SGX UCITS ETFs: What Singapore Investors Need to Know
08 OCT 2026
The Financial Coconut Podcast – Four UCITS ETFs launching on SGX in October give Singapore investors access to low-cost global index funds with a lower US dividend withholding tax, and with no need for an overseas trading account. The conversation covers what ETFs are, how the ETFs can help investors, and what bid-ask spreads and market makers mean for retail investors.
MoneyOwl's CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Chuin Ting Weber, shared that the SGD-denominated ETFs will increase access to low-cost index investing, and is a good alternative to other available investment options. The ETFs will also encourage people to build their own capability for DIY investments.
Chuin Ting advocates owning the whole market cheaply and not trying to pick winners. Nobody can know which countries, sectors or companies will do well in future, and a US study by Hendrik Bessembinder found 46 of more than 27,000 stocks drove half of all returns in the past 100 years, so the broadest index is the surest way to hold the winners. She grades the global fund “A2”, rather than “A1”, because it excludes emerging markets.
When buying ETFs, investors have to look inside the ETF wrapper before buying to understand what is wrapped inside. The same scrutiny applies to daily-reset leveraged ETFs, which do not give long-term leverage, and index-linked insurance products, where a return floor comes at a cost.