With markets getting more efficient, investors are finding it more challenging to beat the market through active stock selection. Even esteemed investor Warren Buffett has said that average investors would probably be better off investing in index funds, rather than managing their own stock portfolio. The fact that actively managed funds have on average lagged market returns further emphasises this fact. So with that in mind, is it still possible for retail investors to outperform the stock market over the long-term? Think extremely long-term Investors often try to beat the market by finding underpriced stocks. However, underpriced stocks could mean three things:  The stock is underpriced relative to its assets; The stock is underpriced relative to its current earnings; and/or The s

Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) is the first pure-play data centre REIT listed in Asia. The REIT’s investment strategy is to invest in income-producing real estate assets used primarily for data centre purposes. Keppel DC REIT currently owns 15 data centres worth around S$2 billion as of 30 June 2019. On 16 September, the REIT announced the proposed acquisition of a 99% interest in Keppel DC Singapore 4 and a 100% interest in 1-Net North Data Centre. The former will be acquired for around S$384.9 million while the latter will cost S$200.2 million, for a total transaction value of S$585.1 million. These acquisitions will be funded by a combination of equity (raised from both a private placement and a preferential offering) as well as debt. An extraordinary general meeting will be convened

Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4) and Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63), or ST Engineering, are two of the most prominent industrial conglomerates in Singapore. Though conglomerates usually have complex structures that render them difficult to understand, such structures also provide them with a hedge for the volatility in profits. In other words, they could be good long-term investments. In this article, we will try to find out which company is a better buy to consider over the long run. We are going to put the duo into two simple tests now to help us make our decision. Financial track record To start with, we will compare the financial performance of both companies in the last decade. This will help us assess the sustainability of the companies’ performance

With earnings season over, there has been little in the news to excite investors. However, three companies made announcements this week that will give shareholders reasons to cheer. Inclusion into index Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) announced that it will be included in the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index from 23 September. While inclusion into an index does not impact its day-to-day operations, it generates greater investor interest and increases the trading liquidity of its stock. Mr. Chua Hsien Yang, CEO of Keppel DC REIT said, “This is a significant milestone for Keppel DC REIT, and bears testament towards our commitment in growing the REIT to be recognised amongst real estate equities worldwide. This will enhance Keppel DC REIT’s visibility to index funds, and suppor

Investors who are looking for cheap stocks to invest in may wish to sift through a list of companies that have recently hit a 52-week low, as this usually offers a fertile ground for such investments. However, it is not as simple as just buying cheap companies without digging a little deeper into the underlying reasons. The same situation can be applied to well-known companies as well. Despite being famous, such companies are also subject to the same economic forces and competitive threats as all other businesses. They have to grapple with economic headwinds and disruptive challenges to ensure that they stay relevant, and may even be forced to evolve and adapt to rapidly-changing conditions. Investors need to do their due diligence before committing their capital to cheap investments, as

Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) has been on a tear this year, with its share price rising by 35% year to date from S$1.36 to S$1.78. Inclusive of S$0.0755 worth of dividends received, the total return for the REIT has been 37.4% so far this year. The REIT’s trailing-12-month dividend yield has fallen to 4.2% from 5.6% at the start of this year. With such a stellar performance, can the REIT really live up to investors’ high expectations? Keppel DC REIT is the first pure-play data centre REIT listed in Asia, with a focus on investing in real estate assets used primarily for data centre purposes. Its current portfolio consists of 15 high-quality data centres with an aggregate lettable area of approximately 1.1 million square feet. The portfolio spans 10 cities in eight countries in As

Technical Analysis of FTSE ST REIT Index (FSTAS8670) FTSE ST Real Estate Investment Trusts (FTSE ST REIT Index) continues its uptrend after finding support at the uptrend support at about 890-900, changing from 895.14  to 927.94 (+3.67%). Uptrend is still intact as long as the uptrend line support line holds.  Previous chart on FTSE ST REIT index can be found in the last post Singapore REIT Fundamental Comparison Table on Aug 19, 2019. Based on the current chart pattern and and momentum,  the sentiment is BULLISH and the trend for Singapore REIT direction is still UP. The recent selling is a healthy correction before the REIT index can move higher.   Fundamental Analysis of 42 Singapore REITs The following is the compilation of 42 REITs in Singapore with colour coding of th

As one of the most popular investments in Singapore, we keep a close eye on the performance of S-REITs. After the corporate earnings announcements each quarter, we compile a comprehensive summary on our REITs Report Card column. How Singapore REITs Share Prices Have Fared In 2019, So Far Before we look at how individual REIT prices have moved, let’s look at the broad S-REIT indices in Singapore. There are two main indices – the iEdge S-REIT Index and the iEdge S-REIT 20 Index. The iEdge S-REIT Index comprises all the REITs listed in Singapore, while the iEdge S-REIT 20 Index, as its name suggests, only comprise the 20 largest and more tradeable REITs on the iEdge S-REIT Index. Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In Singapore REITs The chart below depicts the iEdge S-REIT Index fluc

The Trade War is escalating.You can feel that coming as investors as you read the news that both Trump and Xi had continuously been playing a game of cat and mouse and it appears there's no way both could get a mutual agreement that might compromise one another.Last night was a bloodbath as Dow was down more than 600+ points while Nasdaq had fallen by 3%.It's pretty drastic in my opinion, but we are getting the hang of it with Trump.Up 2% on one night, down 3% the next day, and then up another 2%, and then down another 3%.Monday is going to be interesting especially for our STI index which is still at 3,110, and are still up by about 4-5% (inclusive of dividend) year to date.Not cool at all given we want a bigger drop like the ones we've seen most recently in 2016, at the very least.The ye

The Singapore stock market is home to many quality companies. Here are ten of my favourite shares listed on the SGX that you can consider buying in 2020 and beyond (listed in alphabetical order). 1. DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) DBS is Singapore’s largest bank with its tentacles spread out in many of the growing Asian nations, including China and India. In 2019, the bank was named by Euromoney as the “World’s Best Bank” – not an easy feat considering the competition it has the world over. Its established and growing presence in Greater China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia allows it to capture growth in this dynamic part of world for many years to come. 2. Haw Par Corporation Ltd (SGX: H02) Haw Par owns the widely-recognised Tiger Balm brand, a pain rel

Every three to four years, we revisit the topic issue on the importance to keep a warchest in our portfolio. This comes always on the back of something that is brewing, like the Eurozone crisis in 2011, the oil and China crisis in 2016 and the Trade War and HK protests in 2019.As the name itself implied, having sufficient warchest in your portfolio means you are keeping a sum of money that is ready when you are needed to go to war. The thing is this, we always take things granted in our lives, especially when everything are looking good and the sky is shining clear and bright.When times are good, we don't treasure them hard enough and often it gets overlooked with something which may seem more urgent to us. However, when things go sour, or when we lose it, we wish we could have put on

Technical Analysis of FTSE ST REIT Index (FSTAS8670) FTSE ST Real Estate Investment Trusts (FTSE ST REIT Index) broke out from the 10 years resistance at 875 with significant increase in trading volume. The REIT index is currently retracing from the high 941.77 to  895.14 (-4.95%). Next immediate support zone is between 870 to 875 for a healthy correction.  Previous chart on FTSE ST REIT index can be found in the last post Singapore REIT Fundamental Comparison Table on July 1, 2019. Based on the current chart pattern and and momentum,  the sentiment is BULLISH and the trend for Singapore REIT direction is still UP. The recent selling can be a healthy correction before the REIT index can move higher.   Fundamental Analysis of 42 Singapore REITs The following is the compila

First published in Business Times on 2 August, 2019 By Mak Yuen Teen and Chew Yi Hong The third edition of the Governance Index for Trusts (GIFT) assesses the governance and business risk of 46 real estate investment trusts (Reits) and business trusts (BTs) listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Four trusts are new to GIFT in the 2019 edition, having more than a year of listing status to allow us to assess them meaningfully. They are Cromwell European Reit, Keppel-KBS US Reit, NetLink NBN Trust and Sasseur Reit. The trusts that are ranked in the top five in GIFT 2019 are NetLink NBN Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Keppel DC Reit, AIMS APAC Reit and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (joint fourth). The average combined governance and business risk score has continued to improve s

By Mak Yuen Teen NetLink NBN Trust, one of the four new trusts included in the third edition of the Governance Index for Trusts (GIFT), has achieved the top ranking in its first year. This year, the governance and business risk of 46 out of the 50 real estate investment trusts (REITs) and business trusts (BTs) listed on SGX were assessed. Four trusts are new to GIFT in the 2019 edition, the other three being Cromwell European REIT, Keppel-KBS US REIT and Sasseur REIT. In general, the new trusts have fared well, with Keppel-KBS US REIT ranked joint sixth. The trusts that are ranked in the top 5 in GIFT 2019 are Netlink NBN Trust, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Keppel DC REIT, AIMS APAC REIT and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (joint fourth). The average combined governance and business r

CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) and KEPPEL DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) are likely going to increase their DPU in the future.

Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) had just released its first-half 2019 earnings report. Here’s why I believe the REIT can continue to grow its DPU.

In the first part of this two-part series, we covered four value REIT and property plays that CIMB recommends in the current investment climate. In part two of this series, we focus on four other large cap plays that are able to sustain and absorb shocks in the market. Investors Takeaway: 4 Liquid Large Cap Plays That Are Shock Resistant ComfortDelGro Corporation There was a lot of attention on ComfortDelgro Corporation’s taxi segment this quarter with consensus estimates expecting a recovery in taxi revenue. However, recovery in its taxi revenue did not pan out as expected in 1Q19. Moving forward, CIMB foresees a year-on-year decline in taxi revenue amid weakness in China and a higher fleet idle rate in Singapore. That being said, CIMB still anticipates good growth from ComfortDelgro

Here are five metrics used to pick Singapore’s strongest REITs including Parkway Life REIT (SGX: C2PU), Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU), and IREIT Global (SGX: UD1U).

Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) has rewarded unitholders well with increasing distributions.

Technical Analysis of FTSE ST REIT Index (FSTAS8670) FTSE ST Real Estate Investment Trusts (FTSE ST REIT Index) broke out from the 10 years resistance at 875 with significant increase in trading volume. The REIT index increased from 858.67 to 916.95 (+6.78%) and  as compared to last post on Singapore REIT Fundamental Comparison Table on June 3, 2019. The REIT index is entering in an uncharted territory after breaking new high and may head towards to 1000 points based on projection of 161.8% Fibonacci level. Based on the current chart pattern and and momentum,  the sentiment is BULLISH and the trend for Singapore REIT direction is still UP. However, the REIT index may go for a short term pause before moving higher.   Fundamental Analysis of 39 Singapore REITs The following i