Adopting a disciplined approach to invest a fixed sum of our salary each month can help us take the first steps in our investing journey. Over the long term, regularly putting money into the market can grow our wealth. This can be used for long-term financial goals, such as paying for our children’s university education or as a supplementary retirement nest egg.
Over the years, there has been an increasing number of platforms in Singapore that allow us to invest regularly, we highlight some of the most common platforms and their characteristics.
Regular Share Savings (RSS) Plans
Several brokerages provide Regular Share Savings (RSS) plans in Singapore.
#1 POSB Invest Saver/ DBS Invest Saver (ETFs)
Minimum Investment Amount: $100/month
Investments Available: ETFs
Fees: 0.5% for bond ETFs, and 0.82% for equity ETFs (sales charge)
The POSB Invest Saver or DBS Invest Saver offers investors five broad ETF investments listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). We can start investing as little as $100 each month to gain exposure to the broadest investments in Singapore via these investments.
The Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF replicates Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI), giving us exposure to the 30 largest and most liquid companies listed on SGX.
The ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund comprises the highest quality bonds in Singapore, issued by the Singapore government and quasi-Singapore government entities. The Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF is the first corporate bond ETF to be listed on SGX.
The NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF and the CSOP iEdge S-REITs Leaders ETF are two of five REIT ETFs in Singapore.
#2 OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan (BCIP)
Minimum Investment Amount: $100/month
Investments Available: 7 ETFs, 14 blue chip share counters
Fees: 0.88% (sales charge)
The OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan allows investors to invest in 7 ETFs and 14 blue-chip individual counters listed on SGX. The ETFs include Lion-OCBC Securities China Leaders ETF, NikkoAM-ICBCSG China Bond ETF, Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF, Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF, Lion-OCBC Securities Hang Seng Tech ETF and Lion-OCBC Securities Singapore Low Carbon ETF. Some of the blue-chip counters include CapitaLand Investment Limited, UOB, DBS, OCBC, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, SingTel, SIA, Keppel Corp, SGX and others.
Similar to other RSS plans, we only can start investing from as little as $100.
#3 FSMOne Regular Savings Plans (RSP)
Minimum investment amount: $50/month (ETFs), $100/month (unit trusts) (may be higher for specific investments)
Investments available: 190 ETFs listed in Singapore, Hong Kong and US, and 1,834 unit trusts from 58 fund managers
Fees: 0.08% or $1, whichever is higher (for counters listed in Hong Kong and US, minimum of HK$5 or US$1 applies) (sales charge); 0% sales charge for unit trusts and 0.2% – 0.35% per annum (management fee)
FSMOne’s Regular Savings Plan offers an extensive list of ETFs listed in Singapore and overseas. We can also invest in over 1,800 unit trusts from 58 fund managers that give us exposure to multiple asset classes and geographies.
#4 Phillip Share Builders Plan
Minimum Investment Amount: $100/month
Investments Available: 25 ETFs, 30 blue-chip share counters, 13 high-quality REITs
Fees: 0.3% per annum of Total Portfolio Value (min. $1 per month) (management fees). Capped at $8.88/month for Total Portfolio Value < $40,000; and $5.88/month for Total Portfolio Value ≥ $40,000
The Phillip Share Builders Plan offers investments for more than 50 counters listed on SGX. Similar to other regular share savings plan, Phillip Share Builders Plan is a regular fixed-dollar amount investment plan that helps investors build up a portfolio of shares incrementally and consistently over time.
Read Also: Buying A New iPhone Every Year? Here’s How Much More You Will Have If You Invested The Money Instead
#5 Phillip Recurring Plan
Minimum Investment Amount: $100/month
Investments Available: All SGX counters, All counters in US and Hong Kong markets
Fees: Prevailing brokerage rates (SGX – from 0.08%, no min; US – flat US$3.88; HK – 0.08%, min HKD30)
The Phillip Recurring Plan gives you more control over your investments with access to the entire pool of stocks and ETFs in Singapore, US and Hong Kong markets. You can also choose a standing order for your investment frequency to be daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. You can also choose to fund your account via fund transfer, debit from ledger/ money market fund.
However, unlike its Share Builders Plan, the Recurring Plan charges its prevailing brokerage fees, which may be more expensive.
#6 Saxo Regular Savings Plan
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $2,000, Minimum subsequent investment: $100/month
Investments available: 4 curated portfolios: BlackRock Defensive, BlackRock Moderate, BlackRock Aggressive and Lion Global Dynamic Growth: Asian Perspective Portfolios
Fees: 0.75% per annum (management fees)
Working with BlackRock, one of the largest asset managers in the world, the SAXO Regular Savings Plan offers managed portfolios that are Defensive, Moderate and Aggressive. These curated portfolios are built with low-cost market-leading iShares ETFs. They also offer a LionGlobal Dynamic Growth: Asian Perspective portfolio investing in Asia and Emerging Markets.
Robo-Advisory Firms
Newer to the market, many robo-advisory firms offer investors a hands-off approach to long-term investing via their digital platforms. They make use of algorithms to help investors invest their money, based on their risk tolerance levels, within the methodology of their platforms.
#7 StashAway
Minimum investment amount: No minimum
Investments available: Curated portfolios for risk profiles, Thematic Portfolios, Income Portfolio, Flexible Portfolio (customise your own portfolio); Cash Management Portfolio
Fees: 0.2% to 0.8% per annum; 0.3% for Single ETF Flexible Portfolio (management fees)
StashAway primarily invests in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed around the world to give investors greater diversification into equities, bonds, commodities and even convertible securities. It also does not have a minimum amount for investors to start using its platform for its main goal-based portfolio. There are also Thematic Portfolios and Flexible Portfolios for investors who want more targeted investment allocations.
StashAway uses a proprietary investment strategy based on the theory of economic cycles, Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation, or ERAA, enabling it to monitor economic trends and valuations to rebalance its customer’s asset allocation mix for the long-term.
If you’re keen to try out StashAway, it is currently offering 50% off its management fees for 6 months, for up to $70,000 in portfolio value. You can sign up here.
#8 AutoWealth
Minimum investment amount: $3,000 (AutoWealth Starter), $10,000 (AutoWealth Plus+); $1,000 (AutoWealth Flexi Cash); Minimum subsequent investment: $100/month
Investments available: Curated Portfolios; Thematic Portfolios; Treasury Bills (U.S.)
Fees: AutoWealth Starter: 0.5% per annum of total investment size + US$18 platform fee; AutoWealth Plus+: 8% on Profits; AutoWealth Flexi Cash: 0.1%
AutoWealth Starter offers investors global exposure mainly through ETFs listed in the US. AutoWealth portfolios track the MSCI World Index and the Citigroup World Government Bond Index – which are transparent and global indexes respectively. AutoWealth Plus+ offers thematic portfolios such as its Turnaround Portfolio, Growth & Momentum Portfolio, Future of Digital Economy Portfolio, Future 2050 Portfolio and more. AutoWealth Flexi Cash (USD) offers U.S. treasury bills exposure for now – with an SGD product on the way.
While AutoWealth Starter has a minimum initial investment of $3,000, you can opt to go on a monthly investment plan as well.
If you’re interested to give AutoWealth a try, be sure to use the promo code ‘DollarsAndSense‘ to receive a $20 top-up into your account once you fund it with the $3,000 minimum.
Read Also: Robo Advisors in Singapore: What You Need To Know Before Investing
#9 Syfe
Minimum investment amount: N.A.
Investments available: Growth: Core Equity100, Core Growth, Core Balanced, Core Defensive, and Passive Income: Income Preserve; Income Enhanced; REIT+ Portfolio,
Fees: 0.4% to 0.65% (management fees)
Syfe has an investment approach that is focused on managing risk, to attain better risk-adjusted returns across all market conditions. You can fund your investment account in either SGD or USD, in either a lump sum or regular monthly payments. There are no minimum investment amounts and no minimum lock-in periods.
Its Syfe REIT+ portfolio gives investors Singapore’s first risk-managed REIT portfolio. Syfe also has a cash management account called Syfe Cash+, as well as its Income+ product.
If you are interested to get started on investing with Syfe, DollarsAndSense has an exclusive partnership with Syfe – enjoy 0% management fee for the first $30,000 during the first 6 months after you sign up. Apply here to enjoy the promotion.
Read Also: Investing With Syfe: 5 Things You Need To Know About Singapore’s Newest Robo-Advisor
#10 UTRADE Robo
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $5,000 per portfolio, Minimum subsequent investment: $500
Investments available: Conservative, Moderate, Aggressive Portfolios
Fees: 0.5% to 0.88% (management fees)
UTRADE Robo classifies investors as conservative, moderate and aggressive based on our risk profile. It will then invest in a universe of ETFs listed globally, primarily tracking benchmark indices and access to 11,000 stocks and bonds across global markets, based on factors including fund size, liquidity, transaction costs, tax efficiency and expense ratios.
#11 UOBAM Invest
Minimum investment amount: $1
Investments available: Customised Portfolios based on risk profiles; Megatrend Portfolio; Fund Direct
Fees: 0.6% to 0.8% (management fees)
UOBAM Invest allows us to invest from as little as $1. It allows us to invest in fractional shares up to four decimal places in order for us to invest such a low amount. UOBAM Invest also employs a glide-path model that gradually allocates our funds towards safer investments as we approach our target goal completion date.
You can also invest in its Megatrend Portfolio, which invests in long-term macro-level trends, as well as buy and sell funds on your own via its Fund Direct product.
#12 OCBC RoboInvest
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: Varies for individual portfolios. Starts from as low as US$100, but can go to several thousand dollars for some portfolios.
Investments available: 6 diversified risk-based portfolios, as well as 31 thematic portfolios
Fees: 0.88% (management fees)
OCBC RoboInvest allows us to invest in both risk-based portfolios as well as thematic portfolios across six different markets and three categories of risk level. We also enjoy automated portfolio monitoring and proposed rebalancing notifications as the market changes.
#13 DBS digiPortfolio
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $1,000, ($100 for SaveUp). Minimum subsequent investment: none
Investments available: Retirement, SaveUp Portfolio, Income Portfolio, Asia Portfolio, Global Portfolio
Fees: 0.25% (SaveUp) to 0.75% (rest) per annum (management fees)
Under the POSB Invest Saver/ DBS Invest Saver programme, we can also invest in the DBS digiPortfolio – offering 5 unique portfolios. Its Retirement Portfolio is managed in collaboration with J.P Morgan Asset Management, and has exposure to a diversified multi-asset portfolio of unit trusts. The Asia Portfolio has a Singapore focus investing across Asia though Singapore-listed ETFs. The Global Portfolio invests in Singapore-listed ETFs and UK-listed ETFs respectively. The SaveUp portfolio invests primarily in fixed-income instruments and incurs a lower management fee of 0.25%. The Income portfolio invests in equity and bond unit trusts that generate regular income.
Read Also: Pros And Cons Of Investing Through The DBS digiPortfolio
Mutual Funds/Unit Trusts
There are also platforms that allow us to invest in mutual funds and unit trusts on a monthly basis. Typically, these are managed by an active fund manager seeking to beat the market. However, there are also certain mutual funds or unit trusts that are passive investments tracking indexes.
#14 DBS Invest-Saver (Unit Trusts)
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $1,000 for some funds
Investments available: over 130 funds
Fees: varies depending fund
DBS Invest-Saver (Unit Trusts) allows us to invest in unit trust funds with underlying assets in equity, bonds and alternative investments, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), on a monthly basis. We can start investing from as little as $100 a month.
On its platform, we can choose to invest using cash, our CPF funds or our Supplementary Retirement Savings (SRS) account. We can also search for funds to invest in if we know the fund name, or if we want to invest with a certain fund house or on an investment theme.
#15 Phillip Unit Trust Regular Savings Plan
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $100. However, a higher minimum investment amount may be applicable for certain unit trusts.
Investments available: More than 500 unit trusts
Fees: 0%
Apart from its Share Builders Plan, Phillip also offers a Unit Trust Savings Plan. Investors can choose to invest in more than 400 funds from as little as $100 a month. They can also make use of their CPF or SRS funds to make these investments.
#16 FSM MAPS
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $100/month
Investments available: 10 curated portfolios based on risk profile and Income VS Growth portfolio
Fees: 0.35% (for conservative portfolios), 0.5% (for all other portfolios)
On FSM Maps, we can also start investing via a regular savings plan for as little as $500 a month. Investors can choose from five different risk levels, ranging from conservative to aggressive, as well as whether they prefer a growth or income portfolio, based on their investment objectives and risk tolerance.
FSM MAPS is able to give investors exposure to a diverse range of unit trusts and ETFs globally.
Read Also: Why Asset Allocation Is The No.1 Thing Investors Don’t Think About…But Should
#17 dollarDEX by Singlife
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $100/month. May vary depending on the portfolio.
Investments available: Close to 1,000 funds
Fees: 0%
dollarDEX by Singlife allows investors to invest on their own or via five recommended portfolios, again ranging from conservative to aggressive.
On its regular savings plan, investors can invest similarly to the other types of investments by contributing a regular investment of at least $100 each month.
#18 Endowus
Minimum investment amount: Minimum initial investment: $1,000, Minimum subsequent investment: $100
Investments available: Core (Invest Cash, Invest CPF, Invest SRS, in its Flagship, ESG or Factor-based portfolios); Income, Satellite (i.e. Thematic portfolios); Cash Smart and Fund Smart (DIY)
Fees: 0.25% to 0.6% for cash, 0.4% for SRS and CPF portfolios
Endowus is an independent fee-only platform that aims to help Singaporeans grow wealth by investing systematically, in share classes that were only previously available to institutional investors, managed by top global investment firms such as Dimensional and PIMCO.
They create customised portfolios for investors by making the asset allocation and portfolio construction decisions using data-driven and institutional asset allocation framework. They apply quantitative and qualitative screening to find funds that have outperformed over the long-term.
Its Fund Smart portfolio allows you to customise your investments into funds that you want to invest in, including the allocation you want to put into each fund. It also offers a Cash Smart account for cash management.
If you’re interested to start investing with Endowus, you’ll be happy to know that DollarsAndSense readers can have their first $10,000 managed for free for 6 months, which translates to savings of $20 in fees. Sign-up using this link to claim this special offer. Terms & Conditions apply.
#19 UOB SimpleInvest
Minimum investment amount: $500
Investments available: 5 risk-based portfolios based on a blend of strategies (Play Safe: United SGD Money Market Fund; Stable Income: United SGD Fund; Income: United Income Fund; and Growth: United Growth Fund); or curated selection of more than 100 unit trusts
Fees: 0.8% (sales charge)
Via UOB SimpleInvest, we can tap on the research from UOB Private Bank CIO with its Income and Growth portfolios. Or, Investors can also choose to invest in over 100 unit trusts on their own on the UOB TMRW app.
Honourable Mention
#20 Financial Advisers
Aside from the above platforms, you can also invest a fixed monthly sum through products offered by your financial adviser(s). Also known as investment-linked policies (ILPs), your money can get invested with a range of funds offered by the insurer. You’ll need to take time to understand how the ILP you’re considering works, especially the loss you would make if you surrender your policy early.
Investors Enjoy Many Benefits When Investing Regularly
No Need To Time The Market
If we are trying to time the market, we will only invest when we think the markets are at a low or when they are going up. This is virtually impossible for even the best fund managers and investors to achieve over the long-term, let alone average investors like us.
By investing a fixed sum each month, we end up investing in the financial markets regardless of its price at any point in time. Optimally, we should strive to invest in high-quality and broadly diversified investments.
Don’t Require Extensive Knowledge Or Expertise
New or retail investors may not have the financial training nor the time or expertise to monitor our portfolio regularly. By doing the initial research on the appropriate investment platform to use, we can tap into its knowledge, expertise and guidance to grow our wealth.
Start Investing From As Little As $100
The majority of the platforms that offer recurring monthly investments allow their investors to start from an affordable amount – as little as $100 (or even lower). They also typically give investors the flexibility to increase, decrease, stop or cash out the investments without any penalties.
Since such platforms are targeting retail investors and monthly investments, the majority of the platforms also offer a competitive brokerage or commission charge. Paying a high brokerage or commission charge can eat into our returns over the long-term.
Not Locked Into Any Investments, But You Build A Portfolio With A Disciplined Investing Method
Most investment platforms do not require us to be locked in over several years or even decades to invest with them. This is a big advantage that allows us to reduce our investment amount each month, completely stop investing or even sell away our entire investments without any penalties.
At the same time, this flexibility doesn’t mean we would lack the conviction to invest regularly. By setting up the amount we want to invest each month, our funds will continue to be automatically deducted unless we make an active decision to stop.
Leverage On A Dollar-Cost Averaging Strategy
When we invest a fixed sum of money each month, we buy up more of an asset when prices go down and less when prices go up. This way, we will invest at close to the average price of the asset.
In the example below, if we simply invest $6,000 lump sum in January, we would end up with the same $6,000 (i.e. the same 6,000 shares/ETF units we initially bought) in June.
If we Dollar-Cost Average (DCA) $1,000 into the markets, we would also invest the same $6,000, but have 6,103 shares/ETF units.
Source: DollarsAndSense
This article may contain links to our affiliate partners. DollarsAndSense may receive a share of revenue from sign-ups. This article was originally published on 19 February 2019 and updated to reflect the latest information.
The post 20 Investment Platforms Singaporeans Can Use To Invest A Fixed Monthly Sum appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
