Half of Singaporeans are on track to earn S$6,000 per month or more starting from 2026.
That headline caught my eye.
But probably not for the reason you’d expect.
You see, S$6,000 is just a little under what the Smart Dividend Portfolio generated in dividends so far this year — or around S$6,205, to be exact.
Here’s the thing: the first figure requires you to show up at work every day.
The second one lands in your brokerage account while you sleep.
Now, I’ll level with you.
To be clear, the portfolio’s dividend income is nowhere near replacing your salary yet.
You’re not quitting your day job just yet.
But ask yourself this: who would say no to an extra month’s pay showing up each year, no boss required?
That’s what a well-built dividend portfolio can do.
And it didn’t happen overnight.
From the Ground Up: Layer by Layer
The Smart Dividend Portfolio wasn’t thrown together overnight.
It was built from the ground up, layer by layer.
Think of it like constructing a building.
The Income segment forms the foundation.
These are the most reliable dividend payers we can find — the bedrock of the portfolio.
We’re not expecting fireworks here.
What we want is dependability.
A steady stream of dividends we can count on, quarter after quarter.
Here are a couple of examples: DBS Group (SGX: D05) with its Asian operations or Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) which acts as Singapore’s sole stock exchange.
On top of that foundation sits the Growth segment.
These stocks have a longer runway ahead — businesses that can increase their revenue, profits, and subsequently, their dividends over time.
This layer gives our dividend income a boost as these companies expand.
Think of businesses such as Sheng Siong (SGX: OV8) with its plans to expand from 84 stores today to 120 stores over the next decade and you will be on the right track.
Finally, there’s the speculative segment.
As the name suggests, these are less certain bets.
The potential upside is attractive, but the outcomes are harder to predict.
Here’s the thing: we keep this segment on a tight leash.
The speculative allocation stays small — we wouldn’t want speculation to outweigh either our growth or income holdings.
That would be like building a penthouse on a wobbly foundation.
Each layer has its role.
Together, they form a portfolio designed to deliver dividends today while growing them for tomorrow.
Finding the Right Mix for You
The beauty of these three segments? Flexibility.
You can mix and match to suit your own needs.
Say your goal is to protect your wealth. Growth may not be your priority. A portfolio heavier on income — perhaps 80% — with just 20% in growth could be a good fit.
But what if you’re just starting out?
Building a growing stream of dividends that can eventually cover your monthly expenses is a worthy goal.
In that case, you might keep income at 50%, dial up growth to 40%, and maintain a small 10% allocation to speculative picks.
Different goals, different recipes. Same building blocks.
But we’re here for the dividends, of course.
Take DBS Group (SGX: D05).
For the first nine months of 2025, Singapore’s largest bank declared S$2.25 per share in dividends.
Own 100 DBS shares? That’s S$225 heading your way before the year ends.
You could book a nice staycation.
Treat yourself to something special.
Or — if you can delay gratification — reinvest those dividends and let compounding do its work.
Here’s why that matters.
A recent DBS report looked at the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) over rolling 15-year periods from 2000 to August 2025.
The average annual price return ranged between 2.4% and 9.8%.
Let me highlight something first: for every 15-year stretch you stayed invested in the STI since 2000, you came out ahead.
Every single one.
But an eagle-eyed reader might point out that 2.4% per year is rather disappointing.
It doesn’t even beat the CPF Ordinary Account, let alone inflation.
That’s correct.
But we haven’t factored in dividends yet.
Include dividends, and that range jumps to between 6% and 13.3% — a solid return by any measure.
To put it in perspective: at 6% annually, you’d double your money in about 12 years. At 13.3%, you’d do it in just 5.4 years.
Does it sound better? It sure does to me.
Get Smart: Your Self-Created Annual Wage Supplement
Don’t underestimate the humble dividend.
Price returns grab headlines, but dividends quietly do the heavy lifting — transforming a lacklustre 2.4% annual return into a respectable 6% over 15-year stretches.
Hence, you don’t need a generous boss to get a year-end bonus.
A well-constructed dividend portfolio can deliver the same result — S$6,205 and counting in our case.
Build a portfolio that pays you while you wait, layer by layer, and one day you might just pay yourself that extra month’s salary.
If dividends are part of your long-term plan, this is one session you won’t want to miss. We’ll break down the market forces driving 2026’s dividend potential and highlight areas worth watching. Sign up now for your free slot in our webinar, The Big Singapore Stock Market Rebound (2026’s Dividend Opportunity).
Many Singapore stocks fall behind inflation, which means your money quietly loses strength over time. Dividend stocks have a very different track record. Some continued delivering 6% to 13% every year across the toughest market conditions.
In this FREE report, discover 5 crisis-tested dividend stocks that kept rewarding investors while the market struggled. Download your dividend investing guide now.
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Disclosure: Chin Hui Leong owns shares of DBS Group, Sheng Siong and Singapore Exchange.
