Dividend Magic

Saving and Investing towards Financial Independence in Malaysia

Leigh

Applying for an IPO in Malaysia

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Filed Under: Investment 2

An Initial Public Offering, more commonly known as an IPO is when a private company is listed on the stock exchange and sells its shares to the public for the first time. They are usually met with much fanfare and anticipation.

To put it simply, there are 3 ways for Malaysians to apply for an IPO:

1) Manual via application forms;
2) ATMs; and
3) eIPO via online banking

I have never done number 1 and I don’t think anyone is doing it this way anymore. Maybe the older generation of stock investors used to do this. Applying via the ATM was the easiest method up until a few years ago. Now, I think the go-to and most convenient way to apply for an IPO in Malaysia is through online banking.

Most local banks offer this service and I myself use Maybank. I’ll be giving you a step-by-step guide below using Maybank because it can get a little complicated.

eIPO Application via Maybank2U

Things to Note When Applying for an IPO in Malaysia.

  1. It goes without saying but you’ll first want to make sure that you have a sufficient amount of money in your account before applying. Take note that some banks require you to maintain a minimum balance.
  2. Fees. I was charged RM1 by the bank as a processing fee.
  3. Only apply once. Duplicate applications are not allowed.
  4. Take note of the closing date and apply before 5pm that day.
  5. Take care to input the correct CDS number when applying.
  6. Only Direct CDS accounts can apply for IPO, nominee accounts unfortunately cannot.

CTOS DIGITAL BERHAD IPO

If you squint hard enough at the image earlier, you can make out HAILY GROUP BHD and CTOS DIGITAL BHD. And as you might have guessed, I’m actually applying for CTOS this time around. I’ve tried applying for a few companies prior to this and never got any shares. So I’m not keeping my hopes up.

End.

Keeping this article short and simple for those of you who want to apply for IPOs in Malaysia. Hope this helped and thank you for reading!

Tudor Black Bay GMT – My Investment in a Luxury Watch

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Filed Under: Investment, Other Investments, Travel, food and the finer things in life 3

Brand: Tudor
Model: Black Bay GMT
Reference Number: 79830RB
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Scratch-resistant sapphire
Movement: Cal. MT5652
Case Diameter: 41mm

This will be more of an unconventional and personal article detailing my recent purchase and investment in a luxury watch.

Why a Luxury Watch?

I’ve always loved watches and had throughout the years taken to wearing my dad’s watches. As most of you know, I’m not a big spender but I think watches are my kryptonite. But, I do have the following justifications.

A Goal

Getting myself a quality watch has always been a goal of mine. I promised myself a long time ago that when I have the financial means to own one, I would get one.

Some go for cars, some yatches, mine was a watch.

Lasts a Lifetime

I wanted something that was of high quality and can last me my entire life.

At the same time, it appreciates in value over time. In fact, I’ve come to see quality timepieces as perhaps the best heirloom to pass on to the next generation.

Investment

I love the feel of a good solid watch on my wrist and in the case of a luxury watch, they retain their value over time. The latter appeals very much to the investor in me.

Instead of having my cash in stocks or placed in FDs, I wanted one on my wrist. In fact, my Tudor GMT, after wearing it for about 6 months, has appreciated by about 20% in value.

How I Purchased a Tudor

With the above reasons, it was about time I got myself one.

Tudor Black Bay GMT

To be totally honest, I looked at a Rolex initially but it was just too expensive for me. I couldn’t justify having RM50,000 on my wrist that I know that I wouldn’t wear often. So until my net worth goes up by about 5X, a Rolex would not suit me.

A Tudor isn’t a Rolex but as some of you may know, Tudor is the sister company of Rolex. You get the quality of Rolex at a more than 50% discount.

They’re a brand that I can get behind and they do increase in value over time. Also, with their lower price tag compared to a Rolex, I can comfortably wear a Tudor every day.

With Tudor in mind, I spent days diving through watch forums and reading articles on the company and I was torn between the Black Bay GMT and BB58. I finally settled on the GMT because I love the Pepsi bezel and the GMT feature is useful for me when I travel.

Tudor was actually introduced to me by a new friend I met through one of my readers. Sean, from ssong watches.
Ssong is a great place to look for and to learn about luxury watches. Sean answered ALL of my many many queries as I was doing my research on watches. He’s a veteran in the industry and has years of experience with luxury watches. I was fortunate to have been acquainted with him before making my first purchase.

Ssong did not have Tudors at the time I was looking to buy so I told Sean to reserve one for me if and when a unit becomes available. I then went ahead and booked one from Mid Valley’s Tudor boutique store as well, as per the advice from Sean himself.

As a side note, I actually had a very bad experience when I went to The Hour Glass at the Gardens. Didn’t get good service there. On the other hand, I had a wonderful experience at Tudor’s boutique store in Mid Valley though.

Purchased!

Finally, towards the end of 2020, I was finally able to get myself my first ”somewhat” luxury watch – a Tudor Black Bay GMT.

Lady luck was actually on my side and Sean gave me a call I think a few weeks after I met him to reserve a Tudor GMT. I didn’t purchase a brand new one but instead got one that was in mint condition and barely worn a few times at a slight discount.

Till today, I still feel a sense of joy putting on the watch every day. =)
It may be tough to explain my love and appreciation for a good watch to someone that doesn’t like one, so I won’t.

I’ve heard from so many around me saying they’d just wear an apple watch or a Casio as it was just to tell time. I’ve got nothing against Casio btw. An Apple Watch can even measure your heartbeat and health. They may be right in their own way, but god damn I still love my watch.

I’ve been wearing my Tudor GMT for half a year now, almost every single day. This is an investment for me but at the same time, it is an investment I can fall in love with. The price has already gone up in the 6 months that I’ve owned the watch.

End.

As mentioned earlier, I know this article is a little out of the norm from the usual stocks and dividends. But hey, I think it is a viable investment and I really do consider it one.

Hopefully, you’ll continue to see updates on watches from me periodically. And I promise to not spend above my means. If you’ve got views or comments or even advice on watches, please do leave your thoughts in the comment section of this article. I know many of you are enthusiasts and veterans.

Binance – Crypto Savings and Staking

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Filed Under: Cryptocurrencies, Investment 5

So I’ve recently sold about RM20,000 worth of bitcoins. It was just sitting in my Luno account for a month or so as MYR because I did not know what to do with it. I have since moved that amount to Binance. I converted to XRP and then transferred it to Binance.

At the same time, I was also doing my research on DeFi and staking. A really good place to start if you’re looking into this is CoinGecko’s book – How to DeFi. It took me a few days to get through the whole book the first time, and another few days for me to kinda-sorta understand it. And even now, I think I’ve barely scratched the surface. If you guys have other recommended readings, please do share them with me.

My Crypto Portfolio on Binance

Space reserved for updates.

Binance vs Coinbase

So my interest is actually in staking my coins. I don’t like my assets to just sit there and staking actually generates a lot of returns in the form of interest. So I had to look for platforms that supported staking and savings. In the end, it boiled down to Binance and Coinbase, I went with Binance mainly because they’re the biggest and the cheapest.

Is Binance Safe?

Some of you may remember the Binance hack back in 2019. The company actually absorbed the losses sustained then and no users were affected.

Another one of my concerns with Binance was with China. Binance was founded in China but they’ve since taken measures. Their servers were moved to Japan back in 2017 and they’re now headquartered in the Cayman Islands.

What I Did on Binance

As mentioned earlier, I had about RM20,000 of Bitcoin profits sitting in my Luno account. I decided to move this amount to Binance to try out its savings and staking. I wanted to move my funds with the lowest possible fees and decided to move it using XRP. Bought the maximum amount of XRP in Luno, moved the funds to Binance, and then converted my XRP to USDT.

The total transfer cost of XRP? 0.8313165. Which translates to about RM4?

As you can see, I’m holding 3,811 USDT right now and earning 5.80% p.a. using Binance’s savings feature

Earning Interests on my Crypto

Savings

So the safest of all the various forms of earning a return on your coins is Savings. Of which there are two types – Locked Savings and Flexible Savings.

An example would be Bitcoin’s savings. You stand to earn 1.2% p.a. Which isn’t too bad considering I’ve been earning zilch previously.

Another personal example of mine is my USDT Savings which is currently netting me 5.80% p.a.

Staking

I’ve yet to actually stake my coins but I’m really looking into it. Right now, there’s a sort of first come first serve situation with the more popular coins.

So, what is staking?

Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation (similar to mining) on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. On these blockchains, anyone with a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency can validate transactions and earn Staking rewards. 

– Coinbase

For example, for USDT, the interest rate for staking is almost double its savings rate at 10.67%. But it is sold out.
I’ll definitely be selling my USDT at some point to invest in other coins and then staking them. Updates will be done on this same page so keep an eye out.

The Risks of Savings and Staking

As we are all too familiar with, the higher the risk, the higher your potential reward. Naturally, that means staking carries a higher risk when compared to savings.

One risk that both savings and staking share is the risk of the value of your coin falling. If that particular coin experiences a huge drop, all interests earned will be wiped out.

Savings and Staking are very new in the world of finance and cryptocurrencies. Essentially, you’re lending your coins out to a process.

Usually, in Savings, your coin is loaned out to a holding company that then lends it to its various clients. These clients may want to borrow cryptocurrency for financial trades or for arbitrage.

In Staking, your tokens are used in its respective verification process. By helping out the network, you earn a reward.

A key thing to remember – Do not risk your whole stack of coins. Not in savings and not in staking. Don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose.

Sign Up

If you’re looking to sign up with Binance and explore the world of DeFi, use the link or manually enter my code: GGRMJQWA

You get a small 5% kick back and discount on fees when you make transactions there.

End.

I’m moving a relatively small portion of my crypto portfolio from Luno to Binance. Luno is still where the bulk of my portfolio will be held as it is the safest for me as a Malaysian.

The main reason for testing out Binance is to try out their savings and staking. If you’re new to cryptocurrencies and looking for a place to start, my advice is to stick with Luno as a Malaysian. Safety will be the biggest priority. My review and my cryptocurrency portfolio on Luno can be found hERE.

Risks, risks, risks

There are huge. huge risks to investing in cryptocurrencies. Even more when you’re moving them out of Malaysia’s regulatory space and into unknown, literal international waters. You then further risk it by staking/savings said coins. So please, understand the risks you’re taking before taking the dive.

The above being said, I’m extremely excited right now and I feel like a kid all over again dabbling in a whole new world of finance. I’m still very new at this and would love to hear from experts or anyone with more experience with this.

Onwards and upwards!

A Review of CapBay – P2P Lending in Malaysia

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Filed Under: FI/RE, Investment Portfolio, Other Investments 8

CapBay Portfolio Update – September 2021

I invested RM10,000 in CapBay back in May 2021. Here’s how the portfolio is doing almost 5 months after.

I’ve gotten back RM262.77 which was of course reinvested again. That comes up to about 2.62% ROI in 5 months. It does seem a little low right now but bear in mind that due to the nature of financing, it’ll take a few months for each note to mature. We’re looking at an average time period of 6 months per note. Below is an example of a note that took about 2 months to mature.

For now, I’m happy with the 2% return in 5 months. And I’ll probably keep the money in for 1 year or maybe 2 then re-evaluate CapBay’s performance.

The best part, however, is the zero defaults so far. That has always been a concern when investing in P2P lending. With no defaults in 5 months, I’ll be continuing with CapBay for the foreseeable future.

The P2P Lending Scene in Malaysia

I’ve been receiving inquiries on and off on what P2P platform I’m currently in. And if you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you’d know I had some money in Funding Societies. However, due to their increasing defaults, I’ve pulled out most of my capital.

Over the past few months, I’ve been looking to re-invest in the sector. I’m on the lookout for lower risks and default rates, somewhere my money can grow steadily at a reasonable rate of return. Which lead me to CapBay.

Types of Loans – Business Term vs Invoice Financing

During P2P’s infancy days, the loans offered by most platforms consisted of mainly business term loans. Which is, of course, the essence of P2P financing i.e. You lend money directly to businesses for a fixed period, typically between 12 to 36 months.

However, it is when the defaults came in that investors realized just how risky it was to hand out loans willy-nilly. And of course, the importance of really diversifying and not putting your capital into a few loans. Instead, when it comes to P2P financing, diversifying over many loans is advisable.

Fortunately for me, my returns today are still in the positive region. I’ve almost withdrawn 100% of my capital with a net return of 10+% per annum.

Right now, I’m looking to get back into the P2P scene as the industry as a whole matures. And I’m looking to lower my default risk by going for primarily Invoice Financing. There is lower risk here because investors are essentially lending money in the short term to SMEs based on a transaction.

In short, when an SME sells their services to a buyer on credit, they often must wait up to 6 months to get their payment. Invoice Financing allows these SMEs access to upfront payment. With Invoice Financing, the SME has already made the sale and the risk of default is actually transferred to the corporate buyer. Typically, Invoice Financing is for the short term, you’ll normally see a loan term of not more than 6 months.

Why CapBay?

CapBay specializes in providing Invoice Financing to SMEs who supply to blue-chip companies and government-related entities. Among the few P2P players in Malaysia, CapBay currently has had no defaults SO FAR since their launch in February 2020. This is no easy feat and caught my attention right away and got me digging for more info about them.

As reported by Fintech News Malaysia, CapBay is the fastest platform to hit RM100 million in P2P Financing. Typically, fast growth leads to problems with risk. The fact that they’ve managed to achieve this growth while still maintaining a 0% default rate is impressive.

How CapBay Works

CapBay works a little differently from the platforms I’ve used. They’re encouraging ”Auto-investing” whereby you let the platform pick the loans to invest in. As you all know, I’m a big fan of automating investments and so I will be using their Auto Invest feature all the way.

You choose from 3 different Auto Invest Profiles based on their respective risk profiles and potential return – Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive. If however, you want to have better control of your capital, you can choose to customize.

Within these 3 different profiles, you’ll find a further 3 categories of notes:
1. Select: Safer and lower return notes
2. Motor: Dealer financing notes
3. Diversified: Riskier and higher return notes

There’ll be a section for you to read up on these on the platform itself.

Another thing to note: Your uninvested funds will earn an estimated 1.7% per annum. This is a special feature called CapBay Plus that ensures you continue to generate returns on uninvested funds if you utilize their Auto Invest.

Simple Steps to Get Started

CapBay Registration P2P

You’ll need RM10,000 to start

This one here got me thinking a little and I know RM10,000 is a huge amount to start with for many, myself included. But after looking at the 0% default rate for a year, as well as the expected net return of up to 10% per annum on their investment opportunities, I’ve decided to go ahead. I’ll be posting updates on the performance here, probably on a regular basis.

Registration

CapBay Registration

Registration took me about 5 minutes. All the usual KYC are required. I.e. pics of your IC and a 5-sec video upload.

If you don’t have a webcam, make sure you download the app and register there as you’ll need to upload a video during registration as part of their KYC requirements.

And finally, if you’re signing up and registering with CapBay, don’t forget to use my code and link for a free RM100. To qualify, you’ll have to make the RM10K deposit and select one of the Auto Invest profiles (Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive). The full terms and conditions can be found here.

Register hERE.
Use my code: DIVMAGIC

End.

My Portfolio

CapBay Registration P2P

I’ve added in RM10,000 to the Auto-Invest feature and selected the Aggressive profile.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image.png

The Auto-Invest feature was quick and my funds are 40% invested in a few days. Returns range from 7.3% to 9.7% currently.

Look forward to future updates to my P2P portfolio.

Risks of P2P

Please understand that I consider P2P investing a high-risk venture. Even with CapBay’s focus on Invoice Financing, I still consider this to be a risky investment. But how else can you expect a potential net yield of up to 10% per annum.

This is why I’ve been doing a lot of research and looking around the Malaysian market. I’ll be testing the waters with CapBay and will let everyone know how it goes via my updates.

Dividend Income Update 2021

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Filed Under: Dividends 4

A list of my past dividend income and updates can be found below:

September

Freedom Fund as of September 2021
Dividend Income (Sept) –  RM1,374.98
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM12,338.28
Dividend Yield – 2.96%

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date. I use Rakuten Trade as my broker

Acquisition and Disposals

N/A

Petronas Gas

September 2021 Dividends – RM160
September 2020 Dividends – N/A
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM160
Dividend Yield – 1.02%

Public Bank Berhad

September 2021 Dividends – RM525
September 2020 Dividends – N/A
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM1,435
Dividend Yield – 5.90%

Sunway REIT

September 2021 Dividends – RM462.98
September 2020 Dividends – RM515.66
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM686.67
Dividend Yield – 1.48%

IGB Berhad

September 2021 Dividends – RM227
September 2020 Dividends – RM227
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM454
Dividend Yield – 4.30%

August

Freedom Fund as of August 2021
Dividend Income (Aug) –  RM675.39
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM10,963.30
Dividend Yield – 2.63%

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date. I use Rakuten Trade as my broker

Acquisition and Disposals

Added 1,000 units of Petronas Gas to my portfolio at RM15.68 per share.

At the point of purchase, PetGas’ dividend yield was really attractive and I’m hoping they continue with the same payout for the foreseeable future. I am also aware of the risk of investing in a GLC in Malaysia, I’ll monitor the company a little more closely.

Axis REIT

August 2021 Dividends – RM226.31
August 2020 Dividends – RM203.28
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM687.67
Dividend Yield – 3.79%

IGB REIT

August 2021 Dividends – RM449.08
August 2020 Dividends – RM207.01
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM1,582.66
Dividend Yield – 3.05%

July

Freedom Fund as of July 2021
Dividend Income (July) –  RM1,387.50
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM10,287.91
Dividend Yield – 2.46%

A total of RM1,387.50 in dividend income for July.

Thoughts

Really thankful for the dividends I’ve been receiving throughout this damn pandemic. They’ve been keeping me alive for the most part. My active income was slashed by almost 80-90% especially during the full lockdown. Passive income was what was keeping my head afloat.

I’d also like to apologize to readers for the slow updates of late. I’ve been really busy keeping my businesses from going under. This should all be over soon and hopefully, we can all go back to how things were. Looking to write more often and regularly soon.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date. I use Rakuten Trade as my broker

Acquisition and Disposals

Nil.

Scientex Berhad

July 2021 Dividends – RM1,200
July 2020 Dividends – RM1,180
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM2,344
Dividend Yield – 4.25%

Thong Guan Industries Berhad

July 2021 Dividends – RM187.50
July 2020 Dividends –
Total 2021 Dividends –   RM312.50
Dividend Yield – 0.88%

June

Freedom Fund as of June 2021
Dividend Income (June) –  RM1,040.65
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM8,900.41
Dividend Yield – 2.13%

A total of RM1,040.65 in dividend income for June.

Times are tough for everyone now and my income has been negatively affected by the prolonged lockdown in our country. The dividends from my portfolio are keeping me afloat right now. I guess this is why people always say cash flow is important.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date. I use Rakuten Trade as my broker

Acquisition and Disposals

Sold off all MYEG.

Malayan Banking Berhad

June 2021 Dividends – RM1,040.65
June 2020 Dividends –
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM1,399.34
Dividend Yield – 6.80%

.

May

Freedom Fund as of May 2021
Dividend Income (May) –  RM1,497.86
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM7,859.76
Dividend Yield – 1.88%

A total of RM1,497.86 in dividend income for May. That is about a 71% decrease in dividends compared to May last year.

Acquisition and Disposals

Sold off all my DPHARMA.

Axis REIT

May 2021 Dividends – RM210.55
May 2020 Dividends – RM198.67
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM432.36
Dividend Yield – 2.49%

IGB REIT

May 2021 Dividends – RM442.07
May 2020 Dividends – RM645.75
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM1,133.58
Dividend Yield – 2.19%

Duopharma Biotech Berhad

May 2021 Dividends – RM381.24
May 2020 Dividends – N/A
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM381.24
Dividend Yield – 2.59%

Nestle (M) Berhad

May 2021 Dividends – RM184
May 2020 Dividends – RM280
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM184
Dividend Yield – 1.38%

CB Industrial Product Berhad

May 2021 Dividends – RM280
May 2020 Dividends – RM280
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM280
Dividend Yield – 1.26%

April

Freedom Fund as of April 2021
Dividend Income (Apr) –  RM2,460.20
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM6,361.90
Dividend Yield – 1.47%

A total of RM2,460.20 in dividend income for April. That is about a 46% increase in dividends compared to April last year.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date. I use Rakuten Trade as my broker.

Acquisition and Disposals

Nil.

Tenaga Nasional Berhad

April 2021 Dividends – RM2,320.00
April 2020 Dividends – RM1,400.00
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM2,320.00
Dividend Yield – 4.92%

Sunway Berhad

April 2021 Dividends – RM129.80
April 2020 Dividends – RM389.39
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM129.80
Dividend Yield – 1.11%

In addition to the normal dividends, I also received RM10.40 in preferential dividends from SUNWAY-PA.

March

Freedom Fund as of March 2021
Dividend Income (Mar) –  RM1,582.50
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM3,901.70
Dividend Yield – 0.92%

A total of RM1,582.50 in dividend income for March. That is about a 138% increase in dividends compared to March last year.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

Acquisition and Disposals

Nil.

Axis REIT

March 2021 Dividends – RM221.81
March 2020 Dividends – RM112.59
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM221.81
Dividend Yield – 1.28%

IGB Berhad

March 2021 Dividends – RM227
March 2020 Dividends – RM227
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM227
Dividend Yield – 2.15%

Sunway REIT

March 2021 Dividends – RM223.69
March 2020 Dividends – RM306.82
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM223.69
Dividend Yield – 0.48%

Public Bank Berhad

March 2021 Dividends – RM910
March 2020 Dividends – RM560
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM910
Dividend Yield – 3.74%

February

Freedom Fund as of February 2021
Dividend Income (Feb) –  RM691.51
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM2,319.20
Dividend Yield – 0.92%

A total of RM691.51 in dividend income for February. That is about a 17% increase in dividends compared to February last year.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

Acquisition and Disposals

Bought a little more Scientex. Sold Dsonic and GenM.

IGBREIT

February 2021 Dividends – RM691.50
February 2020 Dividends – RM590.53
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM691.50
Dividend Yield – 1.33%

January

Freedom Fund as of January 2021
Dividend Income (Jan) –  RM1,627.69
Dividend Income (2021) –  RM1,627.69
Dividend Yield – 0.37%

A total of RM1,627.69 in dividend income for January.

Scientex came in higher compared to Jan last year. Maybank’s dividend is all over the place so there’s no comparing to 2020 right now. And Thong Guan gave me a measly 0.35% yield so far.

I’ll be looking at how the rest of the year go but it isn’t too bad of a start.

As always, Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube! Follow, keep up to date.

Acquisition and Disposals

No transactions made in the month of January.

SCIENTEX BERHAD

January 2021 Dividends – RM1,144
January 2020 Dividends – RM1,030
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM1,144
Dividend Yield – 2.81%

Malayan Banking Berhad

January 2021 Dividends – RM358.69
January 2020 Dividends – RM /-
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM358.69
Dividend Yield – 1.78%

Thong Guan Industries Berhad

January 2021 Dividends – RM125
January 2020 Dividends – RM /-
Total 2021 Dividends –  RM125
Dividend Yield – 0.35%

Dividend Magic’s Yearly Review

By
Filed Under: FI/RE, Financial Independence, Investment Portfolio 0

The Year 2020

I’ll be using this anchor page to keep track of my overall investment portfolio. Updated yearly so I’ll be able to track and show a yearly gain/loss.

Moving forward, I’ll aim to keep my recording simple and clear cut. So I’ll be able to track my yearly gain more easily. No more IRR, just simple yearly gain, including fresh capital and dividends reinvested.

What a year it has been. My portfolio tanked in March when Covid hit. It even went into the red, a first for me. I missed the glove boat.

Bet on the recovery and my portfolio managed to sail through 2020 with an almost 10% gain y-o-y. As the portfolio increases in value and diversification, long gone are the days of 15-20% capital gains. I’ll be aiming to rebalance and refocus my portfolio next year. Cutting underperforming stocks and adding more winners.

I’ll also be focusing on my US portfolio moving forward. I’ve also made a decision to keep my US portfolio hidden to maintain some form of privacy. Don’t worry you’ll still be able to view it in percentage (%) form.

My Investments

The Freedom Fund

Market value: RM545,778.21
Cash: RM46,350.83
Dividends: RM15,415.64
Dividend yield: 3.33%

The Freedom Fund (US)

Crypto Portfolio

Gross Investment: RM13,808
Market Value: RM34,424
Capital Gain/Loss: +149.30%

StashAway

Dividend Magic – Risk (36% Risk Index)
Gross Investment – RM14,001.00
Current Value – RM15,378.03
Time-weighted return – 8.01%

Dividend Magic US – Risk (30% Risk Index)
Gross Investment – RM10,000.00
Current Value – RM10,603.19
Time-weighted return – 6.03%

StashAway Simple
Gross Investment – RM12,500.00
Current Value – RM12,559.17

TOTAL
Gross Investment – RM36,501.00
Current Value – RM38,540.39
Gain/Loss: +5.6%

My Overall Investment Portfolio

Freedom Fund: RM607,544.68
Crypto: RM34,424.00
StashAway: RM38,540.39
Total: RM679,125.07

Goals for 2021

The Freedom Fund and StashAway performed solidly for me in 2020. Obviously, I’ll want to see my dividends go up in 2021. It dropped a little this year with a few companies in my portfolio electing to withhold dividends.

I hope to see dividends surpass RM20K per annum barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Also, I want to eventually have my total investments (excluding my US portfolio) reach RM750K in 2021 and RM1 million by 2025. Setting the bar a little low there I know but I’ve learnt that the key to happiness is low expectations. And with RM1 million in investments, I should be able to hit my dividend target of RM36,000 per annum.

On the other hand, I will also be pumping money into my US portfolio (which as mentioned above will be tracked only in %).

Now, to the best performing asset for me in 2020 – Bitcoin and Ethereum. Almost at a 150% return for me at the time of writing and it is increasing. I set out to keep crypto to a maximum of 10% of my portfolio. I’ll continue to hold onto them coins for now.

dividendmagic.com.my

I consider every one of you reading as a stakeholder of Dividend Magic. So an update of the website at the end of 2020 would be apt.

As mentioned on my About page, at the rate the blog is growing, we will definitely be hitting a million (and more) views next year. A big thank you to everyone that has been frequenting the blog and interacting with me on social media. I appreciate every follow, like, comment, and share you’ve been so generous with. I love the community we’ve built and the friends I’ve made along the way. We’re a small but tight-knit bunch in Malaysia.

If you haven’t already, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and now YouTube to keep up to date.

To those that have been wondering if I’m making money via ads on the blog, the answer is finally a yes. But it isn’t much, unfortunately.

I’ve opted for the minimum amount of ads as well as the best-optimized placement for readers.

Right now, ad revenue itself is able to cover the running costs of the blog which I’m super grateful for. I don’t see this growing significantly, maybe I’m doing something wrong with the ads. With running expenses covered, Dividend Magic will be here to stay.

End.

Dividend Magic - We can do it!

That is all there is to update. 2020 was scary, thankfully, my investments are doing all right now. As always, it is important to stay invested and to attack when the opportunity presents itself. There will of course be some missed opportunities and lessons to be learned along the way. All my mistakes, all my wins, you’ll be able to see them here on the blog.

I’ll be updating my portfolios on a monthly basis as usual come 2021. Have a happy new year and I’ll see everyone in 2021.

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