Finance Investment Movement 68

As I tallied up the numbers for March, there was a sigh of relief. I knew my stock value would drop by a fair bit, recent expenses had gone up and there wasn't much interest income. So, the portfolio was somewhat saved by salary and CPF contributions. It improved to 4.7%, just past the halfway mark of my target. To feel worried or glad, that's hard to say.

Year after year, there just seems to be problem after problem. Surely, everyone feels increasing stress, in personal and corporate life. At least my situation is not so bad, there are many others suffering more. That's what I tell myself. Indeed, I could still afford certain luxuries, my consumption pattern has not changed much. My worry is more about the next few years. I think it's certain things will get worse from now till end of 2027. The global disruption of energy source will cause a restructure of supply chain, increase basic business costs and make livelihoods harder. Within each industry, further consolidation will result in concentration of influence wielded by few people. Actually, looking into history, hasn't that always been the case? The Chinese dynasties provide plentiful examples of dominant figures, followed by struggles and an eventual downfall. Or think about those glorious corporations in areas of film media, telecommunications, accounting etc that eventually folded. The repetition bears reminding. Will we see a similar event in the modern era? I have no doubts. An example is the Epstein case that could have set off fireworks but it's been suppressed. Meanwhile, here's what I'm hoping for; a more caring, gracious and helpful society. Unfortunately, in most people whom I interacted with, they're not bad, just feel insecure and being selfish is a kind of self defence. When that perpetuates onto voters who choose a country head, the scale magnifies and so we live in the present consequences. My response is to activate survival mode for two years. See whether years of financial preparation can stand on its feet.

Dividends as of March 2026: $2106.49 (avg $702.16 per month)

Tip: Domaine Des 3 Cellier Rouge 2023, forward young, grapey, vibrant nose and best now

Month of March 2026

As expected, petrol prices have shot up due to the ongoing Middle East conflicts. I'm trying to ration the number of driving trips, eat less outside, consolidate online purchases and spend more prudently. It was a surprise then, when my wife informed that certain air tickets around year end were still going at good early bird prices. Did demand for overseas travel drop that much? I can understand if it's regarding flights to and from the volatile regions. Within a day, I managed to snag tickets from Singapore to Sapporo (with one transfer) and Tokyo to Singapore for $580 each. There was no additional fuel surcharge indicated so probably got lucky there.

After years of inaction and inertia, a dinner date was set in Katong with three secondary school friends. I had no idea how they looked like now even in this age of social media. Good thing they were still recognizable as I arrived earliest. Interestingly, all of them were working for various banks in different areas. One was in payments, another in events and the last was doing product launch. We spoke like the old days, without inhibition and casual. Everyone has a family member who either is suffering from cancer or severely impaired due to age. Since we're of the same age, it's easy to relate how our lives have evolved even if the trajectory differs. The reason we came together boils down to a friendship forged many years ago. It was also to remember a classmate who, two months ago, slept and never woke again. No visible cause, no sign and no word left behind. I was at the wake and saddened to see his mother, a broken lady who lost her only son. He was the first among forty friends to fall. My heart aches whenever I think of him. Don't wait, go reconnect with people you love or once shared a fond memory with.

I was a proud parent after attending the graduation ceremony of my eldest son. He had completed a Diploma in banking and finance from SIM University. Being one of the youngest in the cohort, he held his own and in the process, I saw his development from being extremely shy to now having some friends to hang out with. Academically, there was not much to fret as he comfortably attained GPA 3 out of 4. He also found motivation to build up physically, from a failing 2.4km runner to being an average one now. Next, he heads to the army where as a Pes B soldier, there will be more challenges ahead. I await to hear the stories about this phase of life. 

Tip: Fleur de Clinet 2013, cassis with a little tobacco, easy and light, nose was underhit

Finance Investment Movement 67

The elephant in the room just got bigger. From one conflict to another, there's hardly space to breathe especially for a small place like Singapore. We are after all, a price taker, so any tremble in the global markets becomes pronounced that filters through our entire economy. The story has only just begun. For my portfolio's February performance, it increased to 3.8% even though stocks got hit. The silver lining came in the form of cash savings and improvement in Aud where I hold a fixed deposit. Further voluntary housing refund was made due to lack of investment options. Speaking of which, I'm eyeing some exposure to gold and maybe bank stocks if they got beaten down.

I made a bad mistake, an expensive one as well. Have you heard of the fat finger? I didn't press a number but instead selected a wrong option. When the Iran war erupted, I thought to sell a little bit of ST Engg so as to raise some funds for other potential purchases. Forgetting this was from the SRS account, on the Vickers app, I clicked the usual sell button which linked to the CDP account. In fact, it was not discovered until a review of my messages on the same day which indicated the confirmed sale. Realizing this, a buy was initiated to close this trade but the market was closing and didn't go through. Feeling anxious, the next morning, I promptly entered the order again. Who knew the market would rocket much higher and before I could react, it had gone way beyond my buy price. Therefore, there was no choice but to adjust the buy in price. I thought that was it, take the loss and move on. Yet, it's not the end of the episode. An email came through and basically read like this; because the first day (T) buy order was not executed on the same day, that sell position became a naked order and would be forced close by the stock exchange on settlement date (T+2) plus penalty fees. I quickly called the Vickers trade desk and after clarification, agreed to amend the initial order to transact on SRS account while also closing the additional buy order I did on day two (T+1). In total, I made a loss of about $800, including admin fees. Just like that, a month's worth of grocery expense was gone. This was a painful experience. It important to understand how the system works before making a trade.

Dividends as of February 2026: $1111.87 (avg $555.93 per month)

Tip: Reserve De La Comtesse 2014, matured dark chocolate, pine bark, wonderful nose, to drink now

Month of February 2026

Right before Chinese New Year, I made two working trips. The first to China was a routine one so as to celebrate the festive season with friends and colleagues before they break off for the holiday. The second to Malaysia was a last minute request by a client who wanted to have a meeting in person. However, this was easier said than done. As flights were typically full during this period, my colleague and I scrambled to find tickets to Kota Kinabalu. The number of flights out of Singapore were few and didn't match the timing we wanted. Another option was to go via Senai airport but that meant having to navigate the Causeway congestion. So we settled for the last resort which was to fly from Singapore to KL and do a transfer. Upon arrival at KL, we needed to obtain the next leg's boarding pass and went to the transfer counter. The service staff said it was available in the mobile application. My colleague had no issue. So I opened the AirAsia app and showed him that my details couldn't be retrieved. Therefore, I requested for a printout. He mumbled something into the walkie talkie then told me to go past immigration and check in again. There was about an hour before the next flight. Instead of spending time to go through passport control and security checks, I suggested to the staff to check his ticketing system and try to print out the boarding pass. He reluctantly tried and repeatedly toggled my mobile app. This went on for five minutes. A long queue had formed behind. He consulted his fellow staff seated beside and voila, a printed boarding pass appeared! The level of competency is well, on the next level and I was just glad to walk away. The day had just started and worsened with the aircraft coming in thirty minutes late. Our meeting was to start at 1500H and whatever buffer built in wasn't enough. It became a rush from touchdown, being late by twenty minutes and completed the meeting in two hours. Thereafter, we were on the road back to the airport, this time for a direct flight home. Finally, to hear the stewardess' voiceover, "To Singaporeans and residents of Singapore, welcome home", that always evokes a feeling of comfort, never mind even if it's already 2300H. It was also the first time I ever had breakfast, lunch and dinner in an airport on the same day.

After coming home from the above trip, the feasting period officially began. From reunion meals to buffet lunches, it was crunch time for the stomach. I had a number of irresistible hotpots and five loheis where I proclaimed Jade Palace's to be the best this year. In between, I tried to sneak in a bit of gym time and ginseng tea. At this point, I don't dare to step onto the weighing scale.

Tip: Benriach The Sixteen, butterscotch, apricot, honey, faint peat and creamy spice

Finance Investment Movement 66

It's nice to start off the year by checking the CPF interest income which as usual, did the heavy lifting in contributing to the 2.8% portfolio improvement target. In this new year, the hurdle to climb will be 8%, to reflect expediency towards my retirement plan. There were no slouchers as the STI rally shone through with ST Engg being the star in my small stock basket. Time in the market proved right which I fortunately did not waiver when prices were attractive for disposal. As things stand, I intend to initiate positions in new stocks with a $20000 budget but this would probably not be in near term due to high prices. Yet, with cryptos seemingly falling sharply, it's time once again to hold on to the seat belt.

Chinese New Year celebrations have started and my schedule already shows many upcoming dinners. In a couple of lunches with the seasonal menu, I noticed the prices hadn't changed from previous year. Reservations were surprisingly still available at last minute notice. This doesn't bode well for the festive period. I think it's a hard slog for the food and beverage sector. Not only are consumers and business owners paying more, the trends have shifted towards Chinese cuisine which seems to be a little over saturated. At this rate, we will lose heritage food and variety. Cost inflation basically killed the older and manual laborious food operators that I love. Even school canteens are becoming centralized!  Overall, while economists favor free market competition, I prefer more control to keep a balance in check. Please don't let the muah chee, kueh tutu, oyster cake, satay beehoon etc disappear. I'm willing to pay more. These are local delicacies that aren't replicated elsewhere and pray that day never comes. One Sichuan restaurant less won't impact much, doesn't it?

Dividends as of January 2026: $381.20 (avg $381.20 per month)

Tip: Choyofukumusume Junmai Gingo Summer, gentle crisp, young green grape, medium finish

Month of January 2026

In this era of advanced technologies, many aspects of our life can pretty much be automated. Remember Alexa? It appeared in movies, heralding a future of home appliances commanded by a voice, providing weather updates and playing music suitable to the owner's mood. Many years have since passed, how many people actually use such a device? I have one sitting somewhere in a corner at home. Luckily it's a freebie. My take is, don't rush to use a technology until it's proven. When the Iphone was first launched, I also waited for about a year to let the bugs be resolved. This approach is what I took with regard to digital door locks. Samsung and some Korean brands were the early frontrunners. At one tradeshow, I was tempted to buy but retreated due to the $2000 price tag. Since then, many new brands have sprouted, from China to Europe and even Singapore. Early this month, I asked my second son to do a market research. In one visit, together with my wife, we decided to purchase his recommended choice, Kaadas Q9 that costs close to $800. Within a week, the installation was completed. I don't have to carry keys in my pocket anymore. It's been a smooth transition for a good price.

I met up with a couple of friends from school over dinner. We last met about six months ago and as usual, the conversation doesn't stop. A topic that came up was the soon-to-arrive expected bonus. Public servants received 2.7 months (1 AWS, 1.7 AVC) for last year's work. For the private sector, things are more variable, depending on the industry. My company should be giving 2 months even though market condition was not easy. My friend's husband is a pilot with the national airline, so we gave our congratulations in advance to her. The aviation sector has performed well since Covid as I'm sure people can attest to the deluge of tourists everywhere especially in Japan. Her response was quite shocking. Even though it's reported that aviators should get around seven months of bonus, she mentioned it felt more like three months. Bonus is based on the underlying basic salary and a widely accepted norm. In this instance, her husband's pay has not been restored to the pre-Covid days. She estimated the pay cut he took was around 50%. Adding to his woe is that he missed out on an upgrade (which was due) during the pandemic period. Therefore, the "lost" amount is effectively half of the bonus issued and still counting.

Last month, I mentioned about my aching left knee that's still in recovery mode. It's not gotten worse but neither much better as I dare not place much weight. Instead, the focus has been on stretching and no cardio activities (I don't fancy swimming). Then, after school barely started, my second son sprained his ankle while playing frisbee. Ah, another familiar injury that I used to get playing soccer. I've had at least two sprains per ankle along with a few fingers. My son's condition didn't look that bad but an Xray was taken as a precaution. The RICE method was applied and it looked better after two weeks. For now, he probably has to continue on crutches for a while. If not, next up is the Sinseh where I had my limbs straightened out a few times. In Chinese saying, misfortunes usually come in pairs. I hope no more health concerns for the family this year.

Tip: Marcus Molitor Riesling 2022, good mineral uplift, lingering musk melon, balanced acidity

Finance Investment Movement 65

I looked back on the January post last year (here) and reflected if peace was achieved. That's such a straightforward answer if we simply assess the conflict situations still happening around the world. The only thing I missed out was Venezuela, at least Trump didn't disappoint my view of him being the disruptor. The so called freedom defender chose to begin a new year with a bang and with it, brought the message that the US can and will step in to "resolve" issues, either the soft or hard way. Mr Rubio made it abundantly clear in the aftermath. For investors, the path has been cleared. The US may be broke but it does not appear as one or rather, it will not be. Why so? Through innovation, manipulation, sheer will or perhaps by force. Whichever method works, it doesn't matter. So long Trump is at the seat and not majorly opposed, public expectation for higher returns will power on and that in turn, will drive the trend upwards.

For myself, I'm more than satisfied with the progress made in 2025. The final tally is very close to 8% improvement in overall portfolio. It may not have beaten the S&P but I run my own race, at a pace that I'm comfortable with. In a year of falling interest rates, my equities and SRS were the best performers due to banks and Reits. However, I was let down by the fall in crypto, trading mistakes and inability to add positions. The most surprising statistic was that cash holdings (compared at start and end year) dropped slightly despite big expenditures on renovation and an illness that required specialist treatment.

The dividend income stream is growing although I sense great obstacles ahead. There's not much good yields to be found as the struggle to utilize idle cash is expected to continue. Stocks are overpriced in my opinion. The one constant is I will DCA into Pimco bond fund so as to build up its weight as a portfolio balancer. Over the last two months, I purchased Tbills and SSBs as a last resort. 

Dividends as of December 2025: $10092.74 (avg $841.00 per month)

Tip: Chateau Reysson 2023, purple flowers, young blueberries, to be drunk early