- My investment portfolio is mainly focused on Asia, which is very similar to Singapore's three major local banks.
- My CDP portfolio covers approximately 100 listed companies on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and so far, no single security exceeds 10% of my entire CDP portfolio, making it highly diversified with low risk.
- Cash + SSB (Singapore Savings Bond) will always maintain no less than 10% in my portfolio.
- When the market is down and my portfolio shrinks sharply, the SSB+Cash weighting automatically adjusts to close to 20%. When my portfolio expands rapidly, the SSB+Cash weighting automatically adjusts to close to 10%.
- In other words, when the portfolio size is shrinking, SSB or Cash can be injected into the shrinking assets. When the portfolio size expands, assets can be sold off to maintain a minimum 10% (Cash + SSB).
- You will find that once the passive income engine is built, you can feel it breathing at all times, it will expand, and it will also contract. It frees me from predicting the market, I can simply stay on the track set by the system.
- I view my investment portfolio not as a collection of individual assets, but as an interconnected financial system in which each component has a specific role, interacts with the others, and contributes to the overall stability of the system.
- My CDP average dividend yield for the year 2025 was 7.33%. The entire portfolio achieved a return of 5.61% in 2025 based on my typical formula.
- As an ordinary Singaporean, it took me a total of 25 years of working to accumulate enough savings to achieve financial freedom without having to purchase any private insurance premium.
- I officially retired on March 1, 2024 (age 57).
- Besides CPF life which is only allowed to be used after the age of 65, the investment portfolio actually provides me with protection against inflation and basic living needs.
- My investment portfolio is a practical application of systems thinking. The pie chart above visualizes its structure and was created using Python's Matplotlib in VS Code.
I do not seek absolute constancy in the numerical value of my assets, because financial markets are inherently subject to change. Like many dynamic systems, markets move through cycles of expansion and contraction. I accept numerical fluctuations because I have built sufficient buffers into my financial system.
True stability does not mean eliminating volatility, just as building a resilient life system does not mean eliminating uncertainty. It means possessing the structural resilience to absorb fluctuations and withstand uncertainty without allowing them to undermine the system's continued operation.
Generally speaking, I'm not a risk-taker. I tend to choose decisions with clearly defined and controllable risks, carefully designing my life to keep those risks within manageable limits, and ensuring they are clearly visible and repeatable. The systems I build are designed to control and manage risk, making it bearable.
I’m not trying to predict the market. I rebalance when my cash buffer falls below a set range, gradually reducing positions and simplifying the portfolio. Resilience is not about predicting the future, but about designing a system that survives it.
Common Reactive Investing:
Market → Interpretation → Emotion → Decision
Market moves shape narrative and mood, sometimes leading to chasing highs or panic selling.
CYSM Approach:
Market → Portfolio State → Feedback Signal → Predefined Boundary → Decision
Market is treated as an input; decisions flow from objective metrics and pre-agreed rules. Emotion is acknowledged, not in command.
CYSM does not try to predict the storm. It designs the system to remain afloat when the storm arrives.
I generally aim to keep cash and Singapore Savings Bonds between 11% and 19% of my portfolio as a stability buffer. Within CYSM, capital is not designed to maximize wealth indefinitely, but to secure the conditions for long-term autonomy. The 15% target, with a ±4 percentage-point adjustment range, is a current operating parameter—not a permanent constraint. The buffer can be raised as future conditions require.
The portfolio is designed as a cash-flow-oriented retirement system. A significant proportion of its income is ultimately linked to the rental and operating cash flows generated by Asia's real estate and infrastructure assets. In this sense, it resembles a system that collects recurring "tolls" from the region's economic activity—not literally, but as a metaphor for participating in long-term productive assets.
The defining characteristics of my portfolio are stable cash flow, self-regulating risk management, and long-term protection of capital against inflation. As a result, my financial system is designed to remain operational even during periods of severe market stress.
A personal life system cannot simply be copied. It must be built, operated, tested, and continuously calibrated by the person who lives it.
I am not presenting an answer. I am showing how a system can be built.
I began learning how to invest systematically through the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS). Without CPFIS, I probably wouldn’t have the portfolio I have today. In many ways, my entire investment system actually grew out of the CPFIS framework.
The CPF Investment Scheme also helped me develop a disciplined investment strategy and, more importantly, kept me away from investment scams.
My systems thinking did not come from a specific course or a particular book. It began to take shape during my studies in Electronic and Computer Engineering at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and was gradually developed through years of engineering practice and real-world experience.
I did not deliberately set out to develop a systems-thinking framework. It emerged organically through continued observation, operation, and feedback.
Organic emergence requires two conditions: sufficient stability and sufficient time. Stability allows the system to keep running; time allows the underlying pattern to reveal itself.
But stability is not only financial or physical. It also depends on the environment in which the system operates. The people we share our daily lives with can either reduce system noise or continuously introduce instability. Persistent interpersonal conflict, emotional noise, complaints, and daily friction can gradually consume cognitive and emotional capacity, making it harder for the system to maintain the continuity needed for deeper patterns to emerge.
Stability → Continuous Operation → Time → Pattern Recognition → Emergence
Stability is not merely the absence of crisis. It is the presence of enough order and continuity for a system to operate naturally, allowing underlying patterns to become visible over time.
My investment portfolio was not designed from a specific financial theory, nor as a systems-thinking exercise. It emerged organically as a practical application of systems thinking that developed gradually through years of observation, operation, feedback, and time under real-world constraints.
The “Investment Application” stage reflects my self‑directed portfolio management practices as an ordinary Singaporean investor, not a professional finance career. Together with technical education and engineering practice, these personal applications converged into the Fusion Point of the CYSM Framework.
The “Investment Application” stage reflects my self‑directed portfolio management practices as an ordinary Singaporean investor, not a professional finance career. Together with technical education and engineering practice, these personal applications converged into the Fusion Point of the CYSM Framework.
📖 Financial Transparency as System Validation
To pursue the Advanced Degree in Life Engineering (CYSM), I made public my portfolio of liquid assets and monthly expenses. This is something many people cannot bring themselves to do. Transparency in financial modules is not about showing wealth, but about demonstrating the operational stability of the system. CYSM is not a theory on paper—it is a life protocol validated by real-world constraints.
The true difficulty, however, is not merely in making a portfolio public. The real challenge lies in allowing a theory to be tested against reality. Many are willing to share ideas, philosophies, or methods, but few are willing to disclose actual asset allocation, cash flow structures, spending levels, or risk-bearing strategies. Once such data is revealed, a theory shifts from opinion to verifiable structure.
By publishing key operating parameters—liquid asset allocation, REITs, ETFs, SSBs, cash buffers, living expenses, the SGD 667 low-energy engine, and the 5.61% yield engine—CYSM moved beyond abstract discourse. Readers can now observe not only what CYSM says, but how CYSM runs.
This transparency aligns with CYSM’s guiding principle: Theory may guide, but systems must run. Once data is public, time becomes the strictest examiner. Only long-term stability proves resilience. In this sense, publishing asset configurations is not the “degree” itself, but rather the submission of experimental data. The true test of CYSM lies in whether the system can continue to operate stably under the constraints of Signal × Time × Stability.
📖 Envy, Investment Discipline, and Independent Judgment
Charlie Munger repeatedly highlighted envy as one of the most destructive human psychological tendencies. His observations offer an important lesson for long-term investors.
Envy is a costly distraction that compromises sound judgment.
In investing, constantly comparing our portfolio performance with that of others can lead to unnecessary risk-taking, abandoning a sound strategy, or chasing returns simply because someone else appears to be doing better.
A dividend portfolio should not be managed according to other people's achievements or market excitement. It should be managed according to its own objectives, constraints, risk tolerance, and long-term sustainability.
This principle is reflected in my approach to building a resilient SGD dividend portfolio over the past 25 years.
My objective is not to outperform every investor or pursue the highest possible returns. It is to build a diversified portfolio that can generate sustainable income, maintain adequate buffers, withstand uncertainty, and support long-term financial autonomy.
Another investor's success does not mean my portfolio has failed. Different investors have different financial circumstances, obligations, time horizons, and objectives.
Do not measure your investment journey against someone else's performance. Measure it against the resilience and objectives of your own portfolio.
Munger reminds us to recognize the psychological traps that distort judgment. My investment philosophy translates this awareness into practical discipline: avoid unnecessary risks, resist emotional comparisons, and remain committed to a strategy that serves my long-term financial objectives.
Independent judgment is not about having more than others. It is about knowing what is sufficient for your own financial system.
📖 Different Paths, Shared Principles, Complementary Perspectives
Reflecting on Charlie Munger's thinking, I recognize certain principles that also emerged through my own 25 years of investment experience.
Our paths were different. Munger developed his mental models through extensive reading, multidisciplinary learning, and investment practice. My investment approach evolved through real-world experience, financial constraints, long-term observation, and continuous calibration.
Yet we share several important principles: independent judgment, long-term thinking, risk awareness, and the importance of avoiding decisions that could cause lasting damage.
The difference lies in our perspectives and applications. Munger's thinking offers valuable insights into investment judgment and capital preservation. CYSM places financial resources within a broader life system, where capital supports stability, health, time autonomy, and long-term independence.
The following chart illustrates these different paths, shared principles, and complementary perspectives.
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