Acorns is a US-based financial technology company that functions as a robo-advisor by providing automated and algorithm-driven investment services. It is most recognized for its micro-investing feature that allows users to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the spare change in the market. Investments are made into different portfolios with varying levels of risk.
The app is designed to make investing simple and available to everybody, especially those who may not have large amounts of money to invest. Acorns is a helpful tool for anyone wishing to enter the world of investing because it also provides goal-based saving options and educational materials.
In this article, we will uncover Acorns’ availability and expansion plans in Singapore, as well as provide alternative solutions.
Is Acorns available in Singapore?
Unfortunately, Acorns is not yet available in Singapore and it’s currently available exclusively for US residents. According to their website, Acorns “is only available to US citizens or legal residents currently residing in the United States. Exceptions are made for active Armed Services personnel that maintain US addresses and are temporarily overseas”.
The good news is that the fintech industry is continually developing, and Singaporeans have a wide range of Acorns options available, each with its own special features and chances to assist in navigating the road to financial achievement.
Keep reading this article as we attempt to shed light on some of the top Acorns alternatives accessible for investors in Singapore wishing to take advantage of the benefits offered by robo-advisors and micro-investment apps.
Acorns Alternatives in Singapore
Here’s a comparison table of top financial platforms in Singapore that share comparable features with Acorns and can be the best alternative you’re searching for.
StashAway is a robo-advisor that provides financial and wealth management services through a digital platform. Founded in Singapore in 2016, it has now expanded to Malaysia and other European markets.
StashAway is made to make investing simple and available to people of all financial backgrounds and experience levels. The company’s algorithm creates a diverse investment portfolio based on your risk tolerance and objectives. StashAway invests your money in a variety of asset types, including stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.
Key Features:
Management Fees: Annual Management Fees with StashAway range between 0.20% and 0.80%. You pay 0.80% for the first S$25,000 invested. The fee drops when the amount invested rises and it reaches 0.20% if you hold an account with assets above S$1,000,000.
Minimum Deposits: With StashAway you can choose to invest in SGD or USD. For SGD accounts, no minimum is required if you open a regular investment account, however, if you invest in an Income portfolio the minimum deposit is S$10,000. As for USD accounts, there is a minimum deposit of $10,000 per account.
Portfolio types: You can choose between 5 portfolio options with StashAway depending on your financial goals and risk tolerance:
General Investing Portfolio powered by StashAway: A globally diversified portfolio that captures long-term returns, all while keeping risk constant.
Thematic Portfolios: This portfolio grants you exposure to new sectors that aren’t available in most balanced portfolios. You can choose between 4 themes: Technology Enablers, The Future of Consumer Tech, Healthcare Innovation, and Environment and Cleantech.
General Investing powered by BlackRock: The most diversified portfolio that gives you broad market exposure. This portfolio is powered by Blackrock and managed by StashAway.
Flexible Portfolios: Pick your assets, adjust their allocations, and build your own customized portfolio.
Responsible Investing with ESG: Invest with a purpose. StashAway uses 2 leading ESG scoring models to screen the underlying funds for this portfolio: The MSCI ESG rating and the Morningstar Sustainability Rating.
Asset Classes: StashAway invests in Bonds, Equities, Commodities, ETFs, and Cash.
Funding Options: There are 2 ways to invest with StashAway:
Cash: Transfer funds from your personal bank account
SRS: Invest your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) funds and save on taxes.
Spare change Investing: Unlike Acorns, Stashaway does not provide any roundup feature allowing customers to invest their spare change in the market.
Additional Costs: The annual management fee includes rebalancing and transaction costs. There are no account setup or exit fees and you pay nothing when transferring between portfolios or when withdrawing funds. However, there’s an expense ratio charged by the ETF manager that ranges between 0.20% and 0.40% depending on the portfolio you choose.
Rebalancing: StashAway continuously monitors your portfolio and automatically makes the necessary adjustments to align with your goals and the updated market conditions.
Cash Management: There are 3 Cash Management Portfolios that help you grow your savings:
StashAway Simple: Your money is invested in diversified mutual funds with “Ultra-low” risk. You haveget a projected rate of 3.860% p.a., you pay a management fee of 0.15% p.a.
StashAway Simple Plus: Your money is invested in diversified mutual funds with a risk slightly higher than the Simple plan. You get a yield of 4.90% p.a., you pay a management fee of 0.20% p.a.
StashAway Simple Guaranteed: Your money is deposited at Citibank for 6 months, you get a 3.5% p.a. return and you only have the bank risk to tolerate.
Trading Platform: Easy to navigate and user-friendly mobile app.
Security: StashAway has a Capital Market Services License for Retail Fund Management from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Your money with StashAway is safely stored in a separate custodian account in your name. Your deposits are put in a DBS trust account and your purchased securities go to a custodian account through Saxo Capital Markets.
AutoWealth is a digital wealth management platform and robo-advisor based in Singapore. It provides automated wealth management and investment services to individuals, assisting them in increasing their wealth by making investments in varied portfolios suited to their risk appetite and financial objectives.
The investment process is automated and the company handles the buying and selling of assets within your portfolio on your behalf. To diversify risk and possibly boost profits, Autowealth builds portfolios that often consist of a variety of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.
Key features
Management Fees: The fee structure with AutoWealth is simple regardless of the invested amount. The company charges a management and advisory fee of 0.50% per year on the assets under management and a Platform Fee of $18 per year. These fees are automatically debited from clients’ investment accounts at the end of every calendar quarter.
Minimum Deposit: The minimum amount that should be deposited in your account to start investing is S$3,000.
Portfolio types: There are 4 types of starter portfolios you can choose from depending on your financial goals and risk tolerance:
Preservation Portfolio: Lowest-risk portfolio with an 80% Bonds / 20% Stocks allocation. This portfolio is designed to ensure capital preservation and secure investment.
Conservative Portfolio: This portfolio is also considered a low-risk portfolio with a 60% Bonds / 40% Stocks allocation. The higher proportion of stock allocation helps you achieve capital appreciation with calculated risk.
Balanced Portfolio: This portfolio focuses on getting good returns over a long period. With a 40% Bonds / 60% Stocks. allocation, it involves higher risks compared to the 2 previous portfolios.
Long-Term Growth Portfolio: This is the highest-risk portfolio with a 20% Bonds / 80% Stocks allocation. It is designed to emphasize long-term capital appreciation by providing high returns and growth.
Asset Classes: AutoWealth invests in a combination of Fixed Income and Equities. These asset classes are geographically dispersed across the US, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. The stocks are spread throughout several industries, including consumer products, healthcare, telecommunications, technology, and finance.
Funding Options: With Autowealth you can only invest using cash by transferring your funds from your personal bank account. The company does not provide SRS funding options.
Spare change Investing: Unlike Acorns, Autowealth does not provide any roundup feature allowing customers to invest their spare change in the market.
Additional Costs: The annual management fee includes rebalancing and transaction costs. There are no additional exit, withdrawal, or custody fees.
Rebalancing: To realign the allocation weightage of portfolio assets for effective risk management and to maintain a uniform risk profile for all of our clients, AutoWealth automatically rebalances the investment portfolios of its clients.
Autowealth Plus: Autowealth launched this type of investment portfolio as a natural extension of AutoWealth Starter portfolios. It is specifically designed for more experienced investors. You can choose between different themes depending on your financial goals and preferences: Future 2050, Digital Economy, Growth & Momentum, Turnaround, and New Economies.
Trading Platform: The platform is easy to navigate and it provides its users with tools to track the performance of their investments and offers periodic reports on their portfolio's progress.
Security: AutoWealth has a Financial Advisors license issued by the MAS and the company is regulated under the Financial Advisors Act. Clients’ portfolio assets are held in a personal and segregated custody account at HSBC through Saxo Capital Markets.
Syfe is a Singapore-based digital wealth management platform. Like other robo-advisors, the company uses algorithms and automation to provide investment services for individuals. It offers fully managed investment portfolios, with no minimum amount requirements, that invest mainly in Equities, Bonds, and Commodities.
You start by defining your particular financial objectives and the platform will adjust your investment approach to meet those objectives. Syfe's algorithms choose a combination of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other assets based on your risk profile and financial objectives to create a diversified investment portfolio.
Key features:
Management Fees: Syfe’s management fee structure is very simple and depends on the amount invested. It is calculated on a daily basis and debited from your account at the end of each month. It goes as follows:
0.65% for invested amounts between S$0 and S$20,000
0.50% for invested amounts between S$20,000 and S$100,000
0.40% for invested amounts between S$100,000 and S$500,000
0.35% for invested amounts above S$500,000
Minimum Deposits: There is no minimum amount or lock-in period required by Syfe to open an investment account.
Portfolio types: Syfe offers 4 portfolio options that vary depending on your financial goals and risk tolerance:
Core: This portfolio includes equity, bond, and gold ETFs. Depending on your goals, investing timeline, and risk appetite, you can choose among Core Defensive, Core Balanced, Core Growth, and Core Equity100 portfolios.
REIT+: A Singapore REIT-focused portfolio that tracks the SGX’s iEdge S-REIT Leaders index.
Select: This type of portfolio allows you to choose between 5 thematic options, or build your own portfolio from a list of 100+ ETFs.
Cash+: This is a cash management portfolio that helps you earn more on your savings with projected returns of 3.7% p.a.
Asset Classes: Syfe invests in Equities, Bonds, and gold ETFs.
Funding Options: At the moment, you can only invest using cash by transferring your funds from your personal bank account. However, the company is working on providing SRS funding options, and its website states that this feature will be available soon.
Spare change Investing: Unlike Acorns, Syfe does not provide any roundup feature allowing customers to invest their spare change in the market.
Additional Costs: Syfe does not charge you transaction or brokerage fees. There are no entry or exit fees. However, there’s an expense ratio charged by the ETF manager that averages 0.15% and is built into the prices of the ETFs that Syfe buys on your behalf. In addition, there is a 0.09% fee for currency conversion charged on the amount converted when buying or selling USD to trade US securities in your account.
Rebalancing: Syfe automatically rebalances all your investment portfolios except the Syfe Select Custom portfolios. Rebalancing adjusts the asset composition of your portfolio and involves buying and selling assets to maintain the desired asset allocation according to the portfolio’s investment strategy. It is usually done twice per year and on a full discretionary basis.
Trading Platform: Easy to navigate and user-friendly mobile app.
Security: Syfe is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The company is also licensed under the Capital Markets Services (CMS) for retail fund management. Funds in your Syfe account are held in a Trust Account in DBS Bank while your investments are kept in a Custodian Account through Saxo Capital Markets.
Syfe homepage
Final Thoughts
Although Acorns is not accessible in Singapore, there are still plenty of other options available to assist people in achieving their financial objectives. There are numerous solutions available, each catering to a different desire and set of financial goals.
While there are multiple robo-advisory firms in Singapore, StashAway, Autowealth and Syfe can be considered as the best Acorns alternatives sharing numerous similar features.
Having said so, always remember that choosing the best robo-advisor depends on your personal goals and financial situation, so it's essential to stay informed about the latest developments and explore the ever-expanding range of financial tools available.
We hope we helped you in your search for the Best Alternatives for Acorns in Singapore.
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