Portfolio yield: a ballast for volatile times and stable source of returns

SINGAPORE investors’ appetite for income or yield is almost never in question. But with the strong bull market of the past two years – when capital gains, especially in US stocks, trumped dividends resoundingly – you might be tempted to take larger bets on growth.

To be sure, whether you prefer to invest for growth versus for income is a personal decision and hinges on factors including age, risk appetite and investment horizon.

My joint portfolio with my husband is predominantly lower-risk, in keeping with our age and risk profile. Recently, I sat down to figure out how much in income the portfolio earned. It was gratifying that income was a five-figure sum from dividends and bond coupons – roughly 6 per cent in yield from the few corporate bonds that we hold, and slightly higher than that from a relatively modest equities allocation, comprising stocks and real estate investment trusts.