My Portfolio

The key to my long-term approach in building a portfolio of "war machines" is sustainability — creating enough resilience to withstand risks and recessions. To achieve this, I focus on developing multiple sources of passive income. I’ve always viewed my cash holdings as an army of soldiers, patiently awaiting the commander’s signal to seize and secure assets capable of generating steady cash flow. Over time, as the army grew stronger, I was able to diversify and deploy these soldiers to conquer even more income-generating components.

(Okay… maybe I’ve played a few too many war games, lol.)

The idea is simple: make our money work for us, not the other way around.

Over the years, I’ve built four distinct "war machines" to generate passive income. Each one varies in its level of consistency and sustainability, but together, they form a resilient system designed to weather different financial climates.

The First War Machine -  Dividend Income

 

The first "war machine" that began generating passive income for me dates back to 2008, during the infamous Global Financial Crisis. I gradually built up this portfolio over the years. Currently, it's heavily weighted toward REITs, most of which were acquired during the minor downturns of 2015 and 2016. I also made a major adjustment in 2020, taking advantage of the volatility during the pandemic.

My general strategy is to stay invested for the long term, with a focus on consistent passive income. Trading is kept to a minimum—unless Mr. Market presents a clear opportunity. Otherwise, the portfolio remains largely unchanged month to month.

The Second War Machine - Property rental Income

The second war machine is a traditional source of passive income — property rental. No, it’s not one of those beautiful condominiums we see all over Singapore. It’s just a simple HDB flat.

I purchased my own HDB home in 2011 and have been renting out my parents’ flat to generate rental income. While it may not be the most profitable property or hold the same value as a private condo, it’s fully paid off, with zero loan — and that makes a big difference. Monthly maintenance costs are low, and sometimes even zero, thanks to the GST Rebate.

That’s one of the main differences between private properties and HDB flats. Private properties come with higher maintenance fees and don’t enjoy rebates. Because of this, we’ve been able to sleep peacefully, even during months when the flat sat empty. Since 2012, we’ve only had 10 months without tenants — overall, the rental income has been stable and dependable.

The Third War Machine - Fixed Deposit Annual Returns

The third war machine is a smaller one — Fixed Deposits. These are designed to generate passive income over the long term, on a fixed schedule. The main purpose is to fully utilise surplus cash from rental income by putting it to work rather than letting it sit idle.

Fixed Deposits offer greater security, as they are insured under the Singapore Deposit Insurance Scheme. At the moment, we have three different Fixed Deposits, each maturing and paying out in a different month. My goal is to eventually establish four Fixed Deposits, with payouts staggered across each quarter. This will help ensure a consistent and stable cash flow throughout the year.

Many would say that Singapore Savings Bonds offer better rates. But my goal is to create consistent returns in the form of cash flow. While Fixed Deposits typically require a waiting period of around one year to yield returns, my strategy is to stagger them across different months.

It’s the same core idea — making money work for us — but spread out over different periods. With enough distribution, these deposits begin to generate interest on a regular cycle, typically every 2 to 3 months.

This might sound a bit confusing, so here’s a simple example:

NTUC Fixed D - pay in January
Hong Leong Fixed D - pay in March
OCBC Fixed D - pay in May
DBS Fixed D - pay in July

So by spreading them out, we gets a more consistent return on a regular basis. All these capital also functioned as secondary emergency funds which we could terminate in times of need.

The Fourth War Machine - The DBS Multiplier

Most Singaporeans are likely familiar with our local bank, DBS. The DBS Multiplier Account is a special type of savings account that allows account holders to earn higher interest rates based on the number and type of eligible transactions made each month.

 

In February 2020, DBS revised its policy and began recognizing dividends as part of the "Income" component in the Multiplier Account. This change meant that the account no longer required a salary credit as a mandatory condition to earn higher interest rates.

This update aligned almost perfectly with my First War Machine — the dividend portfolio. It allowed me to maximise returns by crediting dividend income directly into the Multiplier Account. At the same time, I optimised my emergency fund by moving it from a regular savings account into the Multiplier Account, effectively leveraging its higher interest tier without changing my overall risk profile.

After experimenting with this setup for three months, the interest payout was noticeably higher than what I would get from a normal savings account. By leveraging my “sleeping” emergency fund, the extra interest was enough to cover some of my monthly bills.

My first war machine is now generating income on an almost regular basis — except for 2 to 3 “cold” months when there may be no dividend payouts. So, I can expect consistent returns from this fourth war machine about 9 to 10 months annually. In one move, it has expanded the scope of both my dividend war machine and my emergency fund.

I’ve always emphasized the importance of finding ways to make our money work harder, generating passive income for us rather than the other way around. This machine fits perfectly with that strategy — once it’s set up, it keeps working for me without any further effort.

The Future Is On — Not The End Yet

I’m always on the lookout for new platforms and opportunities to create additional streams of passive income. The goal is to avoid relying on just one source and instead build multiple income engines to ensure long-term sustainability. Aye — a down-to-earth, practical approach.