$Lion-OSPL APAC Fin S(YLD.SG)

Context: YLD is an ETF that tracks the iEdge APAC Financial Dividend Plus Index, which targets 30 of the largest and most tradable APAC Financial companies, covering banking, insurance, investment services and specialty finance.

The ETF fell 2.03% today mainly due to the following:

1. The 3 SG banks sell downs were the dominant driver as they accounted for 23% of the portfolio and contributed to ~1.10% of the drop.

2. The second major source of weakness was from its Korea exposure which accounted for ~0.43% of the drop.

3. Thirdly, Japan was also hit. One of YLD's significant holding - Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group also fell 2.25% and it accounted for ~o.11% of the drag.

4. Next, the Australian financiala were also weak with NAB -0.78%, Westpac -1.64, ANZ -1.52% and Macquarie -0.22%. While these were negative contributors, the were far less damaging than the above.

Takeaway:

1. While YLD is supposed to be "APAC Financials", it behaves more like a concentrated basket of Singapore + Korean + Japanese + Australian banks where it's top 10 positions accounted ~60% of the portfolio holdings.

2. There appears to be a regional financial sector sell-off instead of just a specific country.

3. The decline today was amplified by the high weightage of the 3 SG banks which encountered a sharp sell off today.

My Trade: I am looking for opportunity to accumulate while maintaining a yield on cost above 5.5%. For ref, the current TTM yield is 5.08% for today's price of 1.498 and my trailing yield on cost is ~5.97%.