StashAway did its first reoptimization for the month and you can read more about it here - StashAway Portfolio Reoptimisation. Unfortunately, USD continues to fall!
1. ACCOUNT SUMMARY (as of the last day of the month)
Based on the statement (29 Dec 2017), we have $53.87 profit after taking into account a -$18.69 currency impact.
The first week of 2018 has been great! Our returns went up even more to $129.54 but so did the currency impact -$58.71.
SGD time-weighted returns: 4.4%
USD time-weighted returns: 8.3%
2. PORTFOLIO DETAILS
We receive USD $10.27 dividends which have been paid and reinvested. This amount of dividends would have easily offset the fees incurred till date!
3. TRANSACTIONS
We see the first "SELL" transaction when the reoptimization took place. The timing was almost perfect! GLD was bought at $119.74 and XLP at $57.02 on 20th Dec 2017. The current price at the time of writing is $125.46 (4.8%) for GLD and $56.68 (-0.6%) for XLP.
I am still going to complain about the amount of USD we are getting from our SGD deposit and the exchange rate. Technically, this can be easily computed from the USD cash flows and once the USD amount is obtained, the exchange rate will be revealed.
SGD $495.00 converted to USD $369.65
Exchange Rate: 1.339104558
4. FEE CALCULATIONS
No fee till April 2018 because I recommended a friend. The projected fee (assuming no referral) would be the monthly-average assets SGD $2,609.14 x 0.8% / 365 days * 31 days = $1.77
StashAway VS STI ETF
Since there is no way to compare the performances among the robo-advisors, I came out with a spreadsheet to track our StashAway portfolio performance (General Investing - Risk Level 28) against that of STI ETF which I will be updating on a monthly basis. For simplicity, I shall assume that one can either invest in Nikko STI ETF using POSB Invest-Saver or invest in SPDR STI ETF using SCB Priority Online Trading (no minimum commission). These would be the opportunity costs while we continue to invest in StashAway.
This month commentary: In terms of absolute P&L after fees, StashAway returns is ranked number 1 at 2.2%. Using SCB Priority Online Trading to invest in SPDF STI ETF gives the next highest returns at 1.69% as compared to using POSB Invest-Saver to invest in NIKKO STI ETF with the lowest returns at 0.67%. Although both STI ETFs are tracking Singapore Straits Times Index, the difference in returns can be attributed to the effect of fees/commissions due to the usage of different platform to invest. The same can be said when one chooses to invest in ETFs vs unit trusts/funds - fees/costs matters.
Apart from the absolute P&L, we should also look at the Reward-to-Risk Ratio where risk/volatility is taken into account. For more information, do read StashAway Clarifications - Reward-to-Risk Ratio. StashAway has the highest ratio of 1.25 which is significantly higher than the other 2 STI ETFs (< 0.4). Let me quote Freddy Lim (Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer of StashAway), "for every dollar of risk taken, StashAway P28 is producing 1.25 times the return".
Which is the best? Only time will tell :)
This is the link to our spreadsheet - KPO & CZM StashAway Portfolio VS STI ETF which I have also added to Our Portfolio page.
StashAway Referral Link for Our Readers
Here you go: KPO and CZM Referral Link
Do like any of the following for the latest update/post!
1. FB Page - KPO and CZM
2. Twitter - KPO and CZM
3. Click here to subscribe using email :)
1. ACCOUNT SUMMARY (as of the last day of the month)
Based on the statement (29 Dec 2017), we have $53.87 profit after taking into account a -$18.69 currency impact.
The first week of 2018 has been great! Our returns went up even more to $129.54 but so did the currency impact -$58.71.
SGD time-weighted returns: 4.4%
USD time-weighted returns: 8.3%
2. PORTFOLIO DETAILS
We receive USD $10.27 dividends which have been paid and reinvested. This amount of dividends would have easily offset the fees incurred till date!
3. TRANSACTIONS
We see the first "SELL" transaction when the reoptimization took place. The timing was almost perfect! GLD was bought at $119.74 and XLP at $57.02 on 20th Dec 2017. The current price at the time of writing is $125.46 (4.8%) for GLD and $56.68 (-0.6%) for XLP.
I am still going to complain about the amount of USD we are getting from our SGD deposit and the exchange rate. Technically, this can be easily computed from the USD cash flows and once the USD amount is obtained, the exchange rate will be revealed.
SGD $495.00 converted to USD $369.65
Exchange Rate: 1.339104558
4. FEE CALCULATIONS
No fee till April 2018 because I recommended a friend. The projected fee (assuming no referral) would be the monthly-average assets SGD $2,609.14 x 0.8% / 365 days * 31 days = $1.77
StashAway VS STI ETF
Since there is no way to compare the performances among the robo-advisors, I came out with a spreadsheet to track our StashAway portfolio performance (General Investing - Risk Level 28) against that of STI ETF which I will be updating on a monthly basis. For simplicity, I shall assume that one can either invest in Nikko STI ETF using POSB Invest-Saver or invest in SPDR STI ETF using SCB Priority Online Trading (no minimum commission). These would be the opportunity costs while we continue to invest in StashAway.
This month commentary: In terms of absolute P&L after fees, StashAway returns is ranked number 1 at 2.2%. Using SCB Priority Online Trading to invest in SPDF STI ETF gives the next highest returns at 1.69% as compared to using POSB Invest-Saver to invest in NIKKO STI ETF with the lowest returns at 0.67%. Although both STI ETFs are tracking Singapore Straits Times Index, the difference in returns can be attributed to the effect of fees/commissions due to the usage of different platform to invest. The same can be said when one chooses to invest in ETFs vs unit trusts/funds - fees/costs matters.
Apart from the absolute P&L, we should also look at the Reward-to-Risk Ratio where risk/volatility is taken into account. For more information, do read StashAway Clarifications - Reward-to-Risk Ratio. StashAway has the highest ratio of 1.25 which is significantly higher than the other 2 STI ETFs (< 0.4). Let me quote Freddy Lim (Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer of StashAway), "for every dollar of risk taken, StashAway P28 is producing 1.25 times the return".
Which is the best? Only time will tell :)
This is the link to our spreadsheet - KPO & CZM StashAway Portfolio VS STI ETF which I have also added to Our Portfolio page.
StashAway Referral Link for Our Readers
Here you go: KPO and CZM Referral Link
Do like any of the following for the latest update/post!
1. FB Page - KPO and CZM
2. Twitter - KPO and CZM
3. Click here to subscribe using email :)
mine is at P18. not bad return as well.
ReplyDeleteHi Usurper,
DeleteNice $_$
If the underlying assets are equities in globalised enterprises, then the denominated currency isn't a big issue. E.g. US MNCs earning over 40-60% of profits from overseas in stronger foreign currencies.
ReplyDeleteIt's more of problem if underlying are bonds or money mkt funds in that currency. I don't think any of local robo advisors hedge such etfs or funds to SGD.
Btw a more accurate comparison will be 70% sti etf & 30% abf bond etf. Your robo portfolio is about 30% bond weightage. I approx by taking 50% of converts as bond & treating GLD as equity-like. You can also explicitly have GLD as a benchmark % since we have it on SGX too.
Haha. The reason why I am comparing it against STI ETFs only is because our money will most likely be in them without StashAway (we have never plan to get ABF Bond ETF). So StashAway simply has to beat the STI ETFs and we will be happy with our decision :)
DeleteHi, may I ask how you came across the detailed transactions table? I have just started this and saw some dividends, but it doesn't really indicate if/when they are reinvested. Or did you do this manually? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jia Ying,
DeleteThe detailed transactions table can be found in the monthly statement. You will be able to see the buy transactions in the statement if the dividends are reinvested. Otherwise, the dividends will simply be in the USD Cash section.
If you do not see it in last month (December) statement, it will appear in next month statement :) I have feedback this too. Hopefully, we will be able to see them in the transactions tab in the UI one day...
Hi! How did you compute the Total Fees/Commission? If you have a referral, for 6 mths you don't have any fees ?
ReplyDeleteHi Manickam,
DeleteI am guessing you are referring to the total fees in the spreadsheet? The one which I compare the performance with STI ETFs? Although I do not have any fees for 6 months, it is only fair that I include the fees in the comparison.
The fees can be easily computed based on the monthly-averaged assets x 0.8% / 365 days * the number of days in that month. You can refer to the 2nd sheet of the spreadsheet :)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thank you for your monthly analysis. I started passively investing with STI ETF through POSB Invest Saver as a noob. And I also started with StashAway when it came out. So seeing your analysis really helps! :)
Hi mm.m,
DeleteThank you for your kind words!
No worries. Everyone starts out as a noob, I was a noob with -14.24% return in 2014! Most importantly, you have started your investment journey :) Keep learning!