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

1. SPH REIT  --  10th Oct 20192. Kep Infra Trust  --  14th Oct 20193. Kep DC REIT  --  15th Oct 20194. Kep Pac Oak US REIT  -- 15th Oct 20195. MapletreeCom Trust  --  15th Oct 20196. Kep REIT  --  16th Oct 20197. Kep Corp  --  17th Oct 20198. SPH  --  17th Oct 20199. CapitaMall Trust  --  21st Oct 201910. Mapletreelog Trust  --  21st Oct 201911. MapletreeInd Trust  --  22nd Oct 201912. FrasersCom Trust  --  22nd Oct 201913. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  23rd Oct 201914. Suntec REIT  --  23rd Oct 201915. CapitaCom Trust  --  23rd Oct 201916. SGX  --  24th Oct 201917. MNACT  --  25th Oct 201918. CapitaR China Trust  --  25th O

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 your Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) 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 /&

Investors are constantly searching for great investments that can help compound their money over years in order to build up a comfortable retirement nest egg for themselves. The problem lies in identifying companies that consistently have an edge and are able to grow their revenue, profit, and cash flow over the long term. Many companies may outwardly display such characteristics, but the investor has to be mindful of value traps — investments that seem good on the surface but may turn out to be stinkers in the future. It’s important to monitor investments to ensure the original investment thesis continues to be on track and the risks are contained or mitigated. I rely on four methods to find great long-term winners. I believe these four aspects should stand investors in good

2019 marks the year that I've invested in SIA for a decade.  This will be the 5th stock in my investment portfolio after Genting Singapore, First Reit, SingPost and CapitaMall Trust to be in the "10-years club".So anything to cheer about ?  Afraid not from the perspective of return.  Invested in 2009 at a price of $11.12 and adding some more a year later to make the holding price at $12.07.  At the price of $9.1 on 21st Oct 2019, this gives an unrealized loss of -25.01% (annualized -2.84%) and a dividend return of +36.99%.  This produces an overall return of +11.98% (annualized +1.14%).  As a whole the return is still positive with the inclusion of dividend but on purely capital return, probably at least 60% of the time during the 10 years period it is in the

There are many financial metrics that matter when investors assess companies for potential investment. Some of these include revenue and profit growth, margins, free cash flow, and dividend yield. I can safely say one of the more important metrics is free cash flow (FCF), as cold, hard cash is the lifeblood of a business. Having more cash is almost always a good thing as it allows companies to have more flexibility in how they operate, and it can also serve as a buffer when tough times arrive. The emphasis on consistent FCF allows investors to sleep well at night and offers companies many options for how to deploy that cash to generate better returns for their investors. Here are four things to like about companies that generate strong FCF. 1. Increasing dividends Companies with a strong

Aviation is undoubtedly a booming industry, with the emergence of low-cost airlines in recent years adding to the growth of the overall sector. The rise of the middle-class segment has also allowed many people to take holidays in far-flung places, while airlines have been scrambling to add more flights to a wider variety of destinations to cater to burgeoning demand. In Singapore, our Singapore Tourism Board has been promoting the country as a choice destination for travellers from China, Indonesia, and Japan. Visitor arrivals increased by 1.8% year on year for July 2019, taking the total tally of visitors for the first seven months of 2019 to 11.13 million. Japanese tourists have also seen a 7.3% year-on-year surge for the January to July period this year, compared to the same period las

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

If you are new to investing and don’t know where to begin when it comes to buying shares, you can consider buying an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of a stock market index, such as Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI). However, if you’re looking to beat the stock market and get outstripped returns, there are ways to do that, too. Just look at the five-year chart below showing the Straits Times Index pitted against Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), and Straco Corporation Ltd (SGX: S85).Source: Yahoo! Finance The trio of companies has handily beaten the Singapore stock market over the past five years. For instance, the best performer of them all, SATS, has produced a return of around 56% versus the STI’s return of n

Singapore Airlines Ltd (SGX: C6L), or SIA, is the national carrier for the city-state of Singapore and is famous for its “Singapore Girl” branding. Other than the namesake carrier which the airline runs, it also has other subsidiaries such as SilkAir, Scoot, and Vistara which serve different groups of customers in the area of passenger transportation. Last week, I looked at whether CapitaLand Ltd (SGX: C31) should be in your portfolio. This time, I’ll take a look at three metrics to see if you should buy shares of SIA and whether it deserves a spot in your portfolio. Earnings per share Earnings per share (EPS) at SIA has compounded at an impressive 16.5% over the past five years. This is on the back of EPS growing from 31.4 Singapore cents in the financial year (FY) 2015

My Foolish colleague, Peter Stephens, recently wrote that amid the market volatility, the best way to invest might be to buy “high-quality dividend stocks at regular intervals”. So, what are some high-quality income stocks listed in Singapore to consider for your stock portfolio? Here are three of them that you can buy now through to 2020. (Tip: All of the companies mentioned below have dividend yields higher than that of the SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3), which has a yield of 3.8%. The SPDR STI ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the fundamentals of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI).) No. 1: DBS Group Holdings Ltd DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05) is Singapore’s largest bank, with operations in many Asian countries. This year, it became the world’s first bank

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

SATS is a food and logistics company that is best known for managing most of the ground-handling services and in-flight catering at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Due to the recurring nature of the business, SATS’ financial performance has been remarkably stable. In fact, SATS’ operating profit actually grew during the last financial crisis, from S$153 million in 2007 to S$170 million in 2009. Despite this, SATS seems to be facing some challenges on the growth front in recent years — revenues have grown just 8% over the past three years. While earnings have grown over the same period due to increased efficiency, revenues will ultimately need to grow if the company is to earn more over time. Hence, I attended SATS’ 2019 AGM to find out more about the company’s growth plans

SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) is a company providing food solutions and gateway services solutions. The Food Solutions covers airline catering, food distribution, industrial catering, whereas Gateway Solutions is involved in ground handling services of passengers, flights and cargo. In this article, we will try to understand how SATS makes its money. Here, we will look at it from three perspectives — by business, by industry, and by geography. Source: SATS’ 2019 Annual Report As a quick introduction, Food Solutions includes revenue from inflight catering, institutional catering, chilled, frozen and retort food manufacturing, hospitality services and airline linen and laundry services. On the other hand, Gateway Services includes revenue from airport and cruise terminal services, i

SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) is a Singapore-listed company with a sizeable market capitalisation of S$5.41 billion. As a quick background, SATS is the leading provider of gateway services and food solutions in the region. It caters to the needs of the aviation sector and a host of other businesses in hospitality, food, healthcare, freight, and logistics industries besides governments. Here are three quick numbers to understand how SATS has performed over the past five years. 1. Earnings per share Earnings per share (EPS) at SATS has seen a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% over the past five years. In the past five years, EPS has grown from 17.5 Singapore cents in fiscal year (FY) 2014/15 to 22.3 Singapore cents in FY 2018/19. The steady growth over the past five years has been due to a r

Return on equity (ROE) is a simple metric to showcase how good a company’s management is in turning every dollar of shareholders’ equity into earnings. It’s calculated by taking the annual earnings of a company (found under its income statement) and dividing it by the shareholders’ equity (found under the balance sheet). Generally, the higher the ROE figure, the better it is for shareholders. We all want the companies we’ve invested in to generate as much profit as possible for every dollar of our equity, don’t we? A recent report by the Singapore Exchange revealed the ROE of the top 10 largest industrials shares of the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI). The first five shares out of the 10 with the highest ROEs are: Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd

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

1. SPH REIT  --  11th Jul 20192. SPH  --  12th Jul 20193. Kep Infra Trust  -- 15th Jul 20194. Kep Reit  --  15th Jul 20195. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  16th Jul 20196. Kep DC Reit  --  16th Jul 20197. CapitaCom Trust  --  17th Jul 20198. Kep Corp  --  18th Jul 20199. SATS  --  18th Jul 201910. FrasersCom Trust  --  22nd Jul 201911. Mapletreelog Trust  --  22nd Jul 201912. CapitaMall Trust  --  23rd Jul 201913. MapletreeInd Trust  --  23rd Jul 201914. Frasers Cpt Trust  --  23rd Jul 201915. MapletreeCom Trust  --  25th Jul 201916. Cache  --  25th Jul 201917. SIA Engg  --  26th Jul 2019 18. Suntec Reit  --  26th Jul 201919. Fr

In the aviation industry, which is the better investment, Singapore Airline Limited (SGX: C6L) or SATS Ltd (SGX: S58)?

DBS Group Holdings Ltd (SGX: D05), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) are three companies to consider for your retirement portfolio.