Dividends and Passive Income for Jan and Feb 2013

I have been keeping a very bad record of my dividends/passive income.  But here it is so that I do not forget:

Jan 2013:  $111.80
Feb 2013:  $287.46

Main contributors were from Armour Residential REIT (ARR), GAMCO Gold and Natural Resources Trust (GGN), and Starhill Global REIT.

I have also liquidated quite a few of my stocks.  On the back of STI hitting its 5 year high, I have sold off all my holdings in Ascott REIT, Saizen REIT, LMIR, Thakral, Nam Cheong and Citigroup.

Added Starhill Global REIT to Portfolio

Have added a small amount of Starhill Global REIT  that is traded on the SGX into my portfolio.  Bought them at 82.5 cents.  This is just part of my diversification strategy as I have found my REITs holdings to be heavily weighted towards one single REIT.

Starhill Global REIT owns various retail/office properties in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and Japan.  Its distribution yield is slightly over 5% and various analysts have chosen it as one of their top picks with a target price of around 85 cents.  I am also expecting the REIT to pay out its distributions in Feb or Mar 2013.

For newbie investors, S-REITs have actually risen quite a fair bit over the year and now trade at a premium to book value.  For quite a long time, S-REITs have been trading at a discount to book value.  Most analysts are perhaps NEUTRAL on S-REITs right now given how much they have appreciated over the past one year.