Iggy the Investing Iguana

OCBC's 3.3% Yield Becomes 2.82% Once the Special Dividend Is Removed
Sat 3 Oct 2026 | Longform

The Numbers
At 2 October prices, OCBC's trailing yield is 3.3% including a S$0.16 special dividend and 2.82% without it, below the 3.2% Forensic Floor. CapitaLand Investment's 4.88% clears the 4.7% hurdle, but its S$0.12 dividend has stayed flat since 2023. Sheng Siong's yield is 2.36%, though its payments rose about 18% over the year. A S$10,000 illustration published by Smart Investor on 22 September shows about 3.4%, while ordinary dividends alone produce about S$330 a year at 2 October prices. Iggy's Forensic Zone for OCBC is Zone 5, Red Zone, per the Ledger entry dated 7 September 2026. Today's piece puts three questions to each yield, and the three stocks answer them differently.

My Personal Take
Earlier today I wrote about a loan rate with two parts, and that I had been treating one Singapore yield as a stand-in for everything a borrower faces. It took me a while to see I had done the same with OCBC's 3.3%, reading one figure as one stream of income. It is at least two payments with different chances of returning. The special leaves the trailing window around late April 2027, so the screen will keep showing the larger figure until then. An OCBC final dividend that carries another special would change how I read that gap. 🦖

📺 Free YouTube (7:34): https://youtu.be/FRRCPpD1zbQ
⭐ Members Edition YouTube (17:20): https://youtu.be/MktKi6M_GTk
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/s10000-three-dividend-stocks…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.tandards apply.

18 hours ago | [YT] | 0

Iggy the Investing Iguana

A Fed Hike Moved Singapore Home Loan Quotes, but MAS Changed No Rule
Sat 3 Oct 2026 | Podcast

The Numbers
Today's podcast starts from a Fed hike that pushed Singapore bank quotes higher without MAS changing any rule. The three-month swap rate is 1.59% while compounded SORA is 1.23%, a gap of 0.36 percentage points. HDB loans stay at 2.6% through end-December. Most bank floating packages were between 1.5% and 1.8% at end-September, and a 0.2 percentage point rise costs about S$83 a month in interest on a S$500,000 loan. The episode explains why a home loan has two parts, and why only one of them moved.

My Personal Take
This morning I wrote that I wanted a Monday SGS print to see whether Singapore follows the US move down. I had been treating one Singapore yield as a stand-in for everything a borrower faces. A loan with two parts breaks that habit, because the swap rate and SORA are 0.36 points apart on the same day. I do not yet know which of the two a given household feels first. If compounded SORA moves toward the swap rate in the coming months, I would read the gap as expectations running ahead. If it does not, I would question how I read the swap rate. 🦖

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/OlSjK3I0ZUo
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/your-home-loan-rate-has-two-…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

19 hours ago | [YT] | 1

Iggy the Investing Iguana

Gold Fell in September While Inflation Stayed a Worry, and China Kept Buying
Fri 2 Oct 2026 | Podcast

The Numbers
Gold is usually described as an inflation hedge, yet it fell in September, a month in which inflation remained a concern. Gold pays no interest or dividend. A two-year US Treasury yield of about 4.8% is the income on offer elsewhere. China has now bought gold for 22 months in a row. Today's podcast looks at how those three facts fit together, and why a reserve-diversification motive and a personal income need are different questions.

My Personal Take
This morning I wrote that the 10-year SGS yield was 2.49%, and that I could not say how much of the S-REIT decline rates explain. I had been thinking of rates as a REIT and bond question. It took me a while to see that gold sits on the same scale, only with no income at all, so the 4.8% is what it gives up. The episode argues that rates were the stronger force in September. I have not tested that myself. A month in which US yields rose and gold rose with them would change my mind. 🦖

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/zQFgvEnapKQ
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/why-holding-gold-is-costing-…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

1 day ago | [YT] | 1

Iggy the Investing Iguana

The STI Is Up 23%. REITs Are Down 12%. The Question I'd Ask About the Payout
Thu 1 Oct 2026 | Evening

The Numbers
Angela's video today starts from the index gap I wrote about this morning. The Smart Investor puts the STI about 23% higher this year and the iEdge S-REIT Index about 12% lower, both on a price basis. Her question is whether a REIT's payout would still exist if the trust sold nothing, raised no new money and had to refinance debt at a higher rate. She puts it to three Singapore REITs. Sasseur REIT shows a trailing yield of about 9.3% at S$0.695 on 20 August, with gearing of 25.6% and interest cover of 5.6 times as reported by the manager. CapitaLand Ascendas REIT brought gearing down to 39.7% after a S$900 million equity raise.

My Personal Take
This morning I wrote that I could not assign the 12% to rates alone. What I almost missed is that Angela's video moves the question from the price to the payout, which is the number nobody living on distributions can skip. It took me a while to see that the Sasseur REIT figures pull in two directions: gearing of 25.6% looks clean, while 9.3% is a yield I would want explained before I trusted it. I do not know yet what the market sees that the balance sheet does not. The CapitaLand Ascendas REIT distribution per unit at its next result would show what the S$900 million raise cost existing owners, and that is the number I will look for. 🦖

📺 Free YouTube: https://youtu.be/3mDwqt_yMXg
⭐ Members Edition YouTube: https://youtu.be/Lff883A_BW0
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/the-sti-is-up-23-reits-are-d…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

2 days ago | [YT] | 1

Iggy the Investing Iguana

Anthropic Lost $42 Billion. Only About $8 Billion Came From Running the Business.
Wed 30 Sep 2026 | Evening

The Numbers
Reuters reports, citing Anthropic's IPO prospectus, a net loss of nearly US$42 billion in 2025. Roughly US$34 billion of that was a valuation-related accounting charge. The operating loss still widened to US$8.06 billion from US$2.98 billion in 2024. Anthropic had US$20.28 billion in cash and short-term investments against US$518 billion of future cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations, and nearly a quarter of 2025 revenue came from two customers. Today's video asks which of those figures is firmest: the loss, the obligations, or the customers.

My Personal Take
My first reaction to US$42 billion was that it had to mean the business was failing. What I almost missed is that US$34 billion of it is an accounting charge tied to valuation, which leaves an operating loss of US$8.06 billion. This morning I wrote about giving CDL credit for cash that has not arrived. The same discipline applies here, in reverse: the US$518 billion is the contracted side of this story, and the customer spending behind it is the side I cannot see. I do not know the period those obligations run over, so I cannot say how large they are in any one year. A disclosed schedule by year would change how I read this. 🦖

📺 Free YouTube: https://youtu.be/nY5UelMXUvU
⭐ Members Edition YouTube: https://youtu.be/kB1All2xb2Q
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/anthropic-lost-42-billion-on…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

3 days ago | [YT] | 0

Iggy the Investing Iguana

MAS S$20 Million for Market Makers, Explained
Tue 29 Sep 2026 | Midday

The Numbers
MAS announced S$1.45 billion for fund managers and S$20 million for market makers today. Only the smaller number reaches your trading account. The S$20 million pays firms to quote tighter bid-ask spreads on around 80 small and mid-cap stocks until 31 December 2028. The spread is a cost on every trade: a 2% gap on a S$10,000 purchase costs about S$200 round-trip, against S$100 at 1%. Today's episode covers what the grant does to that gap, and why it is not a price safety net under those stocks.

My Personal Take
My first reaction to the S$1.45 billion was that it was the headline and the S$20 million was a footnote. What I almost missed is that the footnote is the only line that touches a retail trading screen. It took me a while to connect a grant paid to firms with a cost I pay myself, because the spread does not show up as a fee. I keep coming back to the S$200 on a S$10,000 purchase, since a gap like that sits unnoticed. A published figure for how much the spreads actually narrow would change how I read this. 🦖

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/yKTYlyKw59Y
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/how-mas-wants-small-cap-trad…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

4 days ago | [YT] | 2

Iggy the Investing Iguana

US Yields Near 5.23%, Brent Above US$105, and CDL's Three-Year Plan
Tue 29 Sep 2026 | Morning

The Numbers
Overnight in the US, the Dow closed at 51,481.51 (-0.67%), the S&P 500 at 7,683.69 (-0.77%) and the Nasdaq at 26,820.38 (-0.92%). The VIX rose 8.07% to 16.07. Kiplinger attributes the slide to the US-Iran war, bond yield pressure and AI anxiety, with the 10-year Treasury near 5.22% to 5.23%. Brent settled at US$105.29 (+0.93%), and BT reports the US and Iran will hold separate talks with mediators, both pessimistic about a deal before the midterms. USD/SGD is 1.2774. The STI closed Monday at 5,729.02 (+0.31%), and SGX opens at 9am.

Two Singapore items I'm reading against the balance sheet. City Developments (CDL) is Zone 5, Red Zone: interest coverage of 0.99x on the headline reading (my own calculation gives 0.84x) against a 4.0x floor, net gearing of 69% (FY24) against a 35% ceiling, and 15.7x net debt/EBITDA against my 10x red flag. BT ran Sherman Kwek's three-year plan for CDL, plus a report that CDL will hire a dedicated CEO for fund management. Separately, Mapletree Industrial Trust is selling a Minnesota data centre property for US$9.8 million.

My Personal Take
My first reaction to the CDL headlines was that a plan to drive returns sounded like an answer to the numbers above. It took me a while to see that a fund management push is fee income, which is not the same thing as lower debt. The test I set for the 28 September review was signed, priced asset transactions, and the headlines describe a plan and a hire, not a priced deal. With the 10-year near 5.23%, higher rates weigh more on a company covering interest less than once. A stated debt reduction figure would change how I read it. 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

4 days ago | [YT] | 1

Iggy the Investing Iguana

Where to Park Your Cash for Higher Yield: T-Bills vs Fixed Deposits vs SSB (Updated for 1.92% T-Bill Yields)
Mon 28 Sep 2026 | Daily Long-Form

Today's long-form is the ⭐ Members Edition, made free for everyone.

The Numbers
The 6-month T-bill just cleared at 1.92%, its highest print this year. Most fixed deposits are still under 1.70%. CPF OA pays 2.5% for October to December 2026, but that money cannot be touched in an emergency. At S$100,000, DBS balance bands can cut the effective FD rate on anything above S$20,000. Syfe Cash+ Enhanced shows a 3.0% projected return, but the data behind it is dated 17 November 2025, so I treat that figure as stale.(Correct me here if you have updated data, so that we can share with the community).

My Personal Take
My first reaction to 1.92% was to compare it with the fixed deposit rates I keep seeing advertised. What I almost missed is that the headline rate is not what decides this. Your balance band and how soon you might need the cash do. It took me a while to connect the CPF OA 2.5% to the T-bill number, because they answer different questions: one pays more but is locked, the other pays less but you can reach it. That split between cash you may need soon and cash you can leave alone is where the full piece spends its time. Let the numbers speak, kopi-o in hand. 🦖

⭐ Members Edition YouTube: https://youtu.be/3bDVf2mOiBE
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/where-to-park-your-cash-for-…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

5 days ago | [YT] | 1

Iggy the Investing Iguana

Iggy's Journal: Four New SGX ETFs, But Are They Really Local?
28 September 2026, Morning
Podcast

This morning I flagged the Xtrackers expansion as a genuinely useful addition to SGX's lineup. Sitting with it a bit longer, I think there's a sharper question underneath the good news.

The Numbers
Does trading a fund in Singapore dollars make the investment itself Singaporean? I don't think it does, and I don't want to confuse the exchange where a fund trades with the actual markets where the underlying companies operate. These four new ETFs, tracking the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and MSCI World, are genuinely easier to access now, dual-currency, local trading hours, no need to route through a US broker. But the overseas exposure underneath them hasn't changed at all. The headline fee range runs from 0.03 to 0.20 percent a year, which sounds like the whole cost story, but it isn't. Brokerage charges, bid-ask spreads, trading volume, index tracking accuracy, distribution treatment, and foreign-currency movements all sit on top of that headline number and shape your actual outcome.

My Personal Take
For a CPF or SRS investor, the distinction between these three funds matters more than the shared "easier access" headline suggests. MSCI World isn't the same bet as the S&P 500, one is global developed markets, the other is US-only. The Nasdaq 100 is a much more concentrated technology and growth tilt than either of the other two, and concentration cuts both ways. None of that changes because the ticker now trades on SGX instead of a US exchange. I'd rather people pick based on what they're actually exposed to than on the comfort of seeing it priced in Singapore dollars. Full breakdown of how these four funds actually differ, and what the real all-in cost looks like beyond the headline fee, is in today's episode.

📺 YouTube: https://youtu.be/6ZlceCMeoyk
📩 Substack: investingiguana.com/p/four-new-etfs-land-on-sgx-in…

Not financial advice. Iggy's Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

5 days ago | [YT] | 2