Market Insights
Core Portfolios: Powering Ahead with the UCITS Upgrade
What changed in August's rebalance, and what it means for your returns — halved dividend withholding tax, bonds fully UCITS, and lower costs across the board.
Monthly Spotlight · August 2026
August 2026: Earnings carry the AI trade
Nvidia's results put AI worries to bed and equities rallied almost everywhere. Bonds went the other way, as government borrowing pushed long-end yields to multi-decade highs.
Markets at a glance
A scoreboard of the numbers that matter, and what actually drove them.
M-O-M
YTD
World Equities (MXWD)
+1.6%
+11.9%
US Equities (SPX)
+1.7%
+11.0%
EM Equities (MXEF)
+2.3%
+21.0%
Global Bonds (LEGATRUU)
+0.5%
-0.3%
USD (DXY)
-1.4%
-0.1%
Gold (GLD)
+8.9%
+1.8%
Total returns in SGD. Source: Bloomberg, as of 31 August 2026.
Equities rose pretty much everywhere as Nvidia's earnings exceeded high expectations, alleviating fears about the AI trade overheating. Semiconductors bounced back, and software gained even more. Bonds went the other way on worries about ballooning government debt (US borrowing surged past $40trn) and the Iran conflict flaring up (oil near $100/bbl). The 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest since 2007. The US Treasury's US$4bn buybacks of long-dated bonds (later upsized to US$6bn) did not calm nerves for long, and revived talk of a “debasement trade”, capital leaving US assets for fear they would lose value. Gold gained 9.8%.
Exceptional earnings growth validates our view that the AI build-out is only starting (global capex est. $1trn in 2026, $14trn across 2026–30). But investors are turning selective, favouring companies better able to monetise AI. Expect more dispersion and build breadth beyond tech as other industries catch up (7 of 11 sectors have had earnings estimates upgraded). In fixed income, the long end may stay under pressure as debt and inflation hang over markets in the coming months. But bonds inside the 10-year part of the curve are looking attractive – enough to cushion short-term price falls and boost medium-term returns.
Portfolio Spotlight: Core Portfolios
Each month we go deep on one Syfe portfolio.
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More Money in Your Pocket
Explore CoreCompounding is the oldest open secret in investing: small savings, left to grow, add up to a lot by the time you need the money — retirement, a home, whatever you're building towards.
That's why we've upgraded Syfe Core — our flagship fully-managed, globally diversified portfolios — with UCITS, to keep more of that money in your pocket. The switch halves withholding tax on US dividends and takes bonds to 100% UCITS. 94% of Core now invests through the most cost-effective vehicles available.
Compared with the same exposure without our optimisations, that could add more than S$12,000 on a S$100,000 investment over 10 years.* All four Core portfolios have held steady so far this year despite volatile markets and outperformed their benchmarks in August – a sign that diversification is creating resilience and driving returns.
*Illustration only, per S$100,000 over 10 years, compared with an equivalent portfolio without our optimisations. Past performance and past cost savings are not indicative of future results.
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