AWP Certification

Wow..... i thought i could not make it, but i did! :D

After waiting anxiously for the results of my Retirement Planning module of the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) program, I finally got my results.... it's a PASS!

Having completed Module 1 & 4 previously, I only need to pass this Module 5 to complete my AWP (Associate Financial Planner) certifictation. Though this may not mean anything to you, i really wish to share my joy with my friends and thank all who have supported me in many ways.

Should you have needs in Retirement Planning or any other Investment Planning needs, pls feel free to contact me. :D

UT Portfolio as at 25 Novemeber 2007

So much for the thanksgiving holidays which i was having high hopes for.... I was hoping that the US market would lead the rally this week to end a high before thanksgiving. Sigh......

As you can see from below, it's not good news.... My portfolio is down by $7k (unrealised profit) from a high of $20k. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a Santa's rally in the coming weeks.

UT Portfolio for the past 2 weeks....

I have been busy wrapping up issues at work which result me having no time to do any posting for the past 2 weeks. pls accept my apologies for those who read my blog regularly.

With the US market leading the correction, most equity funds were not spared; losing almost 10% in the past 2 weeks. If you thought you were lucky to have switched to fixed income funds, i am sorry, there are also no good news knocking. This was because the sub-prime (CDO) issues had knocked many good companies off their feet. This resulted in less than satisfactory results in the fixed income asset class. Some others who diversified to energy related funds also did not benefit from the oil price surge as well. Pls take note that UT fund manager normally trade stocks of the respective asset class rather than the actual commodities, understand? :)

With speculations that FED will cut rates the 3rd time (90% possibility), the market should start to rally in the coming weeks before the FED meeting. I am in the opinion of keeping your portfolio balanced and have tactical allocations for selected equity funds (in emerging markets).

I have just switched out of DBS Enhance Income to PRU Dragon Peacock, hoping to ride to possible rally i mentioned earlier. :D

Here's my results for the past 2 weeks:

UT Portfolio as at 04 Novemeber 2007

After a nerve-wrecking week, i suspect there will be short rallies in the coming weeks. Likely markets that will benefit will be Asia, Latin America & parts of Europe (those rich in resources or those who requires loads). This is still not the time to switch to fixed income investments; you should have witnessed the weakness in US T-Bills when the DJIA fells more than 350 pts in midweek.

After switching part of my DWS China Eqty to DBS Enhance Income (wanted to play safe pior to FED meeting), my portofolio managed to stay above the $20k profit target; I expected a dip after the said volatility in global markets. I will be monitoring for a sign to switch the load od DBS Enhance Income back to equity funds midweek.

UT Portfolio as at 29 October 2007

My dream of hitting $20K profit this week was dashed by the volatility in the global markets. With the Chinese market showing weakness mid-week, i decided to take profit and switched half my DWS China Eqty into DBS Enhance Income. I will be monitoring closely to re-enter the equity market in full force.

At the same time, i have fallen for Fidelity EMEA fund. :) With its excellent performance for the past months, this is another equity to look out for those who are keen to invest in the emerging markets. Though i have not personally invested in it (not enough cash), i rebalanced my wife's portfolio which included this fund. The fund performance has been pleasing especially when the global markets went into a week of profit taking.

Here's my scorecard for the week:

UT Portfolio as at 19 October 2007

Interesting to note that my portfolio did not increase as much as i expected, in fact it closed only slightly higher this week (failing to close above $20k profit). With US market dropping more than 300pts last friday, there may be a bloodshed in Asia this coming week.

The drop in US index was due to the Wave 2 of the Subprime crisis. When most of the banks showed their report cards this week, it was inevitable to note how badly hit were these banks due to billion dollars worth of write-off. The other reasons may be that investors are pressuring Big Ben to cut rates the second time during October FED meeting.

Noting the decoupling effect between US & Asia, I truly hope the Asian market hold up to expectations and climb new heights next week.

UT Portfolio as of 13 October 07

I can only say that i am very happy with my results. :) I will be hitting $20K profit for my portfolio this coming week (if nothing goes wrong). Once there, i will be rebalancing my portfolio by reducing my China's exposure; this is to secure a 25%p.a. return on my investments.

This week, i helped my wife to rebalance her portfolio yet again. Her portfolio only had DWS China Eqty right after the correction. This is a highly aggressive portfolio as it totally violates my investment philosophy; but i had little no choice - this is a tactical allocation as my wife's portfolio was net loss of $8K. To date, her portfolio is in the black with a pleasing $14K profit (net investment was less than $100K).

Here's the result for this week: