Author: A Path to Forever Financial Freedom (3Fs)

Sasseur Reit reports their Q4 and FY18 results this evening which impresses. To recap, Sasseur is using a concessionary business model where retailers pay a fixed sum or percentage of revenue to the operator and it outsources the running of the retail malls operations such as the merchandising, cashiering, store management back to all the operator. What this means is in a retraction period where sales are low, they will then pay a lower overhead cost subsequently to the operator and when sales turnover are good, as we have seen in their Q4 results, they will pay a higher...

Following the announcement of their full year results earlier this week, which I blogged over here, the management invited a few of us down for a meet & greet session over a informal setting working lunch. I like that they are conducting frequent Q&A session with the analysts and also engaging the minority shareholders to address some of the queries. It shows genuine interests in protecting our rights as minority shareholders and they are serious about addressing investor’s concerns. The management team is also open to taking feedbacks regarding what can be improved (e.g some of the slides in the...

Far East Hospitality Trust (FEHT) reported their Q4 FY18 results this morning which shows Gross Revenue coming in 12.4% higher year on year and income for distribution 4.9% higher.  As a result, DPU for the 4th Quarter was up 3.1% year on year from 0.97 cents to 1 cents.  If we annualized the Q4 DPU, we will get 4 cents for the full year, which translates into 6.2% dividend yield. Operational PerformanceI was more interested in their operational performance, which is really key to the underlying distribution growth at the end of the day.  They have registered strong operational...

Manulife Reit published their Q4 FY18 results this morning which saw them registered an impressive 55.4% increase year on year on the Net Property Income (NPI) due to their 2018 recent acquisitions of the two buildings – Penn in Washington DC and Phipps in Atlanta). In terms of bottomline DPU performance, it grows by 3.6% year on year to end the financial year at 6.05 US cents. At the current share price of 85 US cents, this represents a decent 7.1% yield for exposure to a freehold Top Grade A quality of US commercial property. Do note that even...

Cashflow is one of the most powerful success criteria for a company to survive and we have seen so many instances when a company struggles to stay afloat just because it couldn’t manage its’ working capital adequately.  Cashflow is the one mighty factor why many of us are seeking so desperately for financial independence.  Without cashflow coming in, you are basically starved off food and water and maybe more great ideas to make things work.  You can thread your way lightly to manage your working capital adequately through your recurring monthly paycheck or with the multiple credit cards you...

Information is often key to investors who are looking to gain the upper momentum to do well in their investment.  You look for people who has skin in the game because they are likely to walk the talk and their credibility is often put on the line on whatever action they take.  This year, Stansberry Pacific Research is organizing the first ever virtual summit where financial managers and speakers gather together in a full day event to talk about the stakes of the Asia market in the global economy.  The Asia Wealth Virtual Summit will highlight ideas and insight...

Most valuations’ case study tends to focus on companies that are exhibiting positive growth rate in their earnings or cashflow over the next 5 years. They project the running cashflow rate by forecasting them over the next five years then discount them to the present value using a predetermined wacc rate. The alternative is to use the Gordon Growth Model to identify the company’s terminal growth rate then have them discounted back over the present value using the same method. The terminal value of a company is a rough approximation of its future value at some date beyond which...

Just a quick update. After my previous incident covering back my position on UMS, I have some cash that I can allocate my position to and decide to further increase my position in Starhill Reit by purchasing an additional 130,000 shares at a price of 71.5 cents. My last purchase for Starhill was on the 7th Jan when the share price was still at 68 cents, and my average price before this purchase was at 70 cents, so this additional purchase was a case of averaging up. My total position for Starhill has now increased to 377,000 shares. This consideration...

In the spirit of being transparent, I thought I should give an update on my positions on UMS.  Based on the last portfolio update in Jan earlier this month, I have provided an overview on my portfolio that I am holding a rather large short position in UMS of 325,000 shares.  This was accumulated over time since my earlier position back in Nov 18 when I started to short from 66 cents, all the way down to 59 cents.  My average price on this position was somewhere around 63 cents I think (before the interests).  My plan was to...

Imagine yourself as a business owner who is looking out for a retail shop in an upper-scale mall located across either Singapore or Hongkong.  The location could be located at the prestige Orchard Road or the Vivocity of Singapore or on the other sider at the oceanfront Harbour City or Times Square of Hongkong.  Either location you choose are going to get you sales and visibility for your product or services, which based on historical evidence are evident on their traffic footprint. Singapore Retail I blogged earlier this month here on the 6th Jan 2019 on the back of SPH Reit’s...

A few days ago, I wrote an article relating to why most people need to eventually convert your active to passive income at the end of the day. There are a few good arguments here and there that surrounds whether we need passive income in our lives but I think most people are in consensus that they need some sort of passive income, even if it’s just a small part of it. You see, it all started with the fact that time is a finite resource. You can’t be in the East on one side and be present at...

Do you have business liaison to attend to overseas?  If yes, you are probably familiar with the remittance and transfer platform that you have been using to transfer your funds overseas either to your business partner or vendor.  While bank transfer appears to be the most frequently used platform because it is directly debited from your account, you have to be mindful of how much transfer fees and the impact of the currency exchange the bank charges to their advantages.  Often, this resulted in spreads that can eat into your margins.  Some banks came up with a promo that...

Having worked professionally in the accounting and finance field for more than a decade in 4 different companies throughout my career, you would have thought I have a plethora group of friends and colleagues who likes to convert their active into passive income like myself.  That is not the case.  Within my circle group of friends and colleagues, this number amounts to a minority and you would think it is strange that for someone who is handling other people’s money or accounts on a daily basis, he or she would have taken more charge and responsibilities in their day...