If I Had $10,000 to Invest in Singapore, Here's Where I'd Put It

Let's be direct: this isn't financial advice, and your situation will differ from whatever I describe here. But a lot of people have some savings sitting in a bank account earning 3% and are wondering if they should be doing something with it. This is a plain-English breakdown of how I think about it.

The allocation I'll walk through: 60% global equities, 20% Singapore equities (STI), 10% REITs, 10% gold. Not the only way to do it — but a reasonable starting point for a long-term investor who wants diversification without overcomplicating things.

Why 60% global equities?

The core argument for global equities is simple: you're buying a small slice of thousands of companies across many countries. When one country or sector struggles, others often don't. Over long time horizons (10+ years), broad global equity indices have historically compounded at roughly 7–10% annually.

For Singaporeans, the easiest way to get this exposure is through ETFs accessible via platforms like FSMOne, Interactive Brokers, or Tiger/moomoo. IWDA (iShares MSCI World) and VWRA (Vanguard FTSE All-World) are popular all-in-one choices that cover developed and emerging markets. VOO (S&P 500) and QQQ (Nasdaq-100) are options if you want more US-focused exposure — they're among the most widely held ETFs globally.

The tradeoff: you're accepting that the short term will be bumpy. Global equities can drop 30–40% in a bad year (2008, 2020). The allocation only makes sense if you genuinely won't need the money for at least 5–7 years.

Why 20% STI?

The Straits Times Index tracks the 30 largest companies listed on the SGX — DBS, OCBC, UOB, Singapore Airlines, Singtel, CapitaLand, and others. It's a concentrated index by global standards, with banks making up a large chunk.

The case for some home bias: Singapore companies pay relatively high dividends (STI yield is often 3–4%), and you don't have currency risk since everything is in SGD. There's also something to be said for investing in companies whose businesses you understand and encounter daily.

The risk: it's not very diversified. 30 companies, heavily weighted toward financials and real estate. If Singapore's economy or banks specifically have a bad period, the index will feel it more than a global fund would.

ES3 (SPDR STI ETF) and G3B (Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF) are the two main options. Both track the same index, both have low expense ratios (~0.3%), and both are accessible via most local brokers.

Why 10% REITs?

Singapore has one of the most developed REIT markets in Asia. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) are required to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends, which makes them a yield-focused investment — typically 4–7% annually.

For someone building a portfolio, REITs add income and some exposure to real estate without needing to own property directly. They also tend to behave somewhat differently from equities — not perfectly uncorrelated, but enough to provide some cushion.

The downside: REITs are sensitive to interest rates. When rates go up (as they did aggressively in 2022–23), REIT prices typically fall because their borrowing costs rise and their yield looks less attractive relative to bonds or savings rates. If you're buying REITs now, you're getting in at lower prices than a couple of years ago, but rate sensitivity remains.

Options include the Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF (CLR) or the NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF (CFA) — both give diversified exposure across Singapore and Asia-listed REITs rather than picking individual ones.

Why 10% gold?

Gold is the most controversial part of this allocation. It doesn't pay dividends, doesn't compound, and over very long periods its real returns are modest. Warren Buffett famously dislikes it.

The case for a small gold allocation is not that it will make you rich — it's that it tends to do well precisely when everything else is doing badly. In financial crises, currency devaluations, or geopolitical chaos, gold often holds value or rises when equities fall. A 10% allocation acts more like insurance than an investment.

In Singapore, you can access gold through ETFs like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) on US exchanges or iShares Physical Gold (IGLN) on LSE — both are accessible via Interactive Brokers or Tiger/moomoo. Physical gold through UOB or OCBC gold savings accounts is another option if you want to actually hold it, though storage has costs.

The goal of a diversified allocation isn't to maximise returns in a bull market. It's to make sure you can hold through a bear market without panic-selling — which is where most retail investors actually lose money.

What about CPF?

CPF OA earns 2.5% guaranteed, which is actually decent for a risk-free rate. CPF-IS (Investment Scheme) lets you invest your OA in STI ETFs and some unit trusts, but only amounts above $20,000 in OA. Whether this makes sense depends on how much you have in OA and what you'd invest in — for STI ETFs specifically, the 0.5% sales charge on CPF-IS trades can eat into the advantage.

For most people, maxing SRS contributions (up to $15,300/year for Singapore citizens, gives you a tax deduction) and investing those in ETFs is worth considering before investing cash outside CPF.

The part most people skip: knowing what you own

Investing is straightforward in theory and hard in practice — not because the mechanics are complex, but because markets will at some point drop 20–30%, and you'll feel the urge to sell. The people who don't sell are the ones who understood what they owned before they bought it and had a reason to hold.

That's why tracking your actual spending matters before thinking about investing. If you don't know your monthly cash flow — what comes in, what goes out — you can't know how much you can comfortably leave invested for 5+ years without needing it. The investment decisions are secondary to the basics.

One more thing: this is a starting point, not a prescription

60/20/10/10 is a reasonable, diversified allocation. It's not the only one. Younger investors with a longer time horizon might go heavier on equities and skip gold. Someone closer to retirement might want more bonds or a higher REIT yield. Someone with a strong view on Singapore's economic prospects might weight STI higher.

The best allocation is one you understand well enough to hold through a downturn. Start there.