Cryptocurrency | Why I am getting into it and is it too late?

Today's topic will be on cryptocurrency. I have been wanting to do this video for awhile and after seeing videos from Andrei Jikh and Chicken Genius on Bitcoin, how can I also miss out on releasing one.

Cryptocurrency has been a hot topic the past few years and many says that it will be the currency used in the future as it is not like fiat currency, a government-issued currency that isn't backed by a commodity such as gold. Fiat money gives central banks greater control over the economy because they can control how much money is printed. Take for example the US dollar where the US Federal Reserve has been printing money to counter the effects of Covid-19.

This has raised concern on whether the value of the US dollar will drop because more money is printed. I didn't really study any finance modules in school as I studied social sciences but having a currency issued by the government and regulated by the central banks means that the value of it is really based on the country's economy and how the government is doing.

On the other hand, a cryptocurrency is a form of digital or virtual currency that can work as a medium of exchange. Being virtual in nature, they use cryptography technology to process, secure and verify transactions. Unlike Fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies are not controlled by any central authority such as a central bank. Instead, they are limited entries in a database such as a blockchain that no one can change or manipulate, unless certain conditions are met.

Many have termed cryptocurrency as the future currency as it's definition of value is like gold except that it is digital and in times of crisis, the value doesn't change due to printing of money because demand for it still remains. Covid-19 has strengthen the value of Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency. Ether (ETH) which the second most popular digital token has also increased in value. Both of these tokens are decentralized, meaning that they are not issued or regulated by a central bank or other authority. Both make use of the distributed ledger technology known as blockchain.

Why I am getting into Bitcoin now?

I have definitely heard of Bitcoin for a few years, actually I first heard about it when I was in polytechnic in year 2015. At that time, Bitcoin was at a price of $200 plus and since then, it has seen tremendous growth to almost $18,000 as of 20 Nov 2020. I heard people mentioning that they bought Bitcoin and it risen in value in crazy amounts.

I was, to be honest skeptical of Bitcoin in the beginning because at that time, I wasn't sure what Bitcoin was and how it can be used. I even heard of the creator name, Satoshi Nakamoto and was like wow, he is anonymous. I thought that it was something of value to gamers as they could transact online easily. It was not until I watched Banking on Bitcoin from Netflix did I understand how Bitcoin work and how it come about.

At that time, being a student, it was a pretty huge amount and I was also buffered on how you can store Bitcoin as stories of hackers was on the rise. So I did not think of getting into Bitcoin. This year, as I see more institutions deciding to get into cryptocurrency, I decided to also put a small amount of money in. If it becomes more widely used, it's value will definitely increase as what we are seeing and with it being limited in value as well, people will know of it's value.

I have thus decided to also set aside a sum each month to buy Bitcoin in tranches using Binance. Hearing Andrei Jikh and Chicken Genius, I know that Bitcoin is now going to be widely accepted as even DBS is setting up a digital exchange for cryptocurrency.

Things to look out for

As I have mentioned, hackers like to target cryptocurrency companies/exchanges as the value is so crazy and if they do not have the proper infrastructure, they are very easily compromised. One example was Coincheck, a Bitcoin wallet and exchange service headquartered in Tokyo that was hacked in 2018 and had about $500 million in digital tokens taken away. What was unique was that because that Coincheck used a prominent star to advertise and this attracted many young Japanese to borrow money to buy cryptocurrencies.

Something closer to home was Kucoin which is a digital asset exchange headquartered in Singapore lost over $280 million as the hackers obtained keys to their hot wallet. Those in their cold wallets were safe. So, how can we improve the safety of cryptocurrencies? This is then dependent on how we store them.

Hot and Cold Wallet

Hot and Cold wallet are how you can keep your cryptocurrencies. There are many other different types of wallets but hot and cold are the 2 most frequent used ones. Hot wallets are digital cryptocurrency wallets, while cold wallets are physical devices that store cryptos inside of them.

• Hot Wallet

Hot wallets are digital currency wallets which mean they are online and desktop wallet. Hot wallets can store any cryptocurrencies and are free.

• Cold Wallet

Cold wallets are physical devices that store your cryptocurrencies and are offline devices. They have a very limited variety of cryptocurrencies they can store. Cold wallets are very secure when it comes to cryptocurrency storage. Definitely, I would think that as you accumulate more cryptocurrencies, you would want to slowly store some in a cold wallet while keep some in a hot wallet to allow both safety and easy access to transact.

Am I getting in too late?

There are many people who have got into cryptocurrency early on and have seen massive growth on it. Then is it too late for me to get in now especially so when it has hit $18,000 recently. I would say that with more institutions buying and accepting Bitcoin, the growth from here might be higher. I wouldn't blame myself for not getting in early because I know that I needed some kind of confirmation before getting into something. There are so many interesting concept and things nowadays and cryptocurrency is definitely something to look out for in the future. Whether or not is this a good time to get it, I believe having to own some Bitcoin will make me understand how it truly works and read up more on it.

Are any of you already invested in Bitcoin? If not, are you planning to buy some soon? Thanks for staying till the end of the video and do hit the like button and subscribe to my channel.

 

References: https://www.fxempire.com/education/article/the-difference-between-fiat-money-and-cryptocurrencies-520616
https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/lessons-from-the-fed-s-3-trillion-money-printing-11592322603528.html
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dbs-creates-buzz-with-its-plans-for-crypto-currency-exchange
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coincheck
https://fortune.com/2018/01/31/coincheck-hack-how/
https://www.coindesk.com/hackers-drain-kucoin-crypto-exchanges-funds
https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/cold-wallet

Should I start investing now or when the markets drop?

Today's topic is should we just get started in investing now or wait for the stock market to drop again before getting in?

Many at times, when we want to start investing, we always wonder should I buy in now or wait? Historically, the markets have always trended upwards and so if you are in for the long term, it does not really matter when you put your money in as it will in the long term trend up. Many of my friends got interested in investing when the pandemic caused the drop in the stock market. I would guess that prices at that time was really attractive compared to today, when a vaccine has been announced and prices are slowly going up again.

How can we actually know the best time to invest? The answer is no one knows, you could be lucky once or twice but you will will not be able to get the lowest point every time and what if a bull market lasts for 10 years, will you be holding your cash for 10 years?

Just like in my previous video where I talked about DCA and LSI, if you like a lower risk, you can consider DCA to ensure your funds are spread out over a period of time.

Time in Market > Timing the Market

I am sure you have heard of this phrase, time in market BEATS timing the market. This is true in the long run because

1. Dividends (if any) will add up over time.
2. Allow compounding to take effect by earning returns on those returns over time. The longer you let your money ride out the ups and downs of the market, the more likely you are to have a positive outcome.
3. The stock market is a volatile place — but over time, it tends to trend upward and provide positive returns

Why we feel scared to invest our money

• Capital not guaranteed

Many are afraid of starting to invest right away because they feel that it is not capital guaranteed and they will lose all their capital. This is definitely true and that's why we dont put all our money into the stock market.

• Fear of losing money due to volatility

What if I put my money into the stock market now and it drops? This is what most people who are afraid to starting to invest immediately feels. I have to admit that when I first started investing, I was worried as well and checked my investment frequently. But you need to know and educate yourself why you have invested in that certain stock/ETF and that in the long term, it will reward you as you have done your research or checks. Even if it doesn't, at least you have learned something. If the volatility affects you, it is then better to maybe stick to less risk vehicles for your money which will usually mean a lower growth.

You have to make sure that you are comfortable with what you are investing in, if you want to invest in something more risker, set a side a small sum of money and be prepared to have a huge fluctuations. Having a mindset that fluctuations will occur over the short term can help but if you see any fundamental change or feel that the company has changed from what it is, do reconsider and think if you would like to continue to be invested in it.

• Not sure what to invest in

This is definitely something that stops most people from starting to invest immediately. Many of my friends have ideas of investing their money because to them, they know that by investing, in the long term it is good and they currently have time on their side as they are young. Hearing so many options and with some what a limited budget, my friends really want to hear what to invest in but the thing is that they want something to invest in that will grow and be beneficial in a short time but investing requires sometimes a long time horizon. I cannot guarantee them that whatever I am saying will make them profit and that is why I usually don't tell my friends what to invest in because I am really scared of the consequences.

How we should make ourselves get invested right now

• Overcome that inertia

Taking that first step is always the most difficult. Definitely because there is so much things to invest in nowadays, we are more cautious of what to put our money in. So we first should know ourselves, what kind of risk appetite, can we take volatility, are we looking for high returns and if so what type of asset allocation are we looking at. By understanding yourself better, you will know what kind of investing style or how you like your money to be allocated.

You might have a change of investing strategy along the way but adjustment can be made and at least by then, you would have gathered more knowledge on investing. So don't hesitate, once you have the basics and extra money saved up, The bottom line = The best time to get started investing is right now.

Conclusion: In fact, the biggest investment mistake you can make is NOT getting started, since the simple act of saving money is the most powerful tool you have at your disposal. Thanks once again for staying till the end of the video and do like and subscribe to my channel!

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Tesla to join S&P 500 on 21 December 2020

Huge news as S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Tesla would join the S&P 500 index prior to the opening of trading on 21 December 2020, potentially in two tranches making it easier for investment funds to digest depending on investors feedback. 

This means that Tesla will be included in S&P 500 and this means investments funds will need to buy Tesla to correctly reflect the index. This will definitely push Tesla price up.  

Taken from https://www.ft.com/content/5642b34b-ae8d-466d-a906-9acb473b601d

 

A great Christmas gift for many? I am currently holding 10 stocks of Tesla and so this is good (stock price going up) and bad news (higher entry price), the stock price of Tesla these few days have hovered around USD406 and it is a good price to buy in, judging by the news of the S&P 500 inclusion, Tesla is expected to increase as seen in the after hours trading where the share price have surged 11.5% to about USD455.

Elon Musk from the past week have been saying that Covid-19 is overblown and effects are not serious, he really is someone who creates news with everything he says. With Tesla added in to the S&P 500, more volatility is expected and things will get interesting. 

In the meantime, it has not yet been decided who will be removed for Tesla to be added in.

Should I start dollar cost averaging or a lump sum investment?

Dollar cost averaging or to a lump sum investment? This is a question on everyone's mind when they start to invest. And this is also today's topic for this video. There are many debates on whether dollar cost averaging or lump sum investment is better.

Before, I dive in more into DCA and lump sum investing, please give an early thumbs up or subscribe to my channel for me to produce more content for you guys!

So let's define them. Dollar cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy in which an investor divides up the total amount to be invested across periodic purchases of a target asset in an effort to reduce the impact of volatility on the overall purchase. For example, you have $25,000 you split it up and invest about $500 per month. This will mean that the $25,000 will be invested over a 4 year time period.

On the other hand, a lump sum investment would mean that the $25,000 would be invested straight into the stock market. There are definitely pros and cons to both strategies. I am going to talk about each method.

Dollar Cost Averaging

There are some advantages to DCA. Dollar-cost averaging helps spreads the risk of investing as you are spreading out your investments over a period of time meaning that you are buying both the lows and highs. This also means that you can take advantage of a market downturn as you will have funds on hand. The emotional factor is also taken out of it.

DCA is a good way to start if you do not have a huge sum of money available as putting money in consistently is beneficial in the long-term. It is also good if you have a large sum but are more of a nervous investor with lower risk tolerance.

A disadvantage of dollar-cost averaging is that the market tends to go up over time. This means that if you invest a lump sum earlier, it is likely to do better than smaller amounts invested over a period of time. The lump sum will provide a better return over the long run as a result of the market’s rising tendency.

Lump Sum Investing

There are definitely pros and cons to LSI as well.

Historically, lump-sum investing has a higher chance of outperforming dollar-cost averaging

Lump-sum investing gives your investments exposure to the markets sooner provided the markets are going up as you are putting your money to work right away which takes full advantage of market growth.

One disadvantage is that you might have no extra money to take advantage of a market downturn as most of your money would have been invested

Studies on dollar cost averaging VS lump sum investing

A study from Vanguard which I will put the link below have shown that lump sum investing produces better results. The study uses monthly stock and bond returns in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to evaluate the historical performance of each strategy. For LSI, we assume that US$1,000,000 (or £1,000,000 in the United Kingdom and A$1,000,000 in Australia) is immediately invested into a stock/bond portfolio and then held for 10 years. For DCA, we assume that the same sum starts in a portfolio of cash investments and is then transferred in equal increments into a stock/bond portfolio over a period of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, or 36 months (with 12 months being our baseline scenario in most examples and exhibits). Once the DCA investment period is complete, the DCA and LSI portfolios have identical asset allocations, and both remain invested through the end of year 10.

Conclusion of the study:

If the markets are trending upward, it is logical to implement a strategic asset allocation as soon as possible because it should offer a higher long-run expected return than cash. Historically, a long-term upward trend has persisted for both equities and bonds, probably attributable to positive risk premia in the markets. In other words, positive returns have compensated investors for taking risks, hence the upward trend in those markets and the resulting probabilities of success for LSI. So, to the extent that an investor believes the positive risk premia are likely to exist in the future, LSI would remain the preferred method for investing an immediately available large sum of money. But if the investor is primarily concerned with reducing short-term downside risk and the potential for regret, then DCA may be a better alternative.

Which is the better investing strategy?

Research has definitely shown that lump sum investment is better as your money is in the stock market straight away because time in the market is beneficial. But if markets are going down and you are wondering if it is the right time to invest as you are afraid that the markets will continue to fall, this is when DCA is for you to take advantage of the drop. Also, emotions can run high if you invest a lump sum at one go. DCA on the the other hand will allow you to minimize the downside risk.

All in all, there will be individuals who prefer LSI or DCA, you will need to know your emotions and whether are you able to sleep if you take on more risk.

References:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dollarcostaveraging.asp

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/online-trading/invest-lump-sum

https://static.twentyoverten.com/5980d16bbfb1c93238ad9c24/rJpQmY8o7/Dollar-Cost-Averaging-Just-Means-Taking-Risk-Later-Vanguard.pdf

As a Fresh Graduate, should I start with investing, saving or insurance?

When you first graduated, were you thinking about how you were going to allocate your money? Today's topic will be as a fresh graduate, should I start with investing, saving or insurance?

As a fresh graduate, receiving our first paycheck, we want to start doing something with the money we are earning, whether to buy for protection (insurance) or to grow our wealth or to save for rainy days, there are a million things we can do with our salary but what should we do first?

I will be sharing more on my perspective and also as a fresh graduate (I have been working full time for about 2 years now). For me, when I first graduated, my starting was not high and definitely not even at the median salary $3600, I was earning way below that meaning my take home pay isn't much as well considering that we pay 20% of it to CPF (retirement account)

I am lucky because my mother did get for me insurance in terms of life and hospitalisation insurance. This really helped me a lot because I knew that I had some form of insurance and can build on that further. I wanted to increase my coverage particularly for critical illness and when I first got my pay, I started with the most important thing, building up an emergency fund.

In my opinion, I would think that building savings to a certain amount and at the same time apply for insurance within your capabilities of paying will be a good first step. Once you have both savings and insurance in place, any other extra money can be invested.

Emergency funds/Savings

So I put aside $700 per month until I reached $13,000. This means that it will take me 18 months to build it up. Besides that, I also had some extra that I put into another account to build up as investment funds. Having an allocation is really important and it can pave the way for your financial journey as it lays very strong foundation.

After I had $13,000 I loosen up on my savings and channelled more into my investments meaning I started saving about $200 - $300 per month to my emergency fund. If you need a large cash buffer, you can choose not to decrease it but for me, I want to invest more and hence the reduction in savings.

Insurance

After I had my savings done, I decided to look into insurance since I am now earning a fixed income monthly and can ensure that I can pay for my insurance premiums. Since I have life and hospitalisation insurance already, I decided to get a personal accident and a critical illness. Definitely, what came to my mind was the premiums involved, you have to make sure you can pay for your premiums and not overload yourself.

I chose to pay for all my premiums yearly because you can save quite a bit as it is paid lump sum rather than monthly. So before the premium deduction date, you have to make sure you have sufficient funds to pay for it. I would think that hospitalisation and critical illness is particularly important because once you fall ill, the costs can add up and these 2 protection can ensure that your cost can be covered or lessen. For me, life insurance is not so critical unless you feel that you have children and a lot of people who really depend on you for their survival that if you do pass away, they require a lump sum to survive.

For me, my mum currently has adequate insurance for herself and she doesn't depend entirely on me for survival. My brother has a scholarship and has monthly allowance so I don't find a huge need to get a large sum assured if I do pass away. But it depends on the situation you are in as every family differs.

Investment

I started investing actually when I was in university but definitely pumped in more money after I started work full-time. You should always have an emergency fund (3-6months salary/expenses) before putting the rest of your money into investments because if things do go bad in the market, you have your emergency fund to lay back on and will not need to liquidate your investments especially if it is a bad time.

Investment is something that is best to start when you are young so that you can afford taking more risks (venture more) and also have the time for compounding to take place. For me, I was into individual stock picking initially and it was bad, my portfolio ended up too diversified for a small amount of capital and I decided to start index investing also because of work commitments. So far, it has been going well for me and I will keep to it. Though I still buy individual stocks once in awhile.

As a fresh graduate, we all have a lot of thoughts on how we want to use our first pay check and I think it’s good that we are thinking about it. My mum told me that her first pay was $200 and she spent it all on a makeup palette where she even had to borrow some money to pay for it. Haha, that’s definitely quite funny as I always asked her how come she spent all her money. But she just mentioned that at that time, she just spend whatever money she had on hand as at that time saving wasn’t in her mind.

If you are thinking about how to allocate your salary means that you know that financially you have some goals. 

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How you can save the Earth and save money as well!

Today's topic is how you can save the Earth and save money at the same time. Before I dive into today's video, do give a like and subscribe to my channel for more content! 

As the 11.11 sales come, many people will be adding items to their carts and checking out. The online shopping sites have also come out full force with all their ads. But before we go all out on this shopping spree, let's stop and think if we really do need the stuff that we are buying.

The world has experienced climate change scale never seen before and it is really up to us to make the change even on a small scale, we can still do our part. I have made small changes to my lifestyle and will continue to do so, although my family is not so much on sustainability, I try to let them know and see if there are ways they can make small changes as well. I will be sharing with you 3 tips on how you can save the Earth and save money!

Invest in reusable and make sure you use them!

I cultivated this habit since young by making sure I always have a reusable bottle of water with me. This means that I will not need to buy a plastic bottle with water when I am out. I know this sounds really simple but I have seen many people who buys a plastic bottle of water from 7-11 or the supermarket every time they go out. The bottle that you buy contributes to the plastic waste and you can save money just by bringing your own.

Similarly, when I pack food to work or pack food home from the hawker centers or food court, I really try to bring my own lunch boxes unless I do not have them with me to ensure I am not having an extra plastic container and plastic bag being used just to transport my food back home. This can also save the 20 cents that is usually charged for the takeaway container. Covid-19 has caused a plastic waste crisis as more people stay home and order food in. If you do order food delivery, it is inevitable that there will be plastic boxes or bags used.

Don't over order/cook and reduce your food waste

Food waste accounts for about 10 per cent of the total waste generated in Singapore, but only 18 per cent of the food waste is recycled. The rest of it is disposed of at the waste-to-energy (WTE) plants for incineration. Food that goes to a landfill generates methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide and this contributes to climate change.

By making a tweak to your cooking or order habits, you can save both the money and your money. Making sure that you get your proportions right when you cook, if you have a certain number of pax, do not over cook but if you do, you can portion the food beforehand and top the food if it is not enough otherwise, you can keep the segregated portion for your next meal. An interesting article I came across was that in Hong Kong, 40% of food waste are due to Cantonese soup where the leftover ingredients in the soup are thrown away daily. The article suggest family having a proper meal plan to reduce food waste for example cooking winter melon soup where most of the ingredients can be eaten and the meat used in soup can also be eaten.

My mum cooks soup and we always finish everything inside because her soup base is usually goji berries and anchovies, the meat that she uses, we also finish it up.

When eating out, when we are ordering, we are hungry so we over estimate on how much we can eat and when the food come and portions are huge, we end up not being able to finish the food. This is something that I have been trying to make changes as well, every time we visit a place, we definitely want to try all their food but there is only so much we can eat. We can order in sequence for one where if there are appetizers, mains and desserts, we can order the appetizers and mains first and if we are still able to eat, we can proceed to order desserts. It is really easy to over order but we need to keep in mind that food waste is really something we can control on our end.

Bike/walk otherwise take public transport whenever possible

I am sure everyone knows that cars produce emissions by now, by using public transport it helps you to save money and also reduces carbon emissions. If most of us can use public transport and not a car to each individual, we can reduce the number of cars and lessen the carbon emissions.

Of course, there are people who rely on their car for a living and they need it to use it. But overall, if you are alone, choosing to take the public transport can save the Earth much more.

Conclusion

Overall, if you can implement small changes in your lifestyle, bringing your own container or recycled bag to buy things, it will help and in the long term you will get used to it. For us, reducing our waste is one of the easiest things we can do, if we can save the Earth and save money as well, why not get started? Hope you guys enjoy my videos today and if you enjoy the contents I am producing, please like and subscribe to my videos, it will help me lots! Thank you.

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 References:

https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/3r-programmes-and-resources/food-waste-management

https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/save-money-go-green/

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2158108/how-cantonese-soups-create-40-cent-hong-kongs-food

US elections and why emotions matter so much in investing

Took leave today to spend some time with my mum and brother as we went out for lunch and also to get away from work for awhile. The US election has given investors a wild ride with stocks dropping and then going back up again as results are slowly revealed. Though we still do not have a definite answer to who will be the next US president, the stock market during this period has been so interesting. 

The past 3 months have seen the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) go from a low of $297 to the current $321. It's been a ride of red and green, lots of red and blue on the television as me and brother keep up with the US election the past few days. 

My portfolio value has since increased and my portfolio size is considered small, being only about SGD 26,000 I can't imagine for those with larger positions, how exciting and nerve racking it is seeing the value of your portfolio fluctuates. Some people just sells off their investment once any bad news is released and this really can make you feel panicky as you are reacting to every piece of news you see.

Tech stocks went back up with the house being very divided with almost half being filled with republicans and half (larger proportion) being democrats, this means that policies will face more resistance and be more difficult to be passed. Tech stocks do benefit from it as this means that regulations will be tougher to be passed which beneficial to the tech companies. 

With US being more divided then ever, it will be an interesting journey ahead. In Singapore, DBS, OCBC and UOB reported their earnings with a drop on Y-O-Y, I believe the current situation is still looking good but as we move onto 2021, it will get harder as government subsidies/initiative stop and when the Banks need to recover the loans, there will be default and this will affect the Banks. 

With so much going on, people will tend to think more about their investments as the volatility can make people feel uncomfortable. With the US elections dragging out longer than expected, more people are facing higher stress levels and anxiety.

Uncertainty is stressful but don't let your emotions get the better of you. Though it is easy to say this, it is hard to implement it, if you feel that you are really very easily affected by the news, reduce your frequency of checking the news and think of other things to do besides checking your investments. In the long run, I feel that getting to know yourself more and managing your emotions are very important. Take care and remember if you feel stressed or anxious, you are not the only one, it is ok to seek help. 

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Buying Tesla Changed My Investment Strategy/Outlook

Today's topic is going to be about how buying Tesla Changed My Investment Strategy/Outlook. I used to only buy Singapore stocks and I liked it as it was stable and price fluctuation wasn't large. I knew of US stocks and it's volatility and I was at one point sure that I wasn't ready for it. I kept growing my SG portfolio, adding on STI ETF and REITs which are definitely what most other Singaporeans like in their portfolio as the dividends looks really attractive.

At one point, after my SG portfolio was over $10,000 I was looking at faster growth and more so on capital growth as dividends was slow due to my small capital. Looking at the growth of the US stocks and coming across Chicken Genius channel who really really advocates and support Tesla's innovation and growth, I decided to read up on Tesla and bought 1 share of it at US$989.

It turned out to be an amazing buy, as it rose and even split to 5 other shares. I added another 3 shares after the split and my average cost of Tesla is now US$290.55 which means with Tesla currently being about US$420, I have gained about US$1000 in all. In such a short span of time, I have never experienced such huge growth in any of the SG stock I bought.

It brought a new perspective to me as definitely, Tesla is not the only growing company, there are lots more out there that are growing at a rapid rate. Of course, with companies growing so fast, some due to hype and some due to innovation or some just based on their 'future' growth, everything is quite speculative and there are companies that drop as fast and crazily as well. I think after you have built a portion of stocks in SG, you will be more willing to venture out and try something more exciting.

Tesla changed my whole perspective as I am now more focused in the US stock market and there is so many more companies and different concept businesses that SG do not have. Considering my capital is not huge, investing in the US markets means that now if I do lose some money, it is not as risky or as scary as I can earn it back although I don't aim to lose money.

Risk and volatility is something the US market is about, one moment the company is all hyped up based on being the competitor of a company and next, news of it's CEO or failed partnership can change the stock price. The US market is really sensitive to news and that's why it gets so exciting for some. I am definitely still a newbie but will continue to dabble in both the SG and US markets. Here are some reasons why you should enter the US stock market when you are young:

1. Largest and Most Liquid Market

• The US is the top most country in the world in terms of market capitalization. The market capitalization of the US is nearly five times that of China and fifteen times that of India.

2. FAANG

• The acronym FAANG represents five stocks which are Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google. Traded on the NASDAQ, investors turn to technology companies when they are looking to invest in growth stocks and a large amount of media attention and investors’ portfolios are concentrated around FAANG. These companies have changed the way we live and have reshaped the world whether it comes to how we purchase goods and services, how we watch movies and play video games and even communicate with our family and friends. FAANG shareholders have no doubt been well rewarded.

3. Performance

• During this year, many people have noticed the lacklustre performance of the Straits Times Index as compared to the S&P 500. If you had put in the same amount of money in the beginning of the year in STI ETF, it was priced at $3.306 on 2 Jan 2020 and currently, it is $2.517 on 28 Oct 2020 meaning you would have lost some money as the drop is quite significant.

On the other hand, if you had invested in S&P 500 at the beginning of the year, you would have gained as it was $298.42 on 2 Jan 2020 and currently it is about $311.80 on 28 Oct 2020.

The above factors all contribute to why I am slowly moving to invest more in the US markets.

Beside investing in individual stock occasionally, I have a fixed monthly regular savings plan to buy index funds and in a way, this keeps me disciplined and not so emotional swayed.

In conclusion, I am not saying that you cannot grow your wealth in SG stock market and that you definitely will profit if you invest in the US stock market but that the movement of both markets are very different. You will need to find out your risk appetitie, investment style and the amount of volatility you can handle. Both sides have their pros and cons and need to fit the individual. But if you are young, I would say to try out the US stock market as well, after you have your basics like emergency funds to ensure you have the holding power to ride out the waves.

https://www.piggy.co.in/blog/why-should-we-invest-in-us-stocks/

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Boglehead 3 Funds Portfolio | Why I chose VT and VOO for my regular savings plan?

I have moved towards index investing since end 2019 because of work commitments that take up too much of my time. It has been a good choice so far, with both my Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (VOO) and Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT) in the green, although my STI ETF and Tracker of Hang Seng Index which I bought for a short period is in the red.

I was really interested in entering the US market as I want to grow my capital and also have more exposure to the different markets. I came across the Bogle-head 3 funds portfolio and in that is a very simple investment strategy in which basic asset classes are used.

1. A domestic stock index fund: STI ETF or VOO
2. An international stock index fund
3. A bond index fund

In the case of Singapore, a domestic stock index fund can be SPDR Straits Times Index ETF (ES3) or Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF (G3B).

An international stock index like Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT) but it is listed in the US stock market hence it has the 30% withholding tax on dividends which most people avoid and instead they go for London Stock Exchange (LSE) where there are ETFs listed that attempts to achieve a similar goal of VT but are domiciled in Ireland, which removes the estate tax concerns and reduces the dividend withholding tax rate to 15%.

A bond index fund like ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund (A35). And with that proportion, decide your asset allocation between the bonds and stocks. Following the asset allocation, you can rebalance once or twice a year by seeing if the stocks/bonds portion differs to your original asset allocation and buy/sell some of the stock or bonds.

Asset Allocation

1. Age in bonds so for example, I am 25 years old this year and so should have 25% in bonds.

When I was first exposed to the 3 fund portfolio, I liked how it was simple and so easy to implement. Definitely on my end, I wasn't really interested in STI ETF as I bought it at $3 plus and it was one of my first investment when I started the POSB Invest saver which I am no longer continuing with. Since then the growth hasn't been attractive though the 3% dividends is nice when it comes in. So I decided to explore an international stock index fund. I came across VT and look through the ETF details on the Vanguard website and got particularly interested.

VT

Some key points of VT:

• Invests in both foreign and U.S. stocks
• Has high potential for growth, but also high risk; share value may swing up and down more than U.S. or international stock funds
• Expense ratio of 0.08%
• Appropriate for long-term goals

More information in video. 

VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. It tracks the 500 largest US companies and is a gauge of overall U.S. stock return with an expense ratio of 0.03%.

More information in video.   

With all the information that I was presented with about VT, I found it to be something that I am willing to buy monthly and slowly only recently did I start adding VOO as well into my regular savings plan. I am currently not buying any bonds and so I am actually not building a 3 fund portfolio as my RSP amount is still rather small. I do understand that dividends are eaten up by the 30% withholding tax as it is a US stock, I am not so concern about it currently and I want to have a RSP that is automated.

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References:
https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/VT
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Three-fund_portfolio
https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/VOO
https://www.firepathlion.com/the-bogleheads-3-fund-portfolio-for-singapore-firewalkers/