With only 1 trading day remaining in 2018, its time to review how 2018 went for me.
Career
2018 has been a busy and transitional year for me. My company went through a restructuring exercise which resulted in my team in Singapore going down from 2 to 1 (Yup I’m the only person in my global team based here LOL) so I had to try to pick up the slack where ever I can. I shared my views on corporate restructuring here if you want to know more.
I had my crazy 7 weeks 7 cities work travel recently so that’s another one for the list of memories I’ll carry with me. I shared part 1 of my insights from my work travel here and will get to part 2 next year.
One plus side I feel was that I’m more bonded with my other colleagues both locally and overseas as I have more airtime and more opportunity to show my abilities to them. This also resulted in simple collaborative work that I wouldn’t have imagined doing in 2017. Slowing building bridges with my limited time in the office.
Investments
As previously mentioned, it was a tough year for me as I transitioned from a growth at all cost strategy to a hybrid income strategy. While it has not been an absolute nightmare performance as I avoided most of the horror shows (OUE Commercial Trust, Keppel KBS REIT (which incidentally looks really interesting now) and Asia Pay TV Trust to name a few), you never feel good when you make losses for the year.
Going forward I’ll be relying heavily on my StocksCafe figures instead of my own calculations as previously in 2017.
Let’s kick things off with a portfolio review.
Portfolio
There were no transactions this month, other than scrip dividend for AA REIT, which I opted for due to the relatively attractive offer price. I took 100 units and the remaining dividend in cash so that I can avoid holding odd lots.
December was a particularly difficult month as the Santa rally did not materialise due to China economy worries, the Fed raising rates yet again while striking a more cautionary tone and of course, the US Government shutdown. As long as Trump keeps acting stupidly, Government shutdown is something we’re going to have to keep dealing with.
2018 Dividends
- 2018 Dividends collected: $4,377.71
- 2017 Dividends collected: $1,136.42
- Upcoming Dividends:
- SingTel: SGD 489.60 (XD)
- Frasers Property: SGD 186 (CD)
Dividends has significantly increased y-o-y due to a more income focused approach.
XIRR and Time Weighted Returns
After clawing back to almost even in November, the broader market correction in December ultimately determined my investment performance for the year. XIRR moderates to 12.24% over 5.5 years (2013 figures are only for 4 months).
Conclusion
Overall, it was a disappointing but satisfactory year. Not too many highlights but I’m glad to complete the year unscathed in my career and outperforming the STI and S&P 500 in my investments. It could have been way way wayyy worst.
That’s it from me. Good riddance 2018 and Hello 2019! Happy New Year everyone!
Past 2018 Portfolio Updates
January 2018
February 2018
March 2018
April 2018
May 2018
June 2018
July 2018
August 2018
September 2018
October 2018
November 2018
Happy Hunting,
KK
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