Equity Portfolio Cost: S$616, 070
Equity Portfolio Market Value: S$761, 930
Equity Portfolio Unrealised Profit: +S$145, 860 (+23.7%)
Portfolio XIRR (FY2024): -2.1% (inclusive of dividends)
Dividends Collected (FY2024): S$43, 280 (+7.8% yoy)
Total Cumulative Dividends (2010 - 2024): S$324, 925
Current Cash & Cash Equivalents (SSB/T-bills): S$46, 000
(*All figures are accurate as of 31 Dec 2024)
Portfolio Actions in 4Q 2024:
- Accumulated DBS at S$42
- Accumulated OCBC at S$16.50
- Accumulated Propnex at S$0.91
- Accumulated Sheng Siong at S$1.63
- Accumulated MINT at S$2.19
- Accumulated Alphabet at US$188
- Accumulated Nvidia at US$137
- Partial divestment of KDC at S$2.23
- Partial divestment of FLCT at S$0.91
A Quarter of Heavy Rebalancing - Singapore for dividends & US for growth
In 2024, REITs had been a drag on my portfolio performance, Fortunately, my positions in banks and US tech helped to mitigate some of the damage. Higher dividends from the banks was much welcomed too. In fact, the banks have rallied so much that DBS and OCBC have become my top two positions. The rebalancing of my portfolio continued with greater pace in the last quarter of 2024. The US Fed signals a slower pace of rate cuts in 2025. US core inflation remains sticky above 2% and the labour market seems resilient with the US economy booming. The era of near-zero interest rate is probably not returning anytime soon. In a normalised interest rate environment, it is better to divert my funds towards non-REIT dividend-paying counters in Singapore. Particularly, Sheng Siong for its defensiveness, Propnex and the banks for their stable growth. In an increasingly turbulent world, Singapore is a safe haven where the super rich (in Asia especially) prefer to park their wealth at. This trend should benefit the private wealth management sector and the residential property sector.
Furthermore, for the benefit of my non-local readers, you need to understand that Singaporeans (like most Asians) are obsessed with home-ownership. The idea of owning a home is deeply-ingrained into our nation's psyche, passed down through the generations. The 'Singapore Dream'. The holy grail of the middle-class. Over the past decade, home-ownership rate in Singapore has hovered around 90%, which is one of the highest in the world! Around 70% of residents live in public housing. This is why, in my opinion, the government would not launch any drastic property cooling measures as this could risk incurring the wrath of homeowners. Nobody likes to watch their property value stagnate or decline. So the government has to try to strike a fine balance between price appreciation and affordability. I guess the bottom line is, property values would be allowed to trend up in order to keep the majority of the voters happy. Over the long term, banks and Propnex should benefit from this mandate. Lastly, over the next decade, the entire Millennial generation would enter their prime home-buying and property-upgrading age. During Chinese New Year gathering last year, all my married cousins were discussing about resale HDB and condominiums launches. It was a hot topic. They are in their mid-30s to early-40s. I remember one of them was interested in a 9th-floor 5-room resale DBSS in Hougang, with an asking price of $950k. We are looking at a future where $1m HDB flats are no longer a shocker.
There was some volatility in the US market just before the US presidential election in November and I took the opportunity to buy the dip on Alphabet and Nvidia. In 2025, I am also looking to increase my allocation in Amazon and Microsoft. Most of the dividends collected from my Singapore holdings would be re-invested back into these US Big Tech. Hopefully, Mr Market can give me more buying opportunities. As for my current REIT positions, I am comfortable holding onto the more resilient ones like FCT, PLife, MINT and AREIT. But I do not plan on adding anymore. If there is a market crash, my S$40k parked in SSB would be deployed.
Preparations For FIRE Lifestyle
Going from being employed at a full-time job to a FIRE lifestyle is not as simple as flipping a switch overnight. There is a transitional period. I think we actually need time to plan and get prepared for this transition. Some people in the FIRE community are struggling at this. Throwing the resignation letter at your boss's face is the easy part. Entering a new stage of your life can be challenging. Some people start to get bored or lose their purpose in life. This is why I started my preparations a couple of years back. I started my YouTube channel as one of the ways to keep myself occupied when I retire in the future. Dipping my toes into content creation, getting my feet wet. Ah, some of you might be thinking that my channel is all about investing and personal finance. No! The last thing I ever want to talk about in my retirement years is investing. That phase of my life is over. Sure, I will be monitoring my finances in private, but I am not going to be talking about it on a regular basis, much less make videos about it. Seriously, how many videos can one make about CPF! I want to focus on activities that can be sustained throughout my retirement. Secondly, the topics must not be controversial. I decided on food and traveling. Everyone got to eat right? And I am planning to travel more during my retirement, so might as well create some content while I am at it. Besides, once your portfolio, passive income and CPF reach a certain astronomical amount, it gets kinda pointless talking about it. I would rather spend my time enjoying the fruits of my labour and accumulating more 'Memory Dividends'.
My first ever trip to Tokyo in November was like a practice run and it was amazing. Planning to visit Osaka in 2025! ^^
~ Collecting memories, one destination at a time ~
