If you earn a substantial income but have yet to build significant wealth, you might be a HENRY, which stands for “High Earner, Not Rich Yet”.
A high salary should make investing easy.
Earning more won’t fix the leak when bills, mortgages, and lifestyle upgrades swallow every raise you get.
The real trick is to turn the money you made into assets that work for you.
What Should HENRYs Look for in Stocks?
What HENRYs should look for in stocks is neither the highest yield nor the hottest name.
Focus on companies with reliable profit growth, high returns on invested capital, and a strong economic moat.
HENRYs tend to also benefit from a long investment horizon, allowing them to absorb short-term market drawdowns in pursuit of long-term capital appreciation.
Centurion Corp (SGX: OU8) — The Growth Compounder
Centurion Corporation builds and manages purpose-built accommodation, including worker dormitories in Singapore and Malaysia and student housing in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong.
As of 30 June 2026, the group managed 85,528 beds across 43 operational assets.
Singapore’s construction pipeline supports demand for migrant-worker accommodation, while tighter dormitory standards raise the cost and complexity of operating in the sector.
This favours established operators such as Centurion, which have the scale and operating experience.
For 1H2026, ended 30 June, revenue jumped 31% year on year (YoY) to S$184.9 million, while core net profit at the group level grew 34% to S$87.7 million.
However, core net profit attributable to equity holders fell 16% to S$48.8 million, reflecting a larger minority interest share following the listing of Centurion Accommodation REIT (SGX: 8C8U), or CAREIT.
Capacity is expected to reach around 87,249 beds in 2027, with a further 9,770 beds in the development pipeline through 2029.
Its relationship with CAREIT also allows suitable assets to be sold to the REIT and proceeds redeployed into new projects.
However, the expansion remains partly debt-funded, with net gearing increasing to 24% from 12% at end-2025.
Occupancy is another risk to watch, as Singapore dormitory occupancy fell to 94% from 99%.
For HENRYs with long horizons, Centurion offers earnings growth potential through continued expansion.
Sheng Siong (SGX: OV8) — The Dividend Grower
Sheng Siong operates around 90 supermarkets in Singapore, mainly in the heartlands, with three more stores expected to open in the third quarter.
Grocery demand is defensive, cash generation is strong and its balance sheet carries no debt.
For FY2025, revenue rose 9.9% YoY to S$1.57 billion, while net profit grew 8.5% to S$149.2 million.
In 1H2026, revenue and net profit both increased 11.9% YoY to S$855.4 million and S$81.0 million, respectively.
Its latest interim dividend rose 17% YoY to S$0.0375 per share, representing a payout ratio of about 70%.
With more than S$402.3 million of cash and no debt, the dividend appears well supported.
Sheng Siong has also been continuously adding new stores, providing a modest avenue for continued expansion.
Since HENRYs may not need dividend income today, pumping payouts back in is the way to go.
Reinvesting payouts to buy more shares can create a compounding cycle which strengthens the compounding effect over time.
The trade-off is valuation.
Based on a share price of S$3.28 on 4 September 2026, Sheng Siong’s dividend yield has compressed to around 2.3%.
For HENRYs seeking a defensive business with growing payouts, Sheng Siong can help turn today’s income into tomorrow’s income stream.
DBS Group (SGX: D05) — The Blue-Chip Anchor
DBS is Singapore’s largest bank and can serve as the portfolio’s defensive core.
In 2Q2026, net profit reached a record S$3.1 billion, bringing the 1H2026 profit to S$6.0 billion.
Return on equity was 17.9%, while its non-performing loan ratio remained low at 1.0%.
Its reported CET1 ratio stood at 16.6% on a transitional basis.
DBS paid S$0.81 per share (S$0.66 ordinary + S$0.15 capital return) for the second quarter.
Here’s the catch: DBS currently trades at around three times book value.
That premium reflects its strong profitability and capital strength, but also leaves less room for disappointment.
For HENRYs, DBS may therefore be better viewed as a quality anchor providing income and stability rather than a bargain.
How a HENRY Could Think About Portfolio Construction
| Stock | Portfolio Role | Main Objective |
| Centurion | Growth compounder | Capital appreciation |
| Sheng Siong | Dividend grower | Rising future income |
| DBS Group | Blue-chip anchor | Stability and income |
Centurion provides growth, Sheng Siong offers dividend growth, and DBS brings stability and income.
The three need not be held equally.
As the saying goes, ‘don’t put all your eggs into one basket’ – diversify across sectors and geographies.
Anchor individual picks with broad ETFs to cut single-stock risk.
The Biggest HENRY Investing Mistake: Lifestyle Inflation
The biggest investing mistake is not picking the wrong stock but allowing spending to rise with every pay increase.
The number that matters is not what you earn, but what percentage of it you consistently convert into investments.
A practical approach is to automate investing shortly after payday and direct part of each bonus into your portfolio before it gets spent.
What HENRYs Should Avoid
Stop chasing trending stocks and taking excessive leverage just because your income can comfortably service the interest.
While leverage magnifies your returns, don’t forget it magnifies mistakes too.
Be especially careful about concentrating too much wealth in your employer’s stock.
Beware of yield traps masquerading as bargains, and avoid trading in and out every time markets wobble.
Get Smart: Turn Income Into Assets
Being a HENRY can be a stage and not a permanent condition.
Quality growth stocks, dividend growers and established blue chips each play a different role in closing the gap between earning well and actually being wealthy.
The goal is to reach the point where your portfolio works as hard as you do.
The world’s gotten unpredictable, but some Singapore companies have quietly kept thriving. You’ve probably seen them in your daily life. And yes, they’ve kept paying dividends through it all. Meet 5 resilient stocks built to navigate global storms. Get the free report here and see how they’ve done it.
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Disclosure: Si-Fan T. owns shares of DBS.
