LP minibonds 20k

I was setting up the stage for LP mini bond for my parents' friend for 20k, so naturally I've to do some homework. I started by looking up the yields for the different bonds and preference shares listed at SGX. Do take note that the yields I calculate is based on my own way stated here. It basically included all the coupon/dividends payment until the first date of maturity, subtracted from the guaranteed capital loss from buying the bonds/pref shares above par. Retail bonds 1. Genting SP5.125% Perp - 7.8 yrs to maturity (YTM) - 4.47% pa 2....

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Reviewing my resolutions

It's interesting to see other bloggers starting to put out their battle plans for 2015 with their great goals and targets. It's just not me though, not because I don't believe in goals and planning but I think it shouldn't be dictated by the number of revolutions the earth rotates about its axis and around the sun. I think it should be set when one is motivated and the circumstances forces a change in plans :) For me, if you feel all motivated to...

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LP bonds 2014 part 2

Here's part 1. There's an important part that I need to remind myself. Most of the holdings are preference shares and bonds listed in SGX. Here are the holdings: 1. OCBC Bk 4.2% NCPS (perpetual, maybe be redeemed after Jul 2013) 2. OCC 5.1% NCPS 100 (maturity 3.7 yrs) 3. DBS Bk 4.7% NCPS 100 (maturity 5.9 yrs) 4. CapMallA3.8%b220112 (maturity 7.1 yrs) 5. CapMallTrb3.08%210220 (maturity 6 yrs) Since I bought the bonds/pref shares above par value, there will be a guaranteed capital loss if the issuer wants to redeem back the bonds/shares....

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LP bonds 2014 results

This is the time to distribute coupons for my LP bonds back to my parents. For those who are scratching their heads, here's the prequel for this post. There are two tranches for the bond: 1. LP bond 50k Starting capital: 50k Invested capital (inclusive of comms): $49,773.02 Cash accumulated from payout of holdings: $2,144 Paper gain (loss) from drop in market price of holdings: ($748.02) Total portfolio gain (loss): $1,395.98 Total portfolio...

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To see the world through the eyes of a newbie

The moment you don't need to excel is precisely the moment you start excelling. I knew that from my past experience as a air rifle shooter. When you take part in competition, you should be in a meditative state of mind. You have to know that you're competing, yet you cannot think you're competing. If you cannot treat the competition like it's just normal, routine practice, you cannot perform well. It's just that when you treat the competition...

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2014 in the eyes of the books I've read

I blogged about my book challenge here. Essentially, it's for me to read 1 book per week, for 52 weeks, summing up to a grand total of 52 books per year. The last time I succeeded in this challenge was way back in 2008 where I managed 55 books that year. Most of the time, it's just 30 odd books, which is about 1 book every 4 days. I also shared that the main purpose of this challenge is not to squeeze as many books as possible. It's really to...

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My offensive and defensive strategies

I wrote about my dilemma regarding whether to pay down my HDB loans or use the excess money for investment. That was back in Nov 2013 and more than a year had since passed. Back then, I really put in an extra 24k to do partial repayment for my HDB loans, and it shaved off 2.5 yrs off my 30 yrs loan. One year later, I still don't know if I did the right decision. The dilemma is always the same: given a sum of money, is it better to use it pay down...

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My offensive and defensive strategies

I wrote about my dilemma regarding whether to pay down my HDB loans or use the excess money for investment. That was back in Nov 2013 and more than a year had since passed. Back then, I really put in an extra 24k to do partial repayment for my HDB loans, and it shaved off 2.5 yrs off my 30 yrs loan. One year later, I still don't know if I did the right decision. The dilemma is always the same: given a sum of money, is it better to use it pay down...

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Ally, Beth and Charlene - my 3 chilli plants

I started planting chilli late last year. It's Dec 2014 now, so it's almost a year since I saw them grew from dormant dry seeds in a paper packet to the tall living fledgling plants bearing fruits now. I have three main chilli plants, let's call them Ally, Beth and Charlene, all of them in the same planter box. I wanted to give a "Best chilli plant 2014" award to one of them, so let's do a short review of their history. Chilli flowers - 5 white...

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Short term goals for my long term plan

I was tallying up my numbers to plan for the short term goals in the next 2-4 yrs. I was 'suddenly' inspired to save up again. The last time I did that was because I wanted to save up for my downpayment and renovation for my flat without getting in debts. So there was this period that I was going 50k per year savings for 3 yrs. Looking back, it's a very sad 3 yrs where I worked like a crazy rabbit on steroids. Here's goes the thesis. I want to earn enough passive income to hit my stage 1 of my financial freedom game. Stage 1 means that I will...

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DDM valuation for Blue-black Blue chips

Let's do some low ball valuation for a few blue chips, most of them beaten until blue-black. I'm using a dividend discounted (DDM) model, with the assumptions: 1. Zero growth rate for dividend 2. Rate of return required = 5% (twice as much as CPF's OA account) 3. Dividends given till perpetuity 4. No special dividends included, unless they occur every year. I'll guesstimate in that case. 5. I'm using a geometric progression, specifically the sum...

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Be careful of domain specific expertise

We have very specific expertise in very specific domains. It'll be extremely unwise to think that being an expert in one domain can naturally lead to expertise in other domains.  For example, you're an economic professor teaching in a local university. Due to the nature of your work, you have to be somewhat of an expert in economics. But to think that your expertise in economics extend to areas like financial investments is delusional....

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Views on CPF contribution by a Self-employed

This year, I made a bold move. I started to put my cash into CPF for voluntary contribution. It's a strange idea. When I was younger, I wanted to conserve my cash and invest in it myself. But as I get older, I started to think of things that can go wrong. I wanted some insurance against my own investment, in case things goes wrong. Rationale for putting cash into CPF There's not a lot of write up for self employed people out there regarding CPF,...

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The relationship between ROE and ROA

Been reading a few books on finance recently to brush up some stuff. Things that you don't use it often, you'll forget. So I make it a point to re-read some of the books that I've read and also some books for newbies. It's important to learn as if you are a newbie even though you are not. You'll see things in different light. Anyway, I was just musing over a key criteria in evaluating companies. Among other things, it must have: 1. High consistent...

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