Investors, by nature, are never satisfied.
When markets are down, we kick ourselves for buying too much of the shares that fell.
But when markets are up — as they are today, hovering close to all-time highs — the regret flips.
Why didn’t you buy more of that stock which did so well?
And then comes the more interesting behaviour.
At market highs, investors start looking back at their portfolios and comparing.
Why did you buy less of this winner, and more of that laggard?
Before long, a tempting thought takes shape: should you sell your underperformers and load up on your best performers?
And that’s where the danger starts, my fellow investors.
Living in the past
Take DBS Group (SGX: D05), which closed at S$77 last Friday (11 September 2026).
That’s the very stock The Smart Dividend Portfolio bought back in April 2020, at S$17.58 per share (adjusted for the bank’s one-for-10 bonus issue in 2024).
If you had bought shares alongside the portfolio, you would be a happy camper today.
But here’s the thing: that’s all in the past.
And you cannot live in the past.
What matters is what DBS offers today.
At S$77, the valuation is a far cry from where it was in 2020.
Consider its dividend.
The bank’s trailing dividend yield stands at around 4.1% — but that includes its capital return dividend.
Strip out the S$0.60 of capital returns, and the yield on its ordinary dividends falls to under 3.4%.
Then there’s the price tag: shares are trading at over three times book value.
Simply said, the investment case today is very different from what it was in 2020.
You cannot look at how well the stock has done in the past and conclude that it will do just as well in the future.
A tale of two stocks
Now, contrast that with CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U), or CLAR for short.
The REIT has not done as well as DBS, that’s for sure.
But at S$2.34 per unit, you are getting a trailing distribution yield of 6.4% today.
That’s almost twice the yield of DBS’s ordinary dividends.
It’s the kind of yield which warms the heart of an income investor.
But is it the better buy?
This question comes down to two things: what do you want for your portfolio, and what should you expect from the stock you buy?
Knowing what you want
CLAR is built for income.
Suppose a market correction arrives and every stock starts to fall.
You would be able to lock in even better yields than today’s 6.4% — provided the REIT is able to keep its DPU (distribution per unit) at the same level or higher.
DBS, on the other hand, is priced at a real premium today, and has much more to live up to.
If you buy the bank’s shares, you have to accept the possibility that its share price may fall further.
So, are you looking for capital gains, or are you looking for yield?
These two stocks fulfil different needs.
Knowing what to expect
With the first question settled, the second is about expectations.
DBS Group is trading at a high multiple today.
Hence, we should not expect the same kind of returns the stock has delivered in the past.
As for CLAR, if the REIT is able to maintain its distributions, you will collect your dividends.
But do not expect a multibagger over the next three years.
That would be expecting too much.
Get Smart: Optimise for your needs, not your neighbour
Here’s my suggestion: think less about optimising your portfolio, and more about optimising for your own personal needs.
A retiree, for example, may prefer a higher dividend yield over capital gains which may be here today and gone tomorrow.
So it boils down to a simple question: what do you really, really need?
As I have always said, you are not a successful investor because you did better than your neighbour, your friend, or your investing group.
You are a successful investor when you meet your own goals.
And that makes all the difference.
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Disclosure: Chin Hui Leong owns shares of DBS Group and units of CapitaLand Ascendas REIT.
