Financial Planning Tips: How to choose from over 200 funds for CPFIS
10 AUG 2026
Lianhe Zaobao - The article provides a practical guide for CPF members navigating the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS), which offers 202 investible unit trusts and ILP sub-funds. It features a case study of a 34-year-old investor who grew her OA investments from S$12,000 to S$16,400 over six years (5.34% annualised return) by diversifying across AI, technology, and regional markets.
Key steps for investors include: meeting minimum CPF savings requirements, completing a self-assessment questionnaire, and opening a CPF Investment Account with DBS, OCBC, or UOB. Members should clarify their investment goals, and assess risk tolerance before selecting funds.
MoneyOwl's Senior Solutions Lead, Daphne Lye advises against using Special Account funds for CPFIS investments, as the guaranteed 4% p.a. return is difficult to beat. Before investing, members should ensure OA has sufficient funds for housing and education needs. She highlights that CPFIS funds have a 1.75% TER cap, no sales fees, and a 0.4% wrap fee limit, but transaction fees may apply. Beyond unit trusts, members can invest in ETFs, stocks, bonds, T-bills, fixed deposits, and gold. However, Lye cautions that most CPFIS options are Singapore-focused, so global diversification is important to reduce concentration risk and improve long-term returns.