Recently, I have not been blogging very much about the stock market or anything to do with investments, I am sure regular readers have noticed. There are various reasons for this but the primary reason is because I have put in place a plan for whichever direction the stock market may go.
If the stock market should trade sideways, I will keep the status quo and simply collect income from my investments. There is no need to trade constantly.
However, recent and future changes in my life are likely to result in less free time in future. I am and will be spending more time with my family, on self-improvement and, perhaps, even travelling.
Although I am not really affected by the current state of the stock market, going by the emails I have received, I know many people are. It is no surprise that many are wondering what to do. Should they hold? Should they sell? Should they buy more?
I always tell people that if they do not feel comfortable investing in something, don't. There is no point in being invested in the hope of making money and getting sleepless nights worrying about how the investment might turn out.
Of course, for the more open-minded and those with more questioning minds, asking questions to understand why the discomfort exists is the way to go. From there, go one step further, ask questions and see if the reasons for any aversion are actually valid. This would point us in the right direction.
Now, regular readers would know that I am heavily invested in certain S-REITs. I continue to believe that the very low interest rate environment which is likely to persist till 2013 is going to be good for REITs.
In an environment where economic growth is more likely to be revised downwards than upwards, REITs' more predictable and consistent income streams are also a big plus. REITs can continue to do well even with a reduction in economic growth or even with zero growth. In prolonged recessions, REITs are also quite resilient even if some tenants go broke because of the many months of rental deposits they collect from tenants.
So, being relatively heavy in S-REITs which provide between 8 to 10% per annum in distribution yield while I sit out the volatility in the stock market provides me with a peace of mind and some meaningful regular income at the same time.
Recently, there were people who mentioned that we have to be concerned with the fact that most industrial properties in Singapore are between 30 to 60 years leasehold in nature. Therefore, the high distribution yields are not perpetual. Of course, they are not perpetual but this does not mean that they do not make good investments in the meantime.
I learned through experience that freehold properties do not necessarily mean that they will do better in terms of valuations or rental income. It only means that they are yours in perpetuity. I can say for a fact that certain leasehold properties have done much better than freehold properties in the last few years. How much a piece of real estate is worth depends on demand. It is quite simple.
With demand for industrial properties, especially high tech industrial types, likely to remain resilient in Singapore, investing in industrial properties S-REITs with stronger numbers cannot go far wrong. In this respect, Sabana REIT has my vote.
What about AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT? Well, even its most vehement detractors (mostly from its MI-REIT days) must admit that the REIT has done much better since George Wang et al came into the picture. Like I said in an earlier blog post, some short term pain is likely with the redevelopment of 20 Gul Way but the longer term benefits make it worthwhile.
Finally, to dispel the misconception that I am a diehard optimist of REITs, I will say again that it is unlikely that conditions will always remain this benign for REITs. I am, therefore, unlikely to remain heavily invested in REITs forever. There will, most probably, come a time to divest but the time is not now.
Of course, my believes remain just believes. They form partially the basis for the plan I have in place now. Although I feel that my plan will serve me well, there is no way to be sure until the storm is over. Do your own due diligence and if you feel that my plan suits your purpose, go for it.
With my finances almost on auto-pilot, I will try to spend more time on other aspects of my life from now.
Related post:
Staying positive on S-REITs.
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On 15 August, I mentioned that pre-empting a trend reversal did not work out and I ceased buying more shares of CapitaMalls Asia. Then, I used the rebound later in the month to reduce exposure.
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