Wednesday 26 December 2012

Academic Update AY2012/13 Sem 01


This semester's workload was one of the lightest so far. Content wise, most of the modules are manageable with the exception of GEK2503, which I got no idea what is going on most of the time (My geography sux). Managed to pull up my CAP slightly from 4.65 to 4.73 and I'm hopeful for a second Dean's List. :)


Year1-Sem1
ST1131 Introduction to Statistics A-
MA1101R Linear Algebra I A
MA1102R Calculus A
EC1301 Principles of Economics A
GEK1508 Einstein's Universe and Quantum Weirdness A

Year1-Sem2 
CS1010 Programming Methodology A-
ST2131 Probability B
MA2108 Mathematical Analysis I B+
EC2102 Macroeconomic Analysis I A
PC1322 Understanding the Universe A+

Year2-Sem1
ST2132 Mathematical Statistics A+
ST2137 Computer Aided Data Analysis A+
EC2101Microeconomics Analysis I A
LSM1302Gene and SocietyA+
GEK2503 Remote Sensing for Earth Observation A-



MC 60
CAP 4.73


ST2132
Although a lot of seniors had warned me about the difficulty of  this module, it is in fact not as difficult as I thought it would be. This is probably because the lecturer Dr Lim Chingway had watered the module down. His Mid terms was easy (Very similar to tutorial questions) and the Finals was very do-able. Be diligent in doing his tutorials plus some additional practices from the textbook and you will be fine.

Mid-Term mean-median: 27.17-29 (/40)

ST2137
This module will introduce a lot of concepts from all over the place. But do not be worried if you are new to these concepts as only basic understanding is required. The main focus is using the softwares to compute statistics. 3 programs will be taught (R,SPSS & SAS) and might be a little confusing initially due to the different syntax of the 3 programs. Mid term was extremely easy and Dr David Chew is really lenient in his marking. Final is much more challenging, but if you had taken CS1010 before, you will have a distinct advantage as the grade differentiater requires u to be able to code something that you will never expect and wouldn't probably prepared yourself for. Dr David Chew will provide one sample paper for both mid-term and finals. Do practice them as the format of the actual test closely resemble the sample paper.

EC2101
Taught by Dr Zhang Yang, a new lecturer. Content is very light, and second half of the module is some-what an analog of the first half, so if you understand the first half of the module, it means you also understand most of the concepts from the second half. Mid term was extremely easy, in fact, I think it was easier than the homework she set. So, try to score full marks for it. There were 36 students who scored full mark. Finals was much more challenging, and really test on your understanding of concepts.

Mid-Term mean-median: 87.17-90 (/100)

LSM1302
Overall an interesting module which provide foundational knowledge of genes and introduces some of the current research in the field and the controversies arising from it. Personally, I have never taken a single biology class before, so the learning curve can be quite steep especially with the number of jargon thrown at you. However, once you are past that stage (which require considerable amount of effort), everything will be easily comprehensible.

GEK2503
Worse module I have ever took. Both of the lecturers cannot really teach. Always try to cramp more contents than possible within the lecture hrs and rush through it. People with geography background should have some advantage as we are required to look at images and identify some landscapes and their features most of the time. And if you are color blind (like me) DON'T EVER TAKE IT. There was a project which carries quite a lot of weight-age as well, and it was extremely time consuming.


If anyone would like to have materials such as lecture notes or tutorials for any of the modules that I have taken before, you may access them through this link: NUS Modules.


Wednesday 1 August 2012

Portfolio - July Updates

My Portfolio:


07/31/12









Quantity Done Price Fees Market Pice Market Value DPU (2Q2012) Realized P/L Unrealized P/L Overall Yield
Starhill Global REIT 4000 S$0.625 S$28.02 S$0.710 S$2840 1.08c $164.80 S$326.98 19.45%
Cache Logistics Trust 3000 S$0.97 S$28.23 S$1.105 S$3315 1.981c $250.54 S$407.77 22.40%


Performance compared to STI


STI 5.49%
Starhill Global REIT 6.77%
Cache Logistics Trust 5.24%
Overall 5.94%




Sunday 8 July 2012

Importance of Financial Literacy

MAS had published the finding from a recent Mystery Shopping survey, where mystery shoppers posed as ordinary customers and made 500 trips to financial institutions, seeking financial advises from representatives at 11 banks and four insurance companies. 

Hey are the key findings from the survey:
(i) Fact-find
Fact-find was carried out in the bulk of the visits but the extent of information collected from the shoppers was inadequate.  Most representatives obtained information on the shoppers’ personal particulars and employment but other pertinent information such as the shoppers’ investment experience, financial objectives, risk preferences and financial situation were less frequently gathered.  Failure to conduct a comprehensive fact-find impedes the ability of representatives to make suitable recommendations.  

(ii) Product Disclosure
Most representatives disclosed basic information about the products recommended.  These include explanation on whether the product is meant for protection, savings or investment.  However, disclosures on risk factors, amount and frequency of fees and charges, warnings, exclusions and caveats, as well as the free-look period were omitted in a significant number of advisory sessions.  Inadequate disclosures may result in consumers making poor investment decisions due to lack of understanding of the product’s features and risks.

(iii) Product Suitability
The top three categories of products recommended were endowment insurance policies, unit trusts and investment-linked life policies.  Almost a third of the product recommendations were assessed by the industry panel as unsuitable.  The main reasons cited were that the products recommended did not match the shoppers’ financial objective or their stated investment horizon.


In general, I believe that there will always be some form of conflict in interests between the financial well-being of the clients and his/her financial advisers. Of the top 3 categories of products recommended, all of them were high commission products. The failure to conduct a comprehensive fact-find also suggests the lack of incentives to put customer's interest first.

Do note that I'm not advocating one to shun from financial advisers completely - many people either lack the time, interest or the ability to plan for themselves financially. However, it is essential to build basic financial literacy in order to determine if your financial adviser is genuinely taking care of your interest or is he/she just going after your commissions. One can start by answering the questions found in part (i) yourselves:
  • What is your financial objectives? Is it for marriage, purchasing of houses, or retirement?
  • What is your risk tolerance? How will you take it if you lose X% of your capital? 
  • What is your Time horizon? Do you need the money in 5/10/15 years time? 
These are the questions that you need to be able to answer yourself before you approach any financial advisers. After all, if you yourself do know know what you want, then nobody else does. And you may use these questions as a gauge to measure the quality of advises by asking yourself: Does what the financial adviser recommends fit my profile?


Saturday 30 June 2012

Portfolio - June Updates


06/30/12









Quantity Done Price Fees Market Pice Market Value DPU (1Q2012) Realized P/L Unrealized P/L Overall Yield
Starhill Global REIT 4000 S$0.625 S$28.02 S$0.665 S$2660 1.07c $164.80 S$103.89 10.51%
Cache Logistics Trust 3000 S$0.97 S$28.23 S$1.050 S$3150 2.086c $250.54 S$183.41 14.63%

Performance compared to STI

STI 3.82%
Starhill Global REIT 6.40%
Cache Logistics Trust 1.45%
Overall 3.66%





Vertical axis of the chart shows the percentage changes of stock/index prices compared to the preceding month. As seen from the chart, both Starhill and Cache tend to outperform STI when it is experiencing negative % change, while under performing during times when STI is experiencing positive % change. This might be an indication of the defensive nature and low volatility of the 2 counters and together with the quarterly dividends payout, it had offered my portfolio a stable return during this volatile period. During the previous month update, I mentioned that Im planning to close my position wtih Starhill, however after some thoughts, I have decided against it. Selling Starhill @S$0.660 will help me gain only 2 quarters worth of dividends and seeing that there isnt any counters with prices that attract me currently, it means that the fund will go back to my passbook savings account and earn a miserable interest rate of maybe 0.1%. Also, there are not much changes to the fundamentals compared to when I first bought the counter, hence I have decided to leave it alone for the time being. Furthermore, I still have some excess opportunity funds, so there is no rush selling Starhill off.    


Side note:
The statistics and economics double major program have finally accepted my application. =)

Sunday 24 June 2012

Academic Updates AY2011/12 Sem 02

Year 1 Sem2 was a bad semester for me. SAP dropped significantly compared to the previous semester, bringing my CAP down to 4.65. I'm tempted to blame it on luck even though I know I shouldn't, but well, I will try to work harder next semester and hopefully I will never see another B or anything below again.

Year1-Sem1

ST1131 Introduction to Statistics A-
MA1101R Linear Algebra I A
MA1102R Calculus A
EC1301 Principles of Economics A
GEK1508 Einstein's Universe and Quantum Weirdness A

Year2-Sem2

CS1010 Programming Methodology A-
ST2131 Probability B
MA2108 Mathematical Analysis I B+
EC2102 Macroeconomic Analysis I A
PC1322 Understanding the Universe A+


MC 40
CAP 4.65

ST2131 and MA2108 came to me as a surprise. I though I would have done better in ST2131 but much worse in MA2108 as I could not do half of questions during the final exam for the latter.

I have also went for interview for both Quantitative Finance and Double major in Statistics and Economics. Hopefully I will hear from them soon.

Friday 1 June 2012

Portfolio - May Updates

My Portfolio:

05/31/12









Quantity Done Price Fees Market Pice Market Value DPU (1Q2012) Realized P/L Unrealized P/L Overall Yield
Starhill Global REIT 4000 S$0.625 S$28.02 S$0.625 S$2500 1.07c $164.80 -$56.04 4.26%
Cache Logistics Trust 3000 S$0.97 S$28.23 S$1.035 S$3105 2.086c $250.54 $138.43 13.11%


Performance compared to STI

STI -6.92%
Starhill Global REIT -4.58%
Cache Logistics Trust 0.00%
Overall -2.10%



Target Entry/Exit
Exit: Starhill Global REIT: S$0.650-S$0.655
Entry: First REIT: S$0.810-S$0.820
Entry: Singtel: S$3.00