- 6 Jan 2012
Initiated Regular Savings Plan into Franklin Templeton IF Templeton Global Bond Fund A(mdis) SGD-H1 and First State Bridge unit trusts on dollarDEX platform - 18 Jan 2012
Received dividends (re-invested) from Templeton Global Bond Fund - 29 Feb 2012
Collected dividends from FCT, PLife, Starhill, Cache, First REIT, Sabana and Cambridge - 14 Mar 2012
Reduced Cambridge existing holdings - 20 Mar 2012
Reduced Sabana existing holdings
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Stock & Unit Trust Portfolio Update Jan/Feb/Mar 2012
Continuing on from Stock Portfolio Update Oct/Nov 2011,
Diversification of portfolio through unit trusts
For some time, I have thought about diversifying my portfolio geographically (outside of Asia) and across different asset classes (apart from equity). With my limited capital, unit trusts present one of the low-cost avenues for achieving this.
Between the two online unit trust fund distributors Fundsupermart and dollarDEX, I opted for the latter to avoid paying the "platform fee" which Fundsupermart had imposed in 2010.
Since fixed income instruments such as bonds are currently mixing from my investment mix, I decided to initiate a Regular Savings Plan into two funds:
Between the two online unit trust fund distributors Fundsupermart and dollarDEX, I opted for the latter to avoid paying the "platform fee" which Fundsupermart had imposed in 2010.
Since fixed income instruments such as bonds are currently mixing from my investment mix, I decided to initiate a Regular Savings Plan into two funds:
- Franklin Templeton IF Templeton Global Bond Fund A(mdis) SGD-H1 - note: mdis denotes monthly distribution and SGD-H1 denotes the SGD hedged version since the mother fund is managed in USD terms
- First State Bridge - note: this is an Asian balanced fund
Personally, I like the monthly distribution characteristic of the former, and the Asia-centric nature of the latter as this will give me the option of exiting my ILP in future but still retain some exposure to Asian equities.
Meanwhile, I am also on the lookout for a proven and low-cost precious metals fund to benefit from the long-term uptrend of gold and silver prices.
Happy Chinese New Year and good fortune to all !
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Aviva SAF Insurance II
For a while now, I have been considering increasing my critical illness coverage to complement my private MediShield plan (including a rider to cover the deductible and co-insurance portions) which I had signed with GE.
Of my existing plans, there were two immediate options open to me: tagging onto my Aviva SAF Group Insurance or onto my ILP. However, as my ILP was meant almost exclusively for investment purposes (as opposed to insurance), my preference was for the former.
Cost-wise, up till age 45, the charge for critical illness coverage under the Aviva SAF Group Insurance was $5.00 monthly per $50,000 coverage (max $300,000 coverage). Thereafter, the monthly premium progressively increases from year to year until the cut-off age of 65.
For reference, some details for two of the more prominent critical illness plans are as follows:
GE Early-Payout CriticalCare Plus - advertised as providing payout at the earlier stages of critical illness, $63 a month based on a non-smoking male, aged 30 at next birthday with a sum assured amount of $100,000 for a policy term of 30 years
PRUmultiple crisis cover - advertised as providing up to three critical illness claims, inclusive of 2 cancer claims, $1.76 a day for a female non-smoker aged 35 on her next birthday covered for $50,000 over 50 years
Just for comparison purposes, the monthly premiums for a 30-ish male/female non-smoker to be covered for $50,000 are estimated to be (* please consult a qualified agent for accurate quotes and kindly do not take these values at face value):
Aviva SAF Insurance: $5.00
GE Early-Payout CriticalCare Plus: ~$31.50
PRUmultiple crisis cover: ~$52.80
For cost-conscious consumers, the Aviva plan is clearly the most basic and hence least expensive. If one should desire the additional benefits which the other two plans bring, then there is of course an additional price to pay. To each his own...
Of my existing plans, there were two immediate options open to me: tagging onto my Aviva SAF Group Insurance or onto my ILP. However, as my ILP was meant almost exclusively for investment purposes (as opposed to insurance), my preference was for the former.
Cost-wise, up till age 45, the charge for critical illness coverage under the Aviva SAF Group Insurance was $5.00 monthly per $50,000 coverage (max $300,000 coverage). Thereafter, the monthly premium progressively increases from year to year until the cut-off age of 65.
For reference, some details for two of the more prominent critical illness plans are as follows:
GE Early-Payout CriticalCare Plus - advertised as providing payout at the earlier stages of critical illness, $63 a month based on a non-smoking male, aged 30 at next birthday with a sum assured amount of $100,000 for a policy term of 30 years
PRUmultiple crisis cover - advertised as providing up to three critical illness claims, inclusive of 2 cancer claims, $1.76 a day for a female non-smoker aged 35 on her next birthday covered for $50,000 over 50 years
Just for comparison purposes, the monthly premiums for a 30-ish male/female non-smoker to be covered for $50,000 are estimated to be (* please consult a qualified agent for accurate quotes and kindly do not take these values at face value):
Aviva SAF Insurance: $5.00
GE Early-Payout CriticalCare Plus: ~$31.50
PRUmultiple crisis cover: ~$52.80
For cost-conscious consumers, the Aviva plan is clearly the most basic and hence least expensive. If one should desire the additional benefits which the other two plans bring, then there is of course an additional price to pay. To each his own...
AUD / NZD Update December 2011
Rate cuts by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) while Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) holds its rate steady. A sign of the slowing economy ahead?
| Effective Date | Change in cash rate Percentage points | New cash rate target Per cent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Dec 2011 | -0.25 | 4.25 | |
| 2 Nov 2011 | -0.25 | 4.50 | |
| 3 Nov 2010 | +0.25 | 4.75 | |
| 5 May 2010 | +0.25 | 4.50 | |
| 7 Apr 2010 | +0.25 | 4.25 | |
| 3 Mar 2010 | +0.25 | 4.00 | |
| 2 Dec 2009 | +0.25 | 3.75 | |
| 4 Nov 2009 | +0.25 | 3.50 | |
| 7 Oct 2009 | +0.25 | 3.25 | |
| 8 Apr 2009 | -0.25 | 3.00 | |
| 4 Feb 2009 | -1.00 | 3.25 | |
| 3 Dec 2008 | -1.00 | 4.25 | |
| 5 Nov 2008 | -0.75 | 5.25 | |
| 8 Oct 2008 | -1.00 | 6.00 | |
| 3 Sep 2008 | -0.25 | 7.00 | |
| Effective Date | Change in OCR Percentage points | New OCR Per cent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Mar 2011 | -0.50 | 2.50 | |
| 29 Jul 2010 | +0.25 | 3.00 | |
| 10 Jun 2010 | +0.25 | 2.75 | |
| 30 Apr 2009 | -0.50 | 2.50 | |
| 12 Mar 2009 | -0.50 | 3.00 | |
| 29 Jan 2009 | -1.50 | 3.50 | |
| 4 Dec 2008 | -1.50 | 5.00 | |
| 23 Oct 2008 | -1.00 | 6.50 | |
| 11 Sep 2008 | -0.50 | 7.50 | |
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