Bye Bye StashAway!

We have decided to withdraw and stop the monthly investment for one of our StashAway portfolios (Cash - StashAway Risk Index 22%)  for the following reasons:

- Better yield/return in crypto

- Get access to more leverage

I think once one is exposed to DeFi, it will be very difficult to go back to buying stocks or options because the yield/return are simply much higher. Of course, so is the risk but who says stocks can't go to zero? I have a couple - Eagle Hospitality Trust and Ezion (I got out of this immediately after it was suspended for about a year with a 64% capital loss before it got suspended again). 

In my opinion, crypto is here to stay and this is evident in the stance/actions the banks/companies are taking. Just to share a few:

- DBS and MAS

- JPMorgan Becomes The First Big Bank To Give Retail Clients Access To Bitcoin

- Visa buying NFT (CryptoPunk)

Anyway, I can get access to a USD savings account equivalent with 20% interest through Anchor Protocol or 30-50% yield using delta-neutral strategies through Mirror Protocol. Not forgetting the capital gain (currently close to 100% and I am expecting more upside) from my LUNA stash too.

The other reason is very similar to why I stop investing through Syfe too which I blogged about here - Bye Bye Syfe! The invested money isn't working hard enough because I lose the ability to leverage using them. For every 10k invested and pledged as collateral in SCB, I will get access to another 7k to leverage assuming LTV of 70%.

I will not be so extreme (I might be if I am not married/have a baby. lol) and start selling all the stocks and move them to crypto but going forward, I will be putting most of my money into crypto (specifically just Terra) and the plan is to utilize leverage or let CZM buy stocks. Having said that, I will continue use StashAway for my SRS and Baby Ong's investment.

Alright. Let's take a look at the withdrawal process!

Start by selecting the portfolio you would like to withdraw.

Next, select a reason for withdrawal. I selected "not satisfied with the returns". lol.

Select the type of withdrawal.

StashAway trying very hard to change my mind by stating how I could potentially be missing out on a million dollar portfolio over the next 30 years! I believe our next million is going to come from crypto in the next 5 years instead of 30 years so yes, I still want to withdraw.

Click on "Full Withdrawal" and select the bank account you would like to withdraw to. In my opinion, StashAway should allow withdrawal in USD too given that they are accepting USD deposit. To be honest, I was quite annoyed by this because my plan was to use the USD here to repay my SCB USD loan and now I got to convert it twice. USD --(StashAway)--> SGD --(SCB)--> USD

Last confirmation as well as some disclaimer that the final withdrawal amount might be different from what's shown as well as the closure of the portfolio.

The good thing was the withdrawal took only 1 business day. I initiated the withdrawal on 24th August and I see the fund in my bank account on the 25th August.

I guessed I got lucky when the underlying assets were sold at a higher price and I was able to receive a higher than expected withdrawal amount.

I was annoyed (again) when I realized I could no longer access the transactions for the portfolio that was closed which definitely should not be the case. Hence, I had no visibility on how much the underlying ETFs were sold for (unable to update StocksCafe) and what was the FX conversion rate. In my opinion, the withdrawal process and closure of account has room for improvement! But then again, why do they care given that the customer is leaving right? lol. Considering we still cannot export transactions after 3 years...

I had to reach out to support to get those transactions exported before I could update StocksCafe. To be honest, XIRR of 9.59% is still quite decent. If crypto is not your cup of tea and you are not familiar with stocks, robo will be your next best alternative as compared to savings/insurance products.

If you are curious which are the best performing ETFs across the years, you can get a rough idea above which is a summary of the closed transactions. Those with more than 1 transaction means it has gone through re-optimization.

A more detailed breakdown of when the sell/closed transactions happened and the realized P&L. Given that this is my first withdrawal after 3/4 years, that means none of the above sell transactions was triggered by me and it seems like there is at least 1 re-optimization each year (usually at a profit).

Anyway, if you are interested in signing up for StashAway, do use our referral link - KPO and CZM Referral Link. You will get $10,000 free management fees for 6 months and we will get $16!

If you want to extract those transactions information from StashAway, do take a look at this article - StashAway Transactions Parser.

If you are interested in the smart portfolio tracker (StocksCafe) which I am using as shown above, sign up using my link for a longer trial period :) Refer to our Referrals page for more information.

On a side note, Futu's moomoo app sign-up promotion is now slightly different (Pfizer and Haidilao shares are given with deposit and 3 trades each on US and HK markets. T&C here) and has been extended to 19:59 hrs SGT, 31st August 2021! As part of the collaboration, I will be giving away 5 moomoo 'neck-fix and chill' pillow (not for sale but can be redeemed in the app) to 5 randomly chosen readers who signed up through our referral link for this month! More information can be found here - Futu's moomoo August Campaign + Merchandise Giveaway!

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 :)
4. Instagram - KPO_and_CZM (Did you see those delicious food photos to the right --> Unfortunately, you can't see it on mobile.)

StashAway - July 2021

Ever since I went down the crypto DeFi rabbit hole, closing our StashAway portfolio was inevitable. I toyed with the idea 2 months back (StashAway - May 2021) but CZM was not convinced and I did not have much conviction then. 

Everything changed when I deep dived into Terra, the thing with all the different networks is they are all trying to be better than Ethereum (faster, cheaper, etc.) but not Terra. Terra wanted to provide a truly decentralized stablecoin (algorithmic) UST and built its network/application around UST. Due to the unique relationship between LUNA and UST, the increased demand/adoption of UST will result in an increase in the price of LUNA due to its decreasing supply. Hence, the path to $$$ has never been more straightforward/clear. As such, I have sold almost everything in BSC, Polygon (even BTC), Fantom, Avalanche, moved the money into Terra and LUNA has now become the biggest holding in our portfolio (~10%).

You can read some of my previous articles:

- DeFi - Terra (LUNA) & Anchor Protocol (20% Interest)

- DeFi - Terra Mirror Protocol Delta Neutral Strategies

Withdrawal initiated today (24th August 2021)

I will probably blog and elaborate more about the decision to withdraw/close our StashAway Risk Index 22% portfolio separately if I can find the time :)

Investment for this month:
KPO and CZM Cash - StashAway Risk Index 22% - $1,500
Baby Ong Cash - StashAway Risk Index 36% - $100

KPO SRS - StashAway Risk Index 36% - $638

Total: $2,238

1. PORTFOLIO SUMMARY (as of the last day of the month)

KPO

CZM

Based on the statement (31 July 2021), our total investment is ‭$73,355.47! KPO lost $1,905.93 and CZM lost $109.74 for the month.

As of 23 August 2021, these are our portfolio performances:

KPO and CZM Cash - StashAway Risk Index 22%: $‭48,749.12 (39.09% - Capital: $41,250)

Baby Ong Cash - StashAway Risk Index 36%: $612.51 (-9.10% - Capital: $650)

KPO SRS - StashAway Risk Index 36%: $17,185.89 (36.70% - Capital: $15,616)

CZM SRS - StashAway Risk Index 22%: $6,371.22  (22.33% - Capital: $6,000)

2. PORTFOLIO DETAILS 
Note that these are reported in USD.

KPO and CZM Cash - StashAway Risk Index 22%

Baby Ong Cash - StashAway Risk Index 36%

KPO SRS - StashAway Risk Index 36%

CZM SRS - StashAway Risk Index 22%

3. FEE CALCULATIONS

The fee stated is based on the monthly-average assets SGD ($25,000.00 x 0.8% + $25,000.00 x 0.7% + $16,575.57 x 0.6%) / 365 days * 31 days = $40.30.

The fee stated is based on the monthly-average assets SGD $6,565.24 x 0.8% / 365 days * 31 days = $4.46. 

StocksCafe

Evan (founder of StocksCafe) made an improvement where one can now benchmark their portfolio against multiple indexes/ETFs. Looking at the time-weighted return (1.68%) for the year 2021, we can see that StashAway Risk Index 22% is underperforming all of our benchmarks.

If we compare across the years, StashAway's portfolio is winning by a huge margin (39.34%) against STI but lost to SPY (85.59%) and IWDA (70.68%). In addition, it has the lowest volatility and max drawdown. This is what StashAway meant by reducing risk and maximizing the return. 

The annualized return/XIRR of the portfolio is very impressive at 9.28%. Using the Rule of 72 means that the StashAway portfolio will double our money in 72 / 9.28 ~ 7.75 years. In comparison, if left in the bank account at a 2% interest rate, the same money will take 72 / 2 ~ 36 years to double.

As for StashAway Risk Index 36%, the portfolio currently has a higher time-weighted return (46.13%) when compared against all the indexes (STI, SPY, and IWDA) but it is also clear that it is riskier in the sense that both its volatility/max drawdown are much higher when you compare against the benchmark and StashAway Risk Index 22% portfolio. The XIRR is 17.64%. Using the same rule, our money will double in 72 / 17.64 ~ 4.08 years.

Which is the best? Only time will tell :)

Anyway, if you are interested in signing up for StashAway, do use our referral link - KPO and CZM Referral Link. You will get $10,000 free management fees for 6 months and we will get $16!

If you want to extract those transactions information from StashAway, do take a look at this article - StashAway Transactions Parser.

If you are interested in the smart portfolio tracker (StocksCafe) which I am using as shown above, sign up using my link for a longer trial period :) Refer to our Referrals page for more information.

On a side note, Futu's moomoo app sign-up promotion is now slightly different (Pfizer and Haidilao shares are given with deposit and 3 trades each on US and HK markets. T&C here) and has been extended to 19:59 hrs SGT, 31st August 2021! As part of the collaboration, I will be giving away 5 moomoo 'neck-fix and chill' pillow (not for sale but can be redeemed in the app) to 5 randomly chosen readers who signed up through our referral link for this month! More information can be found here - Futu's moomoo August Campaign + Merchandise Giveaway!

You might be interested in previous months update too:

- StashAway Withholding Tax Reimbursement FY 2019

- StashAway - December 2020 - $56,721.26

- StashAway - January 2021 - $59,991.38

- StashAway - February 2021 - $61,608.72

- StashAway - March 2021 - $64,759.72

- StashAway - April 2021 - $67,210.58

- StashAway - May 2021 - $70,178.91

- StashAway - June 2021 - $73,133.14

- StashAway - July 2021 - $73,355.47

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 :)
4. Instagram - KPO_and_CZM (Did you see those delicious food photos to the right --> Unfortunately, you can't see it on mobile.)

DeFi - Terra Mirror Protocol Delta-Neutral Strategies

I was telling my friends/"business partners" about Terra which I blogged here - DeFi - Terra (LUNA) & Anchor Protocol (20% Interest) and they got interested in Mirror Protocol and the delta-neutral strategies it offers despite the risk of liquidation. Before I knew it, I was convinced by them that it is actually relatively safe. lol. I guessed I got traumatized by my previous experience when my leveraged CAKE farm got liquidated in Alpaca Finance (BSC) which I mentioned here. 

The main difference for Mirror is that the underlying assets are mostly mirrored stocks called mAssets compared to various crypto coins in Alpaca. It is less likely to be liquidated in Mirror because stocks do not swing as much. Let's take a look at a few examples:

- Apple Best Day - 9.3%
- Silver ETF Best Day - 10%

Basically, if I were to open a short position in Mirror at a 200% collateral ratio (liquidation happens at 150%), the underlying stock will have to increase by 33.33% before I get liquidated. It is highly unlikely for stocks especially those with the highest market capitalization to increase by >30% overnight which was my initial concern - getting liquidated while I am sleeping. I have opened a few positions for a few weeks and it looks pretty "stable" (no risk of liquidation). With the main risk out of the picture, let me share more about the strategy.

Delta-neutral simply means you earn/profit regardless if the underlying asset increases/decreases in price by owning and shorting the asset at the same time. This can be executed in 3 different ways in Mirror:

1. Short farm the mAsset, buy the equivalent number of mAsset that was shorted and hold (easiest to execute but typically the lowest yield as short farm yield fluctuates a lot)

2. Short farm the mAsset, buy the equivalent number of mAsset that was shorted, provide liquidity with an equivalent amount of UST (LP) to long farm (highest yield with some exposure to impermanent loss)

3. Borrow the mAsset, provide liquidity with an equivalent amount of UST (LP) to long farm (exposure to impermanent loss)

Let's take a look at an example of strategies 1 and 2 using mAAPL with an initial capital of 10k UST.

0.15 UST to open this short position

1. I provide $5,000 UST worth of collateral in aUST (which is an interest bearing asset earning 20%. One can get aUST by depositing UST into Anchor) to borrow the mAAPL shares to short. The money from shorting will be unlocked after 2 weeks.

1.52 UST to buy the mAAPL shares

2. Immediately open another position by buying the equivalent number of mAAPL shares which I shorted above.

At this point in time, my position in mAAPL is delta-neutral and I will be earning a 21.21% yield on my short farm of ~$2.5k UST as well as 20% on my $5k UST collateral no matter if the price of AAPL goes up or down. This is strategy 1. 

1.62 UST to provide liquidity to long farm

3. Provide liquidity with an equivalent amount of UST (mAAPL-UST LP) to long farm

With that, my position in mAAPL is still delta-neutral and I will be earning a 21.21% yield on my short farm of ~$2.5k UST, 33.53% on my $5k UST worth of LP on the long farm as well as 20% on my $5k UST collateral. This is strategy 2.

As usual, I have created a spreadsheet if you want to check it out further. There is another spreadsheet made by some CEO that is actually incorrect where it is calculated/instructing one to pledge collateral to both short and borrow the mAsset. If you truly understand it, you will know that's not a delta-neutral position at all. lol.

After 2 weeks, you will be able to claim the money from shorting the mAsset which lowers the capital to just 7.5k UST to farm in Mirror.

Meanwhile, the collaterals are growing at 20% (you can compare with the above screenshot when I first opened the short position by pledging the aUST) which also lowers the risk of liquidation.

The world of crypto is just mind-blowing. With the above delta-neutral strategies, I am getting 30-50% yield with minimum risk (liquidation). Where can we find this in the world of traditional finance?

On a side note, I have moved most of my crypto in BSC, Polygon and Fantom over to Terra. The plan is to move everything to Terra in the next few weeks/months with the majority of our funds invested into LUNA. Oddly, our crypto portfolio is very concentrated and not diversified at all. lol. Stay tuned to our next monthly update for a more detailed breakdown :)

To the moon!

Anyway, I have blogged about different ways to leverage crypto to build wealth for people with different risk appetites:

The safer approach using stablecoins

- Earning High Interest Using BlockFi and Celsius Network

- Earning High Interest Using BlockFi and Celsius Network Part 2

- Earning High Interest Using BlockFi and Celsius Network Finale

Risky approach but more hassle-free

- CakeDeFi - The Easy Way to DeFi

- CakeDeFi Freezer + Tracking in StocksCafe

- CakeDeFi - New Plan/Strategy

Highest risk and you are on your own

- DeFi apps on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) such as PancakeSwap and PancakeBunny

- DeFIRE with DeFi

- DeFi - Aave, QuickSwap and Adamant on Polygon (Matic Network)

- DeFi - Farming MATIC using Aave + Curve

- DeFi - Risks and Dangers (I Lost 97% Overnight)

- DeFi - Harmony ONE and Fantom

- DeFi - Terra (LUNA) & Anchor Protocol (20% Interest)

- DeFi - Terra Mirror Protocol Delta Neutral Strategies

If you are interested in the platform I am using, do sign up using our referral links for some bonus :)
BlockFi: Deposits US$100 or more into your BlockFi Interest Account (BIA), you will earn US$10 in BTC and we will earn US$10 in BTC too.

Celsius Network: Earn US$40 in BTC with your first transfer of US$400 or more and we will earn US$40 in BTC too.

CakeDeFi - Deposits US$50 or more into your CakeDeFi account, you will earn US$30 in DFI and we will earn US$10 in DFI too.

Gemini: We will both receive US$10 of bitcoin after you buy or sell US$100.

On a side note, Futu's moomoo app sign-up promotion is now slightly different (Pfizer and Haidilao shares are given with deposit and 3 trades each on US and HK markets. T&C here) and has been extended to 19:59 hrs SGT, 31st August 2021! As part of the collaboration, I will be giving away 5 moomoo 'neck-fix and chill' pillow (not for sale but can be redeemed in the app) to 5 randomly chosen readers who signed up through our referral link for this month! More information can be found here - Futu's moomoo August Campaign + Merchandise Giveaway!

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 :)
4. Instagram - KPO_and_CZM (Did you see those delicious food photos to the right --> Unfortunately, you can't see it on mobile.)

Futu's moomoo August Campaign + Merchandise Giveaway!

For the last few months, Futu Singapore has been giving away Apple shares for new sign up. If you have not signed up, the sign-up promotion has changed this month and they have included treasure boxes for you to claim your rewards.

To get all the perks/rewards, one will have to open a FUTU SG securities account, complete some of the tasks to unlock 2 treasure boxes:

Treasure Box No. 1
- Follow 1 friend: Follow any user in the community to complete the task and get 50 points.
- Post 1 comment: Post 1 comment in the community to complete the task and get 50 points.
- Open a FUTU SG securities account: Successfully open a FUTU SG securities account to complete the task and get 180 days unlimited commission-free trades*** for the US stock market, HK stock market and SG stock market effective from the day of account opening upon successful account approval. (Only available for New Users. Refer to Account Opening Offer for details)
- Deposit SGD 2700 into account: Successfully deposit SGD 2700 or USD 2000 or HKD 16,000 into your securities account to complete the task and get 1 free Pfizer (PFE) share. (Refer to Account Deposit Offer for details)

Treasure Box No. 2
- Learn to trade: Watch the video in the specified article to complete the task and get 50 points.
- Complete 3 trades for US Market: Make 3 completed trades for the US market to complete the task and get 1 free Pfizer (PFE) share. (Refer to Multi Market Trade Offer for details)
- Complete 3 trades for HK Market: Make 3 completed trades for the HK market to complete the task and get 5 free Haidilao (6862) shares. (Refer to Multi Market Trade Offer for details)

You can refer to the full terms and conditions here.

In my opinion, the tasks are fairly easy to complete and help you to familiarize the app and its functionalities. You can read my previous article (Futu's moomoo June Campaign) on how cost-effective and cheap it is to complete those 3 trades for the free shares.

In addition, as part of the collaboration, I will be giving away 5 moomoo 'neck-fix and chill' pillow (not for sale but can be redeemed in the app for 8,000 points) to 5 randomly chosen readers who signed up through our referral link for this month and successfully complete an SGD2,700 deposit into your Futu SG securities account during the promotion period!

To participate in the giveaway, simply drop me an email at kpooooooooooo@gmail.com with the subject "Moomoo Giveaway" and provide your name and moomoo ID after you have completed the SGD 2,700 deposit. After the promotion period, I will verify with the Futu SG's staff and conduct the giveaway. If you are one of the winners, I will reply to your email for a mailing address :)

If you are interested in moomoo powered by Futu, do use our referral link for our readers to get the above benefits! 

For more information, please contact the customer service team directly at clientservice@futusg.com or you can also call them at +65-6439 1100.

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 :)
4. Instagram - KPO_and_CZM (Did you see those delicious food photos to the right --> Unfortunately, you can't see it on mobile.)

Endowus - July 2021

The last few weeks have been so tiring. It seems Baby Ong has entered another phase of sleep regression (8-10 months) where she keeps waking up in the middle of the night and is very hard to put her back to sleep. Probably due to the lack of sleep, we have all fallen sick at different periods of the month. Hopefully, this phase will end soon...

Risk Profile
Goal type: General wealth accumulation
Risk tolerance: Maximise returns (loss tolerance -60%)
Monthly investment using SRS: $638

I have modified my monthly investment in order to max out my SRS contribution for the year.

Account Summary

Capital: $25,616.00 (SRS $15,616.00 and CPF $10,000.00)

Current: $30,013.78 (27.12%)

There are quite a few differences as compared to StashAway. Firstly, all the cash has been invested while StashAway keeps 1% of the portfolio in cash. Secondly, the fees are not deducted on a monthly basis. The Access Fee charged by Endowus will be deducted at the end of each quarter as stated in their FAQ.

As of 15 August 2021, the portfolio value is $30,496.68. The return shown in percentage is just a simple return (P&L divided by capital) including the $10k investment from CPF OA.

It will be clearer/more accurate if we look at the respective portfolio.

I blogged about using Fund Smart to invest my CPF here. On a side note, Endowus is performing much better as compared with StashAway given that both portfolios had the same capital/deposit and started around the same time (StashAway had a few months of headstart).

Asset Allocation

This shows that the number of shares for each fund that I owned:

CPF

- LionGlobal Infinity US 500 Stock Index Fund (4,017.6700)

SRS
- Dimensional Global Core Equity Fund (231.2300)
- LionGlobal Infinity US 500 Stock Index Fund (2,699.5300)
- Dimensional Emerging Markets Large Cap Core Equity Fund (97.5890)
- Dimensional Pacific Basin Small Companies Fund (90.4970)

Transactions

That's all! Overall, I think the statement is pretty straightforward and easy to read. On a side note, StocksCafe does not has the ability to track funds, hence unable to do any form of comparison/benchmark.

If you are interested in Endowus, do use our referral link for our readers! You will get S$10,000 managed free for 6 months ($20 equivalent) and we will get $20 too! 

On a side note, Futu's moomoo app sign-up promotion is now slightly different (Pfizer and Haidilao shares are given with deposit and 3 trades each on US and HK markets. T&C here) and has been extended to 19:59 hrs SGT, 31st August 2021! As part of the collaboration, I will be giving away 5 moomoo 'neck-fix and chill' pillow (not for sale but can be redeemed in the app) to 5 randomly chosen readers who signed up through our referral link for this month! More information can be found here - Futu's moomoo August Campaign + Merchandise Giveaway!

You might be interested in the previous monthly update too:

- Endowus CPF/SRS Review

- Endowus - December 2020 - $12,466.20

- Endowus - January 2021 - $13,080.35

- Endowus - February 2021 - $13,549.30

- Endowus - March 2021 - $15,484.29

- Endowus - April 2021 - $16,570.37

- Endowus - May 2021 - $17,325.44

- Endowus - June 2021 - $28,840.67

- Endowus - July 2021 - $30,013.78

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 :)
4. Instagram - KPO_and_CZM (Did you see those delicious food photos to the right --> Unfortunately, you can't see it on mobile.)