Today is a special day (29th February 2020). Instead of the usual 28 days, we have 29 days in this month of February 2020, which is also called the leap year. We are also in the second month of the COVID-19 outbreak where it causes disruptions or instability to the current economy.
Earlier this month, the stock market seemed to have ignored the impact of the COVID-19 to the economy. This is based on my observation on the Straits Time Index (Read more: Impact of COVID-19 to Straits Time Index) However, just a few days ago, I observed that the stock market started to react to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is hard to tell whether the downtrend is short term or long term. The Straits Times Index (STI) closed at 3,011.08 yesterday.
The current situation has proven that we should always have some form of emergency funds that can tide us over 6 months or more should we get retrenched due to financial crisis. Thus, I continued to purchase Singapore Savings Bonds monthly even though the interest rate has fallen. The average interest rate of March Singapore Savings Bond is 1.71% if you hold it for 10 years. Singapore Savings Bonds currently makes up 17% of my entire investment portfolio.
I did not make any stock purchases this month but definitely I am looking around as the stock prices of many counters in my watchlist has fallen this week and they provide an attractive dividend yield in the long run. Some examples are Singtel, SPH REIT, Suntec REIT, Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust.
Singtel
Closing Price: S$3.00, Current Dividend Yield: 5.83%
SPH REIT
Closing Price: S$1.01, Current Dividend Yield: 5.54%
Suntec REIT
Closing Price: S$1.70, Current Dividend Yield: 5.59%
Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust
Closing Price: S$1.10, Current Dividend Yield: 6.57%
Last but not least, here is a quote from Warren Buffet.
“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful”
– Warren Buffet
