Stock Investments 2013

Creating CPF Buffer
So far, 2013 has been good for me. I have sold off all my stocks, except for my CPF Investment Acount, which has risen by 15%. I opened this account and invested a portion of my CPF Ordinary Account before buying my first HDB flat. For the uninitiated, it is HDB’s policy to use up all your CPF monies in Ordinary Account if you intended to purchase a HDB flat. So if you intend to set aside a portion of monies in your Ordinary Account for emergency purposes, the only way is to open a CPF Investment Account and then liquidate your investments after the HDB purchase is completed.

Bull or Bear?
I have always advocated to invest during crises. But the way I see it, 2013 could be the start of the economic recovery for most developed countries. Since 2010, the market has weathered U.S’ fiscal cliff, Europe’s debt issues and China’s slowing economy. So far, the market’s performance has been pretty resilient against all these negative developments and investors’ confidence remain high on equities.

I do not plan to invest in any SGX stocks or REITS this year. Simply because I don’t see value in any of these counters. Instead, I plan to do index investing (ETF) and is in the midst of educating myself on it. I hope to share with my readers on what I have learnt in the coming months.

Huat Ah!

Magically yours,