Set Index And Thai Mutual Funds

[topt]

I've been a fan of Aberdeen as fund managers for a couple of decades, first in UK, and since late 1990's in Asia and Thailand. They're generally strong above average performers in Emerging markets and Asia. In the last few years outperformance hasn't been as strong is it used to be, and some funds have had soft closures to stop them growing too big, otherwise they become a bit unwieldly and a victim of their own success and growth. I feel similar applies to Thailand, eg with their Aberdeen Growth fund.

So the article from Morningstar UK was of interest. Sums it up for me that they're still among the best, but not quite as good as they used to be relatively.

http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/134901/aberdeen-funds-downgraded-still-among-best-of-breed.aspx

Aberdeen Funds Downgraded, Still Among Best FUND RESEARCH UPDATE: Morningstar analysts have cut their ratings on Aberdeen's Asia Pacific and Emerging Markets equity funds to a very respectable rating of Silver

- See more at: http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/134901/aberdeen-funds-downgraded-still-among-best-of-breed.aspx#sthash.ZBCugj88.dpuf

For the funds available in Thailand one of Aberdeen's strength is their range of equities they cover. Again strong in Thailand, Emerging markets and Asia. Also OK for most other world regional markets if you're looking for a one stop stop to add say European equities, World etc, although they don't outperform in the same way in these sectors as Asia, EM, Thailand. Their US fund is consistently below average so stay away from that one

Cheers

Fletch

On a similar vein from a week earlier some suggestion that their best days may be past - or not..................... http://www.trustnet.com/News/586315/giving-up-on-hugh-young-and-aberdeen-youve-got-it-all-wrong-says-tan/1/1/

In the article it is interesting to see the reasoning and guess it depends on whose bias you prefer

[AyG]

I've been a fan of Aberdeen as fund managers for a couple of decades, first in UK, and since late 1990's in Asia and Thailand. They're generally strong above average performers in Emerging markets and Asia. In the last few years outperformance hasn't been as strong is it used to be, and some funds have had soft closures to stop them growing too big, otherwise they become a bit unwieldly and a victim of their own success and growth. I feel similar applies to Thailand, eg with their Aberdeen Growth fund.

Out of curiosity I compared Aberdeen's New Dawn Investment Trust with Pacific Assets Trust which is managed by First State. Both sit in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan sector. Being closed-ended vehicles, both around the same size and relatively small, I thought this would be a fairer comparison of stock picking expertise than looking at the companies' mega-sized open-ended vehicles. The following chart looks at the performance since July 2010. (Before that Pacific Assets was managed by someone else - Foreign & Colonial, I think, from memory.)

Clearly over the past 3 years or so Aberdeen has massively underperformed First State. Will they regain their former glory? Or are they becoming just another run of the mill fund manager?

[fletchsmile]

First State are also one of my favourites when it comes to Asian and EMs. In fact these two are probably my fund management houses of choice. First State Asia and EM funds have also done very well for me over the years, significantly outperforming benchmark indices and sectors. Shame that you can't really access First State from Thailand.

Both have actually soft closed some of their open ended funds as they have been very successful and they didn't want them to get too big. This is something some of the US fund managers should do more, and there were some famous ones that just go too big, eg Magellan fund a decade or so back

For Aberdeen I think it summed up well for me that they still have a good range, still outperform so just silver rather than gold So I'm happy to continue to hold, although I'll keep my eyes up for alternatives, eg First State for buying outside Thailand, UOB and Krungsri for Thai equity funds.

Another thing to bear in mind is that QE has really distorted the market a lot. By ensuring a rising tide that lifts all boats, it's made it difficult for more quality managers who could usually differentiate themselves, particularly those focused on stock picking. Will be interesting to see when the corrections start

Cheers

Fletch

[AyG]

Spot the deliberate mistake! It's only over the past two years that First State has significantly outperformed Aberdeen. Really rather too short a period to draw any significant conclusions.

First State and Aberdeen remain my favourites for Asia-Pacific and Emerging Markets. I've definitely gone off Templeton, though still hold Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap. I also hold JP Morgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust, though I'm not so sure I'd buy it now.

QE really has messed up financial markets, and I think it'll all end in tears. An effect of QE has been a desperate search for yield, forcing up the prices of pretty much any income-generative investment. It was therefore a bit of a surprise to see the relatively high dividend yield available in Asian markets (as mentioned on http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/806254-thai-stock-market-dividends/ ).

[screamingout]

Hi guys, i wonder if anyone wpuld be so kind to direct to a website where u can find out who has best performing equity or mutual funds or from which bank. I have bank account in bangkok bank. Is their mutual fund the best?

[AyG]

Hi guys, i wonder if anyone wpuld be so kind to direct to a website where u can find out who has best performing equity or mutual funds or from which bank. I have bank account in bangkok bank. Is their mutual fund the best?

http://tools.morningstarthailand.com/th/fundquickrank/default.aspx?Site=th&LanguageId=en-TH

[fletchsmile]

Hi guys, i wonder if anyone wpuld be so kind to direct to a website where u can find out who has best performing equity or mutual funds or from which bank. I have bank account in bangkok bank. Is their mutual fund the best?

http://tools.morningstarthailand.com/th/fundquickrank/default.aspx?Site=th&LanguageId=en-TH

Yes as AyG says the Morningstar website Thailand can be very useful. The English version doesn't always translate the Thai though, but if you use Google Chrome, right clicking and translating to English helps navigate around, if you don't read Thai.

For Thai equity funds, Bangkok Bank do 2 funds under the Bualuang brand worth a look: Bualuang 10 and Bualuang Long Term Equity Fund. Both these have been consistently good performers in in the top few funds over 5 and 10 years. If you pay tax here go for the LTF version you can get tax relief on. That said anyone can buy an LTF fund, just you don't get any tax relief if you don't pay tax, and it "behaves" like any other mutual fund.

Hard to say they are the "best" as no fund is always top. They tend to be up there consistently though in the performance tables. Thai UOB Good Corporate Governance LTF is top of the 10 year period at the moment. Although its returns are higher it tends to be a bit more volatile than the Bulauang funds, hence Morningstar classify it as higher risk and Bualuang below average risk.

I hold a few UOB Thai equity funds, and also Aberdeen LTF is another decent name. I did look at adding these 2 Bualuang funds myself, as I like them. The only reason I don't is my bank doesn't offer them, as they are only offered through Bangkok Bank, and as I hold UOB and Aberdeen which are in teh same ball park, I didn't want to be bothered opening an account specially.

Cheers

Fletch

[AyG]

Hi guys, i wonder if anyone wpuld be so kind to direct to a website where u can find out who has best performing equity or mutual funds or from which bank. I have bank account in bangkok bank. Is their mutual fund the best?

http://tools.morningstarthailand.com/th/fundquickrank/default.aspx?Site=th&LanguageId=en-TH

Yes as AyG says the Morningstar website Thailand can be very useful. The English version doesn't always translate the Thai though, but if you use Google Chrome, right clicking and translating to English helps navigate around, if you don't read Thai.

For Thai equity funds, Bangkok Bank do 2 funds under the Bualuang brand worth a look: Bualuang 10 and Bualuang Long Term Equity Fund. Both these have been consistently good performers in in the top few funds over 5 and 10 years. If you pay tax here go for the LTF version you can get tax relief on. That said anyone can buy an LTF fund, just you don't get any tax relief if you don't pay tax, and it "behaves" like any other mutual fund.

Hard to say they are the "best" as no fund is always top. They tend to be up there consistently though in the performance tables. Thai UOB Good Corporate Governance LTF is top of the 10 year period at the moment. Although its returns are higher it tends to be a bit more volatile than the Bulauang funds, hence Morningstar classify it as higher risk and Bualuang below average risk.

I hold a few UOB Thai equity funds, and also Aberdeen LTF is another decent name. I did look at adding these 2 Bualuang funds myself, as I like them. The only reason I don't is my bank doesn't offer them, as they are only offered through Bangkok Bank, and as I hold UOB and Aberdeen which are in teh same ball park, I didn't want to be bothered opening an account specially.

Cheers

Fletch

The Morningstar website gives the fund codes, and that's probably the best way for the non-Thai reader to identify the funds concerned and get more information. That said, not all funds have English language explanations.

Past performance should not be the primary consideration. After all, we're repeatedly told that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. It's important to understand why any fund performed or underperformed (and that's a lot of work - particularly if working in a foreign language). It's also imported to look at risk. For perhaps most investors risk = volatility. For me I prefer to look at maximum drawdown. After all, most of us simply want enough money at some future point in time to meet our desired expenditure. We shouldn't be looking at "shoots the lights out performance" if we might end up destitute.

As I've said before, my preferred vehicle for accessing the Thai stock market is Aberdeen New Thai, traded on the London Stock Exchange, with all information available in English. (That said, I don't have the tax advantages of RMFs and LTFs, so if you do, the choice would be rather different.)

http://www.newthai-trust.co.uk/

[Ludacris]

Sometimes with the Morningstar link you have to delete the "-TH" off the end to get the fund names in English.

They've updated their AIMC Categories, but with the English page the All-Categories drop-down box that lets you select LTF, RMF, etc. doesn't work.

I contacted them by phone over a month ago and they didn't know about those issues and said they would get them fixed...

Maybe someone else could contact them too so they will actually get it done. It's such a good website and service I would hate to see it become just another case of something great that slowly went downhill.

http://tools.morningstarthailand.com/th/fundquickrank/default.aspx?Site=th&LanguageId=en

Edited March 25, 2015 by Ludacris

[fletchsmile]

Think I'll take a break from this forum for a while. Not my kind of place anymore.

Anyone needs any help with anything related to finance, investing, banking , business etc,

drop me a PM or email [email protected]

Cheers to all the great friends I've made and met on here

Best wishes to all

Cheers

Fletch

Edited April 5, 2015 by fletchsmile

[dinga]

Think I'll take a break from this forum for a while. Not my kind of place anymore.

Anyone needs any help with anything related to finance, investing, banking , business etc,

drop me a PM or email [email protected]

Cheers to all the great friends I've made and met on here

Best wishes to all

Cheers

Fletch

Very sorry we won't see you for a while - I for one will miss your valuable thoughts, wisdom and advice; along with the discussion and contrary views they invariably prompt. Your decision is compelely understandable given how a very rational, relevant and useful forum has been destroyed by self-promoting nonsense. Great shame for the real people.

Thanks again Fletch

[Naam]

Think I'll take a break from this forum for a while. Not my kind of place anymore.

Anyone needs any help with anything related to finance, investing, banking , business etc,

drop me a PM or email [email protected]

Cheers to all the great friends I've made and met on here

Best wishes to all

Cheers

Fletch

Very sorry we won't see you for a while - I for one will miss your valuable thoughts, wisdom and advice; along with the discussion and contrary views they invariably prompt. Your decision is compelely understandable given how a very rational, relevant and useful forum has been destroyed by self-promoting nonsense. Great shame for the real people.

Thanks again Fletch

seconded!

[BlackJack]

Thirded

[cheeryble]

Think I'll take a break from this forum for a while. Not my kind of place anymore.

Anyone needs any help with anything related to finance, investing, banking , business etc,

drop me a PM or email [email protected]

Cheers to all the great friends I've made and met on here

Best wishes to all

Cheers

Fletch

Very sorry we won't see you for a while - I for one will miss your valuable thoughts, wisdom and advice; along with the discussion and contrary views they invariably prompt. Your decision is compelely understandable given how a very rational, relevant and useful forum has been destroyed by self-promoting nonsense. Great shame for the real people.

Thanks again Fletch

Me too you've been terrifically generous Fletch.

Let's hope ordering your thoughts into presentable form has also helped you!

Edited April 6, 2015 by cheeryble

[MacWalen]

read in tony robbins new book, 96% of mutual funds fail to beat index funds in the long term. just thought i'd share t hat

That is why it is a good idea to learn investing so you do not have to put your trust in mutual fund managers. You can also buy index fund.

[ExpatJ]

read in tony robbins new book, 96% of mutual funds fail to beat index funds in the long term. just thought i'd share t hat

That is why it is a good idea to learn investing so you do not have to put your trust in mutual fund managers. You can also buy index fund.

Completely agree. There is an article in international new York times /iht about it today. Active funds lose out always to passive funds over time. Even when you ignore the high fees in active funds they still perform worse than passive funds. That's a fact .

Sorry to see him go though. Hope you come back! I respect anyone who is polite and can make a point.

[topt]

Think I'll take a break from this forum for a while. Not my kind of place anymore.

Anyone needs any help with anything related to finance, investing, banking , business etc,

drop me a PM or email [email protected]

Cheers to all the great friends I've made and met on here

Best wishes to all

Cheers

Fletch

Very sorry we won't see you for a while - I for one will miss your valuable thoughts, wisdom and advice; along with the discussion and contrary views they invariably prompt. Your decision is compelely understandable given how a very rational, relevant and useful forum has been destroyed by self-promoting nonsense. Great shame for the real people.

Thanks again Fletch

seconded! alt=thumbsup.gif>

As dinga says - very sorry to hear this

All the best

[topt]

read in tony robbins new book, 96% of mutual funds fail to beat index funds in the long term. just thought i'd share t hat

That is why it is a good idea to learn investing so you do not have to put your trust in mutual fund managers. You can also buy index fund.

Completely agree. There is an article in international new York times /iht about it today. Active funds lose out always to passive funds over time. Even when you ignore the high fees in active funds they still perform worse than passive funds. That's a fact .

Sorry to see him go though. Hope you come back! I respect anyone who is polite and can make a point.

How long is a piece of string......a maybe slightly alternative view on the active vs trackers debate

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/funds/11512441/Do-trackers-beat-active-funds-Our-new-analysis-has-the-answer.html

[ExpatJ]

read in tony robbins new book, 96% of mutual funds fail to beat index funds in the long term. just thought i'd share t hat

That is why it is a good idea to learn investing so you do not have to put your trust in mutual fund managers. You can also buy index fund.

Completely agree. There is an article in international new York times /iht about it today. Active funds lose out always to passive funds over time. Even when you ignore the high fees in active funds they still perform worse than passive funds. That's a fact .

Sorry to see him go though. Hope you come back! I respect anyone who is polite and can make a point.

How long is a piece of string......a maybe slightly alternative view on the active vs trackers debate

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/funds/11512441/Do-trackers-beat-active-funds-Our-new-analysis-has-the-answer.html

The article has cheery picked a short ten year or less time frame and then cherry picked sectors/regions to get the conclusion they are looking for. If you look over the long term and across all sectors passive beats active routinely and conclusively.

[Cheesekraft]

are there any low-fee index funds with promise? It looks like these mutual funds have a very high fee % which will cut into the growth substantially (while failing to beat passive investments). Are there any principal protected investment methods, such as hybrid annuities?

[AyG]

Assuming that you're referring to the SET, I doubt you'll find structured products with the kind of downside protection you're looking for. The market here just isn't that sophisticated. However, you could do it yourself buy buying a SET 50 ETF and simultaneously buying SET 50 put options. (Other derivatives strategies can achieve the same objective.)

However, your dismissal of mutual funds based upon (a) very high fees, and ( failing to beat passive investments is misguided. The best active managers can consistently outperform passive investments in many markets, including Thailand, and fully justify their fees (which really aren't that high anyway. For example, Aberdeen New Thai IT charges 1.0% per annum, and has beaten the SET over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years. For example, over 10 years it has returned (total return, after fees and expenses) 462.6% verses the SET's 436.9%. (Returns are based upon performance in Sterling - not that that makes any meaningful difference.) (Of course, an ETF over the same period would have returned less than the SET's 436.9% after taking expenses into account.)

[Oorinara]

Japan's SBI will establish the online-only brokerage in LOS. Hope mutual funds be easily purchasable online too.

http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/news/pdf/2015/0416_a_en.pdf

[fletchsmile]

Japan's SBI will establish the online-only brokerage in LOS. Hope mutual funds be easily purchasable online too.

http://www.sbigroup.co.jp/english/news/pdf/2015/0416_a_en.pdf

Took me a little while to understand that, as the product's been available online for some time. The difference is they're online only.

On mutual funds, you can buy online already. Several of the banks and fund management houses have online buy/sell facilities for their own funds. TMB is also working on open architecture. All these are Thailand funds or feeder funds from Thailand.

There are plans ahead to simplify mutual funds business between Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. That could be the start of overseas funds being able to be bought from Thailand entities

Cheers

Fletch

[fletchsmile]

We've discussed REITs on this thread before. I came across an interesting fund recently that is bench-marked 50% vs Thai property/Thai REITs 50% and 50% Singapore. REITs

Obviously buying the individual holdings via brokers yourself is cheaper, but could be useful to those wanting to buy from Thailand, wanting to diversify, and want dividend income.

Yields around 6%, or about 5% after charges (about 1.1% p.a.). 1 % up font fee compared to say 0.2% commision on buying individual securities thru broker and no ongoing annual fee. To do that tho' you'd likely need a Thai broker and a Singaporean broker, whereas the fund could be bought from one entity.

Factsheet and fund info sheets below

http://www.tmbam.co.th/pdfs/Factsheet%20-%20T05_en.pdf

http://www.tmbam.co.th/pdfs/t05_03_en.pdf

Edited June 3, 2015 by fletchsmile

[topt]

We've discussed REITs on this thread before. I came across an interesting fund recently that is bench-marked 50% vs Thai property/Thai REITs 50% and 50% Singapore. REITs

Obviously buying the individual holdings via brokers yourself is cheaper, but could be useful to those wanting to buy from Thailand, wanting to diversify, and want dividend income.

Yields around 6%, or about 5% after charges (about 1.1% p.a.). 1 % up font fee compared to say 0.2% commision on buying individual securities thru broker and no ongoing annual fee. To do that tho' you'd likely need a Thai broker and a Singaporean broker, whereas the fund could be bought from one entity.

Factsheet and fund info sheets below

http://www.tmbam.co.th/pdfs/Factsheet%20-%20T05_en.pdf

http://www.tmbam.co.th/pdfs/t05_03_en.pdf

fletchsmile any thoughts on why the benchmark index has done so badly. Is it due to exchange rates or are REITS in the two indexes having a torrid time relatively?

[fletchsmile]

topt,

it's only a 10 month time frame shown. During that time the benchmark peaked around 102,000 and low of around 96,000 (on 100k investment), which isn't that volatile (swing of 6%-ish peak to trough), compared to equities over that period. Just looks it on the graph

A few educated guesses:

- Of that, a part could be FX losses, as in 2014 SGD actually weakened vs THB. In 16 whole or part years since 31 Dec 1999, SGD has strengthened vs THB in 9 and weakend in 7. Total gain is around 11% of SGD over THB. In 2014 it lost about 4% - highest since 2006.

- Probably also some seasonal factors in there too, markets drift after May. The graph starts June. The benchmark started at 100k, and looks around that at 30 April per the chart, so +/-6% on volatility isn't much, and REITs general are less volatile than general equities.

- Haven't looked at the exact bases of the indices either, but I suspect they are not total return indices so exclude dividends. So over 10 months capital would have been flat, and divs paid out probably ball park 6% on top.

i.e a total return might be around 6%, but Thailand has a habit of quoting index returns not total return indices, so you need to be careful

In comparison the fund paid out very little for divs about 1.6%.

What interests me on the fund returns is exposure to property, less volatile than equity market and total return of the fund looks like about 6.8% (5.2% NAV gain and 1.6% div), which is a decent yield.

Edited June 4, 2015 by fletchsmile

[Korat88]

Thought I should check out this thread as I have some Thai Baht just "sitting" in the account doing essentially nothing and now i know that I should have been investing in a LTF + RMF for the last 7 years :-( Would have helped on the tax side! So now at 50 years old I really should do something I think. Since I am a Bangkok Bank account holder it looks like their two Bualuang funds would be best. As you can tell finances are not a strong point, unfortunately, so some questions for anyone kind enough to offer guidance:

1) Should I just invest in the LTF or can I also invest in an RMF? I know former = 5 years hold and latter up to the age of 55.

2) Is it better to stick with Bangkok Bank or go with an Aberdeen LTF or UOB Good Governance LTF for example?

3) Can more than one LTF be purchased and tax advantages result or is it only one per year? In the UK you can buy as many ISA products as you wish and benefit as long as you have the money to invest in each!

4) Any other advice for someone not very good at finances late into their life.

5) In the UK I just trade on the stock exchange and am not doing too badly but need to buy into some funds too. I also have property which I receive rent from on a monthly basis. Trouble is that I need to go through all the red-tape of proving I am not a money launderer & have to find a Thai lawyer to help with the requested paperwork. I haven't found one yet!

Sorry for the novice questions ;-(

[fletchsmile]

Korat88

If you're 50 and earning a salary in Thailand and paying tax then both RMFs and LTFs are worth a look. Re your questions:

1)

LTFs are focused on Thai equities. The holding period is only during 5 calendar years, so a minimum of 3 years and a couple of days either side in Jan and Dec to span 5 calendar years

RMFs offer a much wider range and include other asset classes, eg I hold Asian equities, Global Fixed Income, Gold, Thai equities and will add a property fund at some point. The big disadvantage for some people is that you have to tie up RMFs until the longer of 55 or 5 years min. As you're 50 that's not a big deal, but for a 30 year old in Thailand the issue maybe less clear if they think they will leave the country / move on

Tax breaks for each are similar at lower of 15% of your income or 500k max for each = 1mio max total. For RMFs you need to take also Thai provident/ pension fund contributions by the employee off that limit.

2) As a Bangkok bank customer you may well find the Bualuang range more convenient, although limited in choice so may be any easy place to start

3) You can buy several different LTFs and RMFS from different providers in the year, as long as within the overall limits it doesn't matter who you buy from. Also you can actually buy more than the limit, just that you won't get tax relief on the amount above the limit, they

4) Given the uncertainty in the markets, I would suggest baht cost averaging, to reduce your risk, by spreading your amounts over monthly installments. This avoids you investing all just before a market tanks.

5) You could also buy thru stockbrokers in Thailand for LTFs etc. Your bank may be easier though. For someone not familiar with the Thai market and less experienced in investing LTFs and RMFs are usually a good core start rather than individual Thai shares, particularly given the tax breaks

Cheers

Fletch

[Korat88]

Many thanks for the excellent and very helpful reply Fletch. I will check out the offerings and invest in a LTF, at least, shortly. Just need to check on-line or down at the local BKK bank now.

Good to see you are still lurking here. I thought you had left so great to see you haven't as others will no doubt benefit from your experience.

[fletchsmile]

Seems to be a year where I'm not particularly in a rush to invest Having took stock of 2014 and how that fared - a decent year - the next thing was to set out where I want to be at the end of this year. So as usual I've set some specific financial targets in monetary amounts, type of investments, time frames etc. Always a good way to focus, and if you fail to plan then you might as well plan to fail

For overall direction, I'm still looking more for wealth protection for me and the wife, whereas wealth creation for the kids. A lot is similar to last year. So (leaving out the amounts) here are my objectives for 2015:

1. Maximise my LTF investments for tax benefit. Still can't beat this as an investment, with the government kindly giving me money back since 2004. each THB 100k can effectively cost as little as THB 65k net, depending on your tax rate. So a 50%+ instant gain, for tying it away for 5 calendar years, which I would have been happy to do and plan anyway. Plus THB assets are important living here, and equities should grow long term to exceed inflation.

2. Maximise RMFs. Not new money, just sell existing funds, and buy similar ones to get the tax benefits. Same tax relief as LTFS just tied up for a bit longer. Last year I split equally between: Thai equities, Asian equities, Global Fixed Income and Gold. Simply selling a fund and buying a similar version with the proceeds that has an RMF wrapper, so I get tax relief:

Aberdeen Smart Capital - Thai equities

Aberdeen Asia Pacific - Asian equities

Krungrsi Gold ETF

KTAM (global) Bond RMF

3. Streamline my investments. I hold in 3 main places: UK, Thailand, and Singapore. Where I came from (in case need to go back)+ where I am + offshore. I plan on continuing with all 3, just I want to simplify them. While I can manage them, they increasingly take up more time, plus I also do for my mum in UK, brother and sister in law, and one of their children. Plus if anything happened to me, wouldn't be easy for the wife to manage

4. Spend less time on investments and money. More time with the family. There's a good chance I'm past the half way stage in life

5. Revise our wills. So I have 3: UK, Singapore, Thailand. My wife has 2: Thailand and Singapore

6. Increase our exposure to fixed interest/ bonds. Still only around 10%. Needs increasing from my 100% equities in younger days. Would like to move towards about 15%. But this will be a challenge as 1) yields on fixed income aren't that attractive, particularly knowing rate rises will come at some point; and 2) my equities tend to return more and grow faster, so it's a bit of an uphill struggle there too

7. Reduce our weighting on Thailand equities. I still want a reasonable exposure there. Just I have more than I'd prefer - almost 40%. Partly as a result of good returns in Thai equities since 1998, but partly because in this environment if I sell there still aren't that many attractive THB asset classes. Cash rates poor. THB bonds unattractive. Property = hassle

8. Increase weightings to property and REITs - to diversify more from equities, bonds, cash etc. This will be one of the easier ones. Singapore REITS look attractive, still getting 6% - ish yields tax free with potential capital upside, and in SGD

9. Buy a few more income yielding assets in Thailand.

10. Buy some of the Krungrsi Global Income/ JPM Global Income fund in the wife's name, to dip our toes into. It's well diversified across major asset classes, and it's the type of thing she could hold for 30 years+ even if something happened to me. Auto-redemption of units could create say 3.3% redemption per year for 30 years, with capital growth.

11. For the kids just keep buying the same amount every month in funds, mainly equity funds, to hold until they're at least 18. So still at least 10 years or so away. I started doing this a shortly after the birth of our first daughter, and at the same time started the same amount/funds in my name in anticipation of the second one when she came along a couple of years later. Then just swapped the names to hers when the second finally came along. That was around 8 years+ ago. So they both have a reasonable sum in their names, and the same amounts to be fair.

12. Make sure by the end of the year, I've enough cash set aside specifically for a new car. Again I just stick the same amount away in cash each month. Use the girls names by me, to spread the risk about and put it in Stan Charte eSavers earning 2.5% instant access. Always a competitive rate, so I don't have to bother chopping and changing.

Anyway, that's a little where I'm coming from. Anyone any thoughts to share on additional objectives?

Next thing, with the past assessed, and targets set is specific investments to get there

Cheers

Fletch

So how did your year go in terms of achieving objectives? On the whole I think I met most of them, but always room for improvement:

1) Done - Maxmised LTFs. For the first time I can recall I actually sold some too - just to recycle old ones and re-investing in new as I didn't really want to increase my exposure to THB equities too much, and just wanted the tax benefits

2) Done - maximised RMFs. Simply sold funds and bought similar RMF versions for tax relief

3) Done some - but could have done better Still need to work on simplifying things in 2016, but life seems to get more complicated every year - what can you expect with 3 women calling the shots LOL

4) Done a little - but could have done much better. Spent a little less time on money and investments and more time with the family.

The other thing that I spent time on was posting more on other forums, so I probably spent more time than I should on forums

5) Done - wills in place. Seem to have procrastinated for ages, but finally got round to completing last month. Still need a bit more thought on planning for the future and legacy planning, but at least now the basics are in place. Also Mrs Smile's will sorts out any potential difficulties we might have had with the out-laws and other claimants if she'd died intestate

6) No significant progress - bonds are still only around 10.5% of our portfolios, compared to about 10% at the start of the year. Found it difficult to find attractive bond investments, so need to carry that forward to if I want to head more towards 15%

7) Done a little - reduced exposure on Thai equities a little. Instead of putting new money into Thai LTFs I started selling old ones and bought new ones for old ones. After being bullish on Thailand for 15 years or so, I'm also less enthusiastic going forward

8) Done a little - increased exposure to REITs a little, not as much as I was expecting as the sector seemed less attractive. One new find was the TMB Property Income Fund which combines Singapore and Thai REITs and was useful for some extra exposure to Property. Like bond exposures I'm looking to add longer term to property exposures, just a question of timing

9) Done a little - in the wife's names bought a few more dividend paying funds

10) Done - added JPM/Krungsri Global Income to our Thailand portfolio not long after it was launched in Thailand. Has been a nice solid performer and core holding. It aims to pay about 4% in income via auto-cancelling units and then grow. It's achieved that. Having seen how it goes will probably add more in 2016. Looks a very solid core holding for long term, and 4% yield + growth potential is fine for the risk level for us.

11) Done - have added money each month - same each month - for the kids in investments. Just as well as school fees keep going up

12) Done sort of - have set money aside for a new car. That said bank rates could have been better - now down to around 2% on the eSaver. Plus the wife wants a larger one now though as the kids get older LOL

So all in all most objectives met, but could do better

Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All

Fletch

Edited December 10, 2015 by fletchsmile