Until recently, if you wanted automatic investment services, you would seek financial institutions or a financial advisor to create for you an investment plan. These services would make you part with an annual management fee of 1% or more of your assets.
StashAway offers a digital wealth management platform to grow your wealth with no minimum balance, zero platform fees, and unlimited withdrawals. StashAway has annual management fees of between 0.2 to 0.8%. All you need to do is sign up on the app, invest, and let your money work for you.
What Is StashAway?
With technology, the investment world has been on a roll with the entrance of robo-advisors. Robo-advisors work like traditional advisors without direct human involvement, which is where StashAway comes in.
StashAway is a company that offers a full range of financial products and robo-advising services to clients worldwide. It is a wealth management platform that uses an intelligent data-driven investment framework to provide clients with personalized wealth management and financial planning.
StashAway was launched in 2017 by founders Michelle Ferrario, Freddy Lim, and Nino Ulsamer. The company was licensed for Retail Fund Management by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Securities Commission Malaysia. Since its founding, StashAway has over 100,000 users, with its company headquarters in Singapore and operations in Malaysia through StashAway Malaysia.
How Does StashAway Work?
StashAway works by investing your money in ETFs (Electronic Traded Funds). StashAway has a wide range of ETFs from around the world. To start investing, you can either fund your portfolio with cash or funds from your SRS (Supplementary Retirement Scheme) account.
StashAway designs a personalized portfolio for you based on your finances, goals, and risk tolerance data. Then it manages the portfolios with its advanced investment strategies.
StashAway will purchase ETFs regarding your risk level. The lower the risk level, the less the stocks and the higher the bonds. The higher the risk level, the less the bonds and the higher the stocks.
StashAway’s algorithms monitor your risk of losses and reallocate your investments. To make these investment decisions, StashAway uses macroeconomic indicators to know changing economic conditions long before markets respond.
Find out more on how to choose the right robo investor in robo investing in Singapore.
Key Features of StashAway
StashAway offers a variety of global portfolios to clients:
1. General Investing
With general investing, you choose between Core Risk or Higher Risk exposure. The risk levels change the percentage breakdown of assets in the portfolio.
Portfolios include fixed income, government bonds, commodities, and cash. StashAway creates your portfolio, tailoring it to endure economic trends.
2. Goals-Based Investing
Goals-based investing gives you the option of investing based on your goals like home-owning, going for a vacation, or retirement. You pick a goal and fill in details like the number of years to achieve it.
StashAway intelligently processes your information and details the total amount you need to invest. It will then manage the portfolio risk against the time you filled.
3. Income Portfolio
The income portfolio is Singapore-focused, and it helps you earn income from your investments. It works with corporate bonds, government bonds, and cash.
The caveat is that you need a minimum of S$10,000 to invest. It is on a low-risk level because it is at 12% on the StashAway Risk Index and is optimized for income, not growth.
4. Thematic Portfolio
StashAway thematic portfolios feature ETFs from some of the world’s top fund managers. You can pick from:
- Technology Enablers
Invests in blockchain technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and semiconductors.
- The Future of Consumer Tech
Invests in fintech, internet, e-commerce, social media, and video games.
- Healthcare Innovation
Invests in medical devices, biotech, pharmaceuticals, and genomics.
5. StashAway Simple
StashAway Simple is the cash management portfolio for StashAway that stores your savings. StashAway Simple enables clients to grow their money to earn a projected 1.4% p.a.
StashAway Simple does not put your money in ETFs but in low risks like LionGlobal SGD Money Market Fund and LionGlobal SGD Enhanced Liquidity Fund. At 1.7% on the StashAway Risk Index, it is very low risk and would be perfect for liquid funds like a wedding fund.
Benefits of StashAway
- No platform fee or sales charges.
- Lower fees for higher investment amounts.
- The 0.2 to 0.8% annual management fees include all transaction fees and re-balancing costs.
- Can invest internationally.
- Ability to invest for retirement using your SRS funds.
- Transparent management fees.
- No entry/exit barriers.
Pros and Cons of StashAway
The Pros
1. No Minimum Investment
StashAway does not have a minimum investment or balance requirement, making it easier for anyone to start investing.
2. Helps You Achieve Your Goals
The goals-based portfolio is curated to invest in your goals. You can create a different portfolio for each goal: your children’s education savings or your business start-up capital.
3. Peace of Mind
When investing with StashAway, your money is kept in a custodian account under your name. A custodian account stores your money safely for you even in the unfortunate event of StashAway going bankrupt.
4. Two Investment Options
StashAway allows you to invest using what you have at hand, whether it’s cash or your SRS funds.
5. Access to Diverse ETF Portfolios
With StashAway, you have access to a wide range of ETFs worldwide. StashAway focuses on ETFs because they are exchange-listed with deep liquidity, high trading volumes, and low expense fees.
6. Uses ERAA Investment Framework
StashAway uses the ERAA (Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation) investment framework. ERAA ensures you get higher returns and lower risks by focusing on asset allocation to balance your portfolio based on current economic conditions.
The Cons
1. Higher Management Fees
StashAway’s annual management fees go from 0.2 to 0.8%, which is relatively high compared to some of its competitors at only 0.5%.
2. Minimum Requirement for Income Portfolio
The StashAway income portfolio has a minimum S$10,000 account balance requirement, which can be a barrier to clients.
3. Only Invests in ETFs
StashAway only invests in ETFs, unlike its competitors, who have more asset options.
4. No Hands-On Investing
The StashAway algorithm handles all investments preventing you from having any control of trading and investing choices.
Exclusive Rewards of StashAway
With StashAway, you get exclusive rewards:
- Get 1.4% p.a for idle money with StashAway Simple.
- Low entry and exit barriers.
- Set up different portfolios within the same account.
- Deposit and withdraw at any time with no transaction fees.
- Free educational materials even for non-StashAway investors just beginning their investment journey.
Comparison Table: StashAway Vs Syfe Vs Endowus
Let’s see how StashAway compares to its main competitors:
| TOTAL INVESTMENT (SGD) | STASHAWAY | SYFE | ENDOWUS |
| First $25,000 | 0.8% | 0.65% (up to$20,000)
0.5% (above to $20,000) |
0.6% |
| >$25,000 to $50,000 | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| >$50,000 to $100,000 | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| >$100,000 to $250,000 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6 % ($100,000 to $200,000)
0.5% ($200,000 to $250,000) |
| >$250,000 to $500,000 | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| >$500,000 to $1 Million | 0.3% | >0.4% | 0.5% |
| >$1 Million | 0.2% | 0.35% | 0.35% |
Compared to StashAway, which has only ETFs, Syfe has more assets to invest in, and it has the lowest cost of 0.65% for funds below S$20,000, while StashAway’s annual fees are 0.8% for the first S$25,000.
Endowus has a minimum investment requirement of S$1,000. You can also invest CPF funds with Endowus. StashAway charges 0.8% p.a for funds up to S$25,000, while Endowus has a low fee of 0.6% p.a for funds up to S$200,000.
Check out our guide on the best robo advisor Singapore.
How to Invest in StashAway
You don’t have to wait in line to invest in person. Sign up for StashAway with a desktop or smartphone app. Fill in the required details with your personal preferences to sign up and create your portfolio in the app.
Add cash or SRS funds to your account. The StashAway app is highly flexible, and you can open, close, and change portfolios whenever you want.
Eligibility Criteria for A StashAway Account
StashAway uses your finances, financial goals, and risk profile to customize an investment plan that suits you. To set up your account, you have to:
- Be above 18 years old.
- Be a Singaporean, a permanent resident, or a foreigner.
You will need to provide:
- For Singaporean citizens – Front and back of National Registration.
- For foreigners – Passport with a minimum validity of 6 months and proof of residence, e.g., utility bill, phone bill, or bank statement.
Related Questions
1. When Will My Funds Appear in My StashAway Account?
For personal funds, it takes up to 1-3 business days.
For SRS funds, it takes up to 2-4 business days.
2. Why Does StashAway Convert My Money Into USD?
StashAway invests in US-domiciled ETFs that require USD for investment. Therefore, StashAway converts non-USD currencies into USD to invest in the selected US ETFs.
3. What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging is investing a fixed dollar amount regularly, regardless of market conditions. You purchase more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high.
It ensures that you invest at a reasonable price and exchange rate and avoid investing at market tops, helping you manage your investment’s risk.
Who Can Maximize StashAway
Anyone interested in starting small on their investment journey can maximize StashAway. It is also a good option if you want to have various portfolios under the same robo-advisor account.
Is StashAway Good for Beginners?
StashAway is an excellent app for investment advisory services. It is affordable and simple to use. However, it may not be the perfect choice for beginners.
StashAway plays in global portfolio markets, which means higher risks. It is good to have some investment knowledge beforehand. Answer these questions to know if StashAway is for you:
- Have you invested in domestic markets, i.e., the SGX, before?
- Do you have low-risk beginner assets like Singapore Savings Bonds?
- Do you know the risks and costs associated with investing in the US, like dividend taxes or bond payouts?
- Can you comfortably engage in long-term passive investments that make decisions for you?
If most of your answers are ‘yes,’ then StashAway could be the robo-advisor for you.
Closing
StashAway is a reliable robo-advisor that can help you invest and grow your money. It gives you total flexibility on the amount of money you want to invest, when to deposit, and when to withdraw with no hidden fees.
Key Takeaways
- StashAway has management fees of 0.2 to 0.8% p.a.
- StashAway does not have a minimum account balance, but the income portfolio has a minimum requirement of S$10,000.
- StashAway allows you to invest with cash or SRS funds.
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