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[SINGAPORE] Yields are steadily declining, which is bad news for investors looking for a safe corner to park their cash.
The latest six-month Treasury bill (T-bill) cut-off yield fell to 2.38 per cent, based on auction results on Apr 24 – the lowest level that cut-off yields of six-month T-bills have fallen to in the year to date.
As for May’s Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) offering, it recorded a 10-year average return of 2.69 per cent. That’s down from April’s 2.85 per cent, March’s 2.97 per cent, February’s 2.82 per cent and January’s 2.86 per cent.
With this in mind, as well as the volatility, where do investors now look to place their money?
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Mixed review of local equities
A defensive portfolio may be something investors should tilt towards, and choose companies which offer “sustainable earnings growth in an uncertain environment”, said RHB equity research analyst Shekhar Jaiswal.
These defensive plays emerge in the consumer staples, healthcare and land transport sectors, and provide resilience during downturns, he wrote in an Apr 24 report. The analyst issued “buy” ratings on Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed stocks ST Engineering, Sheng Siong and ComfortDelGro.
In an Apr 17 DBS note, analysts also put forward ComfortDelGro as a defensive stock to consider, in addition to DFI Retail and Sembcorp Industries.
The transport group reported strong 14 per cent FY2025 forward earnings per share (EPS) growth and more than 6 per cent forward yields, in addition to being a beneficiary of lower oil prices, they explained.
As for Sembcorp Industries, its defensive exposure through utilities is less sensitive to economic fluctuations, with a steady 8 per cent EPS growth in FY2025/26 forward.
“We see better upside potential in these stocks, should the tariff news flows continue to support the rotation into defensives,” said DBS analysts.
DBS’ Chee Zheng Feng and Andy Sim also kept a “buy” rating on Sheng Siong, raising its target price to S$2 from S$1.90, on the back of higher Q1 FY2025 revenue and earnings of S$36 million – up 6 per cent year on year – in line with expectations.
“Stocks with attractive dividend yields and resilient earnings should feature favourably when risk-free rates fall,” Foo Fang Boon, analyst at DBS Group research, told The Business Times.
He said the dividend yield of the Straits Times Index also remains attractive at more than 5 per cent.
However, local banks UOB and OCBC were two of the five stocks the bank recommended investors to switch out, based on a DBS Stock Pulse note published on May 2.
“While index heavyweight banks are expected to sustain over 5 per cent forward dividend yields, we are nevertheless more cautious towards this sector given heightened risks to earnings and asset quality amid escalating trade tensions,” explained Foo.
At a global scale, the sectors providing the highest yield are that of telcos and banks at 5.3 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively, said Mark Boulton, lead portfolio manager, emerging equities at Pictet Asset Management.
“The list is not much different for Singapore and South-east Asia, particularly with respect to the highest three sectors, though some of the South-east Asian telcos have historically traded on higher valuation multiples across the board and lower yields,” he added.
Singtel, the city-state’s national telco provider, recorded the highest net institutional inflow of S$512.1 million in April this year, data from SGX indicated.
It is one of the three defensive blue-chip stocks, alongside SGX and ST Engineering, which have “outperformed amid the fluid tariff developments”, but now have “limited upside”, DBS analysts said.
Real estate investment trusts (Reits)
Analysts which BT spoke to all pointed to Reits for those seeking good yields, particularly in an uncertain investment climate.
“Reits continue to feature attractive dividend yields, with sector FY2025 forward yields of 6.7 per cent – which is around 4 per cent more than current 10-year Singapore Treasury yields while signalling limited downside. Retail and industrial Reits are preferred for their resilience,” said Foo.
In a May 2 update by SGX, it was reported that Reits witnessed S$74 million in net institutional outflow for the month of April, with one-third of them booking net inflow, led by Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), CapitaLand Ascendas Reit and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust.
Within the sector, FCT had the most net institutional inflow relative to market cap, followed by Lendlease Global Commercial Reit and Frasers Hospitality Trust, SGX data showed.
Ada Lim, equity research analyst from OCBC, kept “buy” calls on CapitaLand Ascott Trust (Clas) and Stoneweg European Reit in her Apr 28 and 29 reports, respectively.
The target price of Clas, however, was lowered from S$0.99 to S$0.92 in light of “a potentially more challenging environment for portfolio reconstruction”.
Similarly, for CapitaLand Investment, OCBC’s research team has a “buy” call on the Reit manager, as it maintained a healthy new gearing ratio of 0.39 times as at Mar 31, but has lowered its target price to S$3.67 from S$3.71 for aforementioned reasons.
Fixed deposits, high-yield savings accounts take-up rates stay steady
Amid current uncertain global market conditions, interest in fixed deposits and high-yield savings accounts by Singapore banks have remained relatively consistent to previous years.
Aaron Chwee, head of wealth advisory at OCBC, said high-yield savings accounts have attracted strong customer interest for a few years now. He noted how OCBC 360 Account has experienced account openings growing by more than 30 per cent since 2023, even as time deposit placements remained stable.
In March, the bank however announced that it would cut rates on its 360 Account in line with prevailing market conditions. From May 1, the maximum effective interest rate for the 360 Account was cut to 6.3 per cent per annum on the first S$100,000, from the current 7.65 per cent.
UOB followed suit, as it announced on Apr 1 that it would be cutting interest rates on the One Account, in line with interest rate expectations. The maximum interest rate was cut to 3.3 per cent per annum on the first S$150,000, down from 4 per cent, and also took effect on May 1.
The US Federal Reserve cut rates four times in 2024, and markets expect there will be more rate cuts announced later this year.
UOB head of group personal financial services Jacquelyn Tan said the take-up rate has been stable across the bank’s range of deposit products including savings accounts and fixed deposits since the beginning of this year to date.
“For the UOB One Account, sign-up rates have remained consistent after the announcement of the revision to interest rates earlier this month,” she shared.
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