June update (boring update)

  Its the end of June and I don't actually have anything interesting to report. With the market at currently high levels, stocks look "expensive" so I have continued to add to VWRD, VHYD, WQDV since the last update. I also bought some LGEN which I had mentioned previously and I am thinking of getting some Prudential (PRU) via its HKSE listing. I currently have some PRU listed on LSE but I am reaching my UK estate duty limit soon.

PRU is another way to bet on a China/HK recovery and it also announced a share buyback.

If you look at the financial ratios/statement for LGEN you would notice a huge drop in earnings in 2023. The report explains that they had to make provisions for revised longevity assumptions - insurance companies may lose money if people live longer. A similar problem occurs with CPF Life. 

As I had US$650 spare cash in my IBKR account and someone on the internet recommended PLTR to me, I used that cash to buy 25 shares of PLTR. I have no idea what that is but since this is a price action/momentum play, I don't need to know I guess. Just sell if it goes up by 10%?

Portfolio Update?

I have not done a portfolio update (yet) for June 2024 since there are minimal changes. Maybe physical gold needs to be added thanks to the gold price rally. I read with interest AK/ASSI's recent blogpost where he shared his top holdings. Basically, he is highly concentrated in 3 Singapore banks, 3 REITs, and 2 stocks (Wilmar and Comfort DG). Not the way I would structure my investment portfolio but there are many ways to reach FIRE. 

Health=Wealth

Finally, since Health=Wealth, I am happy to see that I am making progress fitness-wise. My VO2max has been inching upwards with my watch saying I am in the top 20% for age and gender. 

The government website Healthub.sg says we need 150-300 minutes of aerobic exercise a week which seems pretty excessive in my view unless you want to be a competitive athlete. My weekly duration is well under 150 minutes a week. I think its more important to have 'quality minutes' of exercise and be productive and that is where smartwatches can help as they can provide data to help you assess whether your workout was productive and also to warn against overtraining. My workout quantity+intensity is at the bottom end of the optimal training load (another data point from my watch) so I have no worries about overtraining. 

My plan is to be fit and healthy, so that I can make the most of my time left, with energy to enjoy life and energy leftover to help others.