[2022] 9 Best Regular Savings Plan in Singapore!
Looking for the best savings plan in Singapore? Well, look no further as we will be sharing how to make your savings grow (over time) with minimal effort in this article!
If you are letting your money sit in the bank, your money earns you an average of 0.05% interest per year. Instead, consider putting your money in one of these regular savings plans (RSP) in Singapore which we will be sharing more about later.
What is a Regular Savings Plan (RSP)?
As its name suggests, a regular savings plan (RSP) is designed to help you (by forcing you) to save money consistently to build up your wealth. Depending on the provider of the savings plan, you will get options to invest in different instruments, such as Unit Trusts and stocks.
RSP is ideal for investors who just started out or those who may not wish to constantly monitor the stock market, which can be time-consuming. It is definitely not a “get rich quick” scheme but definitely a rather stable investment.
How does a Regular Savings Plan work?
Every month you put in an amount of money (usually fixed) and this goes towards buying into some stock or unit trust or fund. By doing so, we are averaging out the cost of each unit of stock or fund (aka Dollar Cost Averaging).
Dollar-Cost Averaging
Whether you may be new to investing or a seasoned investor, you would probably have heard about timing the market versus time in the market.
Dollar-cost averaging allows you to be invested in the market for a long time without care for market fluctuations.
As the stock market fluctuates, you are consistently buying into the market. Over time, this averages out and you will realise that in the long term, dollar cost averaging is your best friend in the investing market.
Here is a visual representation of Dollar-Cost Averaging from The Motley Fool.
This demonstrates how practising Dollar Cost Averaging, in the long run, allows you to stay invested while not being swayed by market fluctuations.
Regular Savings Plan vs Endowment Plans
While both RSP and Endowment plans do require you to make a regular contribution to it, there are some differences between them. Here, we break down these differences for you:
1. Insurance coverage
Since most RSPs are provided by banks and reputable trading platforms, they do not provide insurance coverage, unlike endowment plans. However, you may need to ask yourself if this is necessary as it is advised to separate your investments from your insurance.
2. Flexibility in withdrawals
Another major difference between RSP and endowment plans is the flexibility for you to make withdrawals. If you require the money urgently for whatever circumstances, an RSP would allow you to do that.
However, endowment plans have a fixed maturity period. Making a withdrawal prematurely would result in penalties that include receiving a lower sum than what you have put in.
3. Duration
For an RSP, there is no set duration as to how long you should stay invested. However, for an endowment plan, you can only put in money for the stipulated duration of the plan (generally 5 years or more).
Why choose a Regular Savings Plan?
To encourage you to be a consistent saver (and be one step closer to your goals), an RSP forces you to put aside money monthly. With Dollar Cost Averaging, you are riding out the market fluctuations and will be able to earn in the mid to long term.
Furthermore, the flexibility in withdrawals gives you the freedom to take out as much money as needed should you require it urgently. This makes getting regular savings plan attractive to anyone who is keen to grow their savings.
How much should you put inside a Regular Savings Plan?
There is no fixed answer to this question because it is determined by how much you want to put in the plan. Everyone is drawing different salaries and has different needs, which would make it hard to give a fixed number.
Generally, you can consider using the 50-30-20 budgeting rule to guide you as to how much you set aside monthly for the RSP. For example, if your gross salary is $4000 (the median income in Singapore), the amount you should be setting aside monthly for savings is $640.
However, putting the full $640 into an RSP comes with risk (don’t forget to put some money aside for your rainy day fund!).
With most providers requiring a minimum investment amount of $100 monthly, you may consider putting anywhere from $100 to 20% of your monthly take-home salary.
Best 8 Regular Savings Plans in Singapore
With the variety of savings plans in Singapore, it can be hard to make a choice of which provider to choose.
There is no lock-in period for Regular Savings Plan but you are encouraged to stay invested long-term to ride out any fluctuations in the market.
Some products that Regular Savings Plans allow you to invest in include Unit Trusts (UTs). Another product is Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), where you invest in a fund that has a portfolio of various companies.
Here, we have compiled a list of the best 8 Singapore savings plans that have caught our eyes:
1.) POSB/DBS Invest Saver
Types of Counters:
1. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
a. Singapore Equity ETF
i. Nikko AM Singapore Straits Times Index (STI) ETF
b. SGD Fixed Income ETFs
i. ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund
ii. Nikko AM SGD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
c. REIT ETF
i. Nikko AM-StraitsTradingAsia ex Japan REIT ETF
Fees:
Transaction fees for the ETFs are between 0.5-0.82%
Transaction fees for the UTs are 0.82%.
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
Click here to view more details for the POSB/DBS Invest Saver.
2.) OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan (BCIP)
Types of Counters:
1. 15 STI share counters
2. 6 ETFs
Fees:
Transaction fees cost 0.3%, with a minimum of $5 per counter.
For new customers below 30 years old (based on calendar year) with an initial investment of up to $500 per counter, transaction fees are 0.88%.
An additional $0.37 processing fee per counter for SRS sales will be imposed.
Management Fees depend on funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
View more details on the OCBC BCIP.
3.) Phillip Recurring Plan
Types of counters: US, HK, and SG counters
Fees:
Transaction fees depend on prevailing account brokerage rates
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly
Other notes:
1. Phillip offers various plans such as Share Builders Plan and Unit Trust Regular Savings Plan. Share Builders Plan consists of more than 50 counters and has an option for managing your child’s portfolio (fees dependent on a number of counters).
2. UT Regular Savings Plan has more than 500 funds to choose from and has a 0% Sales Charge.
3. You may also use CPF and SRS for selected funds.
View more details on the Phillip Recurring Plan.
4.) FSMOne Regular Savings Plan
Types of counters:
1. 1617 UTs from 53 Fund Managers
2. 71 ETFs listed on SGX, HKEX, and US markets
3. 10 Managed Portfolios
Fees:
No transaction fees for Unit trusts
ETFs costs SGD 1 / HKD 5 / USD 1 per transaction
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount:
$50/month for ETFs
$100/month for Unit trusts
Frequency: Monthly
View more details on the FSMOne Regular Savings Plan.
5.) SAXO Regular Savings Plan
Types of counters: UTs, Bonds, ETFs, and stocks (dependent on risk portfolio)
Fees:
Annual service fee: 0.25% - 0.75%
Expected ETF costs: ~0.23%
No Transaction fees
Min Investment Amount: $2000 (initial) + $100 (regular contributions)
Frequency: Weekly / Monthly
View more on the SAXO Regular Savings Plan.
6.) Standard Chartered Regular Savings Plan
Types of Counters: UTs
Fees:
1.5% per transaction
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
View more details on the Standard Chartered Regular Savings Plan.
7.) Citibank Regular Savings Plan
Types of Counters: UTs
Fees:
Up to 1.5% per transaction
No fees for selling unit trusts
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
View more details on the Citibank Regular Savings Plan.
8.) dollarDEX Regular Savings Plan
Types of Counters: UTs, 5 risk profiles to choose from
Fees:
No transaction fees (ie no sales charge, switching fees and platform fees)
Management Fees depend on the funds chosen
Min Investment Amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
Other notes: CPFIS-OA, CPFIS-SA, SRS, and GIRO payments are accepted.
View more details on the dollarDEX Regular Savings Plan.
9.) iFast
Types of Counters: UTs, ETFs, Bonds, Stocks
Fees:
Minimum 0.5% per transaction for Unit trusts
0.15% of the contract value of ETFs per transaction
Platform fee up to 0.28% p.a.
Min investment amount: $100
Frequency: Monthly
Other notes:
CPFIS-OA, CPFIS-SA, SRS, and GIRO payments are accepted.
Fees were listed for a non-wrap account
View more details on the iFast Regular Savings Plan.
Our Top Pick
Based on differing needs and circumstances, we compare the RSP based on their fees, counters offered and the barrier of entry.
Transaction Fees
Assuming we make a $100 monthly contribution to our RSP, we see that SAXO Regular Savings Plans & FSMOne charge $0 transaction costs on the purchase of unit trusts, followed by DBS/POSB Invest Saver with fees of $0.82.
Meanwhile, the most costly would be the OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan (BCIP), with a minimum $5 transaction fee.
However, depending on your investment amount, OCBC BCIP might have a lower transaction fee of 0.3% compared to the other providers.
Types of Counters
If you would like to be able to choose from a whole variety of instruments, we would recommend FSMOne RSP. They offer not just Unit Trusts and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), they allow you to invest in Singapore, Hong Kong and US stock markets.
If you would only like to invest in the Singapore market without breaking the bank, the OCBC BCIP is a good option. They allow you to invest in familiar companies like Singapore Airlines, Capitaland, etc.
Entry Barrier
If you just started working or are unsure if RSP is for you, start with a product that has a lower-cost entry barrier. Among the various savings plans offered in Singapore, FSMOne RSP & SAXO Regular Savings plan requires the least investment amount.
Alternatives to Regular Savings Plans: Robo-investing
In recent years, there has been a rise of Robo-advisors (such as StashAway and Syfe) and increasingly more people are turning to them. They require little human intervention as they make decisions based on machine learning.
First, you will be assessed via a quiz to determine your risk appetite. After which, the Robo-advisor will prepare a suitable portfolio to match the level of risk you are willing to take.
Next, you may do an ad-hoc deposit or a recurring monthly contribution to fund the account. You may sit back and relax as the Robo-advisor will manage the account for you.
Perks of turning to Robo-investing include no lock-in period and no minimum investment amount, which is good news for investors with lower capital. Furthermore, such platforms offer lower fees and ease of transferring money to their platforms (recurring transfers are allowed).
Conclusion
With the variety of tools available for you to start investing, you have many options to choose from to begin or enhance your investment journey.
Depending on your personal risk tolerance, you may explore the different types of counters available for trading on various platforms.
Time is of the essence, and the compounding effect has always shown to provide the best yielding results in the long term.
So don’t delay any further, and get yourself invested in one of the Regular Savings plans or Robo-advisors mentioned today!
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