Power to become financially stronger is within us.

Although there were not many comments in my blog when I asked if I should continue talking to myself in 2017, I received many emails and also messages in FB. 

They are all positive (so far).





I am particularly touched by a couple of emails.

First, this email from a reader of modest means:

Hi AK,

As the new start of the year, first thing I want to do is to write this thank you note to you.

I have been following your blog since Aug2015 and benefit greatly from it. 

As an employee with salary below average, I couldn't have much to invest. 

However I value the awareness that you created among your followers.





I am started to be more responsible to my own financial management and learnt a little bit about investment. 

I believe many of them out there too. 

I feeling grateful to "meet" you through text. 

Thank you very much.  Hope u and ur family stay healthy , happy and wealthy always.

I will still following your blog as long as u still talking to yourself. 
Regards,

AK's reply:

Hi,

I am happy that my blog has been inspiring and helpful.

All of us have different circumstances and all of us have different abilities to improve our financial health. 

If we diligently do whatever we are able to do in order to have a more secure financial future, it is always better than doing nothing.






I realised that many Singaporeans might not have the funds to invest with even if they want to. 

This is a reason why I decided to blog about the CPF as much as I had in recent years, sharing my own story. 

Making full use of the CPF will give us a measure of financial security in our golden years.

Wishing you a very happy and rewarding new year,
AK

Second, this email from a reader who is determined to effect a sea of change in her family and extended family:

Hello AK, 

Happy New Year!  

I have been your avid reader ever since my friend introduced your blog to me in end 2015. 

 Hence 2016 is my first year of financial "spring-cleaning" project, applying whatever tips you advocate that make sense to me!

And the result - managed to increase income by 35% y.o.y. and cut expenses by 32% y.o.y.! 

 And my family members start to buy into my nagging and becoming more of a saver than spender! (still long way to go, but I am determined to keep on brainwashing them)   

Of course if I include paper loss in stocks (Singtel, AAReit & Comfortdelgro), it would be 33% improvement on income. 

At the very least, reading your blogs serve as a reminder for me to always be mindful about spending, putting a lid on it before things go out of hands.   

Just 1 thing I probably didn't listen to you - I bought a 30+ years old HDB in the East.  

As there are not much new 3-room flats in the East, I decided to go for convenience sake when selecting house (near future mrt, wet markets and other amenities).  

Don't have intention to sell in future, either.   

Hence it is fine to own an old house as it fits my purpose. 

Last but not least, thank you AK, and pls continue to blog as I hope my young nephews could benefit from your blog posts and avoid the unnecessary mistakes in their path to financial freedom. 

Take care! 

AK's reply:
Hi,

I am so happy that you are getting your family and extended family on the bandwagon. 

I always say that financial freedom is a family affair!

I am happier still that your financial health has improved after taking action. 

I am very sure your positive results and attitude will spur you on in 2017 to achieve even more.

The journey towards financial freedom starts with financial prudence and if we become better savers, that is half the battle won.






Congratulations on getting your own flat. I share my thoughts in my blog but I am not dogmatic. 

I just nag a lot. 

Growing old, you know. 

Nagging is a privilege that old people have. 

As long as your purchase matches your motivations, as long as you are aware of the effects of your decision and as long as it is not going to cause you any problems, OK.

Wishing you and everyone at home a very rewarding new year,
AK




It is safe to say that most Singaporeans can be better off financially if we are willing to help ourselves. 

Although the strength to do so may vary from one person to another, most of us have the ability to do this. 

If WE can do it, so can YOU!





Related posts:
1. 2016 FY income from non-REITs.
2. CPF for retirement funding.
3. Financial freedom is a family affair.
4. Really, thank yourself in future.
What is inflation?

Simple investment wisdom keeps us afloat.

I found out my friend is a TV star!






What AK thinks of the LRIS:
"Since I treat my CPF savings as a risk free and volatility free component (i.e. AAA rated sovereign bond) of my investment portfolio, I am unlikely to take part in the proposed Lifetime Retirement Investment Scheme (LRIS). Of course, money in the CPF-OA doubles up as a war chest which could be deployed in the event of a stock market crash for possibly better returns than what the LRIS could deliver." Source: A cornerstone in retirement funding. 






Reader:
Dear AK, May I seek your wisdom?

1. Can CPF SA be invested on SDPR STI ETF? I have check in CPF website it stated yes.

2. However, I went to OCBC where I have CPFIS account to ask, OCBC staff not able to reply.

3. I ask approved CPFIS broker they cannot answer as well.

Is there some place I can seek clarification, please enlighten me. Thanks

AK replies to reader:
I don't think the questions have anything to do with wisdom.

1. Er. I dunno.

2. Er. I guess they dunno.

3. Er. Ask CPF Board.

Now, I will share something which (hopefully) has something to do with wisdom. I wouldn't risk a AAA rated sovereign bond paying 4% to 5% coupon for an ETF.

Best wishes,
AK





A bird in hand is worth two in the bushes (provided that they are of the same size). If AK says so, it must be so.

Related posts:
1. Will AK invest his CPF money?
2. My CPF-SA outperformed.

STAR WARS AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM IN 2017!

A reader made a droll statement on FB and I decided to share some quotations from my favourite Science Fiction movie on the first day of 2017:

Related post #1. There are many who do not believe in delayed gratification and the power it has to improve our financial health:

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Related post #2. For those of us who believe that saving more and investing in income producing assets for a more secure financial future is the way to go, remember, if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Don't be half hearted.

Do or don't do. There is no try.

Related post #3. We will do well to embrace our financial fragility. We are not invincible. It is better to be cautious even if we are strong. Why? Strong, yes. Invincible, no.

Don't get cocky.


Related post #4. There will be times when we feel like throwing in the towel. I know. Sometimes, life just throw us a curve ball or two. I have been there. Well, you might want to book mark this page and remember the X-wing fighter that destroyed the Death Star. Don't let the bad guys win!

Stay on target.

Related post #5. Of course, there is always fear. There is fear that we can never beat the system (e.g. CPF). There is fear that we might grow old and destitute. There is fear that we can never retire. There is also fear in Mr. Market from time to time. Make use of Mr. Market's fear and build passive income!

There is something stronger than fear. The Force (of passive income).


For those who don't follow me on FB, the culprit:

BEWARE THE DARK SIDE which is usually full of bling bling stuff and other tempting objects disguised as needs and very often touted by self serving minions as such.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!
HAVE A STELLAR AND FUN 2017!
Related posts:
1. Delayed gratification.
2. Building an income portfolio.
3. I lost my life savings.
4. Make $1m investing for income.
5. Best insurance in life!

2016 full year passive income from non-REITs (Part 2).

UPDATE (20 Jan 17):
When I shared my full year results for non-REITs last year, I wondered if Religare Health Trust (RHT) might be privatised. Then, with Accordia Golf Trust's (AGT) sponsor being bought over by Korean investors, MBK, many asked what is going to happen to AGT? A reader, betta man, shared this with me:

https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/accordia-golf-agt-sp-high-conviction-family-office-favourite

There is nothing wrong with speculation as long as we know we are speculating. Me? I am quite happy to hold on to my investment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, this is Part 2 of a very long blog post. If you have not done so, read Part 1: HERE.
Let us start this blog post with some gossip. Wah! Is Religare Health Trust going to be delisted?

You say, I say, they say. Hmm. ;p

Anyway, three big things happened in the non-REIT space for me.

1. A big thing was receiving a much larger than usual distribution from Religare Health Trust (RHT) which I initiated a long position in sometime last year at 88c a unit. The special dividend (which gave me a yield of almost 30% based on cost) came from them disposing a share of an income generating asset due to regulatory requirement. Including regular distributions this year, RHT has been a very rewarding investment for me. I am quite happy to continue holding on to my investment in the Trust as it continues to generate income. 
See this chat with a reader:

2. Another big thing that took place in the non-REIT space was the internalisation of Croesus Retail Trust's management. There was a rights issue because of this. I took up my entitlement and also applied for excess rights. The rights units were priced at slightly under 80c a unit (and will enjoy a distribution yield of almost 9%). The size of my investment in the Trust increased by almost 6% as I took advantage of the exercise.

3. The third big thing is the offer to privatise ARA Asset Management at $1.78 a share. This is likely to be concluded by the middle of next year and based on my entry prices, I would get to enjoy reasonably attractive capital gains of 35% to 78% although I would miss the regular dividends.

As I had a fixed deposit maturing and with the much lower interest rates offered by the banks this year for fixed deposits compared to last year (1.1% per annum at UOB for 13 months, for example), I decided to buy more ARA shares at $1.71 a share in late November.

I believe that this is possibly an arbitrage opportunity which could give me an "interest rate" of about 4% over a period of, maybe, half a year. 

It could be higher because ARA pays dividends twice a year and another payout could happen in April or May. If it should happen, I could see a DPS of 2c to 3c if the privatisation process is not completed by then.

Of course, to be realistic, there is a chance that the offer might not be accepted as I know some shareholders feel that the offer of $1.78 a share still undervalues ARA. 

In such an instance, I would be quite contented to hold on to my latest purchase to receive regular dividends (for a 3% dividend yield based on a DPS of 5c or about 50% of EPS) as I also believe ARA is worth more and that its shares should trade at a higher price. 

Delist or stay listed, I am happy with ARA either way.

Total dividend income from non-REITs in 2016: 


S$ 105,641.29


This translates to S$ 8,803.44 per month.

Apart from dividend income, regular readers know that I used to trade stocks more actively. Earlier this month, I revealed on my Facebook wall as well as the comments section here in ASSI:

Source: A wealth building strategy that has worked for AK.

Although I enjoyed some capital gains from a few trades this year (and the most recent trades being in DBS as its share price rose significantly for a few weeks), it is due to an emphasis on investing for income that has ensured further improvement in my financial health.

On this note, I will now say something about APTT because it seems that many readers were attracted to APTT by the relatively high distribution yield of 10% and bought into it. Now, many of them are worried because the unit price plunged.

If we know the value of a stock, we would know if the price makes sense. If we didn't know the value of the stock, we would never know if the price makes sense. If we don't know this, price movements would make us emotional.

I said before that APTT's past DPU of 8c was unsustainable. Although the management reduced DPU to 6.5c, I said that it might be more prudent to have a DPU of 4c which, I felt, was more sustainable. That was because 4c would be closer to APTT's EPS. 

At 37.5c a unit, I decided to add to my investment in APTT recently. I know what some people might ask and here is my answer: 

I don't know if the unit price will decline further but if it should, knowing what I know and all else being equal, I would probably be buying more.

Investing in APTT, we are not investing for growth. We want its income generation ability. If you thought you were investing for growth when you got into APTT, you might have the wrong tool. 

Know what we want to do and use the right tools.

For those of us who invested in APTT for income, ask if anything has happened which has damaged its ability to generate income significantly and, if something has happened, is the damage long lasting? Then, do what you have to do.

Know what am I going to say? 

Yes, if AK can do it, so can you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And I hope you have found my blogs this year to be inspiring and helpful on your own journey towards financial freedom.

Let me know if I should continue talking to myself next year. ;)

LOL. From my FB wall (1 Jan 17).

Related posts:

1. 1H 2016 income from non-REITs.

2. Breadtalk, OCK and QAF.

3. Made $1m investing for income.
4. 2016 FY income from S-REITs.

Outlook for 2017 

(by OCBC Investment Research):

While the overhang from Brexit and the US presidential election is over for now, heading into 2017, we expect continued weakness in oil-related stocks, softness in the property sector and higher impairment charges for banks to be some of the factors that will dent investor confidence in the Singapore market. While interest rates are likely to head higher, we believe the hunt for yield is not completely over and investors are still likely to accumulate quality high-dividend stocks. We expect banks to report low- to mid-single-digit earnings growth, and the outlook for the residential property sector is still soft after numerous quarters of decline and with no clear pickup in demand or selling prices. The oil and gas sector is still saddled with refinancing issues as well as a lack of orders and earnings. The telecommunications sector is also facing the threat of a new player.

-----------------------------------------
Watch from the 22nd minute for the discussion on Singapore banks:

2016 full year passive income from non-REITs (Part 1).

During an "Evening with AK and friends", someone asked if I was going to sell my stocks as market guru Hu Li Yang was expecting a stock market crash. I said we should stay invested as the market was still awashed in liquidity and money will go to where it is treated best. See: Evening with AK and friends.



So, what did I do in 2H 2016 in the non-REITs space? I made various purchases but, mostly, I was buying DBS shares. Besides DBS, I also bought some shares of OUE Limited, PREH, Wilmar, OCBC, Breadtalk and Starhub.

(I am impressed by DBS' cost management. Their cost to income ratio keeps declining.)

The narrative for investing in OCBC was similar to the one for DBS. Although all three local banks' stocks looked cheap to me, my preference was for DBS because of the perceived cheaper valuation.


The reason for me putting some money in OCBC's stock was mostly because my long position in DBS grew so big (and I do mean BIG) that it was prudent for me to step on the brakes. 




Using a strategy I employ frequently for stocks which I am highly confident in, my relatively large position in DBS included both a core position for income as well as a trading position.

Why not UOB? 


Well, I think UOB has been a bit laid back. I am not saying that it is a bad thing, mind you, but its growth story seems less exciting.

Of course, some might say that DBS and OCBC have been more "adventurous" but I like to think that they are more enterprising.

I feel that growing their wealth management business more aggressively will continue to set them apart from UOB as that business contributes more and more to their earnings.

Next, Wilmar. I continue to like Wilmar's business strategy and their very impressive scale of operations. It is an amazingly complex business and, to be quite honest, I have no way to analyse most of its operations.

However, when Mr. Kuok thinks their shares are cheap and bought more at $3.00 a share, that was a pretty clear signal to me. At that price, we would also be buying at around its NAV which seems conservative.

Source: RHB.

Having accumulated a rather significant long position in Wilmar in recent years, I am quite happy to wait while being paid to do so.

Now, for OUE Limited. I blogged about my rationale for increasing exposure to OUE Limited when I shared my numbers for 1H 2016 (see related post #1). Back then, I added at $1.51 a share. In 2H 2016, I added more at $1.53 a share.

Twin Peaks.

My decision to increase exposure was mostly driven by the even larger discount to NAV from the time I initiated a long position. 

There is much value in OUE Limited but waiting for value to be unlocked requires a lot of patience. Well, remember, a wise man did say before that the big money is in the waiting.

Along similar line of reasoning, I also added to my investment in PREH at 80c a share a few days ago. This is the lowest price I have ever paid for PREH. The last time I bought any PREH shares was more than a year ago. 

It is interesting to me that Mr. Ron Sim, Mr. Pua S.G. and Mr. Kuok K.H. have been increasing their stakes in PREH on price weakness. 

PREH is an asset play but it is also a growth story. It is not for the faint hearted.

PREH

As for Breadtalk, I have a more recent blog post on my decision to initiate a position. I compared it to Old Chang Kee and QAF Limited, both of which I have been a shareholder of for many years. 

If you are interested to know why I had a change of heart and decided to initiate a smallish long position in Breadtalk, go to the related posts at the end of this blog post (see related post #2).

Starhub. In June last year, when I did a technical analysis for Starhub, I said:

"The widening of the Bollinger Bands indicates increased volatility. The OBV shows selling pressure. The MACD is declining and shows no sign of a positive divergence. These are all on the weekly chart which suggests that continuing weakness in the longer term should not surprise us." Read blog post: here.


We saw Starhub's stock price sinking and I nibbled  again in late November. I feel that Mr. Market is right to be concerned but might be overly pessimistic about Starhub's prospects with the introduction of a 4th telco.

There is plenty of speculation now but, to be realistic, it will take time for the new entrant (which is expected to enter the market in 2018) to gain traction and it remains to be seen how successful it will be.




Back in June 2015, I also said that SPH and Starhub were similar:

"They could see earnings come under pressure for different reasons but that makes them similar too as the challenges are very real.... I would like to have some buffer in terms of dividend yield buying into SPH and Starhub because I am investing in them primarily for income and not growth." Read blog post: here.

I believe I am getting a much thicker cushion buying Starhub at under $2.80 a share and that was what I did.

As for SPH, let me share here a recent conversation with a reader:

I have been a SPH shareholder for many years and I am happy enough to be paid while I wait.
---------------------
As this turned out to be a very long blog post, I chopped it up into two parts. Read Part 2: HERE.
Related posts:

1. 1H 2016 income from non-REITs.

2. Breadtalk, OCK and QAF.

3. Made $1m investing for income.
4. 2016 FY income from S-REITs.

$500,000 stuck in a bad commercial space investment! (UPDATED)

UPDATED:
It is an increasingly common sight these days in the heartlands: 

Spanking new mixed-use developments with rows and rows of empty shop spaces plastered with posters and banners screaming “For Rent” or “For Sale”. 

From Kensington Square along Upper Paya Lebar Road and Novena Regency to The Midtown @ Hougang and MacPherson Mall, to name a few...
Source: TODAY




----------------------------------------------------------------------------

READER:

Hello AK, 

I have a question regarding real estate that I would like to ask you. 

I am a responsible investor and does my own homework before making any investment, so I will not make you responsible for any decisions I make. 

I have it down here in writing so you can have a peace of mind when you reply to my email. 

I am a stock investor which means I am not familiar with real estate in Singapore. 

I know that you have invested in real estate before, therefore, I would like to seek you help for an issue. 

My father made some money speculating on real estates in the past. 

So as most speculators who have made money speculating on real estate, my father made the mistake of not doing enough homework, not filtering out market noise (mostly the real estate agents), thinking that property prices will go up forever and not position sizing. 

My father laid out about (half a million dollars) on a shop unit, confident that the price of the shop will appreciate greatly in the future. 

He bought it in 2010 or 2011, before the building was constructed. 

Ever since, he has not been able to rent his shop out for rental. 70% to 80% of the shops in the building is vacant since day 1. 

My father has been paying the monthly management fee (about $700/month), annual property tax (no idea how much) and not to mentioned the initial stamp duties and other fees associated with purchasing a property in Singapore. 

Obviously, my father has not been able to find a buyer, not even if he sells it at a loss. 

The size of the shop is about 3m in length and 5m deep. 

My father laid out about half of his cash in this property and another half in another property (this has rental income, so it's fine. 

However, if you add the fees and taxes of both properties, my father hardly makes any money.). 

So my father has been very cash strapped (Situation getting more dire with every month, to be honest). 

Unfortunately, my father made the purchases before I knew anything about investments (not like he will listen to me though).

- Nobody wants to buy/rent the shop

- Monthly management fee ($700+/ month) (Management 很好赚，no AEI or anything, but collects $700+ a month)

- Annual property taxes

- High entry price (my father estimated the market prices of his shop has decreased about 20%)

So my question is, do you have any recommendations as on what can be our next step? 

Any ways to get rid of the property or anything that we can do cut/reduce the losses?

It is quite a sticky situation but thanks in advance. 

Taken from a website 
promoting the mall to investors.

AK says:
Remember what you say here hor. 

Indemnity form signed. ;)

OK, fact is nobody knows for sure what the future might bring. 

What we know for sure is the now and the present. 

The only people who seem to know (the future) for sure are the property agents especially when they want to sell us something. ;p






If we had bought into a piece of property thinking or hoping that the price will go up in future, we are more speculators than investors. 

Remember my blog post on the two questions we should ask if we are speculating in properties?

It is not only whether the property offers value for money. 

We should also ask if we have deep pockets. (See related post #2.)





It seems to me that your dad does not have deep pockets and he is suffering from a double whammy because the property wasn't value for money.

I have a friend in a similar situation and it is causing a serious strain on his family's finances. 

I found out recently when I (being kaypoh) asked him why he seemed so cash strapped when his job pays reasonably well. 






He bought a property and it is not generating cash flow. 

Instead of an asset, he got a liability.

I told him he would be better off disposing it.

"What if the price goes up in future?"

Alamak. 

I told him I don't know what is going to happen in future but I see what the situation is doing to him now. 





Fortunately, his wife agreed that it would be best to dispose of the "asset" even at a loss.

Don't bite off more than we can chew. 

If we bit off more than we can chew, we would do well to spit it out or else we might choke. 

Of course, some handle choking better than others. 

Quite a few could choke to death.

Best wishes,
AK





P.S. The property which the reader's dad bought is not in Alexandra Mall. 

It is in another part of Singapore. 

Not revealing the location of the property in question, I am just using Alexandra Mall as an example. 

Yes, there are quite a few of these "promising" malls which were marketed to retail investors in Singapore in recent years.





Related posts:
1. Nobody cares more about our money...
2. Two questions we should ask...
3. Disastrous investments in property...

Wife becomes "tai tai" because husband has high income.

Tai tai (太太) is a Chinese colloquial term for a wealthy married woman who does not work. (Source: Wikipedia.)

I don't know if it is surprising to you but I have seen so many such cases over the years. 





There are childless couples who decide to stay childless because they want to concentrate on their careers and have double income. 

DINK. Double income no kids.

The ones I am blogging about now are those who decide to stay childless too but with only one person bringing home the bacon. 

What does the other person do? 

Anything but being gainfully employed.

I have a good friend, several years younger than me, who is a doctor. 

His other half decided to stop working many years ago and when I remarked that it wasn't a wise decision, instead of agreeing, he said, "I make enough money to support both of us."

OK, end of conversation.

I know that my friend is not from a wealthy family and he also had a hefty study loan which he had to repay. 

He had a mortgage on a condo and he also bought a luxury car. 

While my friend has his job, he will have no problem paying for everything. I am sure. 

While he has his job.

His income is earned. 

It is not passive. 

If he had to stop working for any reason, he would very likely be unable to keep up his lifestyle. 

Oops. Sorry, it should be their lifestyle.

The prudent thing to do is for both of them to have earned income. 

They should build wealth and invest in income producing assets. 

Only when they are able to depend on their passive income alone to have the lifestyle they want should the wife stop working. 

This is the wise thing to do.

To love is a fine thing but letting love blind us could be destructive and not just in terms of wealth.




I hope my friend does not regret in future.

"Your husband makes a lot of money. He doesn't have a lot of money. Wake up!" - AK

Related posts:

1. Pertinent questions in wealth building.

2. Financial freedom over home ownership.
"Your choices and your relationships are key indicators whether you are going to succeed financially." Dave Ramsey.

2016 full year passive income from S-REITs.

In this final blog on S-REITs in 2016, I want to record a heart felt good bye to Saizen REIT as we knew it. The REIT was one of my largest investments in the S-REITs universe for many years. It was an asset play and an income stock that amply rewarded my strategy of being paid while I waited.

Now, this brings us nicely to the importance of investing in income producing assets. For many of us, not having passive income means working till the day we die. It would also probably mean having a weaker ability to cope with very real financial challenges in life such as inflation.

Warren Buffett once said that we should not depend on a single income and that we should make investment to create a second source. To me,  quite simply, this means investing for income, which is what I have been doing mostly.

If you are a regular reader, I hope my experience will keep you pumped up for the new year. 

If you are a new reader, I hope my experience inspires you to consider investing for income (if you are not doing it already) for a financially more secure future.

2016 full year income from S-REITs.

In 2H 2016, I added to my investment in Soilbuild REIT due to a rights issue. This was at 63c per rights unit. I took up my entitlement and also applied for excess rights. From that exercise, I increased my investment in the REIT by more than 10%.

Some details:

1. Issue of 94,353,672 new units in Soilbuild REIT on the basis of 1 New Unit for every 10 existing units in Soilbuild REIT. 

2. Funds to partially finance the purchase of a building, 2 Bukit Batok St 23, which has an initial annual rental of $8 million. 

Another bit of news of interest to me was the reverse takeover (RTO) of Saizen REIT by Sime Darby. As I am still holding on to my original investment in Saizen REIT, I received another distribution before the RTO was effected. It means that I received a tidy 5 figure sum which, of course, made me happy.

I said this earlier in August:

"We will be paid 9.87c a unit and still get to keep our investment in the REIT."

I haven't been doing much with regards to my investments in S-REITs. 

Mostly, I am just collecting dividends regularly and letting professional managers take care of the day to day operations.

Total income from S-REITs in 2016: 

S$ 452,243.52

This figure includes the bumper distribution from Saizen REIT which will not be repeated in future.

If we were to exclude all income distributions from Saizen REIT this year, total income from S-REITs in 2016 would only be:

S$ 66,933.70

Quite shocking how much smaller the number is, isn't it? This shows how big an investment I had in Saizen REIT. 

The lower income, without any contribution from Saizen REIT, translates to S$ 5,577.80 a month.

This is still quite comfortable for one person to live off but unless I can make up for it somewhere, this lower income from my investments in S-REITs is something I would have to live with in future. 

Of course, if you have been following my blog, you would know what I have been doing to make up for the shortfall.

A few years back, I had 5 relatively large investments in S-REITs. Today, only 2 are left.

If you are wondering which 2, with the value of my investment in Saizen REIT drastically reduced in the past year, 

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT 
and 
First REIT 

are now the only S-REITs which have significantly more weight in my portfolio.

Some might remember that, a few years ago, I drastically reduced my exposure to LMIR and Sabana REIT for different reasons, locking in some decent gains in the process. So, my S-REIT portfolio has been shrinking in size for some time.

With interest rates probably going higher, there is a reasonable need to be cautious when investing in S-REITs but there is no need to be pessimistic.

In response to a reader who was rather pessimistic:

The worry is probably common amongst investors.

This was a conversation with a reader who raised two questions:

What do I find more important?
1. Relatively reasonable gearing.
2. Relatively strong cash flow.
3. Relatively good manager.

(If you want to listen to AK talking to himself a bit more, go to related post #3 at the end of the blog.)

That ends this blog post and I will share some thoughts on my non-REITs portfolio, hopefully, before the year ends.

Related posts:

1. Saizen REIT RTO.

2. 1H 2016 income from S-REITs.
3. REITs and interest rates (2014).
4. 2016 income from non-REITs.