September 2025 Updates

September is traditionally a bountiful month for me in terms of dividends received. This year is no different.

 

Total of $1,720.02 is received from the following:

 

1) Ascendas Reit @ $137.72

2) MIT @ $261.60

3) MLT @ $295.37

4) Venture @ $150

5) CICT @ $501.84

6) CLCT @ $373.50

 

This brings the dividends received YTD to just shy of $10k.

 

In the local market, I did not made any transaction. Applied for 10,000 units of Centurion Accomodation Reit (CA Reit) but got zero allocation. Did introduced this IPO to a friend and he got allocated 1,000 units. Instant profit if he were to cash out now like the institutional investors.

 

I am not surprised at the popularity of this counter though. Was telling my friend I rated NTT DC Reit a 4 out of 10 previously and CA Reit is at least a 7 or 8 for me.

 

In fact I had already set my mind to apply for this IPO halfway through the prospectus.

 

Nevertheless one thing I've learnt from the market over the years is that opportunity always comes back.

 

I guess this time round I didn't get allocated for a reason. But I will be monitoring closely for the chance to add when it arises.

 

In the US market, I averaged up on NVDA by adding @ $170.88 to my existing holding. This one is a keeper and I'm pretty sure it will be the next multi-bagger for me after MSFT.

 

Work-wise, I also received the confirmation letter for my 2nd side hustle. From October onwards I will be teaching in one of our local institution of higher learning as an adjunct lecturer.

 

Hope it will be a fun and enriching journey for me and the students. If it turns out well, I will dedicate more hours to this in subsequent semesters.

 

See how it goes. Excited.

My review of XTEP 2000 KM 3.0

Writing this review to serve as a marker for my first run in this shoes.

For the longest time, my go to brand for running shoes has always been tried and tested Asics, which has served me well for my marathons, half marathons and other races.

Recently I bought a pair of XTEP 2000 KM 3.0 to try out as my current Asics Cumulus is wearing out.

I have heard good reviews about chinese brand running shoes recently and after doing my own research, I narrowed down to this brand and model.

I believe this is their basic model. 

I bought it from their official store in Shopee during 9/9 sale and it costs me $60.46 after vouchers and discounts. At such price point for such quality, there's really nothing much to complain about. 

So today I finally brought it out for some trial runs.

I'm still feeling the burn in my hamstrings and glutes from yesterday's leg day so I only managed to do some slow runs to get a feel. I'm also still in my gym attire from this morning - tee and cotton shorts, not the best attire for a run. Lol.

Anyway I tried it out on both the PCN and roadside. After that I also did some intervals on the PCN.

First impression upon wearing the shoes is they are light. Noticeably lighter than my current Cumulus. 

The shoes provided the stability during the run. Friction is also good.

Didn't really feel the touted rebound though. 

Need to try it out for a long run and wet surface soon.

Would also be interesting to see how long it can last. 

In summary, would I recommend buying this pair of shoes? Definitely, be it for your only pair of running shoes or as a second pair for alternate wearing. 

At such price point, I think it's hard to find another brand with equivalent specifications. Other chinese brands maybe? 

Performance-wise, I'm pretty sure this pair can help me run faster if I have rested enough. 

Design-wise, I feel this is one of their biggest plus points. I love the design and colour scheme. Although my first choice colour was Moonstone Blue which ran out of stock, I am satisfied with this pair too. 

I'm wearing size 46 for my Asics and I bought size 45 for my XTEP. It fits perfectly.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with XTEP except for being a satisfied customer (so far).

P.s. Having said that, I don't mind a collaborative post too if you feel we can be a good fit (no pun intended). 

Shout out to @XTEP! 

August 2025 Updates

For the month of August, I bought MIT @ $1.99 and Comfortdelgro @ $1.47.

The former is a continuing accumulation to build up my existing position when price dips. With this addition, MIT now occupies 8.75% of the portfolio based on market value.

The latter is a reentry since I sold it 8 years ago. Bought it post XD as the price felt comfortable for a first tranche, dividend yield has become attractive and business fundamentals & outlook are improving.

This month also seen dividends received from

OCBC @ $476.42

DBS @ $495

SingTel @ $800

Total: $1,771.42

Looking forward to next month's dividends. 

Local portfolio value and P&L excluding dividends:

I also transferred $19,999 to DBS fixed deposit with 2.45% interest.

Had a rather unpleasant experience at Punggol Coast Mall Fairprice Finest with my family yesterday.

We were at the 2nd floor doing our shopping and an auntie promoter at the 'Europe' shelving offered my 5 year old a sample.

My son declined as he will always ask me or my wife for permission before accepting things from strangers. 

What irks me is that I heard the promoter told my son to stop looking if he does not want the sample.

After that my son came back to me and I squatted down to ask him what did the promoter said to him. From the corner of my eye I saw the promoter crept up and hid behind one of the shelves near us to eavesdrop on our conversation.

When my son told me the exact words that I heard earlier, I had wanted to go to confront the promoter but my two kids stopped me, saying they are afraid I would be taken away by the police. That gave me a chuckle.

Nevertheless I happened to see the Fairprice store manager and feedback to her about the incident.

Her empathy, professionalism and prompt action are exemplary and show why she deserves to be a manager.

Two ladies, two poles apart in behaviour. 

Anyway writing this to let off some steam.

Thanks for reading. 

June 2025 Updates

Received dividends from Netlink NBN Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust and Ascendas Reit.

NLT: $281.40

MIT: $268.80

MLT: $318.67

AReit: $894.11

Didn't make any trade this month. 

June also seen the start of the slow down in my side line as more and more clients go on their summer break. 

Every year June to August is like that since majority of my clients is ang moh.

Nevertheless it's not a bad thing as I was rather occupied with my environmental management business which is my main work. 

Coming July which is officially the 2nd half of the year, hopefully there will be buying opportunity soon.

Current amount available for investment (excluding main warchest): $5,155.00.

Portfolio value at point of writing: $210,704.37.

 

Edit: Added Ascendas Reit dividends which came in after the original post.

May 2025 Updates

For the month of May, received dividends from OCBC ($662.34), Venture ($250) and DBS ($495). Total dividends amounted to S$1,407.34.

 

Also added MIT @ $1.93 to my existing holding.

Discretionary income from side hustle and dividends increased month-on-month. Rifle loaded, pending targets to pop up for firing.

 

Portfolio value currently stands at $205,719.98.

 

Cash-wise, currently holding high amount (probably highest in recent times) due to uncertainties in the macro environment.

March 2025 Updates

First dividend season of the year. Received dividends from the following: 

1) Ascendas REIT

2) Mapletree Logistics Trust

3) Mapletree Industrial Trust

4) CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust

5) CapitaLand China Trust

 

Total dividends received for this 1st quarter amounted to S$2,258.04.

 

Pretty satisfied as this is slightly higher YoY. Figure for same quarter last year is S$2,003.27.

 

Per usual practice, all dividends + 50% of my side income are invested back to the portfolio for compounding: the 8th wonder of the world.

 

This month I've added OCBC @ $16.57 and Venture @ $12.45 to my existing positions.

 

The OCBC purchase comes with a 5.1% dividend yield excluding special dividend.  The group has released a pretty solid FY24 with a 8% increase in net profit and EPS. Final dividend was reduced by $0.01 YoY while CEO Helen's pay when up instead. Not much to complain anyway, just an observation on my part.

The Venture purchase comes with a 6% dividend yield. This was done partly to average down, partly to reduce my REITs concentration and partly as a recovery bet in the company. Their recent results haven't been very encouraging although they are maintaining their dividend amount and they are consistently generating positive free cash flow. Hence I am keeping this counter to a small portion of my portfolio. In fact this is the smallest position at 3.2%.

Interesting bit, after I made the Venture purchase, another counter which I have been eyeing actually fell to my TP. Alas I have already expended my bullets this month so guess this has to wait. If another opportunity arises in April this will probably take precedent. Let's see.

Another important news is regarding OCBC 360 Account. There will be a revision to the interest rates on 1st May 2025. Based on the revised terms, I can probably earn 2.65 - 3.85%. Not fantastic but not too shabby either. Moving forward this will probably be the trend across the banking sector so I won't be in a hurry to move funds around yet.

Revised terms from 1st May 2025 onwards:

 

Feb 2025 Updates

February flew by just like that. Did not make any trade this month as there is no incoming dividends and income from my side hustle only came in today.

Probably will add into Venture or another counter next week depending on the price movements. 

As usual, 25% of my side hustle income goes to my SA top up which I just did. 

Another 25% for discretionary spending and balanced 50% for investment.

Unless there is a compelling buy that requires bigger amount to execute (e.g. position sizing purpose, good DCA opportunity, etc), my monthly investment funds will only come from the side income and dividends reinvestment.

This strategy has been working for me so far and will continue to be employed moving forward. On this front, projected amount to be invested this year should be around S$22,000, not including any ad hoc investment amount from my main fund.

Recent financial results released by the companies in my local portfolio have been generally good. I like what I see from SingTel, DBS and OCBC. However I was perplexed and slightly disappointed by the latter's cut in ordinary dividend.

A drop in ordinary dividend is never a good thing and the negativity surrounding it can barely be masked by the declaration of the special dividend. At least this is the feeling that I have.

I rather they hand out the same ordinary dividend and proportionate the special dividend accordingly.

Anyway I look forward to March which should be a bumper month of dividends incoming.

Have a great weekend everyone.