SG Wealth Builder celebrates 10-year anniversary!

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In life, time flies. In the blink of an eye, it has been 10 years since I founded SG Wealth Builder! It seems like yesterday when I founded SG Wealth Builder. I can still remember the raw passion and explosive excitement when launching this wealth blog.

A decade had passed and the energy remains amazingly strong. During this period, many fellow bloggers had come and go. Some of them were really outstanding bloggers but fizzled out in no time. Nevertheless, I continued to push on and the brand of this blog grew from strength to strength. Over time, I have also developed a voice that connects with my readers. It is this distinctive voice that attracted readers to keep coming back to this blog and many had become long-time followers.

Value is what attracted readers and followers to SG Wealth Builder. Many people who visited my blog had provided numerous feedback that they had learned useful things that they were able to apply in their wealth building journey. Such compliments often invoked deep sense of self-satisfaction and achievement inside me.

To be able to make a difference in others certainly create a profound feeling.

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Preserve wealth amid COVID-19

COVID-19 has upended the entire global economy and caused millions of people to lose their jobs. Over in Singapore, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) projected the GDP growth for 2020 to be -7.0 to -4.0 per cent. This is certainly a very frightening period of time in the modern day history. Against this backdrop, is it even possible for a retiree to preserve wealth amid COVID-19?

A retiree who is in his twilight years has a short runway and limited timeframe to build wealth. So at this phase of his life cycle, the strategy should be to preserve wealth instead  growing wealth through the stock market. The recent sharp corrections in the stock market should be a stark warning on how risky the stock market can be, especially for the seniors.

Furthermore, with no active income, it will be a challenge for a retiree to do capital injections into his investment portfolio. So when you reach retirement, it is important to protect your money and preserve wealth. This means that the seniors must look beyond the stock market to preserve wealth and ensure they have enough money to sustain till the end of life journey.

preserve wealth

Maybank 2.05% Fixed Deposit

It seems that COVID-19 pandemic has rolled back the time.

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iFAST share price at tipping point?

Sign up for only $19.99! Can anything stop iFAST share price? As a fintech company, the history of iFAST is certainly intriguing. The company started life as fundsupermart.com during the dot.com bubble in 2000. The SARS of 2003 and the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 had almost destroyed the business but somehow the company managed to survive. The current COVID-19 pandemic is actually the third crisis for the fintech company but iFAST share price has been rather buoyant instead.

With a market capitalization of only $350 million, iFAST is considered a small cap in SGX mainboard. But considering the minimum debts it has and the aggressive growth strategies, iFAST share price had managed to punch above its weight in recent years.

iFAST share price on steroid!

iFAST share price

Of late, iFAST share price has been in the limelight, presumably because it is one of the nine digital wholesale bank (DWB) applicants to progress to the next stage of assessment by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Up to three DWB licenses are up for grab. Will digital bank be a game changer for iFAST share price?

Apart from the digital bank adventure, iFAST share price had largely been under the radar for most investors.

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MLT share price at record high

Sign up for only $19.99! On 29 May 2020, Mapletree Logistics Trust shares were trading at a record high of $2.05. The bullish form of MLT share price is certainly impressive given the unprecedented challenges faced by the S-REIT sector. Then again, the surge of MLT share price has not been linear nor exponential. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, MLT share price was mercilessly sold down, causing it nose-dived from $2.00 on 5 March 2020 to $1.20 on 23 March 2020.

Mapletree Logistics Trust in amazing form

Crazy Rich Mapletree Logistics Trust

Scary growth project of Mapletree Logistics Trust

Investors who kept faith with this counter must be smiling to themselves now as MLT share price subsequently regained form after the release of the full-year financial report for FY2019/20. It was revealed that revenue increased 8% year-on-year to reach $490 million while net property income increased 12.6% to $438.5 million.

MLT share price

The positive result gave MLT share price the legitimate reason to continue flying amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Indeed, MLT share price is one of the few exceptions to buck the trend of most S-REITs, which are mostly reeling from the devastating effects of COVID-19 pandemic.

Make no mistake, S-REIT is a sector that is previously known to be defensive among investors.

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Legacy planning for my family

Sign up for only $19.99! Recently, my mom wanted to do up a Will for herself and suggested that we seek the aid of a legal firm. Incidentally, the following day, one of my readers requested me to do a topic on legacy planning. Henceforth, in this article, I will pen down my thoughts and insights on legacy planning. I also hope that readers will benefit from my research on this topic.

Most people tend to procrastinate on legacy planning. Indeed, in life, there are many priorities that take up our time and resources. But you should note that death is an inevitable part of our life journey. If you don’t do a proper legacy planning, your loved ones could be at a loss of what to do if you suffered from an unfortunate event. Just imagine the emotional turmoil and the prospect of navigating through the financial maze when family disaster strikes.

legacy planning

Legacy planning involves more than just crafting a Will. A proper legacy planning also need to factor in retirement planning and the potential event of total incapacitation. A Will is only effective upon the Will-maker’s death while Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) operates after the donor loses his mental capacity.

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Singtel share price to collapse to $1.50?

Sign up for only $19.99! 4 August 2020 will be destiny day for Singtel share price because it will be ex-dividend day for shareholders to be entitled to the final dividend of $0.0545. All eyes are on that day as shareholders brace themselves for a frightening roller-coaster ride of Singtel share price. But this time round, the correction for Singtel share price will likely to be much severe due to changes made to the SGX Securities Borrowing and Lending (SBL) programme.

Singtel share price in devastating bloodbath

Singtel share price to swim or sink with coronavirus?

Singtel share price in double trouble

Singtel share price faces disaster

With effect from 2 December 2019, SGX replaced the fixed rates for SBL programme. The borrowing rates for index stocks had been dramatically reduced from 6% per annum to a low of 0.5% per annum! The rationale for the adjustment was to make borrowing rates attractive for institutional investors. In my opinion, this is an ominous change for Singtel share price because this counter is a favourite among short-sellers.

Singtel share price

The reason for the volatility of Singtel share price in recent years could be attributed to its considerably large pool of lending shares, which stood at 25,643,036 as at 15 June 2020.

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Gold price at 8-year high

Amid the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic, gold price surged to an 8-year high. The last time gold price reached such euphoria level was in 2012. Is it a bubble in the making for gold price or the start of an explosive bull run? Today, SG Wealth Builder is pleased to share an email interview with BullionStar’s Precious Metals analyst – Mr Ronan Manly.

1) Year-to-date, the gold price has soared from USD1,520 per ounce to USD1,730 per ounce. The gain is about 14%. Yet the rise has not been linear. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the gold price dropped to a low of USD1,460 per ounce. What could be the reason?

The US dollar spot gold price, or ‘international’ gold price, is overwhelmingly established based on trading in two specific venues, the London gold market and the COMEX New York gold futures market. Both of these markets trade not real physical gold, but paper gold whose supply can be expanded at will out of thin air. That’s the first thing to remember.

Turning to March, when the wider financial markets saw unprecedented volatility triggered by fears of the pandemic, and when bond yields and equity prices plunged and the Fed and other central banks bailed out the system and expanded QE, the US dollar gold price, as you said, also dropped sharply from USD1,700 to as low as USD1,460.

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Raffles Medical share price in sensational return

Sign up for only $19.99! What a sensational return for Raffles Medical share price. The share price of the private healthcare provider was hit badly during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Like many SGX stocks, Raffles Medical share price exploded to a low of $0.73 on 23 March 2020. Subsequently, the epic USD2 trillion massive fiscal stimulus by US government and the four Singapore Budgets helped to shore up market confidence. These events led to the revival of Raffles Medical share price.

Despite being in the healthcare sector, Raffles Medical share price did not surge during the COVID-19 pandemic like what shares of Riverstone and Top Glove did. Instead, Raffles Medical share price fell like the rest of its peers (Parkway Life REIT and First REIT). The reason for the decline of share price of hospital operators is because the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in countries being locked down, thereby affecting patient loads.

Raffles Medical share price

Parkway Life REIT walloped Raffled Medical share price

Raffles Medical share price in state of emergency

Can Raffles Medical share price ever rock again?

Raffles Medical share price was particularly affected by the COVID-19 because it owns two hospitals in China, the original epi-centre of the outbreak.

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SIAEC share price to soar on SIA privatization?

Sign up for only $19.99! What a gut-wrenching ride. SIAEC share price staged an impressive come-back as it surged from a low of $1.50 on 23 March 2020 to the current $2.20. The uptick in SIAEC share price represented a whopping 46% increase. Is it the right time for parent company, Singapore Airlines (SIA), to launch a privatization of SIAEC?

SIAEC plunged into hell

SIAEC share price and ST Engineering in bizarre tales

SIAEC share price in bloodbath with Temasek Holdings

SIAEC share price

The major catalyst for SIAEC share price is the potential privatization by SIA. Rumour of privatization had been ongoing for several years as SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong aggressively consolidated SIA’s portfolio assets in a bid to rationalize cost and create synergy among the Group entities. The consolidation effort saw SIA Cargo and SilkAir being integrated into SIA while Scoot and Tigerair merged. SIAEC could be the next integration initiative following the massive rights issue of SIA.

SIA currently holds 77.4% of SIAEC shares. When the SIAEC share price plunged to $1.50 on 23 March 2020, the Price/Book Value was at a very attractive level of 1.05. At that point of time, it would make sense for SIA to privatize the MRO company.

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SATS share price crashed to 5-year low

Sign up for only $19.99! Is it the end of the road for SATS share price? The aviation ground handling service provider is severely hit as the COVID-19 pandemic causes the entire air travel to come to a grinding halt. As a result, SATS share price plunged to a 5-year low.

SATS share price

SATS flying high in 2016

My last coverage on this counter was in 2017. That was when SATS share price was flying high and was trading at the $5.00 bandwidth. In those days, it certainly seemed that the sky was the limit for SATS share price. Nobody could have predicted that all it takes is a pandemic to cause SATS share price to fall down to earth.

SATS share price

While everyone knows that the entire aviation industry is hit by the black swan event, what caught me by surprise is the resilience of SATS share price. At $3.17, SATS share price is at a 5-year low. Contrast this with share price of Singapore Airlines, which spiralled out of control to reach a record low. In this regard, is SATS share price at the right place and right time for investors to enter?

In all honesty, it is too premature to claim that aviation industry will recover in the coming months.

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AEM share price to rock and roll with Singtel?

Sign up for only $19.99! Singtel share price recently saw red as the telco announced a set of dismal full-year financial results and slashed its dividend pay-out. But it is definitely not the end of the road for Singtel as it primes itself for the next big thing in technology – the rollout of 5G. Should Singtel join forces with the new “King of Technology” in SGX – AEM holdings? How would this even affect AEM share price?

AEM share price to sink or swim with Huawei ban?

AEM share price to hit $50 on NASDAQ listing?

AEM share price in explosive bull run!

AEM share price

While Singtel share price has been singing the blues lately, AEM share price stormed to high heavens amid the circuit breaker period. Trading at $3.10, AEM share price has risen 100% above the level seen on 23 March 2020. Investors must have regretted for missing the train or selling too early.

Indeed, the rise of AEM is one of the rare fairy-tales in SGX. AEM share price used to trade at penny stock level. However, the epic success of its test equipment for Intel in 2016 – High Density Modular Test (HDMT) semiconductor test handler platform – changed AEM’s destiny forever.

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