Family Portfolio Management Update-27 June 2023

I am currently also handling investments for my wifey and will be documenting this on my blog for ease of personal reference for this portfolio and also for general sharing purpose. 

Current passive income generated is around +S$20K per annum from this portfolio (please also refer to my other Investment Portfolios under management which is projected to yield +S$52K per annum). 

1.Endowus Income Portfolio (Distribution yield projected: 5.5% to 6.5%)

My other half is finally more comfortable with the Endowus Income Portfolio seeing that the underlying funds do indeed pay out a monthly distribution (except for one which is on a quarterly basis). Took me additional efforts to explain that total return must include the interest/dividend cash distribution on top of residual fund value. Hence her short investment stint here is actually still net profitable as she was initially upset that the Endowus Income Portfolio value was a negative.

From the last update on 28 April 2023, additional funds of S$50K were injected (hence increase from S$12K to S$62K). 

2. Endowus Secured Cash and Endowus Enhanced Cash

The Endowus Cash Smart solution offers higher yields from net 3.7% to 4.9% relative to the low rates from saving accounts. But beware that these funds are NOT Capital Guaranteed albeit having a low risk profile. Have allocated around S$11k here as it is liquid and is not locked in like endowment insurance policy or fixed deposits. 

For those interested, please read more here.

Parting Thoughts

Going forward, will be using more of Endowus as my other half seems to prefer the broad base diversification of stocks and bonds being invested here. Personally, I think that the overall annual management fees charges of 1%-1.8% payable to the underlying Fund Managers and also Endowus is still too high for me relative to personal investment on stock exchanges. 

Endowus Cash Smart- Higher Yields From Net 3.7% to 4.9% Relative To Saving Accounts But Beware That Not Capital Guaranteed.

I was surprised to see that an investor had complained of losing money in the Endowus Cash Smart money funds- you can read more of it here. The unfortunate investor/author commented that: "My Cash Smart Ultra returns are currently down -2.4% on a time-weighted basis, after being invested for 1.5 years (and likely already collecting 3-4% in coupon interests). Not a big issue, considering how weak the equity market performed back in 2022, but this is a product meant to be 'safe'." Personally, I find it strange that some folks think that the Cash Smart portfolios are linked to equity market and also "Capital Guaranteed" in nature. 

1. Endowus Cash Smart Funds has nothing to do with "weak equity market"

First and foremost, cash smart has nothing to do with the equity market. It is a fixed income instrument that invests in fixed deposits, T-Bills, or other short term duration high quality bonds-there is nothing equity in nature with regard to fixed income instrument. In addition, fixed income instrument is not without its risk such as credit default risk or market interest risk that affects its fair market valuation.

2. Nowhere did Endowus put down any reference to being "Capital Guaranteed". 

Not sure what gives some investors the illusion that the Cash Smart funds are "capital guaranteed". It is clearly stated that there are risk associated in investing in the funds. Also, the author of the aforesaid article had invested in the highest risk "Ultra" return portfolio for this product. 

The Ultra portfolio is actually more suspectible to market interest rate as it has a longer term duration fixed income instrument relative to the the "Secured" and "Enhanced" Cash Smart portfolios. If the purpose is to keep excess funds liquid and available for immediate use, one should either place extra funds into Cash Smart Secured portfolio or at most the Cash Smart Enhanced portfolio. The "Ultra" portfolio is just too volatile based on the historical maximum loss of up to -5.07% at one particular point in the past as it involves longer term fixed income instruments.

(Note: Those interested can read more here with regard to the underlying funds making up the 3 different Cash Smart portfolios. Also theoretically speaking, even the most risky Ultra portfolio should be profitable if you hold it long enough unless the fund managers sold most of their bonds at a huge realised loss instead of waiting till maturity).

Parting thoughts

I actually do not like the Endowus Cash Smart portfolios or using Endowus to purchase funds. Neverthless, Robo-advisors such as Endowus does fulfill a very important role of allowing wide diversification of one's investment at a cheaper rate than the traditional trusts products sold by banks. In future posting, I will probably delve into the pros and cons I found in using Endowus relative to direct investing in the stock markets. 

Stock Markets Down Again Due To Hawkish Stance of US Federal Reserve Chair- But What Does One Expect?

The US and Singapore Stock Exchanges went down again after Jerome Powell asserted that the rate hikes are not over yet. Powell said “inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.” What else can Powell say in the circumstances as it is? If Powell were to state that rate hikes are over and markets get too excited, then inflation may spin out of control again. The only way out is to maintain the hawkish tone to keep everyone from partying. 

Global Uncertainty From Russian-Ukraine War.

The Russian Ukraine war took an interesting turn with a dramatic plot twist of a rebellion by Putin's closest ally- the Wagner millitant group. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his forces were in control of military sites in Rostov that were used for staging Russian war efforts in Ukraine. Rostov also houses the command centre for the Russian joint group of forces in Ukraine as a whole and is therefore a critical logistical hub for the Russian army.

If Ukraine continued to counter attack and win more grounds by taking advantage of the current mutiny, there is always a probability that Putin may denotate a small nuclear device in order to cling to power. Putin cannot afford to lose the war- his political survival depends on it albeit the various miscalculation and screw ups made by him. Do not think that a mini scale nuclear attack is not possible- the mad man has blown up Ukrainian dam that unleashed great sufferings already.

Food price may also spiral out of control if Putin stop the Black Sea Grain Initiative even if there is no nuclear fiasco. 

Invest at Your Own Risk

I am glad that prices of stocks and REITs have come down again which allows one to continue to accumulate good blue chip stocks and REITs at a cheaper valuation despite various macro-economic threats such as inflation and war. Invest at your own risk.....who dares win!

United Hampshire US REIT Disastrous Market Price Performance.

United Hampshire US REIT (“UHREIT”) past 3 years market price performance has been nothing short of a major disaster in the making. Its current market price of US$0.440 per unit as at 22 June 2023 represents a more than <-45%> price collapse from its IPO price of US$0.80 per unit during March 2020. Existing investors (like myself) who opt for the scrip dividends during the most recent 2022 half year distribution exercise at US$0.485 per unit have made a regretfully wrong decision on hindsight then and should just have bought from the open market in view of the ever worsening unit pricing. Based on StockCafe, UHREIT projected distribution yield is at an insanely high 13.3%. 

1. UHREIT Different From Other US REITs
While all US REITS listed on SGX seems to be doing badly in terms of market pricing performance, UHREIT is unique in that it is neither (i) facing secular demand headwinds like the US commercial office REITs with high vacancy rate due to "work from home" culture nor (ii) having exposure to major tenant default akin to US DigiCore REIT. While soaring financing cost due to the current elevated interest rate environment does weight on its financial performance, its unit price have been severely punished by the market albeit resilient operational performance for the past few quarters.

2.  Recent Major News On UHREIT

(a) There is no major bad news on UHREIT except for the recent news on 19 June 2023 that the manager of UHREIT had disposed of 405,200 units at US$0.43 per unit. On 8 June 2023, the REIT manager had also similarly disposed of 500,000 units at US$0.43 per unit to raise cash for its daily working capital needs as it had received its manager's base fee of 1.89million units at an issuance price of US$0.463 per unit. The sales no doubt may have lead to some downward pressure on recent UHREIT market pricing.

(b) The only possible "bad news" is that there is a change in its CEO, Mr Robert Schmitt (who is stepping down due to health reasons) and the CFO, Mr Gerard Yuen has taken over as the CEO effective from 1 May 2023. In terms of commercial knowledge of the US grocery anchored retail space and the relationship with its key business partner, the Hampshire group, there maybe some inadequacy. Saying that, Hampshire group is significantly vested in UHREIT and I believe that they will still be rendering their utmost support to the new CEO. 

(c) On the contrary, there is major good news from UHREIT released on 12 May 2023 that its Q1 2023 Gross Revenue and Net Property Income has increased +11.8% and +13.5% year on year respectively. Its committed tenant occupancy also remained high at 97%. I do not expect any major upset for Q2 2023 and as a matter of fact, I am actually expecting another strong finish for upcoming 2nd Quarter and the maintenance of the distribution to unit-holders for its performance for 1st half of 2023.

3. Revival in UHREIT Market Pricing Soon?

This is my own personal perception: If one looked back at the past few years, there seems to be a period of heighten interest and increase in trading volume in UHREIT whenever we are near the half yearly distribution payout period. There will most likely be a slight surge in its traded prices which maybe already happening. The poignant aspect is that this period of rising price is only short-lived and very soon, UHREIT price performance will slide into the doldrums again. The long term trend for UHREIT unfortunately has been a relentless downward spiral thus far and this is certainly not just the effect of an elevated interest rate environment. No one knows how long this trend will persist or whether it is a permanent expected premium demanded by the market. 

Parting Thoughts

Personally, as a dividend oriented investor, I would love to put in more funds into UHREIT as its result have been surprisingly resilient and consistent over the past few quarters. It also has a long WALE of 7.4 years and no major refinancing  exercise until November 2026. Nevertheless, UHREIT is already making up 10% of my overall investments in my combined portfolios and no one ever knows what "funny things" might go wrong. 

Folks, do share your thoughts on UHREIT and whether you held a contrarian more pessimistic view and will be paring down your stakes due to its "perpetual" underperformance in market pricing.

Give up on DBS DigiPortfolio- Lack of Transparency and Long Lead Time For Processing Transactions.

After 6 months of trying out the "Income" Portfolio of DBS digiPortfolio, I decided to give up on further investment into it and has also made a decision to close down my investment account with DBS Robo Adviser. I just do not like many aspects of their portfolio investment product and find an utter lack of transparency and also poor user intuitiveness in usage.      

1. Lack of Transparency and Poor User friendliness.

There is a serious lack of published materials with regard to how much expenses are incurred at the fund level albeit disclosure of DBS annual management fee. The DBS annual management fee is separate from the fund management fee charged by the underlying funds.

It is extremely tough trying to find any information on the actual funds that DBS invested into. 

In addition, DBS website has been silent on the trailer fees rebate by the underlying unit trusts for their digiPortfolio. Hence I have to presume that it does not give any rebate of trailer fees to investors unlike Endowus and Syfe.

The App itself also has certain period where one cannot withdraw funds. Not sure whether this function only works on web browser on laptop/PC. Saying that, recently, when I click that button on the mobile app, it finally allows for withdrawal. However, it has been one week and I have not seen a single cent being returned to my bank account after choosing to withdraw all my investments in it. Personally, I am very disappointed with  the  poorly developed user interface for DBS digiPortfolio as well as a lack of indication of the lead time for processing requests.

2. High Annual Management Fees Relative to Endowus and Syfe.

0.75% Management Fees- higher than Endowus and Syfe

The annual management fees by DBS alone is 0.75% per annum. This is relative higher than the 0.60% and 0.65% of Endowus and Syfe respectively. Also, as aforesaid mentioned, there does not seemed to be any underlying funds cash rebate of trailer fees as well as inadequate disclosure of the fund level management fees. 

3. Income Portfolio for DBS digiPortfolio Only Offer a Low Distribution Yield of 4% Per Annum. 

The other very sad aspect of DBS digiPortfolio is that it seeks regular quarterly payouts of a miserable 4% p.a. from investments to retail investors. This is a far cry from Endowus and Syfe which offers a wide variety of income pay out products that offers higher yield (5% to 6.5%) as well as monthly cash distribution.

Endowus Has 3 Different Income Portfolios Relative To Only 1 for DBS digiPortfolio. 

Parting thoughts

My personal experience with the DBS digiPortfolio platform has been extremely disappointing. I have decided to withdraw all my cash previously invested into DBS digiPortfolio and concentrate my cash resources into the Endowus investment platform.

AIMS APAC REIT Preferential Offerings Ending 22 June 2023 (Thursday 5.30pm).

Pursuant to my last posting on the rights issue of AIMS APAC REIT ("AIMS"), I noted that the most recent pricing as at 21 June 2023 is S$1.210 per unit. This is +1.8% higher than the rights issuance price of S$1.189 per unit. Hence I have subscribed to all my entitlement as well as for excess rights issuance. I am prepared to inject up to S$5,000 into AIMS for their asset enhancement drive with a mid-long term view on the potential incremental return.

Retail investors who are interested in the rights issue but currently waiting for the open market unit price to drop below S$1.189 per unit will need to make a call soon on whether to carry on sitting by the side or to subscribe for their rights offer before 22 June 2023 (5.30pm or 9.30pm if using Electronic Applications through ATM).

DigiCore REIT Share Price Surprisingly Sharp Rebound After Announcement of Major Tenant Bankruptcy.

Haiya…..why so many people bashing DigiCore REIT (“DCREIT”) on blogosphere for this week? The news on Cyxtera (2nd largest tenant making up 22.4% of DCREIT’s gross revenue) filing for bankruptcy protection on 5th June 2023 lead to many folks demonising it. But in a surprising twist, DCREIT (its price dropped to an all time low of US$0.37 per unit at one point in time after the announcment) rebounded sharply to USS$0.48 per unit as at 9th June 2023, which is an amazing +29% increase in just 3 days. 

1. Latest information release by DCREIT management better than expected

Apparently, the bad news of a total loss of 22.4% of gross rental income had already been fully priced in. The better than expected updates actually lead to huge rally in price of DCREIT by 29%. 

(i) Management has clarified that US$200Mil of “debtor in possession” financing has been obtained by Cyxtera which intends to fulfill all its financial obligation to its vendors. Debtor in possession refers to a special loan that is unique to companies undergoing chapter 11 in the US which is used to keep the company in operations during the re-organisation.

(ii) In addition, if Cyxtera really end up being liquidated, given Digital Realty's operating expertise as the largest global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, the Manager is well-positioned to step into agreements with the existing end-user colocation customers currently relying upon these facilities to support their digital infrastructure requirements, if Cyxtera were to reject any of its lease agreements with Digital Core REIT. 

(iii) Market conditions are tight in terms of supply of data centres in the properties that were leased to Cyxtera- vacancy rates in the low- to mid-single-digits for these areas.

2. Strange myth/thoughts by some bloggers that anybody can just build a data centre and lease it out hence there is no special "moat"

I find it weird that some folks are thinking that retail malls or Grade A office are better properties than data centres which are just "building with electrical and cooling systems". We need to understand that not everyone can build data centre technically.

Also, data centres form the foundation of our new age economies of digitalised and networked world. The exponential growth of data-driven technologies-such as cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) – has led to huge demand for data centres to store, process, and manage this information. In Singapore, many proponents of data centres ("DC") lament at our local government restriction that has not been fully lifted for building more DCs to take advantage of Singapore location which is free from natural disaster and political stability.

In addition, once you have tenants in, they will most likely be in for a very long duration. It is not easy feat to just move all equipment to other data centres once the lease expires. Lots of planning and efforts need to be made by the tenant's IT team to prevent disruption to their services to their own clientele. 

Saying that, investing and holding Data Centre REITs are not risk free investment akin to holding government fixed income as the usual tenant default risk due to financial duress are all present as evident in the Cyxtera bankruptcy case that surfaced. One needs to be wary of the quality of assets and tenant being crafted out into a Data Centre REIT at IPO- this is the 2nd tenant default after IPO for DCREIT. 

Parting thoughts

It is quite funny that even Mapletree Industrial Trust (another REIT with data centres) got bashed by folks on top of DCREIT as it also counts Cyxtera as its tenant (albeit lesser concentration of only 3%). Anyway, I am happy to see the price of DCREIT rallying to US$0.48 per unit which means that I am sitting on on some paper profits for my recent purchases earlier this year in March and April.