Finance Investment Movement 60

So my portfolio chugged along to barely eke above the target at 5.05%, helped by rising values in Singapore stocks and crypto. Renovation expense has been fully paid so the cash account feels a little light, giving a slight uneasy feeling although there's still enough room for an opportunistic snag. I have also found an interim solution for SRS funds doing nothing i.e it's now invested into Fullerton SGD Income Fund. The expectation is for a close to 4% steady dividend yield. Let's see what the performance is like after six months.

My company decided not to give an increment this year, citing uncertain economic forces. It's now consecutive years where the employees got their hopes dashed. What were they expecting? Admittedly, the signs were clear. Revenue fell, margins squeezed and decreased forward orders. Thus, there could have been less disappointment if employees were realistic. In my conversation with some colleagues, what worries most is that they do not have much savings. I was also surprised to hear many of them do not invest, even in a simpler product like T-bill. Yet, some consoled themselves, saying they looked forward to the next round of CDC vouchers. That gave me an uncomfortable feeling. Cost of living issues are persistent and becoming entrenched. We risk getting caught in an inflationary cost environment along with stagnant wages. This is turning out to be a tough year.

Dividends as of July 2025: $5346.01 (avg $763.71 per month)

Tip: Santa Maria Valpolicelia 2019, pinot like, blueberries, a light lunch companion

Month of July 2025

Home was perpetually dusty as the renovation works continued. We walked around in slippers and stayed within the rooms that were untouched. After a month of eating takeaways, I craved for home cooked food. Finally that happened, after the kitchen was done and the refrigerator could be restored and restocked. Due to a lack of physical activities and unhealthy diet, I gained 2kg, undoing my efforts over the past year. A health check up is also due so I better go back to being disciplined on the workouts.

There's a disturbing trend that I noticed. More and more, I hear/read of seemingly healthy people falling seriously ill out of nowhere. For example, I'm sure most would have heard about people who suffered cardiac arrests while exercising. Within my second degree contacts, there were four occurrences over the past few months. They ranged from teens to early fifties. Some were unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer and three have since departed. Theories related to diet, vaccination and pollution had been suggested. How about climate change? The excessive use of earth's resources caused a vicious cycle of environmental degradation and now, we struggle to adapt. An unbalanced ecosystem creates new diseases, changes weather patterns and tweaks the unseen atmospheric conditions such that the human body can’t cope. Just look up the record breaking temperatures and its consequences. Even in clean Singapore, my nose is mostly irritated whatever time of the day. This month reminded me to stay focused on good financial outcomes so as to leave the working world before an unfortunate event strikes.

Tip: Saffredi 2015, purple ink, well rounded body, sleek execution

Finance Investment Movement 59

The portfolio is experiencing a big test of its resiliency at the half year mark. Markets had not been kind amid a growing unease and major battles occurring on the ground and online space. Something major appears to be gathering for a breakthrough but the question is whether it's going up or down. Investors are undecided. Hence, as the T-bill and SSB yields continued to decline, my cash hoard stayed idle while waiting for better investment opportunities. Little perks like credit card cashbacks and promotions also dried up as interest rates drift lower. Yet, cost of living issues persist. My expenses for the month increased with food spending being the main factor.

After waiting for so long, the URA Masterplan 2025 had finally been unveiled. One point stood out for me. There's a noticeable provision of land for residential use and quite evenly spread out across the island. That translates to more built up areas, more people and less nature. Is the 10 million population rumor becoming reality? Let's look at some trends. Birth rates are low and schools are merging in response. Life expectancy has improved, therefore more medical facilities are coming up. People are encouraged to work longer so the retirement age gets raised, thereby also instituting increased CPF contribution. COE prices are high and more MRT lines, cycling paths are being planned. Hawker centres and integrated community spaces are sprouting all over the place. By building amenities near residential units, the government hopes people can work from a convenient location, stay healthy and perhaps raise a small family. No coincidence that unit sizes are shrinking once it's accepted that births will not make a U-turn in time, so better to prepare for more immigrants by getting infrastructure in place. To support these, the government secured long term electricity supply deals and diversified food sources. With such good planning, fortunately or not, home prices will be propped up. These measures ensure sustained economic growth and make Singapore an attractive destination for tourists, businesses and migrants. In time to come, we can proclaim the little red dot to be a mega city state.

Dividends as of June 2025: $4744.89 (avg $790.82 per month)

Tip: Amabuki Tokubetsu Junmai, punchy dry, pairs well with heavy food

Month of June 2025

The first day of the month brought about the start of school holidays. It's also when home renovation started while my family flew off to escape the noise and dust. Our hideaway was two hours away, at the sunny paradise of Bali.

We went with no plan, only a broad idea of splitting the entire trip into three blocks. It began at Canggu where our temporary home was a three bedroom villa. The housekeeper waited for us even though it was almost 9pm when we arrived. Yet, our main concern was to tame growling stomachs. The cafes nearby typically close at 11pm and as we were to discover, most are like that throughout the island, probably to cater to tourist nightlife. It was the high season and crowds were visible everywhere. We took in a day trip to Ubud, hung around in Monkey Forest, visited rice plantation and a waterfall. Other activities included La Brisa, massages, haircut and lots of coffee. A highly recommended one is Baked. It's quite the life waking up at 10am, decide on a cafe and then do whatever you feel like.

That changed slightly when we moved to Nusa Dua. Here, the accommodation was an apartment within a hotel premise. Location wise, the roads are better paved and ideal for a quiet retreat, meaning not much within walking distance. The beach was average with lots of seagrass washed ashore, making it look rather dirty. The street outside had a number of restaurants but they were similarly priced like the hotel. Good thing that food delivery was easily available and certainly cheaper. An interesting bit is the delivery riders will message us to inform that they have received the order, thank us for being patient and then, some directly asked for a tip. If the distance was further, we gave 10 - 20k IDR. Most times were spent at the pool and gym. We also had a day at Tanjong Benoa to do watersports. Very importantly, the rooms were so comfortable that at the end of each day, I could lie in bed with a cocktail and just watch Netflix.

Our final stay was at Jimbaran where we had two hotel rooms on the same floor. The famed beach restaurants were right outside our doorstep and the main thing was to catch the sunset. By 4pm, tables were set as the tide receded. Horses appeared to give a ride for fee paying customers. The BBQ smoke was omnipresent no matter where one sat. Amid a man made fog and fading light, the evening view was worth the wait. Another enjoyable place was Waterbom Bali. The resort featured more than ten waterslides, each having a degree of thrill for different ages. The kids played for five hours straight. Other times, we lounged at the beach from late morning with a beer in hand and dipped into the sea which had the best sand and medium waves. Before you know, time just flew by.

This trip was blessed by excellent weather, wonderful cuisines, top notch service, convenient laundry shops, friendly street roaming dogs... the list goes on. Except for a short episode of Bali Belly, even the volcano eruption at Mount Lewotobi didn't matter, we just relaxed and went with the flow.

Tip: Torres Reserva Real 2018, punchy oak, graphite and dark mocha, ready to roll

Finance Investment Movement 58

It was a good resilient month as stocks held up, cryptos marched upwards and options trade went smoothly. Well everything but cash as a chunk was used to fully pay up the tax bill. A monkey off the back until next year. Hence, portfolio improvement target dipped to 4.8%, suggesting that I need to amp up returns. The big problem on hand is how to use idle SRS funds.

There's been a spate of company delisitings from the Singapore stock exchange, with a possibility of up to 16 and counting. It's a big jolt considering that the country prides itself as a financial hub. The optics were so bad till a task force at government level had to be setup. I recall prior to the 2000s, the stock market was a hot flurry of activities. Contra trading, explosive IPO debuts, penny stock intra day volatility etc were such common occurrences that had many people glued to the monitor. Stories of instant windfalls to the tune of few thousand dollars within minutes and lots of chatter even when walking on the streets. Trade orders were being placed over a phone call and lunch crowds gathered outside shops that had a TV display of stock prices. Those were exciting times. However, sentiments changed around mid 2000. Besides financial losses from market downturns, there were increasing issues with incompetent companies made worse by fraud findings. I think people could accept if a company loss is due to normal business operations. But issues such as opaque disclosures, safety compromise and sometimes non-existent sales contributed to an irreversible distrust mood. It happened to local and overseas companies especially from a certain jurisdiction. Personally, till today, that has put me off investing a single cent into those from a particular country on the SGX. Thus, I feel there’s a severe lack of confidence and better choices elsewhere. What Singapore lacks is the presence of big name local companies such as TSMC that could hold global investors’ attention. Once upon a time, Creative held that mantle but since then, there had been no notable ones. Add in some exciting startups and get the ball rolling. It can’t be just the banks and Reits doing the heavy lifting. How this is tackled and whether interest can be revived will be an uphill challenge. 

Dividends as of May 2025: $3735.99 (avg $747.20 per month)

Tip: Amabuki Tokubetsu Junmai, punchy dry, pairs well with heavy food

Month of May 2025

Many of us often find ourselves deep in work and family duties mode, leaving maybe the weekend for a little time off. A friend commented that her job is fully flexible with a laptop yet she ends work typically after 8pm, so her social circle evolved to people whom she could meet during pockets of free time during a day. She seemed content with the ability to maneuver her activities although our conversation was occasionally interrupted by incoming phone calls seeking her inputs. Is this arrangement doable in most companies? Within a company setup, I think it's too difficult for certain functions such as logistics and customer service. The problem is how to provide enough options across different departments and ensure a level playing field. Even though the government promoted flexible work for some time now, I still don't see adequate solutions. My friend is fortunate to have found a suitable compromise.

There was a reunion with secondary school classmates where our last gathering was three years ago. It was interesting to find big contrasts in the individual circumstances. One went jobless last year, took up PHV license and currently works in a construction company. Another is a car salesman and just glad he didn't end up in the bottom five performers during the last review. He provided an intriguing observation though. Due to the pay slips he has access to, clients are better remunerated now and general spending power is strong. That goes against another friend in HR consultancy who commented that most residents are finding expenses tough. Then, everyone focused their attention on the friend who needed to borrow money from $5000 per person. A recent period of market volatility caused his trading account to be suspended. Probed further, he revealed an unknown broker name that traded in crypto leveraged products. The mechanism is, when a person puts funds in, it becomes part of a pooled liquidity. Basically, over few months, he made and withdrew more than $500k, so it seems legitimate. One fine day, margin call came, the platform froze along with its funds and requested everyone to top up. It's like a one for all, all for one scenario. The total sum required is $235k. We vehemently stated it was a scam. He stands to lose $2m in profit if it remains in limbo and I hope he will just let it go.

A cousin turned 50 and threw a mega celebration onboard a yacht. I wasn't keen to go as I had bad episodes of sea sickness before. The first time it happened was on a navy ship. The doctor prescribed a wrist aid and medication, none worked and I endured five days of headache and vomiting. As I got older, being a car passenger sometimes induced motion sickness as well. So I was very apprehensive before this birthday cruise trip and took medication while hoping for the best. As it turned out, I coped well and enjoyed the evening sunset. My wife fared worse as she drank a punched out mixture of alcohols and threw up. While heading to shore, there was more drama. The boat's power steering malfunctioned and we were left stranded at sea, drifting along with the waves. Rescue boats were activated and arrived to ferry us back on land. This added two extra hours and I was just happy to reach home and settle the wife in bed.

Tip: Charly Nicolle Chablis 2022, autumn pear, honeysuckle, young and fresh minerality