Staying Calm In A Volatile Market By Choosing Dividends Over Drama

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The markets have been reminding us lately that volatility is not a theory, it is reality.  Over the past weeks, we have seen our three local banking giants, namely DBS, OCBC, and UOB, and even ST Engineering, are taking turns to drop 2–3% in a single day.  Even gold, the supposed safe haven, experiences sharp spikes, followed by furious plunge in prices recently.  The headlines made it sound dramatic, especially from finfluencers out there, and the red numbers looked uncomfortable for many investors and traders alike.

At the same time, over in US markets, many AI and software companies have plunged 20–30% from their all-time highs.  The same names that were market darlings not long ago are now experiencing sharp corrections.  Sentiment has clearly shifted.  Thankfully, I had already liquidated my US portfolio some time back, so I am not directly affected by that wave of selling.  However that does not mean I am insulated from volatility.  My Singapore portfolio has certainly taken a hit.  Yet, I choose to remain invested.

Red Days Are Not New

It is easy to feel uneasy when we see daily drops of 2–3% in blue-chip names like DBS, OCBC and UOB.  These are not penny stocks, these are pillars of the Singapore market.  When they move sharply, it feels serious.  However if we zoom out, 2–3% is simply part of equity investing.  Markets breathe.  They expand and contract.  They rally and they pull back.

If a portfolio is built with the expectation that prices only move up steadily, then volatility feels like betrayal, but if a portfolio is built with the understanding that volatility is normal, then days like these are just noise.


My Anchor: Dividends

The biggest difference for me this time is psychological as I am not anchoring my confidence on share prices.  Instead, I am anchoring it on cash flow.  When I review my 1st quarter 2026 dividend income, I saw a year-on-year increase.  That matters more to me in the grand scheme of things, than whether DBS drops 2% today or OCBC drops 3% tomorrow.  As an investor, I need to accept that prices fluctuate daily.  Dividends, on the other hand, reflect business performance over time.  As long as the underlying companies continue to generate earnings and pay sustainable dividends, short-term price swings do not fundamentally change my plan.

In fact, knowing that dividends are backing me gives me emotional stability.  The cash flow is real.  It lands in my account.  It does not depend heavily on whether the market is green or red that day. 


Staying Invested Is a Decision

Remaining calm is not automatic.  It is a conscious choice on my part.  Every time the market dips, there is temptation "should I reduce exposure?", "should I wait for things to stabilise?" or "should I time the bottom?".  However, timing requires being right twice - when to sell and when to buy back.  History has shown that this is very difficult for me and I have a bad record of buying and selling at the wrong time, at the wrong price.

Therefore, I have to remind myself of why I invested in the first place.  I am building toward financial independence.  I am building toward sustainable dividend cash flow.  If the fundamentals of the companies remain intact and dividends continue to grow, then volatility becomes an opportunity (provided I have a ready warchest).

Markets will always find reasons to be volatile, be it geopolitics, interest rates, inflation, AI bubbles, policy shifts.  I just have to accept that volatility is the feature of equity markets.  Staying calm is not about ignoring volatility.  It is about trusting the process I have chosen to follow.  Barista FIRE, here I come...!

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