August 2026 Updates

August is a good month for income. Dividends received amounted to $2,181.24 consisting of:

SingTel @ $824

DBS @ $615.60

OCBC @ $546.14

CDG @ $195.50

This is higher Y-o-Y and total year dividends look on track to beat last year's figure which was somewhat a mini breakthrough for me. 

No trade done for Singapore portfolio this month. Have been queuing for NLT between $0.97 - $0.975 for the past two weeks without getting filled.

Hence the funds for August have rolled over to add on to September funds.

Just took a quick look at the market and it seems a couple more counters are starting to look interesting in terms of share price.

Hope to be able to deploy the funds soon.

For the US market, one of the short Puts expired unassigned with premium in the pocket.

Wrote another short Put on the same counter and closed it three days later for a quick profit.

Last but not least, added more to my existing ABVX position. 

July 2026 Updates

Market exuberance towards month end helped push portfolio passed $270k with $71k profit.

Paper profit, still shiok to see nonetheless.

At this point of writing, portfolio is around $268k.

This month's transactions:

1) Bought 1,400 units of CLI @ $2.48
2) Sold another ABVX 118P @ $2.15 premium

AI-assisted Singapore Portfolio Review (ChatGPT)

Got some time today so used AI to review my portfolio without bias.

 

The results are quite satisfactory but contain some inaccuracies. This again emphasised the need to fact check everything from AI and not accept blindly.

 

And just nice I was looking at Netlink earlier before this review😁. Was deciding between Netlink and Sembcorp, and this review might have just made the decision easier.

 

This is the prompt I used:

 

What do you think about this portfolio and how would you improve it from an income point of view while balancing growth and stability?

 

This is my portfolio screenshot:

 

 

This is from ChatGPT (wordings in blue are my comments):

 

This is actually a fairly solid Singapore income portfolio already. You’ve built around:

• Singapore banks (DBS, OCBC)
• Singapore telco/utilities-style cashflow (Singtel, NetLink)
• Multiple S-REITs
• Some industrial/logistics exposure
• A bit of cyclical growth (Venture)

From an income + stability perspective, it’s much stronger than a lot of retail portfolios that are overly speculative.

That said, there are a few concentration and structural issues I would improve.

---

What I Like About This Portfolio

1. Strong dividend backbone

Your portfolio is clearly designed around:

• recurring cashflow
• dividend compounding
• blue-chip Singapore exposure

That’s good for:

• long-term wealth preservation
• future retirement income
• lower volatility vs growth stocks

The DBS + OCBC positions especially are carrying the portfolio very well.

---

2. You own high-quality Singapore assets

Some strong names here:

• DBS
• OCBC
• Singtel
• NetLink NBN Trust
• CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust
• Mapletree Logistics Trust

These are generally institutional-grade Singapore income names.

---

Main Weaknesses

1. Overexposure to S-REITs

You have many REITs:

• CapLand Ascendas REIT
• Capitaland Investment (Technically not a REIT. Bought this to diversify away from REITs previously.)
• Centurion? (if 8C8U is CICT/CENT) (Is Centurion Accom REIT)
• Mapletree Industrial
• Mapletree Logistics
• UOB REIT? (Is UIB REIT. ChatGPT doesn't recognise?)
  
• etc.

This creates hidden concentration risk because many REITs react similarly to:

• interest rates
• refinancing costs
• office/industrial property cycles
• Singapore/China commercial demand

Right now several of your REITs are underwater because:

• higher-for-longer interest rates compressed valuations
• financing costs rose
• yield spreads narrowed (Mapletree!)

You’re diversified by ticker, but not necessarily by economic driver. (Fair point)

---

2. Banks are carrying the portfolio

Your unrealized gains are largely: (My CICT and Venture also not bad leh)

• DBS
• OCBC
• Singtel

Without them, the overall portfolio performance would look much weaker.

That tells me:

• your strongest businesses are concentrated in a few holdings
• some REIT allocations may be too large relative to quality (Good point. Will review.)
  

---

3. Missing global growth exposure

The portfolio is very Singapore-centric. (I have another portfolio for US and HK stocks)

That gives:

• stability
• SGD income

But limits:

• innovation exposure
• global earnings growth
• AI/tech/productivity trends
• US market leadership

Singapore is excellent for income. (My thoughts exactly. Aim has always been to build a solid base here while seeking growth from US and other markets.)
It is not excellent for long-term capital growth alone.

---

My Suggested Portfolio Structure

For a balanced income + growth + stability portfolio:

Category	Target
Singapore Banks	25–30%
High-quality REITs	20–25%
Singapore Infrastructure/Defensive	15–20%
Global Equity ETFs	20–30%
Cash/T-bills	5–10%

---

What I Would Personally Adjust

Reduce weaker REIT overlap

You don’t necessarily need:

• multiple industrial REITs
• multiple logistics REITs
• multiple similar property exposures

I’d consolidate into fewer, stronger REITs.

For example:
Keep:

• Ascendas REIT
• Mapletree Industrial (Above mentioned Mapletree Logistics Trust is high quality asset. Now say keep Mapletree Industrial instead?)
  
• maybe one retail/commercial REIT

Reduce:

• overlapping logistics/office exposure

Quality matters more than quantity.

---

Add Global ETFs

This is the biggest improvement I’d make.

Consider slowly building:

• CSPX
• VWRA
• QQQM

These add:

• US tech
• healthcare
• global consumer brands
• AI growth
  
• long-term capital appreciation

This balances the slower-growth nature of SGX income investing.

---

Income Optimization Ideas

1. Focus on dividend growth, not just yield (Good reminder)

A dangerous trap in SG investing is chasing:

• 7–9% yields
• weaker REITs
• leveraged trusts

Instead:

• prioritize sustainability
• balance sheet strength
• dividend growth potential

DBS is a great example:
lower yield historically than risky REITs, but far stronger total return.

---

2. Build a dividend “core”

Your strongest core holdings are probably:

• DBS
• OCBC
• Singtel
• NetLink
• Ascendas REIT

These can form the stable income engine.

---

3. Add some dry powder

You are heavily invested already.

Keeping:

• 5–10% in T-bills or cash
  lets you:
• buy during crashes
• reduce emotional investing
• improve long-term returns

Especially useful if REITs fall further.

---

One Important Observation

Your portfolio currently looks optimized for:

• dividend income
• moderate stability

But not fully optimized for:

• inflation-beating growth over 15–20 years.

Singapore equities alone may underperform global equities long term.

A hybrid strategy tends to work better:

• SGX for income
• global ETFs for growth

That combination is very powerful.

---

If This Were My Portfolio

I’d probably aim for something like:

Asset Type	Approx %
DBS + OCBC	30%
SG REITs	20%
Singtel + NetLink	15%
Global ETFs	25%
Cash/T-bills	10%

That would likely produce:

• good dividend income
• lower volatility
• better global diversification
• stronger long-term compounding

while still maintaining the Singapore income profile you clearly value.

June 2026 Updates

Dividends received for the month of June come from:

 

1) MIT @ $278.10

2) MLT @ $296.50

3) CICT @ $378.10

4) NLT @ $284.55

 

Total: $1,237.25

 

Total received for first half of the year amounted to $6,614.25. This is slightly higher than the $5,824.36 received from the same period last year.

 

As long as there is no big surprise for the next half year, total dividends for the year should exceed $10k again with the amount higher than last year's too.

 

Portfolio value remained fairly stable month-on-month at quarter of a million dollars since there is no trade done in June:

 

This is about $40k higher than the portfolio value of $210,704.37 from the same period last year. Around $27,500 is from capital injection and dividend reinvestment. The rest comes from portfolio growth. 

Total investment amount should reach beyond $200k by end of year.

 

Next month has various AGMs coming up again. Hope to find time to attend, at least for the MLT AGM.

 

On the US front, I've added ABVX again at $96.80. This counter is facing some headwinds recently due to the report of cancers in the recent maintenance trial.

The volatile price movements give rise to nice opportunities in the options market.

 

I closed an earlier short put with $99 strike for a net premium of $2.17.

Then I initiated another short put at $93 which just expired with $5.08 premium in the pocket. Not bad for a week's holding.

 

Last night I sold another put at $65 strike expiring on 2nd July 2026 for a premium of $2.90.

 

The good news from ABVX released later in the night provided the reassurance investors needed and as a result the share price shot up >35% at this point of writing. That's good. But I wouldn't mind for the volatility to continue longer so I can further build up my position while getting juicy premiums from the options.

May 2026 Updates

Received dividend from a number of counters and did a number of transactions as follows.

 

Dividends

 

1) OCBC @ $673.96

2) DBS @ $615.60

3) CIL @ $132

4) CDG @ $229.50

5) Venture @ $250

 

Total: $1,901.06

 

As usual, reinvested the dividends received along with a portion of my side income.

 

Transactions

 

Bought 1,000 units of CICT @ $2.28

 

Bought 2,000 units of Cent Accom REIT @ $1.08

 

Sold 1 x ABVX put @ $99 strike with $5.30 premium

April 2026 Updates

Relatively quiet month for me investment-wise.

Actions include:

1) Wrote another Put on ABVX at $98 strike price, expiring 8th May 2026. Received premium of $2.50.

2) Received DBS dividend of $615.60.

3) Received Ascendas REIT dividend of $558.75.

4) Applied for Ascendas REIT PO allocation + excess. Received full amount of the 1,100 units applied.

5) Added ABVX at $109.02.

Earnings season again. Another disappointing quarter from MIT with overseas assets being the drag. The 8% lower DPU YoY is quite a big drop. 

Another Mapletree unit that is raising alarm bells in me is MLT with their Mumbai acquisition. Many Singaporean companies struggle to do well in the Indian market. Hopefully MLT will be the exception. 

On the flip side, luckily Ascendas REIT's result is not bad overall with their >10% rental reversion.

Portfolio value remains stable.

Fund balance: around $2,200 with incoming dividends expected in May.

March 2026 Updates

March is a comparatively busy month for me both at work and in the market.

 

Dividends received

 

MLT @ $296.01

MIT @ $285.30

Ascendas REIT @ $1,038.86

CICT @ $331.92

CLCT @ $349.50 (last dividend)

 

Total received for March 2026: $2,301.59

This amount is slightly higher year on year.

 

Transactions

 

1) This month marks the end of my relationship with CapitaLand China Trust aka CLCT after holding it for 6 years.

 

I've sold all my 15,000 units at $0.675. Overall loss incurred is -47.24% including cumulative dividends over the years.

 

This is following my review of portfolio done in January this year.

 

What prompted me to sell is the structural deterioration in the REIT's performance, continuous challenging macro environment and most importantly, I don't see an improvement in sight in the near future.

 

Performance of the REIT manager is nothing short of shocking. Rental reversion is in the negative territory across the three segments of retail, logistics park and business park.

 

Retail, which is traditionally their largest portfolio contributor, seen a fall in both revenue and occupancy rate.

Consequently DPU fell nearly 15% compared to 2024.

As such I have to make the decision to cut this bleeding counter from my portfolio and reinvest the proceeds into other more resilient and promising counters.

It is a painful but necessary decision.

2) Using the proceeds from above sale and dividends received, I added more CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) at $2.37 and $2.30.

 

This brought my average price to $1.93. An average up.

 

Dividend yield on average cost: 6%.

 

CICT is one of the few REITs that performed admirably in my opinion. Their latest financial results show a solid performance with both revenue and NPI increasing year on year. Occupancy rate remains high at nearly 97%.

 

I also like the fact that gearing remains below 40% with ICR increasing YoY. Equally important, cost of debt went down to 3.2% and is set to go down even further to about 3.0% in FY2026. Nice!

No qualms in increasing my holdings in this counter which currently makes up about 9.2% of my portfolio.

3) Also using the proceeds and dividends, I bought into Centurion Accomodation REIT (Cent Accom REIT) at $1.09.

This is a counter that I have been wanting to buy after failing to get any allocation during IPO.

Based on a prudent IPO projected dividend amount (they have apparently exceeded this forecasted amount), my yield on cost would be 6.03%.

Even after taking 10% off - the REIT has stated after 2027 they would pay out at least 90% of distributable income instead of the 100% now, my yield would be 5.43%. Still quite decent.

 

So long as Singapore remains a foreign worker-based economy, I'm optimistic about this counter. Looking to build up this holding in tranches.

4) I also applied for the UI Boustead REIT IPO this month and got allocated 3,200 units. The listing couldn't come at a worse time with the war in Middle East raging on.

Share price of this counter went downhill on day one of listing and has remained below the IPO price although I feel this is a reaction to the macro environment rather than structural issues with the counter.

Can add more depending on my funds and opportunities with other counters.

5) ABVX put option that I wrote last month has expired. Premium in the pocket remains intact.

6) Bought ABVX at $119.77 and $102.76 post-earnings. First came across this counter when it was mentioned by Doc TTI. Wasn't in a hurry to enter then as I wanted to wait for the earning release.

It's not about the numbers - For biotech companies at this stage, the financial numbers are pretty meaningless. What I wanted to read is the management comments and business updates. And these didn't disappoint.

Two points I picked up in the updates:

- Firstly, a Chief Commercial Officer is appointed and the Chief Scientific Officer is leaving. I interpret this as: the company do not foresee any issue with Obefazimod and the planned NDA application in the 2nd half of the year. Even if no buyout materialised, the company is prepared to market the drug themselves.

- Secondly the Data Safety Monitoring Board found no new safety signals in the latest ABTECT Phase 3 maintenance trial.

First point spells confidence. Second point further reinforce the first.

The potential of Obefazimod doesn't just ends here. Because of the delivery mechanism, the drug has high potential of application in most other inflammatory diseases as well. The company is concurrently running trials on Obefazimod for Crohn's disease now with the 12-week induction data expected in second half 2026.

 

The more due diligence I do for this counter, the more excited I am. This drug is like a game-changer in that it reduces inflammation in the first place by deregulating the release of cytokines which are pro-inflammatory proteins in our body.

This is radically different from the immunosuppressants that are usually prescribed in current practice which can cause a host of other issue because of weakened immune system.

So in my opinion even if no buyout occurs, the commercialisation of the drug by Abivax themselves isn't a bad thing too.

Risk of this investment is obviously the failure to get NDA approval for Obefazimod. However this is probably a low risk and I am mitigating with position sizing.

 

The question now is how much of the good news has been priced in already. My feel is not fully yet. So I will continue to add and build up for this counter.

7) Took partial profits off my MSFT holdings at $370.28 partly because of the recent price weakness and partly to fund my planned purchases of ABVX.

 

MSFT has been a multi-bagger for me and I still hold the counter after this partial profit-taking.

Conclusion

Same strategy applies for all counters. Since the current war situation is so dynamic - market can move in any direction in the blink of an eye based on one social media post from Donald Trump, I will continue to buy in tranches and at the same time mitigate risk with position sizing.

Goodbye Xiao Lan, Hello Da Bai

 

 

After serving me and my loved ones faithfully for the past 7 years, I finally had to part with my workhorse Xiao Lan.

 

It was honestly not an easy decision. Even a pen if used for long, I will find it hard to throw it away.

However judging from the government's policy on cars, I think it's pretty clear EV is the future and if I don't cash in on the remaining value now, it would be pretty taxing for me in 3 years time when I have to change car. Who knows how much the COE will cost by then.

As a matter of fact, COE for my first car in 2009 was $4,000+.

 

COE for my second car which is Xiao Lan was $26,301.00.

COE for my new car which I got in February this year is $108,220.00.

I still remember I got Xiao Lan when my daughter was around 9 months old and since then she has ferried us around. She was also the one who fetched my son home after he was discharged from hospital after birth.

On a personal note, Xiao Lan has accompanied me through my many ups and downs and has never given me any major problem for the years I've been with her. She's robust.

 

She is such an easy drive. When I'm with her I understand the feeling of 车人合一.

I am still missing her after parting with her on 13/3/2026. So do our whole family. We took a family photo with her on the day of parting.

 

It is my good fortune to have you, Xiao Lan. Good bye and all the best. I hope to see you on the road one day.

 

Da Bai came into our family on the day Xiao Lan left. I have since driven her for slightly more than 2 weeks with slightly more than 1,000 km mileage.

 

It seems almost fated to have Da Bai. I visited the showroom because the agent for another brand was having his day off when I called. I then decided to visit Da Bai's showroom with the intention to just get a best deal for comparison.

However the agent who served me was so sincere and I managed to get almost whatever I asked for. In the end I put pen to paper and confirmed my relationship with Da Bai on the spot.

 

I am slowly getting used to Da Bai now. She has lot more functions than Xiao Lan, not least the voice command which the kids loved to play with.

 

"Hello Baby. Please open the sunshade."

 

"Hello Baby. Please turn on the aircon."

 

"Hello Baby. Please play some music."

 

I guess Da Bai is also a head turner. Recently a lady approached me to chat about the car. She said she has seen my car for 2 days already and was hoping to catch the owner.

 

Also unlike what others said, there is no range anxiety for me at all. I don't actually understand why would some people feel that.

 

EV chargers are everywhere now. Nowadays when I enter a carpark I just move into the EV charging lot, plug in and go run my errands. When I get back I just remove the plug and drive off. Just like juicing up your phone whenever you see a wall socket.

It doesn't matter how much it got juiced up. Just let the charging do the job in the time the car is idling in the parking lot while you do your stuff.

 

To me this is the premise of EV. To charge while you do your stuff. Not finding stuff to do while charging.

 

Couple of days ago I had this shiok experience. I was meeting a friend at Ang Mo Kio for lunch and the carpark was full with several cars waiting for parking lot.

 

I literally just drove into an EV charging lot, plug in and went off to meet my friend.

 

I will probably write a review on Da Bai, maybe with the running cost too, when I get to know her deeper.

 

For now I'll continue to tinkle and have fun with the different functions.

My Review of Yuen Kee Dumpling

TL:DR: I wouldn't queue more than 15 min for Yuen Kee. At least not for myself. 

Have walked past the Yuen Kee Dumpling outlet at Fortune Centre many times on weekends and there is always a long queue outside without fail.

Nevertheless I never had the urge to try it until recently when wifey told me of her favourable experience at another outlet.

So today I made a trip down to Fortune Centre and lucky me, there is a seat for me almost immediately. I guess being a weekday and being alone helps!

The outlet is pretty small with probably 20 seats or so. Didn't really count.

Ordering is pretty standard. Via the self ordering kiosk outside or by scanning the QR code on the table. 

So here's my take:

I ordered the corn and pork dumpling with scallion oil noodles along with a side of fried pork wanton. No drink was ordered. 

The dumplings are pretty interesting in flavour. The corns add a refreshing crunch and help to balance out the taste of the pork.

The noodles are a disappointment in both texture and flavour. The al dente element that I was looking out for is missing. The all-important scallion oil flavour is lacking.

The fried pork wanton comes with thin skin which is evidently different from other places. The wanton I had were fried to a crisp but I find them a tad too oily. After four pieces I had to stop eating the skin. The wanton flavour doesn't lingers in my mind too.

Service-wise can't be faulted. The staff is friendly and efficient. The chilli oil is empty though and I had to make do with whatever I can scoop out. Not really a big deal to me anyway. 

Verdict: I wouldn't queue more than 15 min for Yuen Kee. At least not for myself. 

Luckily I got a seat almost right away just now.

Overall food: 3/5

Service: 3.5/5

Ambience: 3/5

February 2026 Updates - Tale of 3 Purchases and 2 Sales

1st purchase

 

I've finally decided not to be held hostage by the oil companies anymore. These people hike up their pump price whenever there is justification but take ages to reduce when crude price comes down.

 

I took the plunge and bought an EV last Friday.

 

Have been thinking about this for some time because of the above but what firmed up my mind to make the move are three primary reasons:

 

Firstly, my current car is left with less than four years of COE. While there is still time to consider my choices, the trade-in value also correspondingly goes down with time.

 

Secondly, I saw a report recently which states that the number of COE to be released in the coming quarter will be reduced. This is in contrary to what I have thought.

Last but not least, the move by the government to reduce the PARF rebate recently shows that they are firm on their push towards EVs for the local roads.

 

I have actually narrowed my choice to two models recently - BYD Seal 6 and Aion V.

 

The plan is to compare both and take the one that offers the best deal.

 

So last Friday I have planned to go to the BYD showroom. However the sales contact that I had was on his off day. So I popped by the Aion showroom instead.

 

Long story short, what was supposed to be a chat to get the best package evolved into a purchase because the sales person managed to give me what I want.

 

I was impressed by the test drive too. So was wifey who sat as a rear passenger.

 

Honestly, it's hard to find another SUV in the market at this price point that comes close to the spaciousness, features and comfort that the Aion V offers.

 

2nd purchase

 

Second purchase also happened on the same day - Ascendas REIT.

 

This is an accumulation to existing holdings.

 

Have been queuing at $2.69 for couple of days and managed to get it on the last trading day on the month. Was pretty sure I would get it sooner or later since this price has been tested a few times over the week already.

 

As mentioned before for this counter, anything less than $2.70 is a buy.

 

3rd purchase and 1st sale

 

Tried the OCBC precious metals account. Bought my first tranche of paper silver and sold them slightly more than two weeks later for a profit of S$466.14.

 

2nd sale

 

This is for a put option that I wrote for a premium of US$2.80.

Big news

The strike by Israel and the US on Iran, and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by the latter on Israel and US bases around Middle East have a definite impact on various markets. However the magnitude and how long it stays on the temporal scale remains to be seen.

To me it all boils down to one person - Donald Trump, and how wide he wants this latest conflict to be.

Ultimately when this guy wage a war, it all boils down to one thing - oil. Same for Venezuela, same for Iran.

It's so delusionary that he feels he should be getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

So what's this means for me on the investment front?

On my main income portfolio, it probably means suddenly there would be more opportunities at least in the coming week to add new counters that I have been eyeing or accumulate to existing positions.

On the put option that I've just sold, I have to wait and see if the counter dives. Fundamentally the counter is pretty solid. However if I gets assigned I would take it up since the strike price is one which I am comfortable to pay for owning this counter.

On the precious metals side, it seems like they have already ran up and logically so since it's a flight to safety for investors. For me I would wait for the next opportunity to trade for this asset class.

On the more immediate front, I need to go top up petrol now before anything else.

Ciao!

January 2026 Updates

First purchase of the year: Comfort Delgro @ $1.45 to add on to existing holdings

Portfolio value continues to climb with the market though it did not close the month at ATH. 

Cut loss for PYPL and DIDIY to divert the funds elsewhere.

Silver is looking interesting after the sharp fall over the weekend. Might initiate a position in paper silver if it drops below $100.

Reviewing my portfolio cost yield

New year new beginning.

 

Decided to do a review on the cost yield of my individual holdings since it is one of the most important metrics to me. I'm an income investor afterall.

 

I also looked at the recent trend of the individual counters to see if they are paying more (or less) over the years.

 

Not looking at other fundamentals for this exercise. Any fundamental analysis can easily take up a blog post of its own.

My target yield is minimum 5%.

CapitaLand Investment (CLI) is an exception to the rule. It is a recent addition to the portfolio and the less than 5% yield was already known when I made the move.

I went ahead because at that time I have no other more attractive counters to put my funds in. Also CLI has given dividend in species previously so I felt the 4.58% yield is acceptable.

 

Question

Looking at the results, it is obvious CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) is a laggard both in terms of yield against cost and dividend trend.

It is also the worst performer in my portfolio in terms of capital loss as mentioned here previously.

 

Now the question is what will I do for this counter?

 

Based on today's closing price of $0.805, I am staring at a capital loss of $8,015.42.

 

My cumulative dividends for CLCT over the years amounted to $4,868.91.

 

Hence net loss is $3,146.51.

 

Option 1: Continue to hold and collect dividends while waiting for price to recover.

 

Issue with this is I don't see any catalyst for recovery in the market that CLCT is operating in. Rental reversion for all three asset types is in negative territory. The downtrend of annual dividends is a double whammy. There is also the opportunity cost involved.

On the other hand, there might be some bright spark this year from the ROI of their 5% investment in CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT (CLCR) which is currently trading above IPO price.

Option 2: Sell now and reinvest in other counters or assets. This might be a quicker way to recover my loss.

Issue with this is there are no other dividend counters that are attractive enough to me at the moment. Nevertheless I can put the funds in my US / HK portfolio or gold / silver though that will mean my dividends receivable will take a hit this year.

Action

For now I'm inclined to wait for the next financial update from CLCT before making my move. I'm also interested to see what they will do with the ROI from CLCR investment. If it does not flow down to existing unitholders, I guess I would have more clarity in my decision by then.