Centurion Accommodation REIT IPO-Preliminary Thoughts and Highlights (Part 1).

Centurion Corporation Holdings will be launching the IPO of its workers' dormitories and UK student accommodations soon. It will be known as the Centurion Accommodation REIT ("CAREIT"). CAREIT will be paying out a very attractive 7.66% distribution yield for FY2026 and 8.57% for FY2027 based on S$0.88 per unit. The targeted listing date that its management are eyeing on seems to be early October 2025. I will do up another post after looking through its prospectus filed with the MAS- it is a jaw- dropping 1240 pages thick- before sharing my final thoughts in subsequent part 2 post of whether to get into this IPO. Preliminary highlights as follow:   

1. The enigmatic "Mandai Expanded Capacity" Terminology-Poorly Crafted and Misleading Propsectus.

In the prospectus, one will keep seeing this strange term appearing (first appeared on page 100) and talking about the impact of "expanded" capacity but then the definition appears quite the opposite as it is loosely worded as a contradictory reduction of bed capacity. So what the heck is this term talking about? 

Definition of  "Mandai Expanded Capacity"

It was further mentioned in the prospectus that the Mandai Expanded Capacity Consideration” means the consideration of S$34.0 million payable in relation to the Mandai Expanded Capacity. Such consideration is payable when the Mandai Expanded Capacity (i.e. the additional 1,980 beds) is operational for immediate occupation (Please see Page 288 of the Prospectus for details)

Unless otherwise stated, all information in this Prospectus relating to the Properties, such as Agreed Property Value, Appraised Value, aggregate purchase consideration, number of beds and portfolio information, excludes the Mandai Expanded Capacity and the Mandai Expanded Capacity Consideration.

2.  So what the heck is "Mandai Expanded Capacity" then?

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"Mandai Expanded Capacity" refers to the 1,980 beds in Westlite Mandai which were supposed to be removed upon completion of an additional block. 

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Now, this becomes a real test of one's English language. My initial understanding is that the essence and emphasis is on the 1,980 beds that will be eventually removed.

3. Nope, my initial understanding is totally wrong!

After looking through the financial projection on page 200 and also number of beds including and excluding comparative in Mandai property on page 291, the essence as aforesaid mentioned in point 2 above totally does not align with the financial information.

 

Personally, I thought that the investment banker or staff crafting the definition of the Mandai Expanded Capacity ought to be shot. They are actually referring to 2 points here:

(i) it includes in the 1,980 beds in Westlit Mandai that was supposed to be removed but still taken in as revenue generating since the new government regulation only come into effect after 31 December 2030.

(ii) on top of (i) above, the term also includes in an additional 3,696 beds from the 4th block that is still in development and expected temporary occupation ("TOP") in January 2026.

The original definition is totally misleading and contradictory to different parts of the prospectus and not transparent at all.  

So the point is that the financial projection on page 200 on Distributable Income actually includes in the assumption of the successful leasing out of beds in phases in the newly built 4th block of Westlit Mandai. The risk here of course then is whether the projection is overly optimistic.   

3. Management Fees.
The base management fees and incentive structure is quite similar to the Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust. Other REITs are on the AUM model. So think still in line and a fair model.

4. The Enlarged Portfolio.
This is the other strange part that keep popping out on "enlarged" and normal portfolio that forms the REIT. Basically, this is referring to the Epissod Macquire Park Student Accommodation that is currently still being built. But it will be added into CAREIT after it is listed as it is about 6 months away from completion.

Parting Thoughts.

Personally, I am actually annoyed at the poorly and loosely crafted "Mandai Expanded Capacity" that leads to a lot of mental acrobatics which gives a rather poor impression of the entire IPO. I will do a part 2 post of my personal thoughts on whether I am jumping into this upcoming IPO after diving through the prospectus. 

New Dividend Fund Allspring Global Equity Enhanced Income Fund- Targeted 6% Dividend Yield Per Annum.

Just came across the Allspring Global Equity Enhanced Income Fund from Endowus recommendation on dividend funds besides Fidelity Global Dividend Fund and Fidelity Asia Pacific Dividend Fund. Interesting thing about this Allspring unit trust is that it invested in global dividend stocks as well as employ an option strategy to earn option premium. Of course, if market performs well, this Allspring fund may lack behind due to the use of option. 

1. Performance of Allspring Global Equity Enhanced Income Fund

It has outperformed the high dividend benchmark and peers since its inception in 2020 while providing clients with a consistent quarterly dividend income stream. It offers a target pay-out of 6% with 4% from a high yielding equity component and 2% from an options overlay strategy. Options overlay is dynamically managed to ensure that the upside of the equity sleeve is not adversely compromised. 

Its NAV also has a good overall uptrend unlike some funds which pays high dividends of more than 8% per annum but is actually paying this out of their capital with NAV going downwards.

Overall, Allspring Global Equity Enhanced Income Fund has annualised returns of 16.42% over the past 3 years which is extremely impressive.

2. Low overall annual management fees of only 0.8% per annum at fund level

This is way lower than many of the equity funds (over 1%) out there with only 0.8% per annum.

3. Be careful of its US sector exposure

I think that the US stock market is overly valued. This fund does have close to 20% exposure to US with tech stocks such as Nvidia in its stock holding portfolio. For those who thinks that the AI bubble will burst, then there maybe potential downside from holding on to this particular fund. It is also not very clear and transparent on 76% of its geographical allocation as it show up as "Unclassified". So the big question mark is what is "Unclassified"?

4. Size of Fund is only S$117.5Mil as at 29 August 2025.

The fund size is actually very tiny relative to the Fidelity Global Dividend Fun of S$22.9 billion as well as to the Fidelity Asia Pacific Dividend Fund of S$500Mil. There is the probability that this Unit Trust may be closed down by its fund manager and one maybe exiting their investment at the worst possible time due to market downturn.

Parting Thoughts

I maybe allocating part of my future portfolio into this fund for diversification. Do note that there is another similar USD funds by Allspring with the same name. However, one should go for the SGD hedged fund to minimise one's forex risk. Another point to note is that this fund pays out distributions on a quarterly basis and not monthly.

Venture Into UnitedHealth Group- Will It Recover To Its Heyday of More Than US$630 Per Share?

UnitedHealth Group is a multinational health and well-being company that operates primarily in the United States and internationally through its health benefits business. As can be seen in the share price of UnitedHealth Group's ("UNH") trending over the past few years, 2025 saw a disastrous collapse of it's share price to a record 5 year low of U$234.60 at 1 given time. While it has since recovered to the level of approximately US$310 per share, it is unfortunately just a faint shadow of its former glorious day. I have decided to take up a a very tiny position in UNH as I think that in the long run, its experienced management team should be able to resolve all current challenges and its earnings should at least go back up by 50% even if not 100%. 

Recent decline in UNH’s share price stems from a combination of operational pressures, regulatory concerns, and leadership instability:

(1) Skyrocketing medical costs

The company’s medical cost (loss) ratio surged to 89.4%, up from around 82% in 2022, severely eroding margins. Operating margin dropped from 8.8% to approximately 7.3% over the last year.

(2) Collapsed earnings guidance & missed expectations

UNH slashed its full-year adjusted EPS forecast from about $30 to just $16—a ~47% downward revision—falling well below analyst expectations. In Q2 2025, it reported EPS of $4.08 vs. ~$4.48 expected, disappointing investors despite revenue being roughly in line.

(3) $6.5 billion of unexpected medical costs

This oversized burden, mainly impacting Medicare Advantage and Medicaid segments, triggered sharp margin contraction.

(4) DOJ investigations and regulatory scrutiny

UnitedHealth confirmed both criminal and civil investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning its Medicare billing and practices—heightening uncertainty.

(5) Leadership upheaval and reputation risks

The abrupt resignation of CEO Andrew Witty and the fallout from the high-profile murder of an executive, Brian Thompson, who was shot and killed while walking to an investor conference further rattled investor confidence.

Parting Thoughts

It had been reported that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased approximately 5 million shares of UNH during Q2 2025, investing around U$1.57 billion, which means an average entry price of about $314 per share. Based on its share price of US$307 per share as at 3 September 2025, this means that one is buying in at a lower price than Berkshire. I have initiated a tiny position of 2 shares into UNH. Will accumulate further if the price of UNH went back into a slump below US$300 per share.

Will Alibaba (9988) Rise 10% This Week In Line With US ADR Performance?

Interestingly, Alibaba missed analyst revenue target but its US ADR shot up more than 10% last Friday. Apparently, market is excited over the news that Alibaba is producing its own AI chip. I am not sure whether market were speculating that Alibaba may be going down chips production like Nvidia or excited over the impressive more than 20% Alibaba cloud growth. On hindsight, should have added in S$10K of Alibaba stocks last Friday but then who can predict the market right? 

Investment Portfolios Updates (29 August 2025) - Net Investment of S$813K and Projected Annualised Passive Income of S$48K.

Hi Folks, welcome back to my bi-monthly investment portfolios update. With the anticipation of the long awaited lowering of US interest rates finally having a high chance of materialising after Powell's recent speech, REITs' rally became more sustainable from the expected higher distributable income from much lower financing cost. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the September 2025 first rate cut of 25 basis points happen as per anticipation- I really have enough of the roller costal ride over the past year. With the recent strong rally from REITs, my overall gross portfolios hits S$1.08Mil while net portfolios after leverage hits S$813K. This is a drastic improvement of almost +S$80K in just 2 months from the market recovery. As a mainly dividend focused strategy investor, it is not this capital gain that excites me but rather the upcoming additional cashflow expected from the lower interest rate effect on my various investment portfolios and additionally, the significant savings from my margin loan. 

1. Portfolio 1- Stocks Held in SGX Central Depository 

Not much changes here except for the improved market valuation of equities during the recent rally.

2. Portfolio 2- Margin Purchased Securities

(Note: My margin purchased securities has grown to a sufficient scale to sustain itself and can pay off annual financing charges as well as to gradually pay down the margin loan through the dividends generated.) 

Keppel and Lendlease continue to perform exceptionally well. The gross dividend yield is currently on the low side as Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT is still in the midst of distribution suspension and will only resume its payout in 2026. Also, there is around S$15K invested in Alibaba when its price drop below HKD110 per share recently.  

3. Portfolio 3 (with Tiger Brokers and MooMoo) 

(Venture into higher risk as well as capital growth stocks here)

4. Portfolio 4 (Endowus Unit Trusts & Other Investments)

I continued to add to my Endowus bond funds of PIMCO and Pine APB to diversify away from excessive heavy weightage of my entire gross portfolios in equities. This may also be the last opportunity to accumulate interest income as former attractive bond interest yield is fast coming down. Going forward, I will also be drawing down the pay-out from this particular portfolio for daily uses. 

Parting Thoughts

Well, I am happy that the interest rate cuts from my wish list is finally materialising. Ok, that's all the updates I have for today folks. Have a great week ahead!

China has Sufficient Thorium Nuclear Fuel Deposit to Power Itself for 60,000 Years.

Interestingly, China has discovered vast deposits of Thorium in Bayan Obo mining complex in Inner Mongolia, a northern autonomous region, where estimates suggest that full extraction of these deposits could yield up to one million tonnes of thorium. This substantial reserve can fuel China for the next 60,000 years.

1.Benefit 1: More In Abundance Than Uranium 
The importance of thorium in the nuclear energy industry lies in its potential to be a more abundant and efficient substitute for uranium, potentially addressing energy needs in the long term. Thorium is three times as abundant as uranium and nearly as abundant as lead and gallium in the Earth's crust. The Thorium Energy Alliance estimates "there is enough thorium in the United States alone to power the country at its current energy level for over 1,000 years.

2.Benefit 2: Safer Than Uranium

Long-lived radioactive waste for thorium is just a fraction from nuclear plants using Uranium. In a molten-salt reactor, thorium is combined with lithium fluoride and heated to extreme temperatures of 1,400°C, where neutron bombardment initiates a chain reaction. This method is more efficient than conventional uranium reactors, generates significantly less nuclear waste, and minimizes the risk of catastrophic meltdowns

3.Thorium Nuclear Fission Fuel Just A Myth?

Nope, this is not a myth. China has already successfully proven the functionality of this concept. It has built the world's first thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR-LF1) in the Gobi Desert, achieving stable criticality in 2023 and reaching full power operation in 2024. While the reactor is a small one and only 2 Megawatt, it demonstrated the feasibility of using the less pollutive thorium to replace uranium as a nuclear fission fuel.

Parting Thoughts

The use of thorium should buy our human race sufficient time to achieve a breakthrough in the holy grail of nuclear fusion technology whereby atoms are fused together to generate energy and the waste generated are low-medium level radioactive materials relative to the current nuclear fission process. 

(Note: For those interested about uranium and thorium, can read more here.)

The Margin Investing Series 1- The Income Booster Approach To Early Retirement.

Hi Folks, welcome to another episode of Investment Income For Life. Today, I am going to touch on a very sensitive topic, that is, the use of margin financing as an investment tool to boost passive income.  Anyway, just a personal sharing session on why I embark on this path and how this margin strategy works to boost income and open up a route to escape the rat race earlier- please see below video.