Complete Guide To Cash Management Accounts In Singapore [2024 Edition]

Cash management accounts have become increasingly popular and widely available with numerous platforms offering them in Singapore. They allow us to earn a relatively good interest return on our savings, while taking on only low risk.

Many of us likely understand the importance of investing. However, the funds we invest are usually earmarked for long-term expenses, such as for our retirement or children’s education. When we are able to stay in the market in the long term, we can ride out short-term price fluctuations and market crashes.

All of us will also have another bucket of funds meant for shorter-term savings and liquidity requirements. This could be for our emergency funds or money set aside for an upcoming big-ticket expense such as a wedding, home renovation, annual holidays or car purchase. We may also be saving funds that we intend to invest periodically due to the volatile markets or until we find the right opportunity.

Since we need to use these funds in the short term, we cannot afford to invest in stocks, only to see our portfolio dive 30% during a market crash. This is the value cash management accounts offer – paying us a decent interest return on our shorter-term savings.

What Is A Cash Management Account?

Cash management accounts enable us to earn a relatively good interest return by taking on a small level of investment risk. Typically, funds that we park in a cash management account are invested in money market funds and/or short-term bonds.

In Singapore, a cash management account is typically offered by financial institutions that are not a bank, such as brokerages and investment platforms. Cash management accounts continue to offer us a high level of liquidity, allowing us to withdraw our funds with no lock-up. There is also no cap on the amount we can invest in them.

However, it isn’t the same as putting our funds in a bank account as we cannot leverage on the extensive network of banks to withdraw money from ATMs or branches, or tap on payment services online or with a debit card.

It also isn’t the same as other tools such as fixed deposits, high-interest savings accounts or the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB), as these are not exposed to investment risks. Often, there may also be conditions placed on such products. For example, many fixed deposits only pay attractive interest rates on an initial amount of savings as well as lock in our funds for several months or even years. High interest rate savings accounts typically enable us to earn incremental interest returns upon fulfilling conditions that include crediting our salary, spending on our credit card, purchasing investment products and more. There may also caps on the amount of funds that can earn a higher interest rate. For example, the Singapore Savings Bond has a maximum cap of $200,000.

Cash Management Accounts In Singapore

There are at least 10 established platforms that offer cash management accounts in Singapore.

Besides cash savings, certain cash management accounts also allow us to invest our Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account funds. This allows us to receive tax relief while also earning a decent interest return on our funds.

When we invest in cash management accounts, we need to understand that projected returns are exactly what it is – projected. This means actual returns may be different. Nevertheless, the underlying funds that the cash management accounts are typically invested in short-term and safe debt securities.

Another thing to note is that unlike fixed deposits and bank deposits, our investments in cash management accounts are not protected by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Scheme (SDIC).

Read Also: How You Can Maximise Your Savings For Retirement Just By Using Your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) Account

Endowus Cash Smart

We can invest both our cash and SRS funds into this cash management account. Endowus also offers three different cash management accounts – secure, Enhanced, Ultra – that cater to varying risk tolerance.

Endowus Cash Smart Secure

Returns

The projected returns for individuals investing in Endowus Cash Smart Secure is 3.6% to 3.9%. This is after taking into consideration that Endowus rebates trailer fees to investors, as well as the fund-level fee and Endowus’ fees.

Minimum Initial Deposit

While there is no minimum initial deposit for Endowus Cash Smart Core, we need to invest $1,000 into the Endowus platform, which also consists of its cash investment and CPF investment solutions.

Underlying Funds

Endowus Cash Smart Secure invests 50% of its funds in the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund and the other 50% in the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund.

As stated in its factsheet, the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund “intends to hold its assets primarily in Singapore Dollar deposits with eligible financial institutions with varying terms of maturity of not more than 366 calendar days.” It also states that up to 10% of its net asset value may be placed with eligible financial institutions exceeding 366 days but not more than 732 days.

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

Fees

Endowus Access Fee per year – 0.05%

Fund-Level Fees

The expense ratio is what we incur as a total each year. Note that Endowus also rebates trailer fees back to us, and states that the fund-level fees after this is 0.15% per annum.

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Read Also: Endowus Cash Smart Account: Why A Cash Management Account Is Important During This Low-Interest Rate Environment

Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced

We can invest both our cash and SRS funds into this cash management account also on Endowus.

Returns

The projected returns for individuals investing in Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced is 4.1% to 4.4%. This is after taking into consideration that Endowus rebates trailer fees to investors.

Minimum Initial Deposit

While there is no minimum initial deposit for Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced, we need to invest $1,000 into the Endowus platform, which also consists of its cash investment and CPF investment.

Underlying Funds

Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced invests 50% of its funds in the UOB United SGD Fund, 30% in the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund and the remaining 20% in the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund. From this, we can understand that the UOB United SGD Fund is slightly riskier and hence provides a slightly higher projected return compared to the Endowus Cash Smart Secured portfolio.

UOB United SGD Fund invests “in money market and short term interest bearing instruments and bank deposits with the objective of earning a yield enhancement over Singapore dollar deposits.”

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

The Fullerton SGD Cash Fund “intends to hold its assets primarily in Singapore Dollar deposits with eligible financial institutions with varying terms of maturity of not more than 366 calendar days.” It also states that up to 10% of its net asset value may be placed with eligible financial institutions exceeding 366 days but not more than 732 days.

Fees

Endowus Access Fee per year – 0.05%

Fund-Level Fees

The expense ratio is what we incur as a total. Note that Endowus also rebates trailer fees back to us, and states that the fund-level fees after this is 0.27% per annum.

UOB United SGD Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.33%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

Endowus Cash Smart Ultra

We can invest both our cash and SRS funds into this cash management account.

Returns

The projected returns for individuals investing in Endowus Cash Smart Ultra is 4.4% to 4.7%. This is after taking into consideration that Endowus rebates trailer fees to investors.

Minimum Initial Deposit

While there is no minimum initial deposit for Endowus Cash Smart Ultra, we need to invest $1,000 into the Endowus platform, which also consists of its cash investment and CPF investment.

Underlying Funds

The difference between Endowus Cash Smart Core, Enhanced and Ultra is in the slight possibility of negative returns. Its historical max loss is -5.39%.

Endowus Cash Smart Core Ultra does have higher volatility for a cash management account, but it also gives the one of best returns among other cash management accounts. To achieve the returns while maintaining stability, Endowus Cash Smart Core Ultra comprises 6 funds:

35% in the UOB United SGD Fund, which invests “in money market and short term interest bearing instruments and bank deposits with the objective of earning a yield enhancement over Singapore dollar deposits.”

20% in LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund which invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

15% in the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund, which “intends to hold its assets primarily in Singapore Dollar deposits with eligible financial institutions with varying terms of maturity of not more than 366 calendar days.” It also states that up to 10% of its net asset value may be placed with eligible financial institutions exceeding 366 days but not more than 732 days.

10% in PIMCO Low Duration Income Fund which seeks to achieve attractive income by actively managing and tapping into multiple areas of the global bond market, while maintaining relatively low interest rate exposure with a secondary goal of capital appreciation.

10% in LionGlobal Short Duration Fund which invests in an actively managed portfolio of Singapore and international bonds, high-quality interest rate securities, and other related securities.

10% in Fullerton Short Term Interest Rate Fund which invests in fixed income securities and money market instruments with no specific industry or sectoral emphasis.

Fees

Endowus Access Fee per year – 0.05%

Fund-Level Fees

The expense ratio is what we incur as a total. Note that Endowus also rebates trailer fees back to us, and states that the fund-level fees after this is 0.28% per annum.

UOB United SGD Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.33%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

PIMCO Low Duration Income Fund

Expense ratio – 0.50%

LionGlobal Short Duration Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Fullerton Short Term interest Rate Fund

Expense ratio – 0.14%

FSMOne Auto-Sweep Account

The FSM Auto-Sweep account automatically “sweeps” all our excess cash from sales proceeds, bond maturities, dividends and coupons towards earning better returns. This helps us eliminate any time when our funds are sitting idle to earn better-than-bank interest rates.

Do note that funds we deposit into our FSM account but do not give any instructions to “auto-sweep” into investments, will not be automatically invested. FSM currently offers an SGD Auto-Sweep Account, a CNH Auto-Sweep Account – enabling us to automatically sweep excess Chinese RMB – and a USD Auto-Sweep Account for our US Dollars.

When we invest through FSM, we don’t have to do anything for the money to be transferred from this account and into paying for our investments.

Returns

The projected returns on FSM’s SGD Auto-Sweep Account is 3.209% p.a. The projected returns on the USD  Auto-Sweep Account is 4.694% and the CNH Auto-Sweep Account is 1.804%.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is a minimum one-time deposit of $50 for the SGD Auto-Sweep Account. There is no minimum balance required though.

The minimum initial deposit for the USD and CNH accounts are US$50 and CNH 200.

Underlying Funds

FMS Auto-Sweep Account invests 35% of its funds in the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund, 25% in the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund, 25% in the United SGD Money Market, and keeps the remaining 15% in cash.

As stated in its factsheet, the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund “intend to hold its assets primarily in Singapore Dollar deposits with eligible financial institutions with varying terms of maturity of not more than 366 calendar days.” It also states that up to 10% of its net asset value may be placed with eligible financial institutions exceeding 366 days but not more than 732 days.

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

The UOB United SGD Fund invests “in money market and short term interest bearing instruments and bank deposits with the objective of earning a yield enhancement over Singapore dollar deposits.”

The CNH account is 90% invested in the iFAST-Lion CNH Enhanced Liquidity A CNH and 10% in a Cash Account; while the USD account is 90% invested in the iFAST USD Enhanced Liquidity A USD and 10% in a Cash Account.

Fees

A management fee of 0.05% per quarter is charged, amounting to 0.2% per year.

Fund-Level Fees

The expense ratio is what we incur as a total.

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

United SGD Money Market Fund

Expense ratio – 0.33%

Phillip Smart Park

Phillip Smart Park offers both an SGD and a USD cash management account.

Phillip Smart Park (SGD)

Returns

Phillip Smart Park is projected to pay an interest return of 2.9203% p.a.

Minimum Initial Deposit

We need to maintain a balance of at least $100 in our POEMS account to enjoy investing via the Phillip Smart Park account (SGD).

Underlying Funds

The underlying fund is the Phillip Money Market Fund.

Fees

There are no fees charged for maintaining this account. The only fees we incur is from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

Phillip Money Market Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.37%

Read Also: Money Market Funds: What Are They And How Singapore Investors Can Use Them

Phillip Smart Park (USD)

Returns

Phillip Smart Park is projected to pay an interest return of 4.7951% p.a.

Minimum Initial Deposit

We need to maintain a balance of at least $100 in our POEMS account to enjoy investing via the Phillip Smart Park account (USD).

Underlying Funds

The underlying fund is the Phillip US Dollar Money Market Fund.

Fees

There are no fees charged for maintaining this account. The only fees we incur is from the fund level.

Fund level Fees

Phillip Money Market Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.37%

StashAway

StashAway offers a variety of cash management accounts based on our risk tolerance. StashAway Simple and StashAway Simple Plus carry some risks, while StashAway Simple Guaranteed offers a risk-free option – investing in bank fixed deposits.

StashAway Simple

We can invest both our cash and SRS funds into this cash management account.

Returns

The projected returns for StashAway Simple is 3.7% p.a. As listed on its website, StashAway rebates trailer fees back to investors to achieve this return. A spokesperson from StashAway tells us that it takes its advertised projected rate very seriously, and may provide an additional StashAway rebate to its investors to achieve it.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum deposit or balance required.

Underlying Funds

StashAway Simple allocates 30% of our funds in the LionGlobal SGD Money Market Fund and the other 70% in the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund.

The LionGLobal SGD Money Market Fund aims to invest in high quality short-term money market instruments and debt securities to provide a return comparable to that of SGD short-term deposits.

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

Fees

StashAway does not charge any fees to investors. The only fees we incur are from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

LionGlobal SGD Money Market Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.19%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Read Also: StashAway Simple Cash Management Account Vs Regular Savings Accounts – What’s the Difference?

StashAway Simple Plus

StashAway Simple Plus delivers higher returns (by shouldering slightly higher risks). We can use our cash and SRS to invest in this cash management account.

Returns

The projected returns for StashAway Simple Plus is 4.6% p.a. StashAway also rebates trailer fees back to investors to achieve this return.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum deposit or balance required.

Underlying Funds

StashAway Simple Plus splits our investment into three funds. 20% goes into the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund, which invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.

20% goes towards the Nikko AM Shenton Short Term Bond Fund, which has exposure to a diversified portfolio of good quality, short-term bonds and money market instruments. There is no target industry or sector and the Fund is not country-specific.

The remaining 60% is invested in the LionGlobal SGD Short Duration Bond Fund, which invests in an actively managed portfolio of Singapore and international bonds, high-quality interest rate securities, and other related securities.

Fees

StashAway does not charge any fees to investors. The only fees we incur are from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.31%

NIKKO AM Shenton Short Term Bond Fund

Expense ratio – 0.40%

LionGlobal SGD Short Duration Bond Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.31%

StashAway Simple Guaranteed

StashAway Simple Guaranteed provides guaranteed interest to investors. We can use our cash and SRS to invest in this cash management account. However, unlike other types of cash management accounts, we cannot withdraw our invested funds at any time we wish. This is because StashAway Simple Guaranteed is invested in a fixed deposit – with a lock-in period of 1, 3, 6 and 12 months.

Returns

The projected returns for StashAway Simple Guaranteed is:

– 1-month: 3.6% p.a.

– 3-months: 3.8% p.a.

– 6-months: 3.6% p.a.

– 12-months: 3.3% p.a.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum deposit or balance required.

Underlying Funds

StashAway Simple Guaranteed is invested in a fixed deposit with Citibank Singapore.

Fees

StashAway does not charge any fees to investors.

Fund-Level Fees

Since our money is invested in a fixed deposit, rather than funds, there is no fund-level fees.

Read Also: Investing In Fixed Deposits: How StashAway Simple Guaranteed Locks In A Fixed Return As Markets Become More Volatile

Syfe

Syfe offers three different cash management accounts – two in short-term funds for SGD and USD savings, and the other is a guaranteed account that invests in fixed deposits.

Syfe Cash+ Flexi

Currently, we can invest our cash only into this cash management account.

Returns

The projected returns for Syfe Cash+ is 3.8% p.a. for its SGD account, and 5.4% p.a for its USD account. As listed on its website, Syfe also rebates 0.13% trailer fees back to investors to achieve this return.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum deposit or balance required.

Underlying Funds

Syfe Cash+ (SGD) allocates 30% of our funds in the LionGlobal SGD Money Market Fund and 70% in the LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund.

The LionGLobal SGD Money Market Fund aims to invest in high quality short-term money market instruments and debt securities to provide a return comparable to that of SGD short-term deposits.

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund invests “in a broadly diversified portfolio of high quality debt instruments.” It also states that it invests in debt instruments diversified across varying issuers and tenures while maintaining weighted average portfolio credit rating of A-.

The USD account is 100% in money market funds.

Fees

Syfe does not charge any fees to investors. The only fees we incur are from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

LionGlobal SGD Money Market Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.19%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

Read Also: Syfe Cash+: How Is It Different From Other Cash Management Accounts?

Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed

The Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed account is a guaranteed product, and is invested in fixed deposits. There is also a lock-in period of 3, 6 and 12 months.

Returns

The projected returns for Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed is:

– 3-months: 3.8% p.a.

– 6-months: 3.6% p.a.

– 12-months: 3.5% p.a.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum deposit or balance required. As mentioned, there is a lock-in period of 3, 6 and 12 months, depending on the tenure we choose.

Underlying Funds

Syfe Cash+ Guaranteed works in partnership with various banks regulated by MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) that offer fixed deposits

Fees

Syfe does not charge any fees to investors.

Fund-Level Fees

Since our money is invested in a fixed deposit, rather than funds, there is no fund-level fees.

Tiger Vault

Tiger Vault, by Tigher Brokers, works slightly differently compared to the other cash management accounts, giving investors more control over the funds we want to invest in. We need to switch on the “auto-sweep” function if we want Tiger Brokers to sweep our cash balances into Tiger Vault. It also offers SGD and USD cash management accounts.

Returns

Tiger Vault offers up to 5% annual return through the funds available on its platform. Do note that we need to select the actual fund(s) that we want to invest in.

Minimum Initial Deposit

We can activate Tiger Vault with an investment of just $1.

Underlying Funds

As mentioned, there is no fixed portfolio for us to invest in. We can choose to invest in:

For SGD investments:

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund “A” Acc
LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity “A”
United SGD Money Market “D” (SGD) Acc

For USD investments:

Fullerton USD Cash “A” (USD) Acc
LionGlobal USD Enhanced Liquidity “A” (USD) Acc
CSOP USD Money Market Fund Acc

Fees

Tiger Brokers does not charge any fees for Tiger Vault. The only fees we incur are from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

As we can see, many of the funds offered by Tiger Vault are also part of other cash management accounts. This way, we can either choose our preferred portfolio mix or stick to a single fund.

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.41%

Fullerton USD Cash Fund

Expense ratio – 0.31%

LionGlobal USD Enhanced Liquidity Fund

Expense ratio – 0.39%

Read Also: Tiger Vault: 6 Things You Need To Know About This Latest Cash Management Account When Investing Through Tiger Brokers

moomoo Cash Plus

Another broker-led cash management account is moomoo Cash Plus.

Returns

We earn different returns depending on the actual fund that we invest in. By turning on moomoo’s “Smartsave” feature, our uninvested funds will be swept into the cash management fund.

Minimum Initial Deposit

The minimum investment amount is $0.01.

Underlying Funds

There are two main funds we can invest in:

Fullerton Cash Fund; and
CSOP USD Money Market Fund

Fees

moomoo does not charge any fees, so the only fees we incur are from the fund level.

Fund-Level Fees

As we can see, many of the funds offered by Tiger Vault are also part of other cash management accounts. This way, we can either choose our preferred portfolio mix or stick to a single fund.

Fullerton SGD Cash Fund:

Expense ratio – 0.15%

CSOP USD Money Market Fund:

Expense ratio – N.A.

Read Also: moomoo Cash Plus: How Can We Earn Even Higher Returns While Investing

What About Fixed Deposits and High-Interest Savings Accounts Or Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) and Treasury Bills (T-Bills)?

Other very safe investments include fixed deposits, high-interest savings accounts, the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB), or government treasury bills (T-bills). Given the rising interest rate environment, we can earn a decent return on these risk-free fixed income products today.

Nevertheless, by taking a little more risk via cash management accounts, we can grow our funds by a slightly higher amount. Moreover, most cash management accounts offer us greater flexibility of using our funds. We can withdraw or invest them, rather than lock-up our cash (at least for a period of time) in some of the products mentioned above.

There are at least two cash management accounts that are invested in fixed deposits – which means that there will be a small lock-in period of 3 to 6 months.

Which Of Our Funds Should We Park In A Cash Management Account?

As mentioned, we should not use put cash meant for our daily expenses into our cash management accounts as we cannot leverage on banking services, such as ATMs, payment facilities on iBanking or debit card.

While we can invest all our funds, it makes most sense to invest only funds that we do not want to put into the financial markets to earn a higher return over the long term, while taking on risks that may see its value substantially rise or fall. This includes:

– Emergency funds, which should amount to 6 to 12 months of our daily expenses

– Money earmarked for an upcoming big-ticket expense, such as wedding, home renovation, or to purchase a car

– Funds that we do not want to invest into the markets right away, but will pour into the markets when we spot opportunities or by dollar-cost averaging

– funds set aside to buy a property, especially after selling off investments or another property

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