accordia GT and it dropped to 3^rd place of my holding and at the same time has increased by holding of Comfort DelGro from 2.5% to 4%. Much has been said or discussed (some +ve some –ve ) about this counter where I will not elaborate further here. At the end of the day, only time will tell if this is a good investment or not, whether it can re-engineer the business model and counter-challenge the threat from the digital world.

Cheers !!

*** Disclaimer:  This is NOT a call to buy or sell of any stocks mentioned above, it is just for illustration purpose, please DYODD ( Do Your Own Due Diligence ) prior using or acting on any information given.