Financial Freedom

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.

Paid Paternity Leave for Singapore?

There is much talk and buzz going on that the White Paper on Population to be discussed in Parliament in early 2013 might include the possibility of paid paternity leave for fathers (of course). While mothers are already entitled up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, fathers have not been given that entitlement. And all that could be set to change this year.

A quick check on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave) shows that most developed countries have some form of paid paternity leave. Last year, NTUC also called for 2 weeks of paid paternity leave. In fact, quite a few employers already practise paid paternity leave (usually around 2-3 days). In a newspaper report last year, PM Lee was reported to have indicated that "paid paternity leave may finally get the nod". Maternity leave is however not likely to be increased.

Of course, most fathers will welcome the news of paid paternity leave but it remains to be seen how many days of leave entitlement will be introduced. There might be concerns among Singaporean men that too much paid paternity leave (together with their national service liabilities) might put them in a weaker stead if they intend to look for a job. In addition, there will probably also not be something too over the top with regard to paternity leave. For a start, paid paternity leave may be introduced in a bite-sized manner that will probably bring cheers to fathers but also be manageable for employers.

What say you? How many days of paid paternity leave do you think is reasonable?

Howard Buffett - Son of Warren Buffett

An interesting video on Howard Buffett who is the son of Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett has named him as his likely successor in Berkshire Hathaway.

Portfolio Additions and Dividends Received

Wow! We are already half a month into the new year and I have yet to make any new year resolutions (not that they matter, I break most of my resolutions anyway). Have also been making some additions to my portfolio.

I bought more of The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE: CRT). Warren Buffet owns shares in Coca Cola so I guess it is a pretty safe bet. After all, Coke is a product that is probably not going to disappear in the next few years. The business is stable and of course, Warren Buffet owns it. So have added a bit more of the stock into my portfolio.

Also added Cross Timbers Royalty Trust which pays a monthly dividend. This is a bit like tabasco to one's portfolio. Not for the faint hearted. But the price has gone up quite a fair bit since I bought it so I am happy with the results.

Dividends I have received this month and last month include:

$48.41 from Armour Residential REIT (another tabasco addition to my portfolio)
$45.74 from GAMCO Gold & Natural Resources
$4.36 from The Coca Cola Company.

Have also made some voluntary contributions into my spouse's CPF Special Account. The CPF-SA pays a 4% interest. The first $60,000 combined in the various CPF accounts also earns 1% additional interest. Much better than the interest rates one gets from the bank. Of course, you are not allowed to withdraw it like a bank account. But for the long term, it is good enough for me.

Starting Salary for Poly Grad

The starting salary or pay for a poly graduate is up from $1850 to $1950. That is a $100 increase. The survey was conducted by the the five polytechnics in Singapore. You can compare it with the starting pay last year.

For poly graduates who have completed national service, the median gross monthly starting salary was also up from $2,100 in 2011 to $2,253 in 2012.

How Much to Give for Church Weddings

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about how much to give for Chinese wedding dinners. It was pretty well received so I thought a good follow-on would be how much to give for church weddings.

Well, the custom amongst most Singaporean Chinese is to give red packets or what is also commonly known as "hong baos" during weddings. It is a custom and trying to explain a custom is probably the worst thing one can do. But red packets are a custom and like it or not, it is considered "polite" to give a red packet when attending a wedding.

A church wedding is usually a much simpler affair compared to a wedding banquet held in a hotel. The costs involved are usually just the rental of the church premises, catering and other miscellaneous items that the couple arranges for. Considering that most church weddings are usually held during lunch time, lunch or tea might be served. This usually cost around $10 to $12 per head for the catering but can of course go up if better food is served or additional frills are thrown in.

While I will say that $20 per head ought to be respectable amount to give in terms of ang bao money to "cover for one's expenses", I have reason to believe that the market rate might be slightly higher around the $30-$50 range if one is just solely invited for the church wedding and not the dinner banquet. This takes into consideration the cost of booking the venue, etc.

However, it is also not uncommon that guest to church wedding might not even give a red packet. This is especially so if they have been invited for both a church wedding as well as a lunch/dinner banquet. In this instance, they usually give a combined red packet during the banquet itself.

That being said, there is no standard rule to follow. And how much to give is really up to individuals. Some couples are not picky and might really be inviting friends to join in the celebration. On the other hand, certain couples might be tight on their pockets and a little extra "help" from guests will be appreciated by them.

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Why Invest in REITs

The growth of the real estate securities market around the world has led to a discrete asset class known as real estate investment trusts (or REITs). While the United States was probably the first country to introduce such an asset class, REITs are fast catching on in various European and Asia Pacific countries. There are over 20 REITs listed on the Singapore stock exchange today. And REITs do make a compelling asset class of their own. Today, let's look at some of the reasons to invest in REITs.

Diversification Benefits

REITs are known to have a low correlation with stocks and bonds. This means that it does not move in tandem with other investments and can thus be used to reduce an overall portfolio's risk. Portfolios that contain a small allocation of REITs have higher returns and lower risks compared to a portfolio that contains only a mixture of stocks and bonds.

Apart from diversifying away from stocks and bonds, REITs also allow real estate investors to diversify away from just the domestic real estate market. Besides this, investors also have a wide range of different kinds of properties to invest in. This includes industrial, residential, retail, office and even hospitals. So apart from allowing a property investor to diversify across different countries, REITs also allows one to diversify across different property types.

Liquidity Benefits

Besides diversification, REITs also offers liquidity. Not only can investors own a small piece of real estate with a small capital outlay, this asset class is also traded on the stock market where one's investment can easily change hands. An investor thus does not have to worry that he or she might not be able to sell the investment. And with the market price known, an investor will always know how much their investment is worth.

Income Benefits

With many baby boomers hitting retirement age, they seek out a portfolio that will give them investment income similar to bonds. REITs allow them to collect income via the distributions that are paid out. This dividends or distributions makes it an attractive asset since it literally puts money into one's pockets. In today's low interest rate environment, REITs often trade more than 2-3 percentage points above the risk free rate that one can get from holding AAA government bonds.

Conclusion

REITs as an asset class is increasingly gaining popularity. They provide diversification, liquidity and income benefits while allowing investors to be exposed to the real estate market with very little capital outlay. Why do you invest in REITs?