Early March Updates and Thoughts

Change in Format

I decide to switch to a more laid-back format and not write on all my purchases and sales. Instead, I shall pen down my thoughts on interesting or current happenings. And some sales/purchases of note

Redeeming my bond fund bought using CPF-OA

I had some money in Amova Short Term Bond Fund bought via CPF-OA. I had redeemed all of it in Feb 2026, as the last 6 months return is less than 1.25% (i.e. less than the annualised 2.5% CPF-OA interest rate). Hence, I had redeemed my monies in the bond fund and put the monies back into CPF instead. 

Voluntary Contribution to CPF

In Jan 2026, I had done a voluntary contribution of $37,740 (the max limit) to CPF. This will earn higher interest in CPF, compared to putting money in money market fund. 

What I had been doing since US-Iran War

Nothing much. 

First, I sold all my holdings in Greggs and Trip.com. The sale had nothing to do with the war. Rather, I sold Greggs because I am disappointed with its prospect in next two years. I sold Trip.com because I find that I bought them at too low hurdle rate (i.e. I was not demanding enough on the expected returns) and Trip.com has SMAR probe and AI competition from Qwen. 

This week, I bought a bit of HS Tech (3067.HK) as it corrected more than 25% from its peak in last Oct. I also sold a bit of puts in JD. Seperately, I sold a quarter of my holdings in Plover Bay (1523.HK) at $9 i.e. a rich 28x PE. I like the company and its management; just that 28x PE is a bit expensive and hence I decide to trim a bit.

I had not deployed much capital, as the share indices did not drop much. I don't think that the war will lead to large drops in share indices, unless the war will last for a long time and lead to significant increases in oil price -> high inflation. 

I am not interested in current beneficiaries such as gold, energy/oil and materials, as these had already run up. I am not sure if their prices will run higher. I also do not know how the US-Iran war will unfold nor when the war will end. 

Others

TIGR

I had sold all my stake (except the sold puts) in TIGR at $8.2. I re-looked and find that TIGR did not fit my stock selection criteria, as it is not high quality enough and its dividend yield is not high enough. (So it is another own-goal or unforced error from myself.)

Currently, I had two stock selection strategies (for non-Reits):

1) Cheap + Good dividend yield 

2) Good Quality at reasonable valuation

While TIGR valuation is reasonable, I think that it is not unique enough and has formiable competitors such as IBKR and Futu. 

3119 HK Global X Asia Semicon ETF

I bought a small position in in 3119.HK at around $110 in late Jan 2026. I wanted to own some memory stocks (which are mostly Korean stocks) and find this ETF a convenient way to own memory and semi-con stocks. 

As memory and semicon are cyclical industries, I don't intend to hold the ETF for long-term. I will sell my holdings when the price is high enough or when the demand for memory / semicon declines. I do admit that this position is a bit speculative, as it is a play on the high demand for memory and semicon arising from the AI buildout. 

Some thoughts

Recently, I find that it is better and safer to focus on finding cheap stocks paying good dividend yields. Because they offer downside protection and are more easily found, compared to 'Quality at reasonable price (QARP)'. Also, cheap + good dividend stocks are easier to hold (or accumulate more) when their prices drop. 

QARP are more easily found during market corrections of close to 20% e.g. 2022. On other times, when you find a 'compounder' with falling share prices:

- it can be hard to know if the 'compounder' has sufficient quality to recover e.g. NVO, or

- the valuation seem not cheap enough for me. E.g. Booking at $3,900 seems not cheap enough to me, given the AI threat to its margins in the long-term.