Monthly Review- March 2013

This month marks the end of the first quarter of 2013. Overall this month has been a good month for my portfolio, despite the volatility in the macroeconomy.  Problems in Cyprus has forced it to near bankruptcy, but thanks to the last minute agreement, this was avoided after Troika lent 10 billion Euros to Cyprus.  However, this was not the end, as the harsh conditions stated in the agreement, which was to tax the savings of the people who has more than 100,000 Euros in the bank, led to jitters in the market.  Fearing that this could be the beginning of the harsher levies on countries asking for bailout, markets worldwide fall into the red.

Thankfully, my portfolio was not badly affected.  Instead, due to the volatility, people started looking out for high yielding stocks and this benefitted stocks like Far East HTrust and Singpost.  For the month, Far East HTrust has burst up through new highs to $1.22, before retreating and end off the month at $1.175.  During the slight correction, I managed to increase my holdings by another 10 lots.  Although this averaging up will increase my average holding cost, I believe the average holding cost is still low enough to withstand any corrections, but at the meantime allow me to gain from the quarterly dividends.

In addition, Singpost also managed to buck the trend and rose from the slight correction to reach a high of $1.25.  This is the highest closing it has reached after I had purchase this counter.  I believe Singpost will remain strong amidst its recent aquisitions.  As long as its management is able to complement the business of its new aquisitions with their current business, I believe the profitability remains.  This is especially helpful as Singpost still remains to be the sole leader of the logistics and mail business locally.

However, not all remains bright.  On the other spectrum, SMRT has issued a profit warning for the quarter, expecting a net loss for the quarter but still a net profit for the whole financial year.  This changed my perspective for SMRT, which was a gem for many high yield seekers.  In recent years, the higher frequency of breakdowns, fines imposed, all led to the scrutiny of investors, as well as the government.  As the government step in to improve the conditions of public transport, I had to agree with the analysts that future earnings of SMRT will be under severe pressure, which may lead to a cut in dividends.  All these kept me on my toes and I believe in time to come, I may have to bite the bullet and sell the counter, if it ever breaks down further and hit my stop loss target price.
Now I shall look forward to the first quarter earnings results to be out next month.  The first few reporting should be Mapletree Commercial Trust and Singpost.  I am looking forward to the consistent dividend payout, and at the same time, a price correction for the strong blue chips as we progress towards the "Sell in May and go away" period so that I can have the opportunity to add on strong counters to my portfolio.

My Current Portfolio:

 

Lessons learnt: Patience is a virtue.  For quality counters, time will prove their real potential and fundamentals.  Emotions will just cause panic sell or impulsive buying.  Stick to the original plan and be disciplined.