The heat on the US-China trade war has finally been turned down as the two countries have reached an agreement on their "phase one" trade pact. Under the deal, the United States has agreed to suspend tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Chinese purchase of American farm products over the next two years.
The US Federal Reserve has taken down its benchmark rate for the third time on 30 Oct, setting the fund rate in the target range of 1.5% to 1.75% which was cited to "provide some insurance against ongoing risk" facing the US economy. The recent decision to hold the interest rate steady in Dec could be a signal by the Fed to move into an extended pause for 2020.
Now with the Fear & Greed Index standing at 90, it could possibly be seen as a bellwether for an overheated market in the US.
Hong Kong has seen months of pro-democracy protests rumbling for the sixth straight month. To ring in the new year, a mass march is said to take place in 2020, signalling more unrest to be expected at the start of a new decade.
In this quarter, the local STI has whipsawed from 3,146.03 at the beginning of October to a high of 3,285.72 in November before closing the year at 3,222.83, marking a increment of 2.44%. Overall, the STI has recorded an increment of 6.05% in 2019, a stark contrast to the 2018 bear market with a decline of 10.54%.
On the other hand, the SGX S-REIT 20 Index has closed at 1,456.945 for the year, with a -0.03% change in the last quarter. Taken as a whole, the index has recorded a remarkable gain of 20.17% in 2019.
Action in Q4
In the last quarter of the year, I have accumulated positions in Eagle HTrust at USD 0.46, averaging down my entry price.
The recent plunge in its share price comes after a slew of negative events with the allegation of sponsor not meeting its lease obligations to maintain Queen Mary taking the centre stage. In addition, insiders and substantial unitholders, including the Yuan family, have been paring down their stakes.
In its entirety, I do consider this to be more of a risky position for my portfolio and I am keeping it to less than 10% of the overall portfolio size.
Portfolio
(Click to enlarge)
The capital injection to the portfolio in Nov has been represented by the green portion which helps to provide a better picture of the change in portfolio value.
Despite the mini bull run, I have mostly been taking a backseat with my portfolio seeing a dearth of action this year. Perhaps the one saving grace is that the portfolio value has crept past the $120,000 mark amid the intermittent injection of capital throughout the year.
Dividend
(Click to enlarge)
The 4th quarter has recorded the collection of dividends at $1,021.80 which is relatively low compared to that in the 1st and 3rd quarters. This could mainly be attributed to October being a dry month for dividends. Benchmarked against 4Q2018, it is still a modest 9.85% increment.
The dividend acquired in this quarter is contributed by the following securities:
Month
|
Payment Date
|
Security
|
Dividend
|
October
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
November
|
22 Nov
|
SIA Engineering
|
$90.00
|
26 Nov
|
Netlink Trust NBN
|
$403.20
| |
29 Nov
|
Starhill Global Reit
|
$192.10
| |
December
|
2 Dec
|
SSB Dec 2018
|
$47.25
|
12 Dec
|
Far East HTrust
|
$124.80
| |
16 Dec
|
Astrea IV Bond
|
$87.24
| |
20 Dec
|
Astrea V Bond
|
$77.21
|
This year, the total dividends collected have grown by approximately 103.90%, primarily due to the active injection of funds into the portfolio in 2018. However, it is still short of my short-term goal of reaching dividend income of $500 per month. A little room for advancement in the new year.
Total Dividend Collected : $ 4,902.07
Average Dividend/Month : $ 408.51 (over 12-months period)
* Exchange Rate
Total Dividend Collected : $ 4,902.07
Average Dividend/Month : $ 408.51 (over 12-months period)
* Exchange Rate
1 EUR : 1.510537 SGD
1 USD : 1.34831 SGD
To wind up the last post of the year, thank you for reading and a happy new year to everyone! It is time to unfold new pages and start a new chapter in your life. A new year, a new start and infinite possibilities!
1 USD : 1.34831 SGD
To wind up the last post of the year, thank you for reading and a happy new year to everyone! It is time to unfold new pages and start a new chapter in your life. A new year, a new start and infinite possibilities!
If you do not wish to miss out on any articles, you may consider following the facebook page for timely update.
0 comments