Short post for the start of 2022

Happy new year everyone! This will be just a short post.
During the end of 2021, I have been really busy at work, and will also be busy in 2022.

Portfolio (same old same old)

There isn’t much change in my portfolio. Nevertheless, the key change which I will be doing in the early part of 2022, will be divesting from Ascendas Reit and transferring the cash into another dividend counter. I have not really decided on the counter yet. However, I see more promising REITs than Ascendas REIT.

Being a shareholder of Mapletree Commercial Trust, I am not entirely happy with the proposed merger between Mapletree Commercial Trust and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust. If I am keen to invest in Festival Walk in Hong Kong and Gateway Plaza in Beijing, I would have already done so in the past, by investing in MNACT.

With the rich valuation of the US markets, I do not foresee much investing in the coming weeks or months.

For months of Oct 21, Nov 21 and Dec 21, I have only nibbled on some dividend counters (eg. Straco, ST Engineering, Mapletree Commercial Trust) as well as the Chinese Tech counter Pinduduo. I guess I was counting on the re-opening of economics (and the subsequent uptick in recovery stocks)… until the Omicron virus derailed it (for now).

Meeting up with friends/relatives

December is usually a month for meeting up with friends and relatives. This year, however, I did not meet up with many, just a few.

Well, being in my mid-40s, I tend to know people who are either doing very well (financially) or those that aren’t. Those doing well would be thinking about early retirement, while on the other hand there are those who are hit hard by pandemic, in between jobs or in struggling in jobs that do not pay well.

On the other hand, there are people who did not even need to work, with their finances well taken care of by their parents. Or there are people near retirement age (or past retirement age), still at the pinnacle of their career… but beyond work, they are unmarried with no kids. They will probably donate most of their savings to charities or to their nieces or nephews once they pass away.

Personally, for me, the industry which I am in (construction), is hit hard by the pandemic. I often heard the news of people resigning from my company. Projects are getting fewer and smaller, and we are tasked with my projects. I do not see many job openings in this industry. Having said that, I guess I am lucky to still have a job.

Having worked from home for close to 2 years, I can see many benefits (and cons) of it. Have heard and read that many companies are permanently adopting this WFH system for a certain number of days per week, with the reduction of office spaces.

Plan for 2022 (Investment)

To be frank, I do not have a very clear plan at the moment. I reckon I am still waiting for the markets to direct my actions.

I will still do some DCA to increase my passive dividend income. I have increased my annual dividend income by 1/3 in 2021 (compared to 2020).

However, I do believe if opportunities pop up in cryptocurrencies, I would probably add a tiny fraction. I missed the May 2021 correction… but am sure there will be another chance.
However call me superstitious, as per my horoscope (fire dragon) reading for 2022, it is not advisable to bet big on risky assets in 2022.

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40s, I tend to have friends who are doing well (financially) and are looking forward to early retirement in the near future. I am happy for them.
On the other hand, there are others who are hit hard by the pandemic and are still in between jobs, or took heavy pay cuts or struggling in jobs that don’t really pay that well. That is the other spectrum.

Of course, there are always people whom we know that does not even need to work (coming from well to do families), with their parents footing the bills. Or people who are near or well past retirement age, unmarried, with no children, but still at the pinnacle of their career, earning top dollars. They probably will donate their savings to charities or their nieces or nephews when they pass away.

Personally, for me, the industry which I am in (construction) is hit hard by the pandemic. Many people have resigned, and projects are getting fewer. I guess I am lucky to still have a job. With more than a year of WFH, it still feels surreal. I guess it is difficult to find new opportunities in the industry which I am currently in.

I have been hearing and reading about companies permanently adopting the WFH system for a certain number of days per week (eg. every week, 3 days are WFH). I guess with the reduction in office spaces, quite a number of companies are seeing the benefits of doing so.