Serious Singapore investors have unrealistic income expectations: Schroders survey

[winnipegjets]

If dividends are what u are looking for then,then sg reits are the choice.a few suggestions would be First reit,Ireit,croesus retail trust,soilbuild business space reit,and maybe Frasers centerpoint trust,china merchant pacific was a great dividend player,chinese tollbooth company,fantastic dividends for years more than 9 percent too bad it got privatised.nothing much to say about these companies,well managed properties,high occupancy rates over the past ten years,continually increasing DPU,strong balance sheets,and not much urgent debt refinancing upcoming in the next few years.there are some long writeups and thorough analysis about them u might want to search for them on google.

REIT is a time-bomb!

 

[winnipegjets]

Are there index funds that cover the Dow, S&P & Nasdaq? The wider the coverage, the better.

Are these funds available via the ETF market? It would make it easier to buy/sell them because I already have a US trading account.

Why index funds instead of ETF?

VTI - Total US market
VOO - S&P
VO - Mid cap
VBR - small cap

 

[winnipegjets]

Thanks will take a look at that.

Right now I'm looking for somewhere to park my $50k but I expect to get more $ from dividends. I don't have a lavish lifestyle & I expect to get more dividends in the future & I don't need all of it for my daily expenditures.

If anyone is still working I recommend you put something aside some of it to invest. If you don't have a lot of $, take a look at the Malaysian market. The ringgit is weak so your $SGD will go further. Many companies in Malaysia pay a yearly dividend. I expect many Sporeans to retire there, so having ringgit is useful to have.

Once you make enough $ you can look at other markets. The CPF is useless & I don't expect to see any of it. Don't forget to indicate a beneficiary to leave your CPF because that person will be the one who will benefit from your CPF.

If you have investing horizon of at least 10 years, then put your $50k to work. Otherwise, just sit tight on it. It is capital preservation time.

 

[JohnTan]

I expect a return of 7-10% per year on my investment. Is that unrealistic?

 

[johnny333]

Why index funds instead of ETF?

VTI - Total US market
VOO - S&P
VO - Mid cap
VBR - small cap

To clarify, VTI, VBR, .... are index funds & I am confused about how to buy buy them because my experience is with shares & not ETFs

I prefer ETF which I can monitor & trade fro the comfort of my PC. Now I am confused? Can I buy Vanguard VBR with my US$ trading account or must I go to the Vanguard office at Raffles place to get them?

 

[johnny333]

If you have investing horizon of at least 10 years, then put your $50k to work. Otherwise, just sit tight on it. It is capital preservation time.

I am investing my surplus funds which I currently don't need. I think it's a waste to sit on it & want to generate $ if possible.

I can keep it invested for 10 years if I can get a reasonable return & live that long. Open to any suggestions on how else I can put $50k to work.

 

[johnny333]

REIT is a time-bomb!

I agree with this. There's a recession in Spore & many brick & mortar shops are struggling. I don't see how much higher the landlords can push up rents in this gloomy environment. There are also problems in the office rental market with an increase in vacancies.

It might take years to recover.

 

[johnny333]

Got it, I now understand that there 2 ways to purchase these funds:
1) Go directly to the Vanguard office & they will not charge a sales commission. It will then be known as a index fund
2) Go get it as an ETF with the added brokerage charges. It will be known as an ETF

I'll probably get it as an ETF so that I can easily monitor & buy more when I want to.

 

[winnipegjets]

I expect a return of 7-10% per year on my investment. Is that unrealistic?

Not if it is in CPF.

 

[winnipegjets]

Got it, I know understand that there 2 ways to purchase these funds:
1) Go directly to the Vanguard office & they will not charge a sales commission. It will then be known as a index fund
2) Go get it as an ETF with the added brokerage charges. It will be known as an ETF

I'll probably get it as an ETF so that I can easily monitor & buy more when I want to.

ETF and mutual funds are too different investment instrument.

 

[winnipegjets]

I am investing my surplus funds which I currently don't need. I think it's a waste to sit on it & want to generate $ if possible.

I can keep it invested for 10 years if I can get a reasonable return & live that long. Open to any suggestions on how else I can put $50k to work.

Buy vanguard etf for US, EU, Emerging countries, Global dividends and bonds. $10k for each etf. Every year, rebalance to bring it back to initial allocation. You are all set.

Eg. VTI, VGK, VWO, VIG, VCSH.

For simplicity, drop the dividend etf.

Happy investing.

 

[winnipegjets]

To clarify, VTI, VBR, .... are index funds & I am confused about how to buy buy them because my experience is with shares & not ETFs

I prefer ETF which I can monitor & trade fro the comfort of my PC. Now I am confused? Can I buy Vanguard VBR with my US$ trading account or must I go to the Vanguard office at Raffles place to get them?

They are ETF ...you can thus buy it like stocks. Brokers will charge you a fee for the transactions.

Btw, MER of ETF is lower than funds, even index funds.

 

[JohnTan]

Not if it is in CPF.

If your investment can't give you at least a 5-10% yearly returns, then the investment is doing poorly. Getting less than that does not justify the risks in putting so much money into the investment. On the other hand, it is hard to find investments that give you 10% and above returns year in year out. Most fund managers and other salesman who promise you such returns are often conmen.

If you want to get good returns, you often have to do the homework yourself instead of relying on others for tips, something which most sinkie investors refuse to do.

 

[Ash007]

Ok.

The more I look into it, I'll probably put some $ into Vanguard small cap value (VBR) It costs almost the same as Vanguard VST but historically it has performed around 13%. However it gives a lower dividend of 2.92%

I'm currently getting dividends from my other stocks & willing to do with less if the fund performs better. I already own some Apple stocks which is included in Vanguards VST portfolio. So from a diversification point of view VBR would be better as there is no replication of what I already own.

What I want to know is whether I can buy these ETF funds through my trading account or must I go through some agent
How did you get your vanguard VIS?

ETFs are traded like shares. If you have a regular trading account, you should be able to buy it like any regular shares. That is the beauty of ETF. If you want to play the market more, you can technically wait for a "Sale" and get it then.

 

[Ash007]

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=INT&FundId=0937

VBR seem a bit high risk for my taste. But to each his own. Good luck Johnny.

 

[winnipegjets]

If your investment can't give you at least a 5-10% yearly returns, then the investment is doing poorly.

CPF lah.

Getting less than that does not justify the risks in putting so much money into the investment. On the other hand, it is hard to find investments that give you 10% and above returns year in year out. Most fund managers and other salesman who promise you such returns are often conmen.

6-7 percent is achievable.

If you want to get good returns, you often have to do the homework yourself instead of relying on others for tips, something which most sinkie investors refuse to do.

Really? Investing is very easy. Even a child can do it.

 

[johnny333]

They are ETF ...you can thus buy it like stocks. Brokers will charge you a fee for the transactions.

Btw, MER of ETF is lower than funds, even index funds.

Was looking at the different classes of Vanguard shares and the ETF version, it compare favourably even with their Admiral class.

Only their institutional class shares have lower overheads but you need to invest at least $5 million. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/share-classes

 

[johnny333]

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundIntExt=INT&FundId=0937

VBR seem a bit high risk for my taste. But to each his own. Good luck Johnny.

Must take a long term view lah. If you are young you can afford the risk but in the long run you will probably be making more $$$. I regret I did not spend the time to look into indexes :( I made the mistake of listening to the experts at the banks & invested in a lot of $$$ in mutual funds that didn't perform.

I am already quite old & should really look at the retirement investments :o
However I can spare some of the $ for at least 10 years. I plan to regularly put aside more of the dividends I am already getting & put it into these indexes. One never know if one will ever need expensive medical care? If I remain healthy before I go up the lorry, my beneficiaries will have an easier life with all the extra $.

One of the advantages of using an index is to spread the risk & of course receive the gains.
After looking at what's available I think I will diversify into sectors that I'm currently not in e.g. the mid cap, europe, emerging markets,..

 

[Ash007]

Must take a long term view lah. If you are young you can afford the risk but in the long run you will probably be making more $$$. I regret I did not spend the time to look into indexes :( I made the mistake of listening to the experts at the banks & invested in a lot of $$$ in mutual funds that didn't perform.

I am already quite old & should really look at the retirement investments :o
However I can spare some of the $ for at least 10 years. I plan to regularly put aside more of the dividends I am already getting & put it into these indexes. One never know if one will ever need expensive medical care? If I remain healthy before I go up the lorry, my beneficiaries will have an easier life with all the extra $.

One of the advantages of using an index is to spread the risk & of course receive the gains.
After looking at what's available I think I will diversify into sectors that I'm currently not in e.g. the mid cap, europe, emerging markets,..

On the contrary, I have 2 small kids and a wife to take care. Something like vbr is high risk in itself. If you want to punt. Play the actual small cap. I've position on a high risk high payout stock. Have a couple of thousands on it. If it goes to $5 I'll have a mil. Thats the only high risk i take. If it goes bankrupt, who cares.

 

[Asterix]

Closely monitoring it for between 5 to 30 minutes I think is okay even for an Ah Pek

I would suggest index futures day trading as a form of daily brain exercise - like going down to the void deck to play Chinese chess or dumb with fellow Ah Peks - only this one is the anti-social introvert form of exercise, like playing chess against the computer locked up in your study room at home.

S2@23170@1305hours, S2@172@1310, B2@60@1313 Net short 2
S2@23166@1315 Net short 4
B2@23149@1320 Net short 2
S2@158@1327 Net short 4
B2@158@1329 Net short 2
S4@153@1330, S2@155@1337 net short 8
B2@136@1342, B2@138@1344 net short 4
something wrong, suddenly it feels like the market is getting bullish
S2@145@1351, S2@164@1358 net short 8 WTF cover everything immediately lah sell some more for fuck trust your instincts
B4@165@1425, B4@159 zero, you sure you counted correctly and you're flat now?
Yeah, yeah, sure lah - Profit = HKD 4,700 and some small headache

Okay, buy mode now
B2@185@1434, S1@223@1435, S1@217@1437
Profit = HKD 3,500 with no headache - isn't that cool

B2@198@1441, S1@211@1446, S1@211@1448
Profit = HKD1,300 get out in anticipation of the increase in volatility around 1500 hours when Shanghai closes

Breakout, breakout!
B2@213@1502, B2@216@1504 - Soros Ah Pek: you call that a position!
S2@283@1519, S2@284@1521 - Sorry, sorry I have a phobia of failed breakouts
Profit = HKD 13,800

B2@308@1522 - oh shit, bought at near end of measured move!
B2@274@1532 - buy some more for fuck!
B2@248@1555
S6@260@1600
Loss=HKD 5,000

profit for afternoon = HKD 18,300 profit for whole day = HKD 46,900

8 trades, 7 wins, 1 loss

Look on the bright side - this my first week when total profit cross the HKD 200K mark and it's a 4 day trading week when on 1 day I made less than 10K because too busy with other things.

This shall be part of my suite of strategies and tactics ............. how to safely trade Bollinger Band breakouts .............

[video=youtube;pOES4qijVL4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOES4qijVL4[/video]