The weekly 4 Stocks This Week column on DollarsAndSense was started in 2017 with a simple objective was simple: to provide a convenient read each week for busy investors to stay updated with what is happening on the Singapore Exchange. 4 Stock This Week is not a recommendation from us to buy or sell any of the stocks that wke feature. Its purpose is to highlight interesting stocks that investors should be aware of, rather than to analyse these stocks. For this week’s edition, instead of the usual coverage of four stocks, we’ll do a year in review of the other 51 instalments of 4 Stocks This Week that our team has written in 2019. Over the past year (51 weeks), we’ve covered 123 SGX-listed stocks, 4 ETFs and 8 Daily Leverage Certificates. The most covered stock was Sas

SIA Engineering Company Ltd (SGX: S59), or SIAEC, has probably seen better days. Its share price has tumbled from a high of around S$4.60 five years ago to just S$2.58 as the group faces structural changes and headwinds in the airline industry. As a recap, SIAEC provides extensive aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) to more than 80 international airline carriers and aerospace equipment manufacturers worldwide. The group owns six hangars and 17 in-house workshops in Singapore and provides line maintenance services to more than 50 airlines passing through Singapore. The airline industry has witnessed its fair share of structural changes over the last few years, as the proliferation of low-cost carriers (LCC) threatens to upend the business model for full-service airlines. While

The Sino-US trade talks are set to resume next week. Both sides already know what the other side wants. China wants America to drop the import tariffs, while America wants China to stop subsidising its state-owned enterprises. Why are they even talking? Unsurprisingly, nobody is holding their breath for a breakthrough. A bunch of Fed officials will take the rostrum. They include Esther George, who is happy to keep interest rates at current levels, Neel Kashkari, who would like the Fed to lower rates, and Fed chair Jerome Powell, who thinks that the US economy is in a good place. There are some US inflation numbers to digest. They should show a slight uplift in the headline rate from 1.7% to 1.9%. But core inflation should be unchanged at 2.4%. China returns from its Golden Week holiday to

iFast Corporation Limited (SGX: AIY) is a financial technology company and offers investors the chance to buy and sell securities such as equities, unit trusts and bonds on its platform. iFast holds the requisite licences in the various jurisdictions in which it operates, and offers access to over 6,500 funds from over 250 fund houses. The group operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and India. iFast has been growing steadily over the years, and recently, the group has announced its intention to pursue a digital banking licence in Singapore. Applications have been opened by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and interested parties have until end 2019 to submit their applications. The group also continually invests in its platform capabilities to enhance users’ exp

Constructing a strong and effective portfolio is never an easy task, and the investor is responsible for continually reviewing his positions and tweaking them to optimise his capital allocation. Aside from trying to maximise gains from the growth of the companies within the portfolio, the investor also has to be aware of risks and be able to position the portfolio to mitigate them. It can feel like an attempt to juggle ten balls with just two hands! In my years of investing, I have learnt a lot about how to manage my portfolio such that I capitalise on the gains, earn a steady income, and yet, ensure the risks are adequately mitigated. This knowledge was gleaned through an iterative process of learning from mistakes, due diligence on companies, and tweaking individual positions. Here are

In my capacity on my day job in Providend, I was asked to make a comment on a recent MorningStar study that came out. You can see my comments here: click to read article. Unfortunately, my Chinese is so lousy that I cannot translate this. Basically, Zaobao seeks a comment why local funds are comparatively so expensive and my answer is as above. MorningStar’s global investor study seeks to examine the cost structure of funds for retail investors around the world. They have produce this study every 2 years so this study in 2019 is the sixth edition. It might not occur to many investors, but compared to many of my blogging peers, I started my investing roots from unit trust. From my perspective, unit trust fees have been high. I am glad that we have more acces

Both Straits Times and Business Times ran the update that DBS will be launching their Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) portfolio for the investors. And it got me thinking about a few things. Firstly, the product. A Human-Robot Managed ETF Portfolio There will be 2 portfolios that are launched: The Asia Portfolio: Gives you Singapore listed ETF exposure to countries in Singapore, China and IndiaThe Global Portfolio: Offers UK-listed ETFs You can invest with a minimum sum of $1,000. The investor will be charged an AUM fee of 0.75% per year. You can look at this as the company wrap fee. There will be no more sales charges, locked in period or platform fees. More on this later. The portfolio is actively managed. A team of portfolio managers led by Mr Christophe M

On 29 August, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) began accepting applications for Singapore’s first digital bank initiative. Five licences are up for grabs from non-bank players — two for digital full-fledged banks and three for restricted digital banks. Interested parties have until 31 December 2019 to submit their applications. MAS will announce the successful applicants in mid-2020, and the digital banks are to commence business by mid-2021. MAS also laid down some ground rules for applicants to prevent frivolous applications. Applicants need to 1) have a track record of at least three years in an existing business within the e-commerce or technology fields; 2) provide a clear value proposition for serving unmet or under-served needs of certain segments of the popula

In spite of the global uncertainty due to the US-China Trade war and the Hong Kong protest, 2019 has been a good year for most major stock market around the world. Singapore’s three local banks, DBS, OCBC & UOB have remained strong in spite of what appears to be future competition with up to five new digital bank licenses to be issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). As observed by SGX’s Market Strategist Geoff Howie, all three local banks are maintaining an indicative dividend yield above 4.0% and averaging a 9% year-on-year net profit growth for the 1H2019. In this week’s edition of 4 Stocks This Week, we take a look at notable developments for each of the three local banks as well as iFAST Corporation, a popular wealth management fintech platform based in Singapor

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

There are a bunch of investors who are always searching for a cost effective broker platform. Through these platform they wish to handle the majority of their transactions. I think cost is one aspect but there are other considerations Think in terms of whether the broker will continue to be in businessIf you have a problem with the platform, or your trade, are they responsiveThe variety of products they allow you to tradeHow easy will it be for you to transfer your money in to start and transfer the money outHow intuitive is the interface One of my friend told me that Interactive Brokers (IBKR) are in the midst of setting up their Singapore office. They are probably in the process of getting the necessary license through MAS to operate in Singapore. My friend did a check

Some of you may miss the last Ein55 Graduate Gathering (14/7/2019), here are the key summary for your reference (educational purpose, please make your own decision):1) Short-term Bond StrategyBesides preserving cash in bank, another option for investor is holding short term bond while waiting for global financial crisis. Analyze company with bond <1-2 years maturity, ensure it is a giant, waiting for discount in unit bond price (<$100). G8 Education (GEM.AX) was quoted as an example (bond matured in May 2019), having both coupon interest (5.5%) and capital gains in bond price (8% when unit bond price was $92). Applying stock analysis in bond selection, focusing on business fundamental.Here is bond screener (we will study more case studies of short term bonds in coming Ein55 coac