TJJ Learning Journal | Dividend Investing for FIRE

For the last decade, the narrative was "Sell Singapore, Buy America." The US had the growth, the tech, and the excitement. In 2026, I believe the script is flipping. While the West deals with a myriad of political drama, the Singapore market offers sanity, stability and strength. The Valuation Gap Right now, the US market is priced for perfection. The S&P 500 is trading at a premium that assumes nothing will ever go wrong.  Singapore, however, remains fairly priced. Taking an average P/E ratio of the STI gives us around 16.8 at today's prices, while the S&P500 sits at a P/E of around 28. The valuation gap is glaring and investors must tread carefully to avoid companies that cannot justify their lofty valuations with earnings growth.  What remains even more compelling are the dividend yields offered by stocks in the SG market. Many blue chip companies and REITs offer attractive, sustainable and growing dividend yields of 4-6%. Investors in these companies are paid ...

I recently had a conversation with someone who mentioned something along the lines of: "You are 23. Why are you reading annual reports? You should be studying, networking and partying instead." He could be right. I could save time by doing automated investing and earning average returns. But I don't invest just for the returns. I do this because I enjoy the process . The Learner's Mindset I don't view my time studying the market as "work" trying to generate Alpha. By reading into companies and analyzing their financials, I am gaining a wider picture of how Singapore's economy functions. I am learning to read analyst reports, understand balance sheets and follow business news. These are skills that I hope will help in my career and any business I take on. I will have a certain level of business acumen that other Computer Science students may not have.  It's Not An Expensive Hobby Some people pour plenty of hours into hobbies like Golf or Gaming.  ...

For the past couple weeks, it felt like stocks only knew how to go up. Prices drifted higher and higher on holiday optimism. But looking at the screens this week, the holiday is definitely coming to an end. Geopolitical tensions are flashing across the news ticker again. The market is remembering that the world is actually a messy, complicated place. I took the chance to accumulate some defensive positions in my portfolio. The Value Play, UOB : Everyone loves DBS and OCBC right now. But as an investor, the price tag matters as much as popularity. I picked up shares at $35.87 this week, seeing that it trades at a relatively lower price-to-book of 1.17 while offering an attractive dividend yield. UOB offers a margin of safety while remaining a blue chip company with solid business fundamentals to remain profitable and survive a financial crisis. Great Eastern : Trading at a P/E of just 7.3, this is a classic "defensive" asset. It is cash-rich, boring, and pays a reliable divide...