Automating my investment for Nikko AM STI ETF (G3B)

Since I started work recently, time has been rather limited for me to invest or to even look up on companies as compared to when I was studying.

But in turn, for the exchange of time, I have some money earned and I can put aside a certain sum per month for investing.

My first investment was made using POSB invest saver where I purchased Nikko AM STI ETF (G3B.SI) back in Oct 2016, which was quite a good time to start.




After purchasing about 300 shares, I stopped as I wanted to put the money into other companies. I bought them at an average price of $3.00 each.

Recently, I have decided to restart it and I would be placing $200 into it each month.

With $200 being placed into it, I would have $2400 invested in the first year.

Currently, I am going towards having an index investing approach as my portfolio is performing so much worse than the index and also to be a sum for other companies that I am interested in.

Read more: Portfolio Review for 2018 - down almost 20%. Collected dividends of $307.05

With the automating of G3B, I can just enjoy my time in the weekends or night and know that at least a portion of my money is going in investing.




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Updates on portfolio

Time flies, we are now in the month of November and 2018 will end in 2 months times. My friends and I were still talking about how we spend our new year this year at Changi Village with all the fireworks display and all.

Time sure flies especially when we are young. For my portfolio so far, it is down 13% so far without including dividends.




Of course, during this period, many stocks have a attractive prices and I am tempted to get more. But due to a shortage of funds in my war chest, I will not be buying anymore.

Many people have wrote and mentioned that this will not be the lowest, there will be more uncertainty in next year markets as the US-China trade war impacts really hit Singapore. You can read more on this article. 




Over this period, I have realised the importance of dividends. It kinda puts your mind at ease knowing that at least you are getting something back from the company. I have learned this lesson from Design Studio, from the time I have bought it till now, I haven't received dividends from it and it's stock price have been dropping at an alarming rate.

For now, this is the proportion of shares in my portfolio.

I would be shifting my focus more to REITs and STI ETF. Currently, looking closely at CapitaR China Trust as their recent results have been pretty good and MapleTree Logistics Trust.

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STI breaking it's 52-weeks low. Time to buy in?

Today (6th Sep 2018), STI ETF (ES3) have recently reached a new 52 week low of $3.17. With this new 52 -week low, I have a FOMO feeling because my average price for ES3 is $3.302 and I can really bring the average price down. However, with the market being so unpredictable right now, I hope to be able to wait awhile and see. Of course, for now, I am not planning to have any buy transactions as I am building my war chest.

With the 150 MA crossing 50 MA, there might be a further drop in the price. But I will be waiting at the sidelines for now even though I am rather tempted. Many other stock also fell in their prices yesterday as I saw a sea of red with DBS having a big drop of $0.50.

Portfolio updates - adding on STI ETF

I have added 3 lots of STI ETF at $3.28 to my portfolio. So my current holdings of STI ETF (ES3) is at 5 lots. Right now, the average price is down to $3.302 per one share.

Current portfolio as of Aug 2018:

Business Trends and Market Trends

Awhile ago, I registered for a webinar, "Does long-term investing still work?' by The Fifth Person on the 20th June 2018. I found it particularly good for beginners. In the webinar, Rusmin mentioned about what really is long term investing and for him personally is 5-10 years. He also mentioned that having a long term stand in the stock market proved to be more profitable than a short term position.

One point that Rusmin emphasized regarding long term investing was the emotions that the investor would experience. Some years your portfolio would have good performance whereas other years would not be good. He mentioned that with the easy accessibility of news nowadays, it is easy to get swayed by 'noises' that may change or affect your decision. Of course, if you have done your research on the company, holding for 10 years would usually profit.




I have been affected by price fluctuations before and made my first sale based on that. I got into investing for the long-term but lost track of it at that time as I was so immersed in checking prices a few times a day and even a small increase or decrease would affect me. Of course, over time it has gotten better now.

Read more: SGX - First sell transaction of 2018




Another point that he talked about was business trends and market trends which I feel is a good point to talk more on. He pointed out that business trends was an important point rather than focusing too much on the market trends as they tend to fluctuate a lot. Business trends for example, in the case of telcos, he mentioned that Starhub is experiencing decline in it's 'Pay to watch TV'. I can still remember when everyone used to have a Starhub set-up box in their home to watch cable TV channels. However, recently with the rise of Netflix and online access to shows, Starhub has seen a decline. Even my home doesnt have a set-up box now.He mentioned that business trends is a better predictor in the long run than market trends.

The webinar is something different because a substantial portion of time is allocated to Q&A and this allows interaction. Many people used this part to clear their doubts or to have a better understanding of their current knowledge about the stock market. Overall, the webinar is good and you can go to the website to see previous webinars that they have done.

STI ETF, to buy or not yet?

On Friday, 6th July 2018, the STI ETF fell to a low of $3.23 breaking its 52 weeks low. When I saw this, I did get tempted to invest in it. Itchy fingers but currently, I am still building up on my war chest and definitely I’m not gonna touch my savings to buy so I will need to control myself.

During the month of May, I made 2 transactions namely buying SGX and Singtel. Boy, both of this stocks have fallen since then and Singtel broke its 52 weeks low but is now back on track.


Read more: Portfolio updates (MAY 2018): 2 buy transactions




I have realized that the stock market is really unpredictable. It is like a test of patience like if I had hold on a bit longer before making my May transactions, I could have gotten a better deal but it is also a test of emotions. Just when you think prices are low, they can go even lower than you expect. There is no way you can really catch the bottom. But if you have done your due diligence and know the value of the company, buy in at the right price and hopefully everything goes well, haha.




With prices breaking the 52 week low, it looks attractive but no one knows what direction it will go next. I should focus more on income building and to build up my war chest to be able to deploy the funds when needed. Currently, I would take on more of an observer stand unless I can't stand the temptation and deploy my small amount of war chest left. Half a year to go for 2018 and definitely an exciting one ahead!

Dividends collected so far in 2018

I saw SleepyDevil's review of his FY2018 Q2 dividends update. So why not I do one too for the first half of 2018 since I haven't done any record of my dividends. It feel just awhile ago when I just wrote New Year wishes and time sure flies, it's already almost the end of June and I would like to do a collation of dividends received so far as a record. I have collected dividends from:

1. Nikko AM STI ETF

2. First REIT

3. SPDR STI ETF

4. Tai Sin Electric

Nikko AM STI ETF was purchased using my POSB invest saver account when I was completely not sure if I was going to create a CDP account for investing. It was the most direct and easy way of starting so I bought them at a reasonable price and stopped once I had my CDP account. I received $18.83 in January 2018.

First REIT has got to be the one that provides substantial dividends to my pocket and I love it. I like the industry that it is in and looking at its current price, I would accumulate more if I have enough funds. I received $21.50 in February and $21.50 in May 2018.

SPDR STI ETF was bought after I read up more and I realised that besides the Nikko AM STI ETF that tracks the Straits Times Index (STI), SPDR STI ETF also does and has less tracking error. I am just leaving the Nikko AM STI ETF in my POSB invest saver account and for now, I would buy SPDR STI ETF instead of Nikko AM. I received $10.60 in February 2018.

Tai Sin Electric which I got around end 2017 has dropped significantly and I am glad there is dividends given to make me not feel so affected. I received $17.25 in March 2018.

 

Total dividends collected for 1st half of 2018: $89.68

Upcoming dividends would be Nikko AM STI ETF ($15.86) and Singtel ($53.50) which I have just recently added to my portfolio. Looking at the current Singtel stock price, my hands feel so itchy to get more but it is already a huge proportion of my portfolio and I believe that there are other better stocks that I can buy. So I will control myself right now and also because I do not have much of my war chest left. Hoping to increase my portfolio size and build up on my dividends. The weather has been cold lately so take care!