Moomoo MY Cash Plus Review: How I earn competitive interest on my idle cash!
Since the launch of Moomoo MY in Malaysia in early 2024, they have grown to be one of the top stock investing platforms in Malaysia.
In my initial review during the launch, the lack of ability to earn interest on idle cash was one of my criticisms towards Moomoo MY.
However, with the launch of Cash Plus, things have now changed. As a Moomoo MY client, you can now enjoy a low-risk, competitive return on your idle cash when you sign up for moomoo’s Cash Plus funds!
In this post, let's dive deeper into Cash Plus and look at what Cash Plus has to offer!
RELATED POST:
What is Cash Plus?
Cash Plus is a suite of money market and cash funds offered to Moomoo MY users which invest in high-security monetary instruments, such as government short-term bonds and banks' fixed deposits (FD).
Thanks to this, the funds offered by Cash Plus are low-risk options for investors looking to:
- Earn interest on their idle cash while waiting for the next investment opportunity, or;
- Simply saving towards a financial goal in life.
For me, Cash Plus is also a flexible alternative to traditional Fixed Deposits (FDs), where my deposits are locked in for a fixed period with a penalty usually imposed for early withdrawal.
Moomoo MY Cash Plus Benefits
Having used Cash Plus for a period of time, these are what I like about Cash Plus:
#1 Earn daily returns:
By using Cash Plus, you get to enjoy up to 3.5% p.a.* in daily returns. This daily return is applicable even during the weekends.
This is competitive compared to traditional Fixed Deposit rates from banks, especially considering that they come with lock-in period.
*Based on 1-year past returns on Maybank Retail Money Market-I Fund and United Money Market Fund-Class R as of May 2024.
#2 Low barrier of entry:
It is also easy to get started with Cash Plus. All funds in Cash Plus can be subscribed from RM0.01 for MYR money market funds or USD0.01 for USD cash fund.
There is no maximum amount on how much you deposit in Cash Plus.
#3 Swift deposit & withdrawal
With Cash Plus, you are able to make your deposit and withdrawal swiftly, without the typical lock-in period compared to traditional banks' FD:
Deposit time for Cash Plus funds:
| United Money Market Fund - Class R | Maybank Retail Money Market I-Fund | United USD Cash Fund - Class R | |
| Subscription Cut-off time | 12:00pm | 12:00pm | 9:00am |
| Unit confirmed | Within the same trading day (T+0) | Within the same trading day (T+0) | Within the next 2 trading day (T+2) |
| Return posted | The next trading day (T+1) | The next trading day (T+1) | The next 3 trading days (T+3) |
Redemption time for Cash Plus funds:
| United Money Market Fund - Class R | Maybank Retail Money Market I-Fund | United USD Cash Fund - Class R | |
| Redemption Cut-off time | 12:00pm | 12:00pm | 9:00am |
| Unit confirmed | - | T+0 | T+2 |
| Redeemed amount | T+1 (Before 8pm) | T+1 | T+3 |
#4 Flexibility to redeem MYR money market funds for trading anytime
Even better, with Cash Plus, you can redeem your deposits on MYR money market funds for stock trading at any time, without having to wait for the withdrawal to be completed.
This makes it easy to keep your idle cash in the moomoo app working to generate returns for you at all times until you need it for trading purposes.
Meanwhile, deposits in USD Cash Plus fund can only be traded after redemption is completed.
#5 Zero fees + Shariah-compliant fund
In addition, there is also zero fees charged by Moomoo MY for Cash Plus. In other words, all you earn is yours to keep.
For Muslim investors, there is also a shariah compliant MYR money market fund, namely the Maybank Retail Money Market-I Fund that is available to be subscribed by Malaysian Muslims.
#6 NEW: Activate SmartSave to grow your idle cash automatically on Cash Plus!
SmartSave is, in my opinion, one of the best features on Moomoo MY.
By activating SmartSave, the idle cash in your Moomoo MY universal account will be used to buy your appointed MYR Cash Plus funds automatically on each business day.
The good thing? It will not affect your buying power for stocks and subscription to services such as IPO!
In other words, SmartSave allows your idle cash to keep working for you even when it is not invested in the stock market!
3 types of Cash Plus funds
There are 3 funds under Cash Plus. 2 of them are MYR money market funds, and one of them is a USD cash fund:
(A) Cash Plus MYR Money Market Funds
There are 2 MYR money market funds, namely United Money Market Fund-Class R, and Maybank Retail Money Market I-Fund.
| United Money Market Fund-Class R | Maybank Retail Money Market I-Fund | |
| Currency | MYR | MYR |
| Asset Manager | UOB | Maybank |
| 1-Year Return (as of 5/9/2024) | 3.61% | 3.59% |
| Shariah-Compliant | No | Yes |
| Subscription & Redemption fee | No | No |
As a whole, the 1-year return from both MYR money market funds is almost similar. The biggest differentiator for most users would be the Shariah compliance of the funds.
For Muslim investors who seek to invest in Shariah-compliant funds, the Maybank Retail Money Market I-Fund would be the go-to choice.
A major benefit of using Cash Plus MYR Money Market Funds over the USD Cash Fund is the ability to redeem the funds anytime, and even if the funds have not yet arrived, they can be used for trading within the moomoo app.
(B) USD Cash Fund
Aside from MYR money market funds, there is also a USD cash fund to choose from, namely the United USD Cash Fund - Class R:
| United USD Cash Fund - Class R | |
| Currency | USD |
| Asset Manager | UOB |
| 7-day Yield (as of 5/9/2024) | 5.0765% |
| Shariah-Compliant | No |
| Subscription & Redemption fee | No |
United USD Cash Fund - Class R allows investors to gain exposure and earn interest in USD.
The only thing is that unlike MYR money market funds above, I can only use my USD funds for trading once the redemption is complete.
Is Cash Plus safe to use?
- Regulated by Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)
When it comes to regulation, Moomoo MY (registered under the name Moomoo Securities Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.) is regulated by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). This ensures that Moomoo MY is always operating in Malaysia as per the guidelines from the local authority.
- CMC Fund Protection
If Moomoo Securities Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. goes bankrupt and you are unable to withdraw your funds, you are eligible to claim up to RM100,000 in compensation from the Capital Market Compensation Fund ("CMC Fund").
Market Risk of Investing in Cash Plus
While being a relatively stable investment, investing in money market fund via Cash Plus still presents exposure to market risk.
One such risk is the fluctuation in interest rates. As an example, if Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) increases interest rates, MYR money market funds are likely going to generate higher returns. On the flip side, if BNM reduces interest rates, it’ll also affect the returns of money market funds as a result.
Is Cash Plus for you?
Personally, I like the fact that there are both MYR and USD versions of funds available in Cash Plus.
Quick deposit & withdrawal, alongside the ability to access the money in my MYR money market funds for trading purposes, make Cash Plus one of the most versatile cash management solutions that I've used so far.
That said, is Cash Plus for you?
To answer this question, it is best to first know what Cash Plus is NOT:
- Cash Plus does not invest in stocks/equities (ie. Higher risk assets). Hence, do not expect stocks/mutual fund/robo-advisors-like returns.
- Cash Plus does not guarantee returns. Even though it invests in low-risk instruments, returns are still subjected to market fluctuation.
Hence, in my opinion, Cash Plus is great for:
- People with extra cash looking for the next investment opportunity, but wish to earn a stable return in the meantime.
- People looking for a flexible alternative to FD & typical savings account for general savings.
- People looking to save for a specific goal (eg. house, car, wedding).
- People with extra cash and want to save it for the short-term.
How to subscribe to Cash Plus?
Step 1: Before subscribing to Cash Plus, you will need to first have a Moomoo MY universal account. Click on the button below to open your account:
Step 2: Within the moomoo app, select 'Account', then choose 'Cash Plus'.
Step 3: Select the specific money market fund in Cash Plus that you'd like to invest in, and click 'Subscribe' at the bottom of the fund details page.
Next, insert the amount that you'd like to invest, read and agree to the relevant agreement documents, and click 'Confirm'.
Step 4: After confirming the purchase information, enter your transaction password to complete the subscription to Cash Plus.
Verdict: Use Cash Plus to earn competitive interest on your idle cash!
Moomoo MY is one of the most complete trading platform in Malaysia and the introduction of Cash Plus certainly makes it more versatile and complete.
Are you going to subscribe to Cash Plus? Which funds will be you choosing? Feel free to share with me in the comment section below!
Disclaimers:
All views expressed are the independent opinions of myself, which are not shared by Moomoo Securities Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (“Moomoo MY”). No content shall be considered financial advice or recommendation. Moomoo MY links are included in this post, through which referrals are made and I may receive certain commissions. Please contact Moomoo MY for more information.
Guide: How to open a CIMB Singapore account for Malaysians
In this guide, I want to share how you can open a Singapore bank account online, without visiting physical branches in Malaysia or Singapore. In particular, this guide is about opening a CIMB Singapore FastSaver account online.
So, let’s get straight into the topic!
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Highlights of CIMB SG FastSaver Account:
- The only way for Malaysians to open a Singapore bank account through fully online application. A Shariah-compliant version to the conventional FastSaver account is also available.
p - Minimum initial deposit of SGD1,000
p - No minimum balance needed
p - No monthly fees
Why open a Singapore Bank Account?
There are many reasons why one would have access to a Singapore bank account:
- It could be that your work requires you to receive or transact via SGD.
p - Most international stock brokers accept deposits/funding via SGD, and not Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). While you can still fund your broker via foreign telegraphic transfer (FTT) on your local bank account, it incurs expensive FX conversion and intermediary banking fees.
Documents Needed & Expectation
To start, it is best for you to have the following details with you:
- Your Malaysia IC
- Your Tax Identification Number (TIN)
- A CIMB Malaysia account
- SGD1,000 worth of MYR
If everything is smooth, the whole registration process will take about 2 weeks. Hence, be patient and please note that this is not something you can settle in a day.
Opening a CIMB Malaysia Account
To open a CIMB SG FastSaver account, you will first need an existing CIMB Malaysia account.
If you already have a CIMB Malaysia account, skip this part and move on to the next section.
Otherwise, you can open a CIMB Savings account easily online. Check out my step-by-step guide to register for a CIMB Savings Account below.
READ: Step-by-step guide to open a CIMB Savings Account (without going to bank!)
Opening a CIMB SG FastSaver Account
Step #1: Register for your account online
i. Check out the details of CIMB FastSaver account HERE. Once you are done, proceed to complete the application form online HERE.
You will first have to complete a “Single Citizenship Declaration Form” where you will need to make a declaration regarding your citizenship status.
Once done, you will be auto-directed to the registration page below:
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ii. During the registration process, you are required to:
- Upload a copy of your IC.
- Provide your Tax Identification Number (TIN) if you are a taxpayer (ie. You pay tax to LHDN).
- Upload your e-signature.
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iii. Once you are done, you’ll receive an email containing (1) a password-protected PDF, and (2) the next action steps.
At the same time, you’ll also receive an SMS from CIMB SG containing the password to unlock the PDF file. Once you open the PDF, you’ll find details of your account number.
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Step #2: Link your Singapore account
i. Proceed to link your CIMB SG FastSaver account to your CIMB Clicks Malaysia. Once you log in to CIMB Clicks, under ‘Services’, select ‘Singapore Account’ under the Account Linking section.
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ii. Next, key in your IC number. (Note: Please remove the dash '-' while keying in your IC)
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iii. Upon submission of your account linking request, it’ll take about 1-2 working days to get approved. To check the approval status, click ‘Singapore Account’.
Note: If you check your linking request it shows you the input screen again (like what you saw in Step 2ii), this means your application has been rejected.
In this case, contact the customer service of CIMB Malaysia and let them know that you need to have this account linked in order to perform an ASEAN Transfer for e-KYC verification requested by CIMB SG.
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Step #3: Perform an initial transfer
Once your account linking is approved in Step 2, move on to perform an initial transfer of SGD1,000 via your CIMB Malaysia account.
Once you are done, you can view your CIMB SG account balance by clicking the Singapore flag icon.
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Step #4: Application verification
Once you have done your initial deposit in Step #3, the next thing to do is to wait for verification on CIMB SG's end. Meaning, you'll have to:
- Expect an email from CIMB SG within 3-5 working days after Step #3, where they will require you to make a video appointment via CIMB SG's official WhatsApp contact to verify your identity and the purpose of opening an account. They'll ask questions like your IC number and how are you planning to use the CIMB SG account.
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Closer to the appointment, you will receive an email containing a Microsoft Teams link and meeting ID, while the passcode will be sent to your WhatsApp.
p - After the call, you'll have to wait for CIMB SG's end to process your verification. This wait is longer as it took about 7 business days for me to receive my (a) account activation email & (b) SMS for my CIMB SG activation code (more on this in Step #5).
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All in all, be prepared that Step #4 will take about 10 business days of waiting. During this period, I got several email reminders from CIMB SG that I have not completed my CIMB SG application, claiming that (1) I have yet to transfer my initial deposit (I have done so), or (2) I did not provide valid documents for account opening (I did).
If you have done everything mentioned in the email, just ignore the email and wait for the verification call from CIMB SG. If the wait is too long be sure to call or email CIMB SG for help.
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Step #5: CIMB SG First-time login
Finally, now that your CIMB FastSaver account is activated, it is time to log in to CIMB SG to initiate your first-time login. In Step #4, you should have received an SMS containing an activation code for CIMB Clicks (SG). Now:
- Go to CIMB Clicks SG. Click 'First Time Login'.
p - Create your username & password for CIMB Clicks SG, and key in the activation code that you got from Step #4 here.
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CIMB Clicks SG - Create username & password p
- Once you are done, download the CIMB Clicks SG app to activate your Digital Token. Setting this up is important so you can proceed with future transactions.
OKAY, now you have a fully functional Singapore bank account! The CIMB SG Clicks interface has a really outdated design but it gets the job done for any simple transfers and transactions.
Withdrawing funds from CIMB SG to CIMB Malaysia
Withdrawing funds from CIMB SG back to your CIMB Malaysia account is easy.
Step 1: Link your CIMB Malaysia account with CIMB SG
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Step 2: Wait about 3 working days for the linking to be approved.
Step 3: Head over to 'CIMB Malaysia Transfer' > 'To My CIMB A/C' and proceed with your withdrawal.
Wise: A cheaper way to add funds to your CIMB SG Account (+ Referral Link!)
Now that you have opened your CIMB SG account, it is likely you'll need to keep transferring funds to this account in the future.
For all future fundings, you can go through platforms like Wise to get a cheaper FX rate. I was hoping you could support this blog by using my Wise referral link today!
FX Rate Comparison: CIMB RM3,148.50 = SGD1,000 vs Wise RM3122.14 = SGD1,000
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Rate Comparison: Check out the rates between Wise and our local banks below (RM3,000 to SGD):
How to use your Singapore bank account to fund your foreign stock broker/accounts
One major benefit of having a Singapore bank account is many foreign brokers accept the SGD currency compared to MYR. In other words, you can save on the expensive FX and intermediary banking fees by funding your broker via a Singapore bank account.
Check out this guide on how I fund (and withdraw) my go-to foreign stock broker, Tiger Brokers and Singapore robo-advisor Syfe with my CIMB SG account!
ALSO READ: Tiger Brokers review
ALSO READ: Syfe Robo-Advisor Review
No Money Lah's Verdict
So here you have it - a detailed guide on how to open a Singapore bank account for Malaysians!
CIMB FastSaver is the easiest way for you to open a Singapore bank account at the moment, and I highly recommend opening an account especially if you look to fund your overseas stock brokerage account.
Before you go, remember to support this blog by using my Wise referral link! As a disclaimer, No Money Lah will get a small referral reward if you use my referral link, which will help the blog and keep producing useful content like this one!
If you find this guide useful, please share it with your friends & family too!
Disclaimer:
This article is accurate as of the time of writing. Please let me know if you notice any changes to the process and I'll update this guide accordingly.
This article also contains referral link that will reward No Money Lah on every successful referral. This will help sustain the blog so I can keep producing quality guides and content like this.
How to invest in the S&P500 Index for non-US residents (via Ireland-Domiciled ETFs)
Are you looking for a (simple) investment that has proven itself over the past few decades?
How about one that makes money 76% of the time over the past 30 years?
The S&P500 index is perhaps one of the best testaments for simple, yet practical investment that has withstood the test of time (AND financial crises, AND Covid-19).
But what exactly is the S&P500, and how can you (as a non-US resident) invest in the S&P500 index?
In this post, let’s explore how you can invest in the S&P500, and the things that you need to know before investing in it!
Before this, here are some related posts that you may want to read:
- Interactive Brokers (IBKR review): Invest in the global market including Ireland-domiciled ETF!
- Malaysians’ guide to ETF investing
- Are you a dividend investor? Here are the best dividend-paying ETFs in Malaysia!
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What is the S&P500 Index?
The S&P500 index is a stock market index that has been tracking the performance of the top 500 largest US-listed companies since 1957.
Just like how the KLCI and STI are used to measure the performance of the Malaysian and Singapore stock markets respectively, the S&P500 is commonly used as a proxy to the US stock market.
In fact, since the US stock market is so dominant, the S&P500 is sometimes considered as THE stock market.
So, what are the key companies within the S&P500 index?
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta (formerly Facebook), Alphabet, Berkshire Hathaway, and JP Morgan – just to name a few.
Essentially, by investing in the S&P500, you’ll get exposure to the finest companies in the US stock market.
But is there more to the S&P500? In the section below, let me show you some surprisingly impressive feats about the S&P500 index!
Time-tested Performance: Why invest in S&P500
In 2020, Warren Buffett stated that “for most people, the best thing to do is to own the S&P 500 index.”
Personally, I think there are solid reasons to this statement. Here are 2 indications of why the S&P500 is a great long-term investment:
#1 The S&P500 produced gains 76% of the time over the past 30 years.
Over the past 3 decades (1992-2021), the S&P500 has ended up higher in 23 out of 30 years. This makes up to gains 76% of the time*!
That, ladies & gentlemen, is just you investing your money passively without having to manage them at all! Not sure 'bout you, but I think that's a fantastic deal relative to the effort required!
*Important: Past performance is NOT indicative of future performance.
#2 The S&P500 has grown by 1019%* over the past 30 years.
This translates to an 8.38% in annualized return (ie. 8.38% yearly COMPOUNDED return over the past 3 decades!)
*1992 to 2021
Now, if #1 and #2 aren’t good enough, consider this:
Over the past 3 decades, the S&P500 has survived the dot-com bubble (2000), global financial crisis (2008), the Covid-19 pandemic crisis (2020), many other smaller crises – and STILL grown by 1019%!
In other words, the S&P500 has not just overcome the biggest financial and health crises of the past decades, but still managed to thrive coming out of them.
If you are looking for a simple AND reliable way to grow your wealth, I am pretty sure the time and crises-tested S&P500 could find its place in your portfolio.
How to invest in S&P500 Index as a non-US resident
As an investor, we cannot invest directly in the S&P500 index.
Instead, the easiest way to invest in the S&P500 index is through investing in the S&P500 Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
An ETF is an instrument that mirrors the performance of an underlying index. Similar to stocks, ETFs are also traded in the stock market.
In other words, you can buy/sell ETFs just like how you buy or sell stocks.
Before we proceed, as a non-US resident, it is not viable for us to invest in US-listed ETFs for the long-term due to tax reasons. More on why and what you can do about it in the following section.
RELATED READ: Guide to ETF Investing
Withholding & estate tax for investing in the US stock market
In the US, there are many popular S&P500 ETFs, such as:
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SPY)
- iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
These ETFs are especially popular among US investors as they track the performance of the S&P500 index closely.
However, it is not recommended for non-US residents (eg. investors from Malaysia or Singapore) to invest long-term in the US-listed S&P500 ETFs (eg. VOO, SPY, IVV).
Why?
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Withholding Tax on Dividends
As countries without tax treaty with the US, non-US residents investing in the US stock market are taxed 30% on dividends received.
So, let’s say you received $100 in dividends, you’ll only end up getting $70 due to withholding tax.
This is certainly not ideal if we invest in US-listed stocks or ETFs that pay out dividends.
Check the list of countries with tax treaty with the US HERE.
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Estate tax
There is also a 40% estate tax in the US for foreign investors.
So, let’s say I pass away with $1 million worth of stocks, $400k will go to the US government, and only $600k will be received by my appointed nominee.
Ireland-Domiciled ETFs: The best S&P500 ETFs for non-US residents
Well, does that mean we are not able to invest in the S&P500 after all?
Not exactly. There are ways to go around this:
The easiest way for non-US investors (eg. Malaysians, Singaporeans) to invest in the S&P500 index is through Ireland-Domiciled ETFs.
Why?
Because Ireland-Domiciled ETFs benefit from the US-Ireland tax treaty of only 15% withholding tax on dividends. This is significantly lesser compared to the 30% withholding tax of US-listed ETFs.
(a) How many Ireland -Domiciled S&P500 ETFs are there?
The following are 8 Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETFs are ETFs listed in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that tracks the S&P500 index.
Don’t worry, let me simplify this table and tell you which S&P500 ETFs are the best among all:
In the table above, there 6 things that you need to pay attention to:
(1) Trading Currency:
Most ETFs can be bought either in GBP or USD. Personally, I’d go for USD-denominated ETFs as USD is still the go-to global currency.
(2) Expense Ratio:
ETF providers charge a small annual management fee for their ETFs. In this case, all ETFs have a very low expense ratio so the difference is negligible.
(3) Fund Size:
In general, an ETF with a larger size fund size is a good indicator of the ETF’s durability as well as its popularity. Larger ETFs can also make use of economies of scale to lower their costs.
So, ETFs like CSP1 and CSPX are the obvious winner here. That said, other ETFs are also fairly respectable in size (billions) so you’ll be in good place regardless of which S&P500 ETF you select.
(4) Dividend Handling:
There are 2 approaches on how these ETFs manage dividends:
- Distributing: Your dividends are redistributed to you.
- Accumulating: Your dividends are reinvested automatically.
Choosing to invest in either ETF is your personal preference. Personally, I’d go for Accumulating ETFs as I want my dividends to be re-invested automatically, so I can compound my returns more efficiently.
(5) Unit Price:
Some ETFs are larger in terms of per unit share price. As an example, CSPX is USD 400+/share while VUAA is USD 80+/share.
If your investment capital is small, ETFs with smaller per unit price like VUAA would provide you more flexibility to invest in the S&P500.
(6) Trading Volume:
Here’s something that you may not know - the trading volume of an ETF has a minimal indication of the ETF’s liquidity.
Rather, it is the trading volume of the underlying component companies that truly affect the liquidity of an ETF (for S&P500 it’d be companies such as Apple, Microsoft etc.)
Hence, it’s okay to not put too much weightage into the trading volume of an ETF in our decision-making process.
(b) Which is the best Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETF?
Considering all the key factors, personally, I think CSPX or VUAA are the best Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETFs among all. Here are why:
- Both CSPX and VUAA are denominated in my preferred currency, USD.
- Both CSPX and VUAA have a very minimal expense ratio of 0.07%/annum.
- Both CSPX and VUAA will reinvest my dividends automatically (accumulating).
- Both CSPX and VUAA use a full replication approach. Meaning, I’ll get the most accurate representation of the S&P500 index when I invest in either of them.
- CSPX is the larger ETF compared to VUAA, but it has a larger per-unit price. This makes it less flexible to invest in it with a smaller capital.
- On the other hand, VUAA is a smaller ETF. However, it has a smaller per unit price, which is easier for investors to invest with a small capital.
Regardless, I think either ETFs are great for you to gain exposure in the S&P500 index.
Recommended broker to invest in Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETFs: Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
To invest in Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETF, you’ll need to have a broker with access to the exchange where the ETF is listed.
In this case, all the ETFs that we discussed are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
For this, I use Interactive Brokers (IBKR) to invest in Ireland-Domiciled S&P500 ETFs listed in the LSE. In fact, IBKR gives investors access to 150 markets in more than 33 countries! (US, Hong Kong, China, Japan, UK, Singapore, Europe, and more!)
In my opinion: IBKR is a no-brainer for investors looking to gain access to global markets at a low commission.
RELATED READ: Interactive Brokers Long-Term Review
Open an Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account today:
Click the image below to explore Interactive Brokers' Low Commission:
No Money Lah's Verdict
So, what do you think? Isn't the S&P500 amazing, given how it has withstood the test of time and crises?
For me, I genuinely think that the S&P500 is a great long-term investment, be it as a standalone investment, or being part of a long-term investment portfolio.
Remember, if you want to invest in Ireland-Domiciled ETFs, be sure to check out Interactive Brokers for global market access at a competitive price!
Disclaimers
This article is produced purely for sharing purposes and should not be taken as a buy/sell recommendation. Past return is not indicative of future performance. Please seek advice from a licensed financial planner before making any financial decisions.
This post may contain promo code(s) that afford No Money Lah a small amount of commission (and help support the blog) should you sign up through my referral link.
How to research for quality Malaysia REITs? My top 5 steps, revealed! (via moomoo app)
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are companies that own income-producing real estates, such as shopping malls, offices, warehouses, and hospitals.
In Malaysia, publicly-listed REITs have been well-received among dividend investors thanks to REITs' tendency to pay a competitive dividend yield:
As a dividend investor, Malaysia-listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), such as IGB REIT and Axis REIT make up an important portion of my Freedom Fund portfolio:
In this post, let me walk you through 5 key steps on how I use the handy features within the moomoo app to research for REIT!
RELATED POSTS:
[🎁 p.s. Exclusive 2x RM20 cash coupons for No Money Lah readers! Use promo code 'NML01' when depositing to claim your exclusive reward. Refer to 'Account Opening & Deposit Promotion' section of this article to find out more!]
My 5-step approach to REIT research (via moomoo app)
Personally, if I were to start from zero, I'd generally start my research from a top-down approach with a few key questions:
- Entire sector: How is the REIT sector doing compared to other sectors?
- Within the sector: Which REIT is the top-performing Malaysia REIT?
- REIT vs REIT: How is a particular REIT doing compared to another?
- Individual REIT study: How good/bad are the fundamentals of the REIT?
- Is a REIT overvalued/fairly valued/undervalued?
For that, I find the suite of features within the moomoo app very handy in my research.
Moomoo MY offers beginner-friendly stock research tools
The features & tools on the moomoo app are also very beginner-friendly, as there are easy-to-understand explanations for the financial terms & indicators in the app:
Step 1: How is the REIT sector doing compared to other sectors?
**Before we start, it is important to note that the tools & features that I show below can be used for stocks from other sectors as well.**
To begin, open the moomoo app, select 'Markets' and select 'MY' which indicates the Malaysia stock market:
Feature #1: Heat Map
With the Heat Map feature in the moomoo app, I can see how, as a whole, the REIT sector performs relative to stocks from other sectors in Malaysia.
- Step i: Select Heat Map, and change the view to list view.
- Step ii: Under 'Filter', select 'YTD' which will show us the Year-to-Date performances of each sector:
- Step iii: Sort the performance from highest to lowest:
From this, we can see that the entire REIT sector has been showing a positive Year-to-Date (YTD) performance of 11.62% in 2024:
Step 2: Which REIT is the top-performing REIT?
Next, I'd also like to find out which REIT is the top-performing REIT Year-to-Date.
Feature #2: Compilation of stocks within the same sector
To do so, select 'Real Estate Investment Trusts' from the Heat Map:
- Sort 'YTD' from largest to lowest to view the best-performing REIT year-to-date (YTD).
As of the time of writing this article (Sept 2024), REITs like Pavilion REIT (+26.58%), and IGB REIT (+24.64%) have been outperforming the return of the entire REIT sector (11.62%) year-to-date.
- Sort 'Market Cap' from largest to lowest to view the largest REIT by market capitalization.
Generally, companies with a larger market cap tend to be more established relative to companies with a smaller market cap.
Step 3: REIT vs REIT: How is a particular REIT compared to another?
Want to compare which REIT is better in terms of their dividend yield, and other fundamentals like Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Net Margin?
'Compare' is a powerful feature in the moomoo app that allows me to compare up to 7 stocks side-by-side.
Under 'Compare', I can have all important insights of multiple companies at a glance, such as Dividend Yield, financial indicators, and valuation indicators.
Feature #3: Side-by-side stock comparison
- Step i: Start by selecting a REIT that you'd like to compare. For this demonstration, I'll be selecting IGB REIT.
- Step ii: Select the 3-dot button at the bottom right to activate the expanded menu. Next, select 'Compare'.
- Step iii: Use the '+' icon to add up to 6 other REITs for comparison. For this example, I'll add Pavilion REIT (PAVREIT) and Atrium REIT.
We can get many important insights from the 'Compare' feature. Some key insights that I look for include:
- Price trend comparison over different timeframe (1/3/6-month, 1 & 3-year, and YTD performances)
With this, I can compare the performance of all 3 REITs from a shorter time frame, or even for the past few years.
From a 3-year price trend timeframe, IGB REIT is the top performer among all 3 REITs.
- Dividend yield TTM (Trailing 12-month)
Dividend yield TTM indicates the dividend yield (%) after taking into account of the distribution for the past 12 months.
Atrium REIT comes out top in terms of yield (5.76%), follow by IGB REIT (5.17%) and PAVREIT (3.78%).
- Valuation indicators like Earning-Per-Share (EPS)
EPS measures a company's profitability per unit of the company's outstanding shares.
Generally, a high EPS indicates greater value because investors tend to pay more for a company's shares if they think the company has higher profits relative to its share price.
IGB REIT comes top with the highest EPS among 3 REITs.
- Financial indicators like Return of Equity (ROE), Net Margin, Debt to Asset, Current Ratio
On it's own, financial indicators may not mean much, but there are many insights that we can gather by comparing companies side-by-side.
- To start with, among 3 REITs, IGB REIT has the highest Return on Equity (ROE), which signals that IGB REIT uses its shareholder's equity more efficiently to generate income.
- Next, IGB REIT also has the highest Net Margin, which means it is making the most in terms of net profit per dollar of revenue gained.
- IGB REIT also has lowest Debt to Asset, which indicates that only 26.66% of the assets own by IGB REIT is financed by debt, with the rest owned by shareholders.
- Finally, IGB REIT has the highest Current Ratio of 1.16. A current ratio 1.16 means that IGB REIT has 1.16x more in current assets (eg. cash, short-term receivables), which is enough (>1.0) to cover its short term liabilities (short-term debt).
Step 4: Individual REIT study
In Step 3, we've compared REITs side-by-side. Let's look at how we can use features within the moomoo app to conduct research on an individual REIT.
For this study, let's use IGB REIT, which has displayed an overall competitive dividend yield and decent financial health in Step 3.
Feature #4: Stock insights within the moomoo app
Start by searching for IGB REIT in the moomoo app. Then, select 'Company'
A few key insights that I'll normally look at are:
- （1) Dividend payout consistency or Dividend growth
As a dividend investor, I prefer REITs with a consistent dividend payout, even better are those with a track record of growing their dividends.
With IGB REIT, it has raised its dividend per share (DPS) for the past 2 years since recovering from the pandemic in 2021:
- (2) Company overview
It is also important to know what does a company do while doing a research.
IGB REIT manages 2 retail malls in Klang Valley, namely Mid Valley Megamall and The Gardens Mall.
- (3) Financial strength
Finally, I like to dive into the financials of a REIT. For this, I sort the financials on an 'Annual' basis:
(i) EPS: IGB REIT has been showing strong earnings recovery after the pandemic, which is encouraging for a REIT managing retail malls.
(ii) Net margin: IGB REIT has also shown an increase in net margin post-pandemic, indicating rising profitability.
Step 5: Is a REIT overvalued or undervalued?
To find out if a REIT is overvalued, fairly valued, or undervalued, I usually like to compare its share price to Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Unit:
- NAV Per Unit= (Total Asset - Total Liabilities)/Shares outstanding
In general:
- REIT share price > 3x NAV Per Unit = Overvalued
- REIT share price > NAV Per Unit, but <3x NAV Per Unit = Fairly valued
- REIT share price < NAV Per Unit = Undervalued
How to get NAV on moomoo app?
Let's find out if IGB REIT is over or undervalued:
- Step (i): Find out the total shares for a REIT.
- Step (ii): Deduct Total Assets and Total Liabilities to get Net Asset
Using the latest quarter (Q2 2024) available as reference, IGB REIT has a total assets of RM5.5B and total liabilities of RM1.47B.
Hence, the latest Net Asset Value (NAV) of IGB REIT is RM4.03B.
- Step (iii): Calculate Net Asset Value (NAV) per unit
NAV Per Unit of IGB REIT = NAV/Shares outstanding = RM4.03B/3.61B = RM1.11/unit
As of 10/9/2024, IGB REIT's share price is RM2.04. This makes the share price larger than IGB REIT's NAV per unit of RM1.11 (Price > NAV Per Unit), BUT lower than 3x NAV Per Unit of RM3.33 (Price < 3x NAV Per Unit).
Hence, we can conclude that IGB REIT is currently fairly valued and we can make our investing decision accordingly.
Quick Guide: How to buy your first stock via moomoo app
Looking to place your first stock, REIT, or ETF trade on the moomoo app?
Here's a quick guide on how to place your trade:
- Step (i): Search for the stock that you'd like to buy, and select 'Trade'.
- Step (ii): Choose the order type for your trade. The moomoo app has a suite of basic to advanced order types, alongside the explanation of how each works.
- Step (iii): Select your trade quantity.
- Step (iv): Review the amount needed for the trade. Ensure you have enough cash to place your trade under 'Max Qty to Buy (Cash)', or enough buying power if you trade on margin under 'Max Qty to Buy (Margin)'.
- Step (v): Proceed to place your trade by clicking the 'Buy' button.
Verdict: Make stock research a breeze with the powerful tools & features in the moomoo app!
Having used Moomoo MY since its launch in early 2024, I find the moomoo app to be one of the most feature-packed, yet user-friendly investing platform that I've used so far.
I hope this walkthrough of my REIT research showcase inspires you to explore the features in the moomoo app to improve your investment research process!
Disclaimers:
All views expressed are the independent opinions of myself, which are not shared by Moomoo Securities Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (“Moomoo MY”). No content shall be considered financial advice or recommendation. Moomoo MY links are included in this post, through which referrals are made and I may receive certain commissions. Please contact Moomoo MY for more information.
How I manage my finances at 30 (with the help from a licensed financial planner in Malaysia)
What's your biggest achievement at 30?
It sounds small, but learning how to manage my finances has been my core achievement at 30.
Since I started working with my financial planner, Stev (from WealthVantage), I've been writing about my financial progress and growth every year.
This year, aside from sharing my progress, I'd also like to share how I manage my finances.
Let this article show that it is possible to grow your wealth with proper habits, discipline, and guidance from a licensed professional!
READ MORE:
Progress in my finances (2018 – 2024): Net worth, Dividends, Expenses
(i) Net worth
In 2024, I've been lucky enough to make meaningful progress in my net worth, mainly due to a slight increase in earning power and an encouraging stock market.
Relative to last year, my net worth has risen by 78% in 2024.
Read on as I'll share the principles and lessons that helped me grow my wealth in the next section.
(ii) Dividend Income (ft. my Freedom Fund)
Long-time readers of No Money Lah would know that I invest for dividends via my Freedom Fund.
Why? Because I think dividend is the closest thing to true passive income in life. (p.s. HERE is what I use to build my Freedom Fund)
A family incident in 2024 got me thinking:
When the time comes when your loved ones need your care & attention, are you able to put everything aside for them (yes, including work) for a prolonged period of time -
without having to worry about cashflow/money?
Long story short: 2024 is a year that reinforced my commitment to build my dividend income as a reliable form of passive income.
As of 2024, I am happy to share that my Freedom Fund has generated about RM7135.77 in dividend income. This translates to RM594/month in dividends - which is halfway to my short-term goal of RM1,000/month!
You can find out more about my Freedom Fund HERE.
(iii) Personal expenses
Well... I have certainly spent a lot more this year.
Top 3 expenses in 2024:
- To start, I've spent much more traveling in 2024. Among all, hiking Mt. Kinabalu, holidaying with my parents in China, visiting Mt. Bromo, and trekking the Annapurna Base Camp. (no regrets!)
- Family expenses come second, including monthly contributions to the family.
- Personal care continues to be my top expense as I hit the gym more frequently for my fitness routine, as well as monthly visits to my chiropractor.
My thoughts on increasing cost of living:
In 2024, I also noticed that most insurance companies had increased the premium for their medical cards in conjunction with rising medical inflation.
Personally, the monthly payment for my medical card has risen by 37.6%.
The lesson here is always to be prepared for little increases in expenses in life.
My 4 wealth principles at 30:
Before sharing how I manage my finances, allow me to share a few key principles that I've learned about wealth:
#1 Don't disturb the compounding process
One key reason for the growth in my net worth this year can be attributed to the encouraging stock market growth in 2024.
Since I am clear that I am investing for the long term, I did not panic sell during the stock market sell-off in August (-9.75%), or the March-August Bitcoin drawdown (-33%).
Rather, I followed my investing routine by investing consistently (a.k.a Dollar Cost Average) each month.
This allowed my investments to enjoy the overall growth of 2024:
#2 Solid defense allows for a stronger offense
Building a solid financial defense line has also become a money principle that served me well.
A 'solid' defense line in finances refers to things like:
- Having adequate insurance coverage (life, medical, and critical insurance)
- Having an emergency fund
- Savings for different goals in life such as a house/car purchase, wedding and family matters.
When you have a strong defense line in place, it allows you to take more risks in life (eg. starting a business), and not have to sell your investments for cash during an emergency.
#3 True wealth = Freedom of choice
True wealth in life is having the choice to pursue what you want and spend time on what matters most to you.
As Morgon Housel, the author of 'The Psychology of Money' says:
"The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend money pays."
#4 When in doubt, get professional help from a licensed financial planner
An important juncture in my personal finance journey was when I started engaging my current financial planner, Stev, to guide my finances in late 2019.
Since then, Stev has guided me with all aspects of my finances, namely:
- Investments: Advised me on an ideal asset allocation for my age and risk appetite.
- Insurance: Guided me on the best insurance plans for my age & lifestyle - and kept me updated if my coverage is enough every year.
- p.s. Unlike insurance agents, a licensed financial planner can offer insurance plans from every insurance company - hence minimizing conflict of interest.
- Tax planning: Informed me of the latest tax rebates that I am entitled to for every new Budget.
- Estate planning: Stev has also helped me set up my will so my assets could be distributed smoothly in my demise. (Read my will-writing experience HERE)
p.s. Click on the button below to get your first financial consultation session - FOC!
How I manage my finances at 30 (with help from my financial planner)
My current money routine at 30 is an incremental refinement of my personal needs and goals over the years.
Generally, I split my finances into 2 spectrums - defense and offense:
#1 Defense
(a) Getting professional help for my will and insurance coverage
Often, the most overlooked aspects of finances are also the most important ones.
As you start owning assets like stocks, unit trusts, and properties, it is crucial to have a will in place so the assets can be legally transferred to your loved ones when you pass away.
I created my will at 28 with the guidance of my financial planner, Stev.
READ MORE: Why I wrote my will at 28
Meanwhile, I relied on Stev's expertise to find the best insurance combination for my age and lifestyle.
At 30, I spend close to RM470 every month on insurance payments.
To get the most value for money out of the insurance policies, my policies are picked strategically as below:
- Life insurance (Payout on death & total permanent disability): We opted specifically for Term-Life Insurance, in other words - insurance coverage without the investment nature. Term-life insurance is cheaper than investment-linked products but will incrementally become more expensive with age.
- Medical card (Covers hospitalization expenses): We've also decided to go with a medical card that covers things like surgery and room & board with an annual limit of RM10m.
- Critical illness (Income replacement while recovering from illnesses like cancer): For this, we opted for protection that could cover my daily expenses for 3 years should I am not able to work due to illnesses like cancer.
What I appreciate about working with a financial planner like Stev, is he can find the best coverage from any insurance company, instead of being tied to a single company like typical insurance agents.
Here's a glimpse of how Stev proposed a few combinations of insurance solutions for me in 2020:
(b) Automating my emergency fund, sinking fund, PRS, and EPF
The next layer of my defense line include things like my emergency fund, sinking funds, Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) fund, and EPF.
Generally, with the exception of EPF, I automate my monthly contribution to my emergency fund, sinking funds, and PRS fund. This can be easily done via apps like StashAway and Versa.
(i) Emergency fund (6 months to 1 year of daily expenses):
My preferred go-to place for emergency fund are low-risk money market funds like Stashway Simple, Versa Cash, or Moomoo Cash Plus as they offer competitive returns on par with FD, with the flexibility to withdraw anytime without penalty.
(ii) Sinking funds: In my late 20s, I've started to plan for many different short and long-term expenses in life and save for them accordingly:
- Short-term expenses: For expenses that I'd likely pay for in less than 2 -3 years, I usually automate my contribution on low-risk money market funds like StashAway Simple. Example:
- Tax payment fund
- Car maintenance fund
- Business fund
- Holiday fund
- Part of my big purchase fund (eg. car, property, future wedding)
- Longer-term expenses: For expenses likely to occur in more than 3 years, I usually automate my contribution on assets with slightly higher risk such as equities and commodities like gold:
- Family fund for family matters and emergency matters
- Part of my big purchase fund (eg. car, property, future wedding)
My favourite way to automate the whole process is through StashAway's low to medium-risk SRI portfolios, or customize my own Flexible Portfolio on StashAway:
(iii) Private Retirement Scheme (PRS):
For PRS, I only deposit the amount just enough to qualify for tax relief, which is RM3000/year (or RM250/m). I rely on my financial planner, Stev, to recommend the best PRS fund for me.
READ MORE: Guide to choose a PRS fund
(iv) EPF: As a self-employed, I contribute to my own EPF via self-contribution every month.
Tips for self-employed:
Aside from enjoying the relevant tax relief (max RM4,000 per year) and incentives, contributing to EPF regularly is a helpful record while applying for things like a credit card or loan.
A few words about the defense side of my finances:
As a whole, 3 main themes of this section are guidance, automation, and foresight:
- Guidance: Get help from a licensed financial planner, especially for insurance and estate planning.
- Automation: Automate your savings wherever possible with platforms that allow you to do so, such as StashAway and Versa.
- Foresight: At 30, it is important to consider big expenses ahead in life. Are you planning to organize a wedding? Are you planning to buy a house? Will your parents financially rely on you when they get old? Thinking ahead gives you the time to save for these events and avoid you from being caught off guard.
#2 Offense
Every money invested in offense is meant to grow my wealth. There are 3 key sections to my offense:
(a) Building my Freedom Fund (Dividend Portfolio)
One way to achieve freedom in life is to have a consistent, low-maintenance passive income from dividends.
As such, growing my Freedom Fund has become my primary goal, especially in recent years.
As a routine, I'll reinvest my dividends at the beginning/end of the month, and invest new capital manually through key trend or support & resistance areas.
(b) Growing my growth portfolio
My growth portfolio, on the other hand, consists mainly of ETFs that track the S&P500 (CSPX, VUAA), and NASDAQ-100 index (QQQ, QQQM) in addition to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
I shared more details on my investment approach and style at 30 HERE.
(c) Trading
Aside from investing for the long term, I also allocate some capital for shorter-term trading in the futures market.
A few words about the offensive side of my finances:
After a few years of investing, I've come to prefer Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) over picking individual stocks. Reason being, ETFs have their selection system in place that removes unqualified stocks regularly.
Essentially, this makes investing in ETFs relatively low maintenance (or passive) for me over picking individual stocks.
The lesson here is simple: Investing is about discovering a style that suits you. For me, I've come to learn that investing passively works best for my personality and lifestyle.
What is it like engaging a licensed financial planner in Malaysia?
Working with my financial planner, Stev, has been a major turning point in my financial journey.
Since we started working in late 2019, Stev has guided me in the aspects that I am not familiar with, such as tax planning, insurance, and the creation of my will.
In addition, hearing Stev's perspective & wisdom about investing, money, and life have been very helpful in my financial journey.
Should you engage a financial planner in Malaysia?
If you are still uncertain, here are some questions for you:
Do you have important priorities in life that you want to pursue or dedicate time to without having to always worry about your financial status:
“Do I have enough insurance coverage?”
“Am I investing right?”
“Can I retire with what I am earning now?”
If yes, engaging a financial planner can bring massive benefits to your life.
Specifically, I am confident that a financial planner will add massive value to you if:
- You have tried to DIY your finances but still feel overwhelmed.
- You want to prepare your finances for the next phase in life (eg. marriage, retirement), but not sure how.
- You need help to organize your finances in place but you are unsure how or too busy to begin (investments, insurance, estate planning etc).
Yes, there are charges to engage a financial planner. But trust me, this will be an investment that’ll give you returns and peace of mind in multiple folds.
Check out the next section on how to get your first financial consultation - FREE OF CHARGE!
[EXCLUSIVE] Get Your First Financial Consultation Session – FREE OF CHARGE!
If you are keen to explore how a licensed financial planner can help with your finances, this is for you:
I am working together with WealthVantage to bring a FREE Financial Consultation Session to all No Money Lah’s readers!
- When you sign up for this FREE consultation session, you will learn more about your overall financial state.
- Not only that, you can gauge if a financial planner is going to add value in the pursuit of your financial goals.
Regardless, it is 100% FREE and you have zero obligations to take up the service if it is not suitable for you. Plus, you are doing your finances a favor for the year to come!
You can sign up for your FREE financial consultation session by clicking on the button below.
Disclaimers
This article is made possible through a collaboration with WealthVantage. Special thanks to Stev and the team for making this collaboration such an impactful one.
WealthVantage did not receive copy approval rights on this article – that means they are reading this article for the first time, right alongside you.
p.s. This post contains affiliate links, which afford No Money Lah a small referral if you sign up for any paid services.
None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation, promotion, offer, or solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument or to engage in any specific investment strategy. Investment involves risks. Investors should obtain their own independent financial advice and understand the risks associated with investment products and services before making investment decisions.
Any discussion or mention of an ETF is not to be construed as a recommendation, promotion or solicitation. All investors should review and consider associated investment risks, charges and expenses of the investment company or fund prior to investing. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.
Tiger Brokers Review: Affordable & Reliable Way to Invest in the Singapore, US and Hong Kong Stock Market!
In this article, let's look at my review of Tiger Brokers, a broker that provides affordable access to foreign stock market, while having strong regulations in place.
As an investor, I have always been looking for the most affordable way to invest in the overseas stock market.
This is especially true for me as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) enthusiast, as having affordable access to Singapore, Hong Kong and the US stock market will allow me to invest in many attractive REITs globally.
At the same time, I also have concerns about the regulatory issue of foreign brokers, which of course relates to the safety of my funds.
Tiger Brokers come in to fit my needs nicely. Here's my updated review of Tiger Brokers after using it for more than 2 years:
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Tiger Brokers Highlights:
- Exposure to different markets & instruments with just one account. (Singapore, US, Hong Kong, Australia & China stock market, Futures, Warrants & Options)
- Highly competitive and attractive fees.
- 100% online account opening & management. No visit to the branch is required.
- Strong regulatory background + company is publicly listed on NASDAQ.
--
[PROMO] Commission-free trades + Free stocks!
Click the button below to use my Tiger Brokers referral link, and get the following when you open a new account (promo ending on 30/4/2025)!
a. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD3,000 - 9,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD100 in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD100 (2x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
b. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD10,000 - 99,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD200 (2x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD200 (4x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
c. Cumulative Net Deposit ≥SGD100,000
- Instant Reward: Total SGD500 (5x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD500 (10x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
Open A Tiger Brokers Account Today!
Tiger Brokers Regulation – How is Your Money Protected?
Let’s address the main concern of most investors when it comes to choosing a foreign broker – is it regulated by a proper/respected authority?
When it comes to their operation in Southeast Asia, Tiger Brokers is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), with a Capital Markets Services License to operate a legal brokerage business. Globally, Tiger Brokers is also regulated by the respective authorities from the US (SEC), Australia (ASIC), and New Zealand (FSPR) as well.
In short, Tiger Brokers is a well-regulated broker by proper authorities and is definitely way better than the brokers registered in some random African countries.
In regard to money/capital protection, there is strict segregation of clients’ capital and assets apart from Tiger Brokers’ own capital:
- Clients’ Capital: Kept by DBS Commercial Bank
- Clients’ Investment Assets:
- Singapore Stocks: Held by DBS Custodian Bank
- US Stocks: Held by Interactive Brokers
- HK Stocks: Held by Interactive Broker
To summarize, Tiger Brokers is held by a high standard of regulations and accountability towards clients’ assets and capital. As such, I have no problem recommending Tiger Brokers to fellow investors looking to invest in foreign markets.
Tiger Brokers Fees/Commission Comparison – Amazing Value & Highly Competitive Fees
Ultimately, what landed me on Tiger Brokers is its highly competitive commission.
While there are local brokers that offer exposure to foreign markets, they are super expensive (high barrier of entry), and the fee details are rarely available on their official websites (not transparent at all). As someone looking to invest affordably in the Singapore, US, and Hong Kong market, Tiger Brokers is certainly worth considering.
Below is the commission comparison table of Tiger Brokers alongside some other equally regulated (by MAS of Singapore) alternatives:
|
2022 Fees charged by respective brokers* |
Tiger Brokers (SG) |
Moomoo (SG) |
POEMS Starter by Phillip Securities (SG) |
Maybank Global Investing (Malaysia)*** |
|
Singapore Market |
0.03%, or min. SGD1.00/trade |
0.06%, or min. SGD2.49/trade |
0.08%, or a minimum of SGD 10/trade**. (**No minimum charge until 31/12/2022) |
SGD25, or minimum 0.40%/trade – whichever is higher. |
|
US Market |
USD 0.005/share, or a minimum of USD 1.00/trade. |
USD 0.01/share, or a minimum of USD 1.99/trade. |
Flat USD 3.88/trade |
SGD25, or minimum 0.40%/trade – whichever is higher. |
|
Hong Kong Market |
0.03%, or a minimum of HKD 8/trade. |
0.03%, or a minimum of HKD 18/trade. |
0.08%, or a minimum of HKD 30/trade. |
N/A |
*Stated are fees charged by the brokers themselves. Please note that there are also additional (albeit minimal) fees charged by the respective exchanges in a transaction. (More details HERE) ***Based on my best research since I cannot find any official foreign stock fee structure from local brokers’ website. If you are interested, do approach your respective local brokers for more info.
Tiger Brokers Options Trading Pricing
In addition to stocks, Tiger Brokers also offers options trading at an affordable pricing of USD 0.65 per contract for US options!
Open A Tiger Brokers Account Today!
How to Open a Tiger Brokers Account?
a. Account Types
There are 2 types of trading accounts offered by Tiger Brokers, namely:
- Margin Account (eligibility: 21 – 65 y/o)
Margin Account supports margin trading and short selling (intraday leverage up to 4x; overnight leverage up to 2x).
- Cash Upfront Account (eligibility: 18 – 75 y/o)
Cash Account only allows trading stocks with cash. Margin trading and short selling are unavailable.
In short, you invest or trade with what you have deposited in your account.
If you are below 21 y/o currently, you can open a Cash Upfront Account first, then upgrade to a Margin Account once you reach 21, along with a full-time job.
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b. Account Opening Process
The account opening process does take some time, but it is simple & straightforward. Spare around 15 – 20 minutes to prepare the documents needed to smoothen your account-opening process.
If this is your first time opening a foreign brokerage account, I highly recommend you to follow the steps below – as I’ll explain some potential terms that you may not be familiar with:
Step 1: Prepare for the Documents/Details
- Nationality/Full Name/Current Residential Address/Citizenship/Date of Birth/IC Information
- Employer’s name and address
- Details of assets and income
- Investment objectives and experience
- Proof of Identity (IC/Passport)
- Proof of Residential Address (IC/Residential Estate Certification/Utility Bills - eg. Water/Phone Bill within the past 6 months, showing your full name & address)
- Bank Statement (issued within the past 6 months, showing your full name & address)
Step 2: Open a Tiger Brokers Account
Click HERE to use my Tiger Brokers referral link so you can enjoy account opening rewards!
When you click on the referral link, the rewards will be automatically applied and you can start your account opening process.
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Step 3: Key in Your Nationality & Tax Residency Country.
Tax Identification Number (TIN) is your local tax number. If you are still studying, or do not have an account yet, just tick ‘I don’t have a TIN’ and state your reasoning.
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Step 4: Key in Your Personal Info & Employment Details.
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Step 5: Decide if you want to open a Margin Account or a Cash Account.
Also, decide if you need access to instruments like Futures and Warrants (p.s. just tick ‘No’ if you don’t know what these are).
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Step 6: Read and proceed after you agree to the conditions of the W8-Ben form*.
*What is W-8Ben form?
Filling in the W-8 Form is a requirement by the US Inland Revenue Service for account holders to declare that the beneficiary owner of the amount received from US sources is not of US origin. For clients who want to trade the U.S. markets, they will need to complete this form.
Step 7: Upload the necessary documents.
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Step 8: Verify your identity by scanning your face. Follow the steps as shown below:
Step 9: You are done!
Generally, the account will be opened within 1 to 3 business days after the account opening application is submitted.
You will receive an SMS & email notification upon a successful account opening. Alternatively, you may log in to Tiger Brokers' official website to check your account opening status.
How to Fund Your Tiger Brokers Account
After your account is approved and opened, the next thing that you’d want to do is to fund your account. There are 2 main ways for you to fund your Tiger Brokers account:
Method 1 (recommended): Funding Tiger Brokers via a Singapore Bank Account (CIMB SG)
The first, and my recommended way to fund your Tiger Brokers account is through a Singapore bank account.
The deposit experience is fast, and you'll also save on the expensive intermediary banking fees (SGD20/USD30) that incur when you use FTT via a Malaysia bank account.
Check out my detailed guide on:
- How to open a Singapore bank account online
p - How to fund your Tiger Brokers account via a Singapore bank account
The whole process may take some time but trust me, the savings are going to be worth it.
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Method 2: Funding Tiger Brokers via Foreign Telegraphic Transfer (FTT) through Malaysia banks
In the following section, I'll show you how to fund your Tiger Brokers account via FTT through local banks. That said, I do not recommend this method due to expensive intermediary banking fees (SGD20/USD30) per transfer.
If this is your first time, the process may be a little intimidating for you so I’ve created a step-by-step for you below:
Step 1: Open your Tiger Brokers app
Step 2: Select ‘Me’ at the bottom right corner > Tiger Account
Step 3: Select ‘Deposit’
Step 4: Select to deposit in the currency of your choice (SGD/USD/HKD).
Step 5: Select ‘Other Overseas Bank Accounts’
Step 6: You’ll be shown the remittance/transfer details.
Remember to key in the payment reference correctly when you do your transfer in Step 7!
Step 7: Do the remittance from your bank via FTT.
A standard FTT fee will be charged for every FTT transfer. Aside from that, there are 2 things to take note of:
- Generally, the transfer will take between 1 – 3 days but from my experience, it only took several hours for my deposit to reflect in my Tiger Brokers account.
p - For all these FTT transfers, Tiger Brokers do not charge for the whole funding process. However, our banks’ appointed intermediary bank will be charging a clearance fee (varies according to banks). For me (Maybank FTT), it is SGD20 for SGD transfers and $30 for USD transfers.
In short, the total cost for my FTT transfer via Maybank is (1) Standard FTT fee + (2) SGD20 (SGD transfer)/$30 (USD transfer). Again, this is NOT a fee from Tiger Brokers but it's a clearance fee charged by the banks.
As you can see, this is the reason why I do not recommend funding your Tiger Brokers account via local FTT. Instead, save on these fees by checking out my guide on how to fund your Tiger Brokers account through a Singapore bank account.
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Step 8: Inform Tigers Broker to check for your deposit upon transfer + upload transfer receipt
Step 9: You are done! You will receive an email once your deposit is accepted.
How to withdraw from Tiger Brokers
Personally, I'd recommend withdrawing your funds from Tiger Brokers via a Singapore bank account, for several key reasons:
- Direct withdrawal to a local bank (non-SG banks) will incur an expensive intermediary banking fee of around SGD35 (SGD withdrawal) or USD25 (USD withdrawal). In comparison, there are no fees on withdrawal to a Singapore bank account.
p - Direct withdrawal to a local bank (non-SG banks) can take about 1 - 3 days. On the other hand, withdrawal to a Singapore bank account (during business hours) can happen within the same day (though officially it mentions 1-3 business days).
Again, if this is your first time planning to open a foreign stock account, just know that these caveats (fees) on deposit & withdrawals apply to all foreign stock brokers, not just Tiger Brokers. That's why I highly recommend opening a Singapore bank account if you are planning to invest overseas.
READ: How to withdraw funds from Tiger Brokers to a Singapore bank account
Who Should Open a Tiger Brokers Account?
As a whole, Tiger Brokers offers investors exposure to various foreign markets at an affordable package, while retaining the much-needed regulatory aspects at the same time.
As such, Tiger Brokers is suitable for:
1. Investors with some experience in the local stock market, and are looking to diversify to (either/or) the Singapore, US, Hong Kong, China, and Australia market at an affordable rate.
2. Investors that are currently using expensive local brokers to invest overseas, and are looking for a more competitive rate to reduce investing cost.
3. Investors that are ready to invest in foreign markets and want their broker to be regulated by proper authorities.
My Tiger Brokers Experience + Things to Improve
Having used Tiger Brokers for almost 2 years now, my experience with them has been largely decent.
Execution of trades is smooth and fund transfers are also easy. That aside, I’d want to focus this discussion on 3 particular parts of Tiger Brokers: the mobile app, desktop app & customer support.
(a) Tiger Trade Mobile App
For the most part, I love the mobile app from Tiger Brokers. The interface is relatively simple and intuitive, and most of the functions you need are easy to navigate and find.
Personally, even as someone that does not execute trades on mobile apps (I still prefer web/desktop), I find the design language of the mobile app better than the desktop interface.
(b) Tiger Trade Desktop App
Personally, when it comes to execution, I still prefer to stick with the desktop/web app of my brokers.
That said, at first glance, Tiger Brokers' desktop app can be a tad more daunting than its mobile counterpart. This is because the layout tends to be more informative compared to the mobile app.
In other words, new investors may get overwhelmed at first. There is some learning curve involved, but it is definitely manageable – and you’ll come to appreciate the layout once you are familiar with how everything works.
(c) Customer Support
There are 2 ways to reach out for help to Tiger Brokers, namely via their hotline (tel:+65 6950 0591) or email support ([email protected]).
I have been using the email support service for inquiries many times (personal inquiries & also in preparation for this article), and the response time has been decent. Generally, most of my emails during working hours are responded to within an hour or 2, or else they’ll be replied to on the next day.
One thing that I hope could be improved though, is how they explain/clarify questions. There are instances where when I asked about a more technical issue/jargon, and was replied with a more expanded (not simplified) explanation.
With businesses going online nowadays, I think it is more important than ever for companies to invest in improving customer support, especially in understanding customers’ perspectives and providing simplified support to inquiries.
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(d) Can't access or log in to your Tiger Brokers account/platform?
Lately, several readers have reached out to me with an issue where they are unable to log in to their Tiger Brokers account/platform.
Personally, I do not have this problem but I am made aware that this is an issue with selected internet providers (eg. Unifi) that randomly blocked out certain sites for no logical reasons.
To solve this problem, simply download a VPN application on your computer and phone (eg. Proton VPN, Windscribe, and many more). Then use the VPN software to connect to another country.
Once you have done that, accessing your account shouldn't be a problem anymore.
Tiger Coins - Tiger Brokers' Built-In Reward System
Tiger Brokers has recently launched its built-in reward system - Tiger Coins, where you can collect when you complete certain tasks.
With Tiger Coins, you can redeem attractive rewards from Stock Vouchers to commission-free trades!
No Money Lah’s Verdict
So here you go – my in-depth review of Tiger Brokers!
As someone looking to gain exposure in foreign markets, Tiger Brokers is truly a decent overall package that offers highly competitive fees with solid regulatory backing.
Having invested via Tiger Brokers for almost 2 years now, Tiger Brokers is my go-to broker for foreign stock investments and I have no problem recommending them to investors that is keen to gain foreign market exposures – all without paying expensive commissions.
If you have any questions on Tiger Brokers, feel free to leave a question in the comment section below! Constructive feedback are welcomed as well :)
Tiger Brokers Referral Link
Planning to open an account?
Click the button below to use my Tiger Brokers referral link, and get the following when you open a new account (promo ending on 30/4/2025)!
a. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD3,000 - 9,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD100 in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD100 (2x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
b. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD10,000 - 99,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD200 (2x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD200 (4x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
c. Cumulative Net Deposit ≥SGD100,000
- Instant Reward: Total SGD500 (5x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD500 (10x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
Open A Tiger Brokers Account Today!
READ: How to make your first trade on Tiger Brokers?
Disclaimer:
This post contains affiliate link(s). As always, I’d only recommend tools and financial solutions that I personally use AND/OR are interesting & provide unique value to my readers. Every article takes a long time and effort to write and when it comes to financial solutions, I’ll only invest time in writing about good and relevant products.
Guide: How to invest in Canadian-domiciled ETFs via Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
As a non-US resident (Malaysian) writing about dividend investing, I often get questions from readers about how to invest in Canadian-domiciled ETFs.
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) is Canada's main stock exchange where Canadian-domiciled ETFs are traded.
In this post, I'll walk you through (i) how to invest in the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) via Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and (ii) how to get live price feed for TSE (TSE) for free!
RELATED ARTICLES:
Support this blog with a small gesture!
Dear friends, if you find this post helpful, I’d appreciate it if you can click on the button below to learn about IBKR via IBKR’s official site.
Doing so will help the earn the blog a small fee at no extra cost to you.
This will help supporting the blog in creating more useful content – thanks in advance my friends!
Why Canadian-domiciled ETFs over US-domiciled ETFs for non-US residents (Malaysia/Singapore)?
While investing, dividend withholding tax (WHT) is an important consideration - especially for dividend investors.
For non-US residents (eg. Malaysians, Singaporeans) looking to gain exposure to the US stock market, Canadian-domiciled ETFs offer a more efficient Dividend Withholding Tax (WHT) rates:
| Canada | US | |
| Dividend Withholding Tax (WHT) for Malaysians & Singaporeans (non-US residents) | 15% | 30% |
READ MORE: All you need to know about Dividend Withholding Tax (WHT)
Step-by-step: How to activate trading permission for Canada stock market in Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
My go-to broker to invest/trade Canadian-domiciled ETFs is Interactive Brokers (IBKR).
Aside from the Canada stock market, IBKR also offers access to over 150 markets in 34 countries, such as the US, UK, HK, Singapore, Australia, Europe, Japan, and more at a highly competitive commission.
In order to trade the Canada stock market, you'll first have to activate trading permission on IBKR:
To start, you'll need to have an IBKR account.
- To open an IBKR account, check out my full guide HERE. If you already have an IBKR account, log in to your IBKR account HERE.
Step 1 - 2: Go to the Profile icon at the top right corner, select ‘Setting’
Step 3: Select 'Trading Permissions'
Step 4: Under ‘Stocks’, select ‘Edit’
Step 5: Tick ‘Canada’, and select 'Continue'
Step 6: If all is smooth, your submission will be approved almost instantly
How to get live price feed for Canada stock market (TSE) for free
By default, you'll get a 15-minute delayed price feed for the Canadian stock market in IBKR.
That said, you can activate live price feed for the Canadian stock market (TSE) for free. Here's how:
Step 1 - 2: Under Profile, select ‘Setting’
Step 3: Select ‘Market Data Subscriptions’
Step 4: Select ‘Configure’
Step 5: Under ‘Trader Workstation’, select ‘North America’.
Next, under ‘Quote Bundles’, select ‘Canadian Exchange Group & Montreal Derivatives Bundle’, which includes data to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE):
Note: As of this writing, the fees for live TSE price data are waived, but this might change in the future. Please always double-check if there are fees involved before proceeding!
Step 6: Select continue
Step 7: Your market data subscriptions will be confirmed
Now, as you trade Canadian-domiciled ETFs or stocks, you'll get live price feed instead of a 15-minute delayed price feed:
No Money Lah Verdict: Invest in Canadian-domiciled ETFs easily with IBKR!
With trading permission and live price feed for the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) activated, you can now invest in Canadian-domiciled ETFs easily.
I hope this is helpful and let me know in the comment section if you have any questions!
Disclaimer:
This review is purely based on my personal experience and is updated as of the time of writing.
This article may contain affiliate links that will earn the blog a small fee if you click on them. This comes at no extra cost to you as a reader.
Promotional Relationship Disclosure:
This content is provided by a paid Influencer of Interactive Brokers. Influencer is not employed by, partnered with, or otherwise affiliated with Interactive Brokers in any additional fashion. This content represents the opinions of Influencer, which are not necessarily shared by Interactive Brokers. The experiences of the Influencer may not be representative of other customers, and nothing within this content is a guarantee of future performance or success.
None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation, promotion, offer, or solicitation of an offer by Interactive Brokers to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument or to engage in any specific investment strategy. Investment involves risks. Investors should obtain their own independent financial advice and understand the risks associated with investment products and services before making investment decisions. Risk disclosure statements can be found on the Interactive Brokers website.
Interactive Brokers is a FINRA registered broker and SIPC member, as well as a National Futures Association registered Futures Commission Merchant. Interactive Brokers provides execution and clearing services to its customers. For more information regarding Interactive Brokers or any Interactive Brokers products or services referred to in this video, please visit www.interactivebrokers.com.
Any trading symbols, entities or investment products displayed are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to portray recommendations.
The information in this podcast does not constitute tax advice and cannot be used by the recipient or any other taxpayer to avoid penalties under any federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, or to resolve any tax issue.
Any discussion or mention of an ETF is not to be construed as a recommendation, promotion or solicitation. All investors should review and consider associated investment risks, charges and expenses of the investment company or fund prior to investing. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.
Guide: How to link your Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account and place trades on TradingView
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) has been my go-to broker for all-things global stocks and ETFs.
Meanwhile, TradingView is one of my top charting platforms thanks to its simple-to-use interface and feature-rich charting tools.
Wouldn't it be perfect if I could link my IBKR account to TradingView - so I gain access to the vast markets that IBKR offers while executing my trades on my favourite charting platform?
In this post, let me show you how to do so!
RELATED POST:
Support this blog with a small gesture!
Dear friends, if you find this post helpful, I’d appreciate it if you can click on the button below to learn about IBKR via IBKR’s official site.
Doing so will help the earn the blog a small fee at no extra cost to you.
This will help supporting the blog in creating more useful content – thanks in advance my friends!
Step-by-step: Linking your Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account on TradingView
Pre-requisites: Opening your IBKR account
To start, you'll need to have an IBKR account and TradingView account
- To open an IBKR account, check out my full guide HERE.
- To open a FREE TradingView account, click HERE.
- If you already have an IBKR and TradingView account, move on to the next step.
Step 1 - 2: Look for Interactive Brokers (IBKR) under 'Trading Panel'
Under TradingView's charting interface, select 'Trading Panel' in the bottom section.
Then, look for Interactive Brokers:
Step 3: Once you select Interactive Brokers, click 'Connect'
Step 4 - 5: Log in to your IBKR account and authorize the linking of your IBKR account to TradingView
Once connected, you'll be able to see your IBKR account ID displayed on TradingView's bottom panel:
Executing a trade on TradingView with your IBKR account
In the previous section, we've successfully connected our IBKR account to TradingView.
Now, let's see how to execute a trade on TradingView with your IBKR account connected:
Step 1: At the search bar, search for the ticker/symbol of the stocks/ETF/instruments that you intend to trade
To see if the instrument is tradable on your IBKR account, keep the 'Interactive Brokers' icon selected.
Step 2: At the bottom panel, select 'Trade'
Step 3: Placing trades on TradingView
You'll be greeted with an execution panel. Here's how to execute a trade on TradingView:
- (a) Choose 'Order' to place your trades. Meanwhile, DOM (or Depth of Market) shows you the orders across each price level
- (b) Select 'Buy' to place a long trade and 'Sell' to close your trade (or place a short trade). The figure in the middle (0.04, for this example) shows the Bid-Ask spread - which is the difference between the best price that the buyers and sellers are willing to transact.
- (c) Order type: Choose your order types to execute your trade. The most common order types are:
- Market order: Allows investors to enter immediately at market price.
- Limit order: Allows investors to line up their orders to buy shares at a specific price or better.
- Stop Order: A Buy Stop Order is an order that is triggered when the price hits a specific level defined by the investor.
- To learn more about the common Order Types on IBKR, check out my guide HERE.
- (d) Order sizing: Define your trade size either in (i) no. of shares you want to purchase OR (ii) monetary value of your trade
- (e) Optional: Set your Take Profit and/or Stop Loss level for your trade as you see fit. You can define them in Ticks value/Price level/Monetary value/% distance from your entry price. This feature is useful for traders with a pre-defined price level to exit their trades.
- (f) Determine Time-In-Force of your trade order: Time-In-Force determines how long your trade order will stay valid. 2 of the most common Time-In-Force mechanisms are:
- Day: A ‘Day’ order will stay valid until the end of the trading session and cancel itself should the order is not filled.
- Good till Cancel (GTC): A GTC order will stay valid until it is filled, or you cancel the order yourself.
- (g) Set your Order Routing (I will usually keep it to the default setting) and if you'd like your Take Profit (where applicable) to be triggered outside of Regular Trading hour (RTH).
- (h) Once you've done the selections above, select 'Buy' to proceed with your trade.
- (i, j) Check your trade details, and click 'Send Order' if all is okay. A confirmation pop-up will appear - select 'Accept' if you are aware and acknowledge the terms.
Once your trade is placed and executed, you'll be able to check for your trades under ' Trade History':
No Money Lah Verdict: Getting the best of both worlds with Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and TradingView
I hope this guide has been helpful!
IBKR and TradingView are my favourite platforms - for broker and charting respectively, and I am super happy to share how to combine both in my investing journey in a seamless manner - give it a try, you'll like it!
Disclaimer:
This review is purely based on my personal experience and is updated as of the time of writing.
This article may contain affiliate links that will earn the blog a small fee if you click on them. This comes at no extra cost to you as a reader.
Promotional Relationship Disclosure:
This content is provided by a paid Influencer of Interactive Brokers. Influencer is not employed by, partnered with, or otherwise affiliated with Interactive Brokers in any additional fashion. This content represents the opinions of Influencer, which are not necessarily shared by Interactive Brokers. The experiences of the Influencer may not be representative of other customers, and nothing within this content is a guarantee of future performance or success.
None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation, promotion, offer, or solicitation of an offer by Interactive Brokers to buy, sell or hold any security, financial product or instrument or to engage in any specific investment strategy. Investment involves risks. Investors should obtain their own independent financial advice and understand the risks associated with investment products and services before making investment decisions. Risk disclosure statements can be found on the Interactive Brokers website.
Interactive Brokers is a FINRA registered broker and SIPC member, as well as a National Futures Association registered Futures Commission Merchant. Interactive Brokers provides execution and clearing services to its customers. For more information regarding Interactive Brokers or any Interactive Brokers products or services referred to in this video, please visit www.interactivebrokers.com.
The projections or other information regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes generated by the Tools mentioned in this video are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results. It is important to understand that these projections are based on certain assumptions and models, and actual outcomes may differ significantly. Please note that results may vary over time.
Any trading symbols, entities or investment products displayed are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to portray recommendations.
The information in this podcast does not constitute tax advice and cannot be used by the recipient or any other taxpayer to avoid penalties under any federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, or to resolve any tax issue.
Any discussion or mention of an ETF is not to be construed as a recommendation, promotion or solicitation. All investors should review and consider associated investment risks, charges and expenses of the investment company or fund prior to investing. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.
"Should I ignore the stock market and just invest in EPF?"
"Should I ignore the stock market and just invest in EPF (KWSP)?"
EPF's latest 6.30% dividend is a nice treat for Malaysians.
From 2000-2024, EPF (conventional) delivered an annualized return of 5.63% compared to 8.32% of the US stock market (S&P500).
With a difference of 2.69% in annualized return, which is a better long-term investment?
Useful Articles:
#1 How a 'small' 2.69% annualized return makes a huge impact in the long run
Despite a 'small' 2.69% difference in annualized return, the S&P500 delivered significantly better return vs EPF for the past 25 years.
After accounting for forex (USD/MYR) gains/loss, RM100 invested in the S&P500 in 2000 would mean RM737.41 by 2024. For EPF, you'd be looking at RM392.86.
Putting this into table form:
| S&P500 (US stock market) | EPF (Conventional) | |
| Annualized Return (2000 - 2024) | 8.32% | 5.63% |
| Total Return | 637.41% | 292.86% |
| RM100 invested in 2000 would mean... | RM737.41 in 2024 | RM392.86 in 2024 |
#2 "Risk is the price you pay for outsized return."
The S&P500's outperformance over the EPF did not come easy.
You'd have to endure multiple bumps along the way, such as:
- The Dot-com Bubble in the early 2000s
- Global Financial Crisis in 2008
- Market crash in 2018
- Bear market in 2022
Just look at 2000-2002.
A 3-year consecutive negative returns would be difficult to swallow for many investors.
So... how? Which option is better then?
#3 My thoughts:
In the long run...
- Both are better than not investing at all.
- It is not one or another. Combining EPF & stocks can give investors a diversified exposure to stable returns & higher growth.
Also important to consider: How many years you have before you need to access your money?
Generally,
- Less time = Seek more stability over growth.
- More time = Choice to seek more growth by giving up some stability.
There are no hard rules, nor right or wrong answers - you do what's best for your circumstances!
Disclaimers
This article is produced purely for sharing purposes and should not be taken as a buy/sell recommendation. Past return is not indicative of future performance. Please seek advice from a licensed financial planner before making any financial decisions.
Guide: How to Buy Your First Overseas Share via Tiger Brokers
In this article, I am going to guide you step-by-step on how to navigate and buy your first overseas shares, be it from the US, Singapore, or Hong Kong stock market.
For this, I am going to demonstrate the process using Tiger Brokers, a broker that I am personally using to invest in the overseas market (SG, US, HK etc).
If you haven't done it yet, definitely check out my Tiger Brokers review for more info on fees, user experience, and how to open and fund your account.
--
[PROMO] Commission-free trades + Free stocks!
Click the button below to use my Tiger Brokers referral link, and get the following when you open a new account (promo ending on 30/4/2025)!
a. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD3,000 - 9,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD100 in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD100 (2x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
b. Cumulative Net Deposit (SGD10,000 - 99,999):
- Instant Reward: Total SGD200 (2x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD200 (4x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
c. Cumulative Net Deposit ≥SGD100,000
- Instant Reward: Total SGD500 (5x SGD100) in Stock Commission Card when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Reward will be activated immediately after it is issued and will be valid for 90 days.
- Retention Reward: Total SGD500 (10x SGD50) in Cash Voucher when you make your first deposit and within 30 days. Rewards can only be activated if the net deposit reaches S$3,000 or more for 60 consecutive days. It will be valid for 60 days after activation.
Open A Tiger Brokers Account Today!
Alright, are you ready?
Let’s get started:
p
Fund your Tiger Brokers Account
Before we proceed, I'd assume that you have already funded your Tiger Brokers account.
If you have funded your account, proceed to the next section.
If not, check out my guide on how to fund your Tiger Brokers account without paying expensive intermediary banking fees (~SGD30/USD20).
Step-by-Step Guide to Buy a Stock on Tiger Brokers (US, Singapore & Hong Kong Stocks)
Read this before proceeding:
- For this guide, I’ll be using the desktop app (Tiger Trade) from Tiger Brokers. Call me old school or whatever, but I feel things like investing money in a stock deserve a proper execution on desktop.
You can download and install the Tiger Trade desktop app HERE.
- For the sake of simplicity, I WILL NOT go over trading on margin/leverage and shorting shares in this guide. Please read them up on your own if you are into these. For most people, I’d recommend investing with only the cash you have in your brokerage account.
Step 1: Log in to your Tiger Trade desktop app.
Under ‘Assets’, proceed to check out your fund balance so you know how much you have to invest.
- Your fund balance should be reflected after successful funding. If you have not funded your Tiger Brokers account, click HERE for a comprehensive funding guide.
- If you fund your account with SGD, your fund balance will be reflected in SGD. If you fund your account with USD, that fund will be reflected under USD.
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Step 2: Under the search bar, search for the stock that you want to invest in.
As an example, search for ‘Apple’ if you want to invest in Apple.
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Step 3: Click ‘Buy/Long’
Step 3 (i): Familiarize Yourself with the Buy/Sell Interface in Tiger Brokers
- 1: Current market value of the share.
p - 2: Depth of market – shows you the order flow from buyers and sellers. (will write about how it works soon)
p - 3: Order direction – if you are buying a stock, then retain the direction at ‘Buy’.
p - 4: Order types – There 4 order types: Limit order, Market order, Stop-Loss Order & Stop Limit order. (more below)
p - 5: Decide the Quantity/Size of your order – Generally, a Full-size position implies that you are buying at a full unit of a share. For most stocks, a full unit of a share could mean 1 unit or 100 units of shares, which is normally the minimum size you have to buy.
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There are some stocks that allow investors to buy at ½ and even ¼ of units, but generally, I’d not recommend it since the market doesn’t usually transact at odd units like these.
p - 6i: Validity Period – If you are putting a limit order on a US or Hong Kong stock, you get to decide how long the order gets to stay in the market.
As an example, if Apple is at $110.44 now you want to buy an Apple share at a lower price of $110.25, you can either set the order validity at ‘Day’ where the $110.25 order will be deleted IF the order is not fulfilled by the end of market close of that day.
If you set the order validity at ‘GTC’ (Good-Till-Cancel) instead, your $110.25 order will stay valid either until your order is fulfilled, OR after 90 days, whichever comes first.
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- 6ii: Fill outside RTH hour – RTH stands for Regular Trading Hours. If you allow an order to be filled outside RTH hour, this means that your order can be fulfilled before market opens. For most people, just keep the setting at ‘Not Allowed’ as liquidity can be low before RTH hour, potentially leading to high volatility.
p - 7: After you decide your order types and position size, click ‘Submit’. You’ll be required to key in your trade password and your order should go into the system after that.
p
Step 4: Check Your Orders.
- Limit order: If you are putting in a limit order, your order will go under the ‘Pending’ section and will stay submitted until it is fulfilled by the market or canceled.
- Market Order: If you are buying under market order, your order will very likely be fulfilled almost instantly at market price, and will be recorded under the ‘Filled’ section. Check the ‘Details’ tab to find out the fees involved in your stock transaction.
And that’s it! You are done with your first overseas stock purchase!
For selling, the process is pretty much the same – except you click ‘Sell’ instead of ‘Buy’.
Order Types + Setting Stop Loss in Tiger Brokers
There are 4 order types in Tiger Brokers, namely, Limit Order, Market Order, Stop Loss Order, and Stop Limit Order.
As shown in the table below, Limit Order and Market Order are available to all markets. On the other hand, Stop Loss and Stop Limit orders are only available in the US, Hong Kong, and China market.
What do all these orders mean, exactly?
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a. Market Order:
A market order is the most straightforward and simple to understand. Essentially, buying a share at market order means you are buying it at the current market price.
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Unless there is any liquidity issue, a market order would normally be fulfilled almost instantly.
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b. Limit Order:
A limit order is also quite simple. Simply put, buying a share at a limit order means you are planning to enter at a lower price than the market price.
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As an example, if Apple costs $110.44/share and you only plan to invest when the price drops to $110.25/share, then you can set a limit order at $110.25. The downside of a limit order is that your order at $110.25 may never get fulfilled until the market price goes in your favor.
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c. Setting Stop Loss via Stop Order (Stop-Loss Order) or Stop Limit Order
If you are day-trading short term in the US, Hong Kong and China stock market, there is an option for you to set a stop loss to your trades.
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c (i). Stop-Loss Order (or Stop order)
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Stop-loss order is one way you can set stop loss to your trades. In essence, a stop-loss order will help protect your downside by triggering an opposite order of your trade at the best market price once it hits a certain price level.
As an example, let’s say I went into a buy (or long) position at $100/share and set a sell stop-loss order at $90. Suddenly, the market price gapped down to $86 and triggered my stop-loss order.
Since $86 is the best market price after my $90 Stop-loss level is triggered, then the system will stop me out at $86/share.
The downside of Stop-Loss order is if the price goes back up to $89 after I am stopped at $86, I’m actually being stopped at a less ideal price level.
In short, Stop-Loss order ensures that you are being stopped out, BUT it does not ensure that you’ll get the best price while you are being stopped.
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c (ii). Stop-Limit Order
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A stop-limit order helps in mitigating the issue brought up by a stop-loss order. How exactly does it work?
When you set a stop-limit order, you are needed to set 2 things: a stop-loss price (just like above) AND a stop-limit order.
Using the example above, if you set your stop-loss price similarly at $90, AND also a stop-limit order at $87, then your stop-loss will only be triggered when the price breaches below $90, and is within the range of $87 and above (eg. $88).
Using a stop-limit order ensures that you are stopped at a price that is equal or better than your stop limit price ($87 - $90).
The downside is, if the price breaches $90 and sits at a market price of $86 and keeps going lower ($85, $84…), your stop-limit order WILL NOT be triggered since it is a worse price than $87.
Simply put, a Stop-Limit order ensures that you are stopped at a better price, but it does not guarantee that it’ll be fulfilled.
Hopefully this explains how each order types work and feel free to let me know if you have any questions!
Can I Buy a Stock using a Different Currency?
Say that you fund your Tiger Brokers account with SGD, can you still invest in US stocks (or vice versa)?
Yes, you can.
This is because Tiger Brokers offer a built-in loaning facility that allows you to invest in shares that are different from your funded currency.
This is how it works:
- Step 1: If you fund your Tiger Brokers account with SGD and you want to invest in a stock denominated in USD, it will inform you that this particular transaction will incur a loan with daily interest.
- Step 2: Suppose you went ahead with the transaction, and want to settle your loan right away so you’ll not be charged interest. Head over to 'Assets' > 'Cash' and you will see an option for ‘Repayment’. Click on the ‘Repayment’ button to proceed.
- Step 3: A window will appear explaining the exchange rate and how much will be converted out of your main funded currency. In this case, I am repaying my USD transaction with SGD, hence the details below. Just click on the ‘Repayment’ button and you are done.
Is Tiger Brokers’ currency exchange facility a good idea for investors?
The question is, should you use this function in Tiger Brokers? Is the currency exchange rate worth it?
Let’s address the first question: Should you use this facility in Tiger Brokers?
If you are only using Tiger Brokers to invest in a single market (eg. the US stock market), then you probably should fund your account with just USD. Thus, this facility may not be super useful to you. However, if you are investing in multiple markets like I do (eg. SG and US market), then Tiger Brokers’ currency exchange facility may come in handy when you are short of a particular currency while investing.
For example, if I have 1000 SGD and 200 USD deposited in my Tiger Brokers account. I can exchange my 1000 SGD into USD if I ever need more capital to invest in USD-denominated stocks.
In terms of the exchange rates, I find that if you are in need of a quick currency change to invest in stocks, the difference in cost is negligible:
- Scenario A: I fund my account in USD to invest in the US market. Here’s the rate of my transfer:
Maybank FTT -> Tiger Brokers (USD)
RM4.22 -> 1 USD (equivalent to RM3.098 (exchange rate)* -> 0.7342 USD)
- Scenario B: I have SGD deposited in Tiger Brokers via Maybank, and now I need some USD to invest. So, I opt to use Tiger Brokers Exchange Facility to exchange my existing SGD to USD:
Maybank FTT -> Tiger Brokers (SGD) -> Tiger Brokers Exchange Facility (USD)
RM3.099 (exchange cost)* -> 1 SGD -> 0.7342 USD
*Maybank forex rate as of the time of writing.
In short, for me, I do not mind doing my currency exchange within Tiger Brokers if I am in need of a quick exchange.
Market Open Hours (GMT +8)
· Singapore Stock Exchange: 9am – 5pm (Mid-Day Break 12pm – 1pm)
· US Stock Exchange: 9:30pm – 4am (Daylight-Saving), 10:30pm – 5am (Non-Daylight Saving)
· Hong Kong Stock Exchange: 9am – 4pm (Mid-Day Break 12pm – 1pm)
No Money Lah’s Verdict
So here you go: a comprehensive Tiger Brokers’ step-by-step guide for you to invest in your first overseas stock, be it the US, Singapore, or Hong Kong stock market!
Hopefully this guide has been useful in helping you to make your first overseas stock investment!
Have any questions? Just purchased your first stock? Feel free to let me know in the comment section below so we can address your question or celebrate your progress together!
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Open A Tiger Brokers Account Today!
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READ MORE: Tiger Brokers Review
Disclaimer:
This post contains affiliate link(s). As always, I’d only recommend tools and financial solutions that I personally use AND/OR are interesting & provide unique value to my readers. Every article takes a long time and effort to write and when it comes to financial solutions, I’ll only invest time in writing about good and relevant products.