Genesis
The 15HWW Permanent Portfolio was built during late 2016 with a capital of around $140,000 and I started tracking it from Jan 2017.
The aim of a permanent portfolio is to create a liquid portfolio with low volatility and a respectable return. A comparative benchmark is the CPF SA return of 4%.
To keep the portfolio as simple as possible, there is neither rebalancing nor injection of funds.
Purpose
Personally, I view many components of this portfolio as a form of emergency fund. For example, the cash and bonds are invested in very liquid and safe instruments and can be sold and cashed out within a matter of days.
Another reason is that by showcasing and regularly updating this humble portfolio, I hope it will inspire confidence in some readers to take some risk, invest and build wealth steadily with a low-effort portfolio.
Portfolio Value From Jan 2017 To Oct 2023
July 2023 Update
Annualised Return: 5.5% p.a. (Jan 2017 to Oct 2023)
A decent quarter for the 15HWW Permanent Portfolio and it is another All-Time-High (ATH) as the portfolio approaches $220k in value.
The portfolio is up by a small amount of SGD3k compared to a quarter ago and Gold and Bitcoin did extremely well to offset the loss from the STI ETF. Flight to safety theme playing out right now.
After more than 12 years investing in the Singapore equities market, I am starting to wonder if it is a good strategy to even be investing in the STI ETF based just on a simple demand and supply analysis. I am increasingly doubtful if demand for SG stocks would ever be significant beyond the local population.
I probably would not make any significant changes for this portfolio but food for thought on how I should position or even reallocate the majority of my investments moving forward.
The annualised return for this portfolio remains at 5.5% p.a., the same as the previous quarter. Definitely not complaining.
Till the next update in three months’ time!
Thank you for reading.
Related Articles:
The 15HWW Permanent Portfolio Update: July 2023
The 15HWW Permanent Portfolio Update: April 2023
The 15HWW Permanent Portfolio Update: January 2023
Annex: A Brief On The Various Components Of The 15HWW Permanent Portfolio
1. STI ETF (Initial Allocation: 20%)
It comprises the 30 biggest listed companies in Singapore and many of them are dividend-paying. The ETF distributes the dividends semi-annually, in February and August every year.
2. Berkshire B (Initial Allocation: 20%)
The idea is to use Warren Buffett’s holding company to loosely replicate the S&P 500 for US equities exposure. Since foreigners investing in US stocks are taxed on dividends, it is an advantage that Berkshire B does not pay any dividends.
3. Gold (Initial Allocation: 20%)
I used to hold some paper gold but have since converted them to physical gold. The portfolio consists of 9 pieces of 50g PAMP Gold Bar bought from UOB Bank. They are fairly liquid since they can be sold back to UOB Bank at a small spread. You can also check the prices here.
4. Cash/Bonds (Initial Allocation: 30%)
The majority is invested in Astrea Bonds and Singapore Saving Bonds (SSBs) which are very liquid in nature. Astrea Bonds are traded on the market while SSBs can be redeemed at par value, usually in a week or two’s time.
5. Bitcoin (Initial Allocation: 5%)
Added in 2021 to diversify away from cash and gold as a store of value. As many centralised crypto exchanges have abused users’ trust in them, my bitcoin is now stored in a cold wallet.
6.. Ether (Initial Allocation: 5%)
Added in 2022 since I am not a Bitcoin Maxi. As many centralised crypto exchanges have abused users’ trust in them, all my ether is staked on-chain.
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