My Personal Picks

I've been writing about investing from the perspective of Singapore investor since 2010, and the changes over the last 5 years have been remarkable.

Today, investors have far easier access to information and a wider range of assets than ever before.

Just as importantly, fees have plummeted, directly boosting investor returns.

Here are a few platforms I personally use:

Endowus:

My top choice for robo-advisors in Singapore.

Endowus is perfect for new investors, offering well-structured portfolios and the most experienced team among the robo-advisors.

Their equity portfolios closely mirror a diversified World Index, with impressive 3-year and 5-year returns of 7% and 11.5% per annum, respectively.

• Separate custodian accounts at UOB-KH: Your investments are held secure as they open a trust account in your own name with UOB Kay Hian.

• Investment in UCITS Funds and ETFs: This avoids the 40% US inheritance tax, a major advantage over robo-advisors using US ETFs.

• Recurring auto-investments: Helps remove emotional biases and makes investing effortless.

• Clear performance tracking: Easily monitor your investments. I've even set up a small monthly investment for my child to teach them about saving and compound interest.

• Access to new low-cost funds: For example, the Amundi US Prime Fund (closely mirroring S&P 500 performance). Only charges 0.05% for fund fees which is a game changer for Singapore investors.

Maribank:

I became a big fan of Shopee (and its parent company SEA) during the pandemic.

Maribank is their digital banking arm, offering SDIC-insured accounts up to $100,000 SGD.

Key benefits of Maribank:

• Simple savings account: Earns 2.88% interest with no strings attached. I prefer this to other banks accounts which have hoops that you have to jump over.

• Mari Invest: Offers a higher yield (3.7% to 4.1%) similar to money market funds. The underlying fund is Lion-MariBank SavePlus fund, which invests in MAS bills.

• Instant withdrawals: Up to $10,000 can be withdrawn instantly, a unique feature.

• Shopee vouchers: Frequent 20% cashback vouchers on Shopee purchases. The cost savings from these vouchers have been substantial as a frequent user.

Interactive Brokers:

The gold standard for brokerages in my view.

Advantages of Interactive Brokers:

• Lowest commissions and FX spreads: Nothing much to be said. Costs matter and Interactive Brokers has the lowest costs in the market by far.

• Widest market access: Access to the broadest range of assets and markets that I know of.

• One major drawback is that some find the platform complex and overwhelming which is a real issue.

There's never been a better time to start your investing journey in Singapore.

I hope these recommendations help!