Dividends Collected: July 2026

 

Similar pattern to last year, basically no SGD dividends but Vanguard and iShares ETFs pay dividends this month. Also got some NKE dividend but the withholding tax is painful.

Why is OCBC my 2nd biggest individual stock counter

 

I found it interesting that blogger Baristafire mentioned that OCBC is his largest holding:

https://baristafire1984.blogspot.com/2026/08/why-ocbc-became-largest-holding-in-my.html

Coincidentally, OCBC is my largest SGX-listed individual stock holding and 2nd largest individual stock (behind Lloyds Bank). The rest are ETFs. I started buying OCBC long ago even before OCBC did a 1:1 stock split, and I elected for their DRIP programme to receive shares in lieu of dividend during the time that was operational.

However, after understanding the DBS' commitment to digitalisation and becoming a digital bank, I explained in July 2020 that the only local bank I was buying was DBS. The influence and leadership of Piyush in this regard cannot be overstated.

Managed to overtake S&P500 in July

 

It really isn't easy to beat the S&P500 which is why a fair amount of my funds go into VWRD and VUSD. Nevertheless, since I have some spare funds and ind investing 'interesting' and mentally stimulating, I persist in doing a little bit of stock-picking.

I started off 2026 ahead of the S&P but started losing ground when the S&P500 rallied hard in May (the opposite of "sell in May and go away" happened this year), but I just managed to squeak past in July.

On an absolute return basis, I would be totally thrilled if I somehow manage 10% in 2026 as that would be a huge gain (though less than the $1m+ I made last year).

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Postscript: portfolio climbed another 0.5% overnight. Hope it remains up till end of the year!

Singapore households underinvest in equities

 

By UBS’ calculation, financial assets make up 63.8 per cent of Singapore’s gross household wealth – one of the highest shares in the region. SingStat’s own 2025 fourth-quarter household balance sheet puts the figure at a broadly similar 57.2 per cent. On the surface, this looks like a financially sophisticated population, heavily exposed to markets. Dig one layer deeper, and the picture flips. Equities and securities – the assets actually capable of compounding growth – make up just 11.2 per cent of total household assets, or just over one-fifth of that 57 to 64 per cent financial-assets bucket. The rest is overwhelmingly cash, mandatory CPF savings, and insurance: safe, low-yield instruments, not growth engines. 

Cutting and pasting here for my reference. Based on my conversations with my friends and acquaintances about investing, I am not surprised. Many people seem to think that stocks are risky and property investing is safe. 

On the other hand, holding 20% equities and 80% CPF/cash/insurance policies is not so terrible that it will make you poor.  For reference, the performance of the LionGlobal All Seasons Standard fund, which is a 30% equities/ 70% bond (SGD overweight) fund has a 5.0% CAGR since inception in 2018 while the All Seasons Growth fund (70%/30%) has a 8.1% CAGR.

Bear in mind this is an "average." Some will have more than 20% allocation which is good, some will have less than 20% allocation which is not so good.

My personal target allocation is 90% equities / 10% cash & near-cash.

Springleaf SG61 61 cent prata

I went to Springleaf Prata on a weekday morning to enjoy their SG61 $0.61 plain prata and $0.91 egg prata. It was interesting to people watch and see who else isn't at work and can eat Prata on a weekday. Not surprisingly, it was a mainly female crowd. Not surprising because that is similar to my experience in gyms in weekday mornings - mainly women. I guess it is ironic that most FIRE bloggers seem to be male, but those that are enjoying the FIRE lifestyle are female and don't think it is so unusual that they need to blog about it.

 

Took profit on some Under Armour

 

Sold some Under Armour and a small amount of VOD since there was a recent rally and redeployed some of the cash into McDonalds and VUSD.  

Will continue to sell more if the prices continues to go up. 

Barramundi

 

Barramundi with broccolini, potatoes, and saffron aioli. Lovely meal and fish is relatively healthy (compared to beefsteak 😀). Will be back to regular investing posts soon. If market continues to correct, hope there are bargains to be had...

Eating Healthy vs 'Longevity powder?"

 

After reaching FIRE, many investors are understandably concerned about health and willing to spend on it. I just read that this blogger spent $200 to buy the special longevity powder marketed by the billionaire that wants to live forever.

https://treeofprosperity.blogspot.com/2026/07/personal-update-cheating-death-and.html

Maybe one day there will be such a elixir, but based on the current science, we are not there yet.

I just eat health(ier) and enjoy my food. In order to compensate for my next Wagyu steak meal, I ate a vegetarian Kitsune udon meal with tofu (in the salad and as aburaage) and some mushroom today as the protein source, very tasty. And as always, Matcha Latte.

For information on longevity, its a crowded field with many people pushing their own theories (and maybe marketing products). I strongly recommend the following books as being science-based:

• Out Live by Peter Attia
• Food for Life by Tim Spector

TL:DR?

1. VO2 Max is the no.1 physical metric for longevity
2. Protect your gut health and this will strengthen your immune system
3. There's no magic pill to cheat your way to high VO2Max. You have to put in the work.
4. For gut health you might think you can cheat your way to good gut health by eating probiotic pills but eating health(ier) is the best way to good gut health.