the buta investor
personal finance by a simple minded malaysian salaryman
Monthly Report - July 2022
Comments:
My portfolio finally saw some significant recovery this year as it bounced back by +3.9%! The S&P500 did the heavy lifting this month as it saw a +9.1% gain mainly due to great earning results despite ongoing global issues. Another major catalyst for the gain was due to the US Fed hiking the interest rate by 75 basis point as 'expected by investors'.
The Hang Seng was a drag though as it ended at -7.8% for the month due to flare up in COVID cases. I don't mind it too much as it was carrying my portfolio for the past 2 months when the S&P500 was crashing. As a result, the Principal Greater China was down -4.6% and my VT ETF gains was kept humble at +8.1%.
My other funds ended up positive, trailing the S&P500. The Europe Industrial was up +3.15% and United ASEAN at +0.7%. The Manulife APAC REIT was up +5.1% likely due to China's focus to ease the housing & property crisis.
On a more personal note, after almost 10 years at my company, I was offered a position in a competing office with a 35% pay rise! As it was a move to the competition, I was immediately released with my 1 month notice period and balance leave reimbursed. Hence why we see a huge influx of cash this month (RM13k). Unfortunately, not as much went into my investments because I also spent quite a bit this month mainly on an overseas family vacay, car repairs, purchase of new phone (new company doesn't provide) and gift to my parents. On top of that, I have decided to increase my liquid cash holdings from RM5k to RM10k.
Forward Strategy:
I will continue to Value Cost Average (VCA) into my funds, keeping them at a fixed weightage as follows; Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (70%), Principal Greater China (10%), United ASEAN (10%) and Manulife REITS (10%).
Monthly Report - June 2022
Comments:
Just when I thought my portfolio couldn't get any worse, it falls another -5.3% this month! Again i re-iterate, so far this year, the drops has been drastic and the recoveries has been mediocre. I even had to readjust my month on month graph scale to show (a lot) more of the negative side. This month, the drop stems from the S&P500 falling -8.4% on recession fears due to the Fed's major 75 basis rate hike.
Fortunately, the Hang Seng ended on a more positive note (+2.1%) as HK & China reopens from easing COVID cases. This actually helped my portfolio outperform the S&P500. As a result, the Principal Greater China was up +5.0% and also cushioned my VT ETF (-7.7%) from falling as badly as the S&P500 (-8.4%).
Still, my other funds could not escape the US recession fears as they all dropped this month. This includes Europe Industrial (-14.3%), Manulife APAC REIT (-4.4%) and United ASEAN (-6.1%)
There is a RM390 withdrawal from my Euro Industrial stock which is the dividend paid. I decided not to reinvest it as its weightage on my portfolio is getting bloated.
Forward Strategy:
I will continue to Value Cost Average (VCA) into my funds, keeping them at a fixed weightage as follows; Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (70%), Principal Greater China (10%), United ASEAN (10%) and Manulife REITS (10%).
Monthly Report - May 2022
Comments:
My overall portfolio recovered by +0.7% this month. So far this year, the drops has been drastic and the recoveries has been mediocre :sad face: That said, my portfolio actually did quite well considering the S&P500 ended the month stagnant at 0.0% change - it started the month heading downwards due to recession fears but bounced back up after positive US economic data suggests otherwise.
I guess it helped that Hang Seng was up +1.5% as HK & China eases lockdown measures. As a result, my VT ETF (+1.3%) and Principal Greater China (+3.6%) lifted my portfolio up! My Europe Industrial stock (+2.5%) also helped but it's mostly attributed the strengthening Euro against the Ringgit.
It is not all praise though. My Manulife REIT (-2.4%) and United ASEAN (-2.1%) dragged my portfolio. They were actually doing quite well in the past few months preventing my portfolio from dipping with the market in the first quarter so I wasn't too miffed about this months' drop.
You'll see a RM528 withdrawal from my Euro Industrial stock which is the dividend paid. I decided not to reinvest it as its weightage on my portfolio is getting bloated.
Forward Strategy:
I will continue to Value Cost Average (VCA) into my funds, keeping them at a fixed weightage as follows; Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (70%), Principal Greater China (10%), United ASEAN (10%) and Manulife REITS (10%).
Monthly Report - April 2022
Comments:
My overall portfolio ended lower this month at -2.9%. This is not too bad considering that the S&P500 fell by -8.8% (inflation jitters, rising bond yields & poor big tech earnings). While not as bad, the Hang Seng also fell by -4.1% mainly due to strict COVID lockdown measures in China & HK. My portfolio did not dip as badly because while I was overhauling my portfolio and cashing in my funds, I had to wait a couple of weeks for the money to enter my bank account. Because of that, I managed to escape about 10 days of the market drop.
Still, the major market dips affected my VT ETF (-3.2%) and Principal Greater China (-4.2%). It was my other Asia-tilted funds that were helping to buoy my portfolio namely the United ASEAN (+2.3%) and Manulife APAC REIT (+1.3%).
On another note, I have decided to be honest with myself and admit that I cannot stomach having my sinking/emergency funds swing up and down in AmBond fund even by less than a percent. I have since moved all my funds in AmBond back in RHB Cash Management Fund 2. In the midst of overhauling my portfolio, I also took the opportunity to transfer RM6k of my investment cash to top up my emergency/sinking fund back to the RM43k mark.
Forward Strategy:
I will continue to Value Cost Average (VCA) into my funds, keeping them at a fixed weightage as follows; Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (70%), Principal Greater China (10%), United ASEAN (10%) and Manulife REITS (10%).
Analysis - Portfolio Overhaul
Comments:
So TLDR, I sold off StashAway, United Global & TA Global Technology and put them all into Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT). I also decreased the weightage on United ASEAN, Manulife REIT & Principal Greater China to just 10% each. Read on if you'd like to know more about my thought process.
A few factors triggered this major portfolio reshuffle. It first started from my strong desire to exit StashAway. After grossly underperforming the S&P500 AND charging a fee of 0.8% p.a. AND constantly re-optimizing their ETF holdings, I realised it has broken every adage of ETF investing i.e. buy and hold for long term, keep fees low and get market returns. The way forward was clear but prior to withdrawing my StashAway funds, I had to decide on which ETF to buy and hold.
To help with my ETF decision, I also had to consider where to allocate my new 'base camp' fund seeing that United Global Quality Equity Fund has been closed. Problem is, there was no other mutual fund on FSM which broadly invests in global stocks like the United Global. So I looked into a suitable ETF instead. The Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (VT) seemed to check all my needs for a globally diversified fund and its returns were even a little better compared to United Global. I even went one step further and transferred all my United Global Funds into VT in order to simplify my portfolio. The StashAway funds were also transferred into VT.
It did not stop there! Next, I looked into the viability of holding onto a sector focused fund i.e. TA Global Tech. Yes, tech has done well for the past decade, but like print, mining, tobacco, etc; who knows when tech would one day fade out and be replaced with another disruptive sector. Instead of trying to time that inevitable day, I decided to just transfer all my TA Global Tech funds into VT as well.
Seeing that VT already has Emerging Markets in the holdings, I could theoretically just move all my funds from United ASEAN, Principal Greater China & Manulife APAC REIT into VT (i.e. 100% of investment portfolio into VT). However, I do believe that the Emerging Market is still rather inefficient and would benefit from some active management by a mutual fund. I did however, reduce the weightage of each fund to just 10% each. Onwards to better days!
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