Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update January 2023 – Starting the Year with a Bang

Calvin Lo

Stocks are racing off the mark strongly in 2023. US stocks have been rallying on expectations that the Fed hiking cycle might be nearing the end. Chinese stocks likewise have also been on a tear ever since China gave up on its zero-covid policy and started easing movement restrictions. Hopefully stocks can continue to perform well for the rest of the year.

Yields on bonds and income instruments though have been starting to ease. Banks have started to pull back on fixed deposit rates. SSB and T-bill yields have been falling. Most short-term yield products are yielding slightly below 4% on average.

Read also: How I Manage My Cash Between SSB, T-Bills, Fixed Deposits and Cash Funds

I’m pretty comfortable even if interest rates start falling from here, since I’ve locked up what I needed in SSB for the longer term. Meanwhile, our monthly RSP into index funds continues like clockwork, so we’ve been averaging in at lower prices.

I’ve yet to optimise my liquid cash funds, so I’m looking to move funds around to high yield savings accounts or cash funds while short term interest rates are still pretty high.

See my portfolio value, holdings, and strategy on my Portfolio page.

SSB

SSB demand has evaporated, so everyone who applied was fully allotted up to the $200k individual limit. I got all $13K that I applied for, which was to rollover my Sep 2022 tranche yielding a lower 2.80% 10-year average yield. This month, I’ll be redeeming that Sep 2022 tranche. I won’t be rolling over any SSBs this month since the yield for March SSB is only 2.9%, not attractive enough.

Last month’s posts on SSB:

See also my SSB tracker for more info on SSBs.

Family Portfolio

  • Value as at end January: S$170K
  • January performance: +11.0% vs SPX +7.7% vs NDX +13.8%
  • All-time performance (since Aug 2016): -4.6% (-2.4% including dividends)
  • January dividends: S$20 (-73% yoy)
  • Bought: VT, QQQ, ARKK, SGX:HST
  • Sold: None
Family Portfolio as of 3rd Feb 2023

Performance. This portfolio outperformed the S&P 500, thanks to the tech stocks I’ve accumulated. Underperformance vs Nasdaq is expected, since this portfolio is more diversified thus having a lower beta vs Nasdaq, despite being pretty tech heavy as well. ARKK, Tesla and Nvidia have recovered quite a bit, contributing to the good performance.

Stocks. No changes in stock holdings outside the automated RSP buys. I might be looking to add to my position in Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) just for some recession protection, but haven’t pulled the trigger.

REITs. REITs have been lagging vs stocks, so I’m slightly underweight REITs. I’ll be looking to add to my existing position in the CSOP iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index ETF (SGX:SRT/SRU) which tracks the same index as Syfe REIT+. RSP on Syfe REIT+ will continue, no change.

Read my reviews of Syfe REIT+ and Syfe Core Equity100.

Cash. Cash is now sitting at 14%, with around 1% earmarked to add to REIT ETF. However, since my target cash allocation is now 15% with the recovery in indices, I’ll be looking to trim some individual stocks to build up some cash.

Automation. No change to automated purchases of S$2K through FSMOne into 4 ETFs – VT, QQQ, ARKK and HST, and scheduled transfers of $200/month each into Syfe Equity100 and REIT+ portfolios.

Read my previous post on FSMOne: Automating Your Investments With FSMOne

Personal Portfolio

  • Value as at end January: S$32.5K
  • January performance: +28.2%
  • All-time performance (since July 2020): -14.4%
  • Bought: TSLA, SQQQ
  • Sold: TSLA
Personal Portfolio as of 3rd Jan 2023

Tesla (TSLA) stock was up a crazy +68% for the month, but some of that performance was offset by my SQQQ hedge declining in value. Palantir (PLTR) was not too shabby either, gaining +28% for the month. Towards the end of the month though, I sold some TSLA stock and loaded up more SQQQ because I felt this rally was getting overheated.

Tesla also just recently reported Q4 2022 results, and I’ve summarised my thoughts in the post below.

Read also: Quick Thoughts on Tesla Q4 2022 Results $TSLA

Read my investment thesis on TSLA here.

I’m still keeping the SQQQ hedge on since I anticipate volatility to return soon. VIX is currently at 18.6 which is super low, so I’m pretty nervous about the short term. SQQQ hedge has been working great to smooth out some volatility by reducing declines, but on the flip-side also dampening upside gains.

The irony is that as stocks rally, that might embolden the Fed to stick to their higher rates for longer narrative, and vice versa. We might be in for more roller coaster rides in 2023 before macro uncertainties clear up a bit. Until then, I’ll probably keep SQQQ hedge on. Cash position is sitting at 35% (excluded from performance figures).

How did your portfolio perform in January?

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. I am not professional financial advisor nor do I work in the finance industry. Anything I write here is purely my personal opinion. Please do your own research and due diligence before investing into anything. All investments come with associated risks. Best to consult a financial advisor if you’re still unsure.

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