Sector rotation is an investment strategy which involves the movement of investment funds from one sector to another, in an attempt to beat the market return. The idea is simple, instead of holding equal weight in all sectors, an investor could potentially beat the market by holding a bigger proportion of his portfolio in strong sectors and a lower proportion of the portfolio in weaker sectors. This sector rotation strategy, when applied correctly, could result in higher returns over a period of time, as opposed to simple investing equally into the market as a whole. For example, one could favor aggressive stocks such as banks, which are likely to do well during periods of growth. During periods of uncertainty, defensive stocks such as telco companies may perform better. In this week’s e

Today, we are going to share with you how to invest your CPF investment money in a no-brainer way. The best part? You need not be financial savvy to do this. A beginner can do it! And I’ll reveal the exact step-by-step process, which you can follow easily. What is CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS)? It is to provide option to CPF members to invest their CPF savings in various instruments such as insurance products, unit trusts, fixed deposits, bonds and shares in Singapore. The Average CPF Interest Rate is 2.5% to 4% for Ordinary Account. Check their latest CPF interest rate here. Below is the latest CPF rate (1st Oct to 31st Dec 2019).   Share this Infographic On Your Site </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><

With a history of 130 years, Hongkong Land is certainly one of the most venerable listed companies in Singapore. Possibly, only Boustead, OCBC’s Great Eastern and UOB’s Haw Par Corp can match Hongkong Land in terms of pedigree and history. If you are talking about prestige, Hongkong Land is even more impressive as its parent company is none other than the famous Jardine Matheson Holdings. Together with Dairy Farm, Jardine C&C, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Jardine Strategic Holdings, Hongkong Land forms the “Hong Kong Five Tigers” that ruled Straits Times Index (STI) for many years. The Hong Kong Five Tigers are all part of the Jardine Matheson Group and this network of companies established an impenetrable fortress in the SGX mainboard. Nonetheless, what can float a boat can a

No.  Counters No. of Shares Market Price (SGD) Total Value (SGD) based on market price Allocation % 1. Starhub (Short) 120,000 1.28    153,000.00 8.0% 2. DBS (Short)     3,000 24.57      73,710.00 4.0% 3. HK Land   10,000 US$5.50      75,900.00 4.0% 4. Far East Hospitality Trust     3,000 0.68        2,040.00 1.0% 5. Ho Bee Land        300 2.30           700.00 1.0% 6. Warchest     1,360,000.00 82.0% Total  1,665,350.00 100% Less: CFD Leverage @ 2.8% (158,000.00) Total  1,5

Last week, the Securities Investors Association of Singapore celebrated its 20th anniversary and the occasion was a reminder to investors about the importance of putting emphasis on companies to uphold high standards of corporate governance.  Good corporate governance is one of the key fundamentals to a company’s success and long-term sustainability. At heart, it helps to reflect on a company’s values, supports its vision and shapes the culture. The goal is to help managers of a company mitigate risks, safeguard stakeholders’ interest and ultimately enhance value.   On the other hand, ineffective mechanisms or poor corporate governance could erode the very foundations that a company was built upon and lead to disastrous consequences.  For instance, when it came to light in 2017 t

There you go. The protracted Hong Kong protests claimed its first casualty among the prestigious Straits Times Index (STI) when it was announced on 5 September 2019 that Hutchison Port Holding Trust (HPH) will be booted out of the index. Replacing HPH Trust will be Mapletree Commerical Trust (MCT). The move should be a bid to contain the fallout from the Hong Kong protests. And it is not difficult to see why HPH Trust was chosen for the axe. Currently, Hong Kong stocks make up 20% of the STI constituents. Other than HPH Trust (which was backed by the famous Li Ka Shing), the other five Hong Kong counters are all linked to the conglomerate Jardine Group – Hong Kong Land, Dairy Farm, Jardine C&C, JMH and JSH. Between HPH Trust and the Jardine Group, the obvious candidate to be dropped

At any point in time, there will be certain companies whose share prices have fallen due to various reasons. For instance, company-specific events or macroeconomic headwinds could have affected sentiment surrounding the company, hitting the stock price hard in the short term. However, those firms could also have the potential to recover and return to growth over the long run. Here, let’s take a look at three such Singapore-listed companies that have been beaten down recently but have the ability to do well in the long term. Company #1: Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) is a pan-Asian retail group with operations across many Asian countries and territories. It manages supermarkets, hypermarkets, convenience stores, health and beaut

In the first eight months of 2019, Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index (STI), comprising the 30 largest and most liquid stocks listed in Singapore, delivered a total return of 4.8%. During this period, Singapore’s 30 most actively traded stocks in the first eight months delivered a total return of 11.5%, or more than double the STI. The top 30 most actively traded stocks comprised 24 stocks from the STI, and six additional stocks: Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) Suntec REIT Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) AEM Holdings Mapletree Industrial Trust (MINT) The six STI stocks that were not part of the top 30 most actively traded stocks, included: UOL Group SATS Sembcorp Industries Golden Agri-Resources Dairy Farm International Holdings

As investors, we should always be on the lookout for great bargains in the stock market. Of course, one also has to be discerning when we look at companies that have seen a sharp or sustained fall in their share price, as not every such instance yields a bargain. The difficulty lies in assessing if the share price plunge is justified, or if it may simply be temporary. In the case of Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited (SGX: D01), or DFI, its share price has fallen by 22% year-to-date. As a recap, DFI is a pan-Asian retailer that has business divisions dealing with hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, health and beauty, food and beverage and furniture. The group has a strong presence in Asia with stores in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. In order to as

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74) shares the Singapore telecom spotlight with M1 Ltd and StarHub Ltd. The company’s share price has declined significantly over the last few years. Given its lower share price, investors might be attracted to the company now. Clearly, Singtel is a good candidate for further research given the negative sentiments. Yet, it’s not the only company worth considering. Let’s look at one company that might be an even better investment than Singtel, especially over the long run. The contender The company we’re talking about is Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (SGX: J36), a conglomerate with interest in the web of Jardine companies that include Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited (SGX: J37), Jardine Cycle & Car

Economists are predicting that the unrest in Hong Kong might have a long-term impact on the economy. Allen Morrison, Professor of Global Management at Arizona State University wrote recently that: “Companies have historically chosen to set up shop in Hong Kong both because of its desirable location and its perception as a haven where the rule of law is strong, particularly compared with China. That’s been changing as more international businesses opt to move their headquarters to the mainland as its economic power has grown. If China seeks to resolve the protests by taking more control over Hong Kong – which would likely erode its attractive legal environment – multinational companies would have one less reason to keep the city as their regional foothold. What ha

There are two major listed supermarket stocks in Singapore, namely Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd (SGX: D01) and Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8). The former is a conglomerate that operates brands like Guardian, Cold Storage, Giant Hypermarket, and 7-Eleven while the latter focuses mainly on Sheng Siong-branded stores. For investors who are looking to invest in this industry, they might want to know which of the two supermarkets they should consider now. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. As such, I’d like to put both companies side by side in order to get a direct comparison. Financial performance To start with, we want to know which company has done better financially recently. I’ll start with Dairy Farm. For the first half ended 30

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

Jardine Matheson Holdings (SGX: J36) has been on a tear this year, dropping by as much as 23% in 2019, mainly due to the intensifying global trade tension, protests in Hongkong and slowing businesses in particular the auto sales, putting the company as one of the worst performer in the STI index.As a contrarian investor myself, I became interested in the company when the share price keeps falling, which means valuations are getting cheaper in relative to its earnings.But as an investor with limited resources, is now the best time to put our money into the company?Company's BackgroundFounded in 1832, Jardine Matheson Holdings became one of the trading houses that shaped the early days of Hong Kong's development. It moved its stock listing to Singapore thereafter in the early 1990s.The compa

I like to monitor companies that dish out dividends for investment ideas. In the next few days, there are some companies going ex-dividend. In other words, you need to own shares in the company before a particular day of the week to receive their dividends. Let’s look at three of those companies. Wednesday, 21 August 2019 On Wednesday, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63) will be going ex-dividend. The conglomerate is dishing out S$0.05 per share for its second quarter of 2019. For the latest quarter, ST Engineering’s revenue grew 8% year-on-year to S$1.78 billion while its net profit rose 18% to S$138.2 million. In April, the acquisition of MRA Systems (MRAS) was completed, and that contributed well to both sales and earnings. The group’s future looks brigh