Another month, another market high.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) crossed the 4,500 mark two Fridays ago (7 November), marking a new all-time high for the local index.
You may have questions.
Subscribers of The Smart Dividend Portfolio have their own queries too.
Here are a few common ones (paraphrased):
What if I missed out on buying CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (SGX: C38U) and Sheng Siong (SGX: OV8) — is it too late to buy now?
The stock market has done well but I am two years away from retirement — should I sell my stocks today?
I am in my late-60s and collected a tiny sum in 2025 from dividends.
I plan to sell my shares at a high today so that I can buy them back when the stock prices come down.
Is this the right move?
As you can tell, the questions are different.
But they reveal a simple truth: each one of us has our own financial considerations and thus, needs that are personal to ourselves.
Along the same lines, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone.
We should recognise that.
The right move for you will likely be different from your friends.
Should You Sell Your Dividend Stocks?
At The Smart Dividend Portfolio, we believe that dividends can be a great source of passive income.
But is that still true today?
Selling your profitable dividend stocks will net you a tidy sum, of course.
And if the Singapore stock market takes a dive, you will have the cash to buy back at lower stock prices.
Sounds good?
But WAIT, there are also downsides you have to accept.
Selling today means that your dividend income stream will disappear altogether.
For some, this compromise is acceptable.
But for others who rely on this passive income, this is untenable.
Thus, the question here is not really about what you should do.
The real question is: what do you want from your stocks?
Knowing what you want
Going back to the question: can you still buy Singapore stocks today?
And if so, what share price should you pay?
For my co-founder David Kuo, it’s less about finding the right price to pay.
But why?
How can David be so unbothered by the stock price he pays?
Isn’t he worried that the market may fall?
Let me explain.
You see — David is an unapologetic income investor.
His singular focus is the dividends his portfolio of stocks pay.
This focus is reflected in the way my co-founder acts.
Here’s the difference: when it comes to buying, he is not just looking at the stock price.
He’s not just buying a stock.
Instead — David is buying passive income.
To put it in more exact terms, he may look at a REIT such as CICT and ask whether today’s 4.8% yield is good enough for him to part with his money.
Here’s the trick: the cash he used to invest doesn’t come from his salary.
It’s from — you’ve guessed it — dividend stocks he has spent a lifetime accumulating.
In a simple sense, it’s about buying income and reinvesting the dividends so that he will have even more income to invest in the future.
Get Smart: Your turn
The truth is, there is no silver bullet answer to today’s conundrums.
The best you can do is to have the right expectations for every move you make.
Buying today comes with the risk of a market correction tomorrow.
But if you choose not to buy today, you have to accept that the market may move even higher.
Selling today brings temporary relief.
But it turns yesterday’s worries of a market high into new worries about when to get back in.
There are no answers ahead of time.
Only your answers.
So, what should you do?
It’s your needs which should always come first.
If income is what you seek, then keeping your dividend stocks today may be the right move.
And if you have gotten to where you want to go financially, there’s nothing wrong with taking some money off the table and putting it into a fixed deposit that may be enough for your needs.
Remember: the stock market is simply a vehicle to get you to where you want to go.
And your financial goals should be your final destination.
Tired of articles that just say “do your own research”? Get Smart, our weekly investing newsletter shows you how. You’ll learn simple ways to size up a stock, like what signs to look for and how to know if it’s worth your money. These are tools our team uses, and you can use them too. Sign up here for free and start investing with more confidence.
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Disclosure: Chin Hui Leong owns shares of CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Sheng Siong.
