Investing for your children is a fundamentally different exercise from managing your own retirement fund.
As a mother of three – with my eldest at 12 already eyeing the horizon of secondary school and my youngest still full of five-year-old wonder – I am constantly reminded that my most powerful tool isn’t a complex trading algorithm.
It is time.
With a horizon of 20, 30, or even 40 years, we can afford to ignore the daily market “noise” and focus on the incredible engine of compounding.
Instead of chasing speculative trends that might vanish before my kids reach university, my goal is to own businesses that can survive economic cycles and grow alongside them.
We are looking for durable competitive advantages, rock-solid balance sheets, and the ability to grow dividends over decades.
DBS Group Holdings Limited (SGX: D05) – Record Income and Wealth Management Strength
As Singapore’s largest bank, DBS is a cornerstone for any local portfolio.
In the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2026), the group delivered a record total income of S$5.95 billion, proving its resilience even as net interest margins eased to 1.89%, with deposit growth and hedging partly cushioning the drag from lower benchmark rates.
What makes this a “forever” contender for my children is the bank’s pivot toward fee-based income; wealth management fees hit a record S$907 million this past quarter.
The bank’s balance sheet remains robust, with a healthy return on equity of 17.0% and a stable non-performing loan ratio of 1.0%.
The board recently declared a 1Q2026 dividend of S$0.81 per share – an 8% increase from a year ago – which includes a special capital return dividend of S$0.15.
While global uncertainties like the Iran war persist, CEO Tan Su Shan has noted that stress tests show the credit portfolio remains sound, and the bank continues to invest in transformational technology to capture long-term structural opportunities.
Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8) – A Defensive Cash Flow Machine
A familiar name in the heartlands of Singapore, Sheng Siong is the ultimate “boring but beautiful” stock for a child’s long-term fund.
Operating 87 stores in Singapore and six in China, this supermarket giant thrives on selling daily essentials.
In 1Q2026, revenue jumped 12.4% year on year (YoY) to S$452.8 million, largely driven by the expansion of its store network and a 3.5% growth in comparable same-store sales.
What truly stands out for me as an investor is the group’s rock-solid balance sheet, boasting S$461.1 million in cash and zero debt.
Net profit for the quarter rose 12.0% YoY to S$43.2 million, and free cash flow surged by nearly 60% to S$36.6 million.
While the supermarket giant declares dividends half-yearly, its ability to generate cash while expanding – with three new stores slated for later in 2026 – provides a stable foundation.
Management remains focused on value-conscious consumers, ensuring the business stays relevant through various economic climates.
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63) – A Global Giant with a Record Order Book
For a blend of defensive stability and high-tech growth, ST Engineering is a formidable choice.
The group reported a strong FY2025 performance, with revenue rising 9% to S$12.3 billion.
While one-off impairment losses affected the reported net profit, the base operating performance was excellent, with net profit growing 21% to S$850.8 million.
The most compelling reason to hold this for the next decade is its massive order book, which stood at S$33.2 billion at the end of 2025 – with nearly S$10 billion expected to be delivered this year alone.
The company is also becoming an increasingly attractive dividend play; they declared a total dividend of S$0.23 for FY2025 and have implemented a new progressive dividend policy starting in 2026.
The policy sets a base of S$0.18 per share, plus one-third of any YoY growth in base operating net profit.
With CEO Vincent Chong focused on 2029 targets and strong momentum in Commercial Aerospace and Defence, this is a business built for the long haul.
The Magic of the Long Runway
The true power of these three stocks lies in the “runway” our children have.
If I invest for my five-year-old today, that money has nearly two decades to compound before he even finishes his education.
Compounding is famously back-ended – the most significant gains often happen in the final years of the investment period.
By starting early, we are giving our children a head start that no amount of late-stage saving can truly replicate.
The most important decision a parent can make is to reinvest those dividends during the early years.
Using dividends to purchase more shares increases your ownership stake without requiring more capital from your monthly budget.
This creates a snowball effect where more shares lead to more dividends, which in turn buy even more shares.
It is a silent, steady process that works best when left completely uninterrupted by the urge to “do something” or time the market.
Avoiding the Parent’s Trap
It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to find the “next big thing” for our kids, but history shows that many of those “hot” stocks eventually disappear.
High turnover and frequent trading only serve to eat away at gains through fees and emotional mistakes.
A bad quarter for a quality company like DBS or Sheng Siong is merely a blip in a twenty-year journey.
Our job is to stay focused on the business quality, not the temporary fluctuations of the ticker tape.
Get Smart: A Legacy of Patience
The best investments for our children are often the simplest ones.
We don’t need to overcomplicate things with complex instruments or speculative bets.
By choosing durable, high-quality businesses that pay us to own them, we are teaching our children the value of patience and the power of the long term.
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: Calvina L. owns shares of DBS.
