STE's Stocks Investing Journey

When you finally cross the finish line and transition from accumulating wealth to spending it, the mental shift is massive. For years, you’ve been focused on growing the pie. Suddenly, you have to figure out how to eat it without running out before you die. In the local financial community, especially around Singapore, dividend investing is often treated as the holy grail of retirement. The idea of living off passive income, whether from REITs, blue-chip banks, or CPF Life , without ever touching your principal capital sounds incredibly comforting. It’s the classic "don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs" philosophy. <AI Image> But if you look across the broader global retirement landscape, there is another heavyweight champion: the Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) strategy, often associated with the famous 4% rule. Instead of relying solely on whatever cash cash flows your portfolio spits out, an SWR approach involves systematically selling down a diversified po...

Time really flies. It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming the new year, and now we are already crossing the midway mark of 2026. It is that time of the year again when I sit down, look through the numbers, and do my routine portfolio review. Keeping track of where things stand helps me maintain an honest view of my investment journey, especially now that I am living off this nest egg in retirement. Mid-Year Performance Reflection For the first half of 2026, my (YTD) XIRR stands at 5.28% . Looking at this figure, I can say I am genuinely happy with the results. Let’s be realistic, not every year is going to hand us double-digit gains on a silver platter. Every year behaves differently, and a positive return of over 5% in six months is a steady, respectable outcome that keeps the portfolio moving forward. Watching portfolio returns can sometimes feel exactly like playing with a yo-yo , they just love to swing wildly up and down based on whatever mood the market wakes up in. Earl...

Having spent so many years navigating the ups and downs of the stock market, I am more convinced than ever that equity investing boils down to just two words: market cycles. <Image credit: Fidelity Investment> There is no such thing as permanent value in the stock market; there are only shifting trends that take turns dominating different periods. What was highly sought after yesterday won't necessarily stay in the limelight today, and the "bad stock" that nobody wants right now doesn't mean it won't have its day to shine tomorrow. The future of a stock is always an unknown variable. Think back to a few years ago when the world was trapped in a super low-interest-rate environment. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) were the absolute darlings of local Singaporean investors. Back then, who didn't have their portfolio packed to the brim with REITs? High dividend yields and stable cash flows made them look like the ultimate safe haven. All blogs, YT ch...