Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) are all the rage again, after the Nov 2022 tranche reached historical highs for the 10-year average yield. Both the mainstream media and the local financial blogosphere have been abuzz with coverage on SSBs, as their interest rates kept achieving new highs, month after month. The incessant news coverage prompted me to relook at SSBs once more, as an investment vehicle.
Immediately, I was faced with …
The SSB Nov 2019 tranche has fallen by another 2 basis points from the month before, now returning 1.62% p.a. for the first 3 years. Interest rates are so low that I’m stifling a yawn right now. Actually, I might not continue writing SSB posts anymore if this downtrend continues, since nobody would be interested in reading about SSB in this environment.
Fortunately, I’m one of the few lucky ones to be allocated some Lendlease REIT in the …
This month’s tranche gives you 1.64% p.a. for the first 3 years, only 1 basis point lower than last month’s tranche. But take a look at the 10-year return rate of 1.75% p.a and you’ll be shocked. The last time the 10-year rate was at this level was in Sep 2016, which is also the all-time low! Looks like we’re heading into the bad old days of low interest rates of 2016 once more. No wonder people barely …
This month’s tranche gives you 1.65% p.a. for the first 3 years, 3 bps lower than the previous month. The 10-year average interest rate has also fallen below the psychological 2% hurdle. For a visual idea of how far rates have fallen, look at the distance between the dark blue line (Jan 2019) and the pink line (Sep 2019). What’s a yield-hungry investor to do these days?
That was a hypothetical question — I don’t have the answer …
This month’s SSB rates are indicated by the brown line, which comes in at 1.68% p.a. for the first 3 years. It’s a rather startling drop of 20 bps from last month! For comparison, see the blue line, which shows the interest rates from the Jan 2019 tranche. Looks like rates have fallen a fair bit. And if you hold this month’s tranche for 10 years, you would only make 2.08% p.a. Notice the sharp turn in the …
This month’s SSB rates are indicated by the purple line, which comes in at 1.93% for the first 3 years, 7 basis points (“bps”) above last month’s tranche at 1.88% for the first 3 years. It looks like SSB rates have started to move upwards again!
Although it’s only 7 bps, I found it peculiar that interest rates could conceivably go up with the US economy is poised to go down due to the tariff tan-trumps presently going …