Portfolio Updates: August'15

And I thought July was exciting....

August 2015 turned out to be an even more exilarating month for me as I hit two major 'milestones'.

• August 2015 is the first time I witnessed the local stock market crash by more than 20% (3549.85pts to 2808.31pts) while I'm still vested in the market😪.

• August 2015 is also the first time I witnessed my overall portfolio sinking into the red😭.

Oh well, the recent market downturn is not to be unexpected. After all, the signs have been out there since last year; Greece crisis, overheated Chinese equities market, upcoming interest rate rise by the Fed, etc.

So with the recent upheavals in the market, my portfolio has shrunk correspondingly. However, I also recognise that this period represent a good buying opportunity for me to average down.

First up, let's have a look at my current portfolio before I bare out my plans for September'15 ☺️

Portfolio updates for the month of August'15:

• Purchase 1000 additional shares of STI ETF at $3.14 apiece. This brings the average price down to $3.308 for my total shares of STI ETF.

• $500 in cash was injected into the portfolio. 

• $595 obtained via an educational bursary was injected into the portfolio.

• Transferred $3000 cash to my trading account (Philip MMA) in preparation of future shares purchase.

• Received dividends from the following counter which was injected into the portfolio:

         - STI ETF - $73.50 
         - Lippomalls REIT - $109.50 
         - Fortune REIT - $144.04 
         - Starhill REIT - $51.60

Actions I will take for September'15:

• In the event that the price of STI ETF drop to $2.512, which is a 20% drop from the previous purchase price of $3.14, I will make an addition purchase of about $2500 worth of STI ETF. 

• In the super unlikely event that the financial market implode and the price of STI ETF drop to $1.7584, which is a 30% drop from the last purchase price of $2.512, I will make another purchase of about $2500 worth of STI ETF. 

• If the price of STI ETF does not drops to $2.512 but still remains below $3.00 until the last week of September, I will make additional purchase of about $1500 worth of STI ETF.

And this is it for the actions I will take for the local Singapore market. Starting from September 2015, I will allocate a portion of my portfolio to the global market. For my first baby step, I will look into purchasing the Vanguard All-World ETF (VWRD).

Basically, the VWRD is an ETF that replicate the performance of all common stocks in developed and emerging countries; which means that the VWRD comprises of common stocks (Apple, Macdonald, etc) that are listed in the various major stocks markets. 

Hence, by being vested in VWRD, we are essentially investing in most of the major corporations in the world while diversfying our risk across the different geographical locations and industries sectors.

Once my settlement account from Standard Chartered Bank has been set up in the coming weeks, I will proceed to invest in the VWRD. About $12,000, split into three equal tranche, has been allocated for the purchase of VWRD. 

• The first tranche of $4000 will be vested immediately since the current price of VWRD is below USD$66.63, which is 10% below the last high of USD$74.03. This 10% difference provided me with a margin of safety for the purchase.

• The second tranche of $4000 will be vested when the price of the VWRD drops by about 20% from the last purchase price, or by the end of March'16; depending on which comes first.

• The third and last tranche of $4000 will be vested when the price of VWRD drops by about 30% from the last purchase price, or by the end of June;16; depending on which comes first.

With that, I have reached the end of my sharing. 

Let us take a deep breath now and brace ourselves for the upcoming turbulence✈️!