This month, worries in the Eurozone amplifies, with problems in Greece and Spain worsening. The exit of Greece from Euro seems inevitable, especially with the inability of its Parliament to form the new government. In addition, the bail out required by the fourth largest bank in Spain causes the yields of Spanish bonds to go above the worrying 6% levels. All these events caused the STI to fall by more than 9% for the month of May.
In line with all the gloominess, my portfolio also shrank by a larger 22%, dragged down by Rotary, which alone fell by 22%.
However, bucking the trend was Wingtai Holdings, which rose by 8% following the news that the Chairman is buying back 15% of the shares from retail investors at a price of $1.39 per share. Considering the volatile situation currently, this will be a good opportunity to liquidate some of my holdings without suffering any losses, as my average holding price per share for Wingtai is currently at $1.373, excluding commissions paid and dividends collected.
In addition, this month I have added Breadtalk to my portfolio, after it plunged by more than 10% after XD without any known reasons. Since its fundamentals are still intact, and its share price has been hovering between a range of $0.45 to $0.55, it seems like a good time to buy some for a small gain. However, after the purchase, the share price continued its decline, but still well supported at $0.46. For this counter, I shall be discipline and stick to my plan to sell it once it rises back to the $0.54 levels.
Despite the falls, there are also good news from some of my counters. Parkwaylife Reit has announced a dividend of $0.0256 per share and Singpost also maintained its dividend payout of $0.0250 per share. This brought the total dividends collected for the first half of 2012 to approximately $1,200.
Currently, turmoil in the market still persist. However if the contarian view is being acted upon, it seems like a good time to enter the market now. Judging from the situation, volatility is here to stay. Whether do I purchase more or not depends very much on my ability to stomach the volatility. However, if real value shows up, I may plunge in, with the risk that the money is needed three years down the road for my home loan partial repayment.
My Current Portfolio:
Lessons learnt: Patience and discipline is the key to ride out all volatility. In addition, always check if the fundamentals are intact. If not, you will just be holding on to a losing counter, and any wait for a rebound is just a false hope.
