It has been a good start to the month as I just returned from my holiday trip recently and felt all refreshed. We spent quite a bit on the accommodation and everything else and it has taken our expenses a bit on the toll this month but it was a well worth trip.

The market has been holding up strongly in the 2,830 points as the bull is continuing to fight the bears. For me, I'd try to position myself in both ways such that I will continue to benefit from either movements.

There are a couple of activities which I have made since the last portfolio update. For the detail, you may refer to the page: "Recent Transactions"

First, I've made a full divestment of Advancer Global Limited on the first day of the trading when the share price hits an unexpected high of 44 cents. This translates to a 100% gain from the IPO costs which I got for 22 cents. I thought the share price was very richly valued considering the risk vs reward at the time and I gladly locked in profits thereafter. 

Second, I've also made a full divestment of UOL at a share price of $5.94. This was purchased recently in Jun which I have blogged here. The share price have since ran up and I locked in the gains at a 10% profit as well. The catalysts will not be realized until late 2017/2018 and opportunities might knock in the door sometime later. In any case, my strategy is always to be on the prudent side and to lock in the profits first.

Third, I've also made a full divestment to Capitaland Commercial Trust (CCT) at a share price of $1.53. This represents a 15% gains (19% gains - inclusive of dividends) from last I bought in Aug last year and May earlier this year. I will be entitled to the upcoming dividend payout of 4.13 cents since this was sold after it goes ex-dividend. At current price, my take is that the trust is richly valued in terms valuation and yield has been compressed to 5.5%.

Fourth, I've also made partial divestment to Kingsmen at a share price of $0.655. This was done prior to the results they will be announcing on the 10th August. My average price is at $0.75, so this divestment translates to a 12% loss (9% loss - inclusive of dividends). This is a company which I'm still relatively divided because on one hand the near term outlook is expected to be weak, guided by the lower contracts won this year and the falling gross, net margin and return on equity over the past few quarters but these may have already (or not) been priced in the share price. The luxury segment of the retail shift will also take time to evolve as they will need to adjust to the requirements of the industry. Overall, I think it'll take a while before the company would recover.

On the purchase side, I've accumulated more HK Land at a share price of US$6.15 which I've blogged here. Even though they may look undervalued in terms of their net asset value, which mostly comprises of their investment properties, there are certain risks such as negative rental reversion and China risk which might directly impacted the business.

This month, I have also taken the opportunity to accumulate Ireit Global at a share price of $0.745 ahead of its earnings results on the 10th August. My decision to purchase this company is based on its strong Germany leasing profile activities and long wale as well as its high dividend yield, even though they may be impacted more by the weakening of the EUR further. This decision is also based on my assumption that the ECB will launch a much longer QE, which I took reference on the performance of the US reits when the Fed was doing the same from 2009 to 2014. I think this will be my dark horse in time to come.

The portfolio has increased from the previous month of $433,256 to $440,009 this month (+1.5% month on month; +41.8% year on year). 

The XIRR YTD on the equity has increased this month by standing at 17.4% on an annualized basis. The benchmark for STI has returned -1.7% this year to date. I'm finger cross hoping that the strategy can continue to yield me a favorable outcome.

In terms of dividends, there will be some dividends this month / next month which will be a much needed boost in terms of the cashflow. I'll explain sometime in my next post why this is becoming a very important element now more than before.

The cash portion has now gone into an overweight territory to 60% this month.

In the immediate term, there are some opportunities I have identified in the banks so I'm likely to monitor the segment closely, should there be a good opportunity to go in. My plan is to go in at batches since the cash is playing an important option to do that.

Hope August is a good month too for everybody :)