What are your thoughts on excluding bonds in the portfolio of a young investor?

Hello! As a young investor, you would have a larger appetite for risk, hence I think it's alright to exclude bonds. Furthermore, given the low interest rates due to COVID-19, the yields you get for holding bonds would be low as well.

It'll be alright for you to exclude bonds since you're young and can hold onto your portfolio in the long run!

As a singaporean you are already holding a semi-bond like instrument with bond like yields and that is your CPF OA just that the maturity of this bond is at 55 years old. I think if you agree with that, then adding bonds in your cash portfolio is overweighting it provided that is your asset allocation strategy, then its ok.

I would say that there isn't a need for bonds for young investors in general (highly dependent on how loss adverse you are, if a high-stock weightage causes you to lose sleep at night - you should lower it). Personally, I treat CPF as my bond allocation.

Like what others have said, bonds are mainly used as a hedge for younger investors. As you grow older, your perception might change because bonds provide a decent source of passive income.

But since your question asked about a diversified portfolio, I believe bonds do have a place. In fact, I believe that bonds have a larger place than gold (or cryptocurrency).