Now Robot Advisor investing services are providing a viable option for CPF-OA savers in Singapore. Like other investment vehicles, the Robo Advisors have become a new path for long-term investors to accumulate wealth.
MoneyOwl and Endowus are popular Robo Advisors providing mid-to-long-term investing services to CPF-OA members. Their differences lie in three aspects: investment portfolios, cost, and performance.
MoneyOwl vs. Endowus
MoneyOwl’s CPF portfolios use simple investment strategies letting beginners make easy decisions, while Endowus offers investment strategies hile Endowus offers six investment strategies of very aggressive, aggressive, balanced, measured, conservative, and very conservative approaches that are fit for sophisticated investors.
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The following table summarizes the primary differences between Endowus and MoneyOwl.
| MoneyOwl | Endowus | |
|---|---|---|
|
Annual management fee |
0(until December 31, 2022) |
0.4%(Annual) |
|
Minimum investment amount |
$200 per month, or $1,000 one-off |
$1,000 |
|
Platform fee |
0 |
0 |
|
Investment portfolio |
3 levels of investment strategies backed up by 2 underlying mutual funds |
6 levels of investment strategies from more than 250 mutual funds |
|
Promotion |
|
$63 access fee credit(ends on November 30, 2022) |
MoneyOwl: Best for Beginner Investors
MoneyOwl, headquartered in Singapore, is a financial advisory firm providing investment advising like collective investment schemes, securities, and insurance advising services to retail investors. Registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore(MAS), MoneyOwl is the first financial advisor with social enterprise status and a member of NTUC Enterprise Cooperative Limited.
The firm is the first bionic financial advisor in Singapore by combining human advisor and Robo-investing services in financial planning so that clients can get comprehensive financial services complemented by both on the path to financial success.
Besides CPF Portfolios, MoneyOwl offers diverse investing services, including high-interest cash savings service – a cash management portfolio capturing high interests from bank deposits, and popular dimensional funds from dimensional fund advisors.
How Does Investing in MoneyOwl Work?
Like Endowus, MoneyOwl adopts artificial intelligence to analyze and make recommendations to clients. Besides, a professional human advisor will assist in establishing investment solutions alongside a Robo Advisor, making the output more suitable to financial needs and more professional to implement.
Clients attain periodic allocations each quarter in line with the investment criteria set.
Features
- MoneyOwl has 3 CPF investment portfolios based on clients’ risk acceptance levels, expected returns, and investment periods.
- The asset allocations for the 3 portfolios comprise 100% to 80% and 60% equities and 0% to 20% and 40% bonds.
- MoneyOwl is a fee-based financial Robo Advisor integrated with human advisor services.
- MoneyOwl does not charge an advisory fee(until December 31, 2022) or platform fee.
- 2 underlying funds are the backbones of 3 CPF investment strategies: 1. LionGlobal Infinity Global Stock IndexShare Class C, 2. UOBAM United SGD Fund Share Class D.
Types of Portfolios
Endowus offers 3 investment approaches based on clients’ risk acceptance levels, expected returns, and investment periods. Below are details of the 3 investment solutions:
1. 100% Equities(CPF equity)
The strategy is most aggressive as all funds finance equity purchases. All investments track global stock markets and aim for capital growth as their ultimate objective. The high-risk investing strategy brings in the highest risks of all.
Investors should capitalize on the long-term growth potential for a 5-to-10-year investment horizon, as a long holding period can reduce the risks caused by temporary falls in the market. Investors should not adopt the investment strategy if they do not plan for a 5-year holding period.
2. 80% Equities and 20% Bonds(CPF growth)
CPF growth invests four-fifth of its assets in equities while the remaining 20% invest in bonds providing stable income streams.
The strategy strives for long-term fund appreciation while providing a minimum income to investors. Short-term market fluctuations have an impact on fund asset prices. Investors should brace for long-term capital growth if they use the approach to saving. Short-term investors should suffer from the losses due to their high-risk nature.
3. 60% Equities and 40% Bonds(Balanced)
Contrary to the CPF equity, the balanced approach is the least aggressive approach as close to half of the funds invest in money market funds, government, and quality corporate bonds.
Investors avoid fluctuations in the stock market and stress capital preservation and regular income streams. Besides, CPF members planning to withdraw funds within 5 years or less should put their funds in the portfolio to avoid unexpected market swings in the short run.
4. Underlying funds
Endowus uses 2 anchor funds to create 3 investing strategies for its CPF portfolios. Through various allocation strategies, Endowus lets clients easily understand their CPF investments.
- LionGlobal Infinity Global Stock Index Share Class C: The firm believes a passive investment style outweighs pro-active investing tactics. The core equity fund, managed by Lion Global Investors, seeks long-term capital appreciation by mimicking the Vanguard Global Stock Index Fund, a passively managed fund tracking MSCI World Index and investing more than 1,500 large and mid-sized stocks in the developed world.
Besides, Endowus lowers fund costs by investing in shares like institutional classes, leading to increased returns subsequently.
- UOBAM United SGD Fund Share Class D: Managed by UOB Asset Management, the fund invests in the global money market and short-term interest-bearing instruments to beat the Singapore dollar deposits. The fund is a low-risk investment serving as a long-term alternative to CPF OA savings.
The bond fund has a low TER(total expense ratio), helping increase clients’ profit.
Performance
Below is the table of performance(as of December 31, 2021) provided by MoneyOwl:
| Investment strategies | 5-year return | 7-year return | 10-year return |
|---|---|---|---|
|
CPF equity |
11.36% |
10.35% |
11.64% |
|
CPF growth |
9.58% |
8.68% |
9.99% |
|
CPF balanced |
7.74% |
7.17% |
8.31% |
Insights
- Endowus converts complicated investment know-how into a simplistic style letting clients make confident and prudent investment decisions appropriate to their conditions.
- Three straightforward investment strategies streamline decision-making based on risk and expected return requirements.
- Simple fund products help clients understand CPF investments better than numerous investment choices.
- Besides, MoneyOwl’s stock fund, a passively-managed fund similar to an index fund, is a fit for long-term investment and wealth accumulation like the CPF.
- However, the firm’s approach may not attract sophisticated investors’ attention. A lack of fund choices and investment strategies can deter people from opting for active management of their funds to increase returns.
- Therefore, MoneyOwl’s CPF portfolios seem more suitable for beginners than experienced investors.
Endows: Best for CPF Investing
Endowus, headquartered in Singapore, is a financial-technology company offering wealth advising services to clients in Singapore. Using Robo Advisor investing technology, Endowus creates tailored-made investment solutions for goal-setting purposes.
The financial planning company adopts a fee-based approach instead of a commission-based to eliminate bias and conflict of interest in recommending the best answers to financial needs.
Endowus acquired a majority stake in Carret Private Investments Limited – a multi-family office and Hong Kong-based wealth manager, in October 2022. Then, the company will have $4 billion in assets under management with tens of thousands of clients as of the end of 1st half of 2022. Besides, Endowus will partner with the Singapore-based wealth advisor – Lumen Capital Investors.
The company is a licensee of Capital Markets Services under the Monetary Authority of Singapore and an Exempt Financial Advisor under the Financial Advisor Act(Chapter 110) of Singapore.
How Does Investing in Endowus Work?
Endowus uses a Robo Advisor to analyze your financial goals based on your risk appetite, return objectives, and investment horizon. By integrating your detail like salary, assets, and liability with your investment expectations with artificial intelligence, a client will get a recommendation proposal based on 6 investment portfolios. The Robo Advisor also makes periodic adjustments by reallocating your assets to meet investment criteria.
Features
- Endowus has 6 investment plans based on a client’s risk tolerance, return objectives, and investment horizon, ranging from 6(the highest risk) to 1(the lowest risk).
- The highest risk portfolio differs from the lowest based on asset allocation proportions, from 100% equity to 100 fixed income.
- Endowus is a fee-based financial advising firm that charges no product sales fees.
- Endowus rebates 100% of trailer fees.
- Endowus charges 0.4%, half the industry average.
- The firm has a close partnership with UOB Kay Hian.
- More than 250 funds are available to support clients’ investment strategies.
Types of portfolios
Endowus adopts a goal-oriented approach to solving your financial needs. Endowus recommends a personalized portfolio based on your risks, goals, and investment horizon through a detailed financial analysis.
Endowus’s investment recommendations comprise 6 levels of action plans based on your risk tolerance, objectives, and horizon.
1. 100% Equities(Very Aggressive)
All funds invest in all equities related to worldwide stocks and growth markets. The investment purpose aims to capture the highest capital growth for companies. The approach has the most growth of others among other investment strategies. However, More fluctuations may occur due to market ups and downs.
Investors of the strategy should aim for a long-term accumulation plan to reach their goals and avoid short-term swings in the market by maximizing capital appreciation. In the short term, they may face turbulent stock price dives like the global financial crisis in 2008 and the market sway in the pandemic.
2. 80% Equities and 20% Fixed Income(Aggressive)
The asset allocation strategy buys 80% of funds in global stocks and 20% in bonds and notes. Investors of this approach strive to gain the benefits of capital growth and regular income brought by fixed income. The main objective is still long-term capital growth supplemented with fixed and recurring incomes.
Investors for this strategy aim to capitalize on long-term equity growth while receiving stable income. The investment portfolio is stable due to fixed-income investments but may lag behind the 100% equity portfolio. Investors may face risks caused by ups and downs in the stock market.
3. 60% Equities and 40% Fixed Income(Balanced)
The strategy puts 60% on global stocks and 40% on quality bonds worldwide. The objectives are twofold. Investors pursue to achieve a balance between capital growth and regular income. As the capital allocated to stock markets is less than the previous two, so are the returns for the approach.
Investors use the investment portfolio to reach mid-to-long-term goals. The advantage is the probability of huge losses is less than in all or highly proportioned equity portfolios. However, the stable returns brought by the portfolio come at the expense of fewer profits than the previous two.
4. 40% Equities and 60% Fixed Income(Measured)
The portfolio focuses on more steady income streams but requires capital appreciation to grow mid-to-long term. Unlike the previous strategies, the main objectives are more balanced-oriented than others. Fixed income will be the primary theme accompanied by capital growth. The portfolio strives to reach more regular income streams but profits from growth in the stock market.
Investors can reduce inflation pressure by investing in stocks while enjoying stable income brought by fixed income for 5 or more years. Therefore less risk also brings in fewer rewards due to the growth limitation of fixed income.
5. 20% Equities and 80% Fixed Income(Conservative)
Like others, the diversified portfolio participates in global fixed-income securities of quality, with the remaining 20% in equity. The objective is to preserve capital and maintain a steady income with a low stock proportion.
The investment combination shields assets from future price swings and gives a reasonable rate of income to investors averse to risks from the stock markets. The approach is characteristic of short-to-mid-term investors hoping to realize their investments near portfolio expiry.
Investors with short investment horizons, like 3 to 5 years, may choose to invest in these investments with a low allocation of risky assets.
6. 0% Equity and 100% Fixed Income(Very Conservative)
Contrary to Endowus’ 100% equity portfolio, the 100% income holding uses the most conservative investment vehicle as it invests in all the funds on fixed income assets like government bonds, notes, bills, and quality corporate bonds.
Fund managers of this portfolio are responsible for keeping the asset prices stable as their objective, besides offering steady income streams to investors.
The approach suits investors intending to withdraw funds and avoid price swings in the short term.
7. Underlying funds
Endowus’s globally diversified portfolios use mutual funds as the basis of its investment strategies, from conservative to aggressive approaches. The financial advisor company selects funds meeting suitable investment criteria when building investment strategies for CPF clients.
Endowus experts select underlying funds based on investment strategies, fund performance, and costs from the highest risk of 6 to the lowest of 2.
The company has a pool of more than 250 funds for clients’ selection. The noted fund managers have the names like BlackRock, HSBC AM, Aberdeen, PIMCO, and UOBAM. Investment markets include the US, Europe, Asia, and emerging markets.
Performance
Below is the table listing Endowus Flagship CPF portfolio returns(net of fund level fees):
| Portfolios | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 10-year annualized returns | 10-cumulated returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Very aggressive |
17% |
16% |
25.5% |
-6.4% |
12.6% |
228% |
|
Aggressive |
12.80% |
14.30% |
21.5% |
-5.1% |
10.7% |
177% |
|
Balanced |
9.1% |
12.6% |
17.7% |
-3.9% |
8.9% |
134.7% |
|
Measured |
5.3% |
10.4% |
13.9% |
-2.2% |
7% |
97.2% |
|
Conservative |
1.5% |
8.5% |
9.6% |
-1% |
5.1% |
63.8% |
|
Very conservative |
-2.1% |
6.6% |
6.1% |
0.1% |
3.1% |
36% |
Insights
Endowus is the ideal place for placing your CPF orders for several factors.
- Firstly, it has no platform fees, and clients pay no transaction fees whether the number of transactions.
- Second, Endowus charges a below-industry-average fee of 0.4%. Lower costs increase clients’ returns.
- Third, the firm does not collect sales fees and returns all trailer fees to clients, increasing clients’ profits.
- Finally, a large pool of mutual funds available makes Endowus more competitive in selecting the best CPF equity or fixed income to fulfill investment objectives.
Questions You May Still Be Looking for Answers
1. What are dimensional funds, and can I invest them in my CPF account?
Dimensional Fund Advisors(DFA), the founder of dimensional funds, uses research based on the “efficient market hypothesis,” selects small caps and value stocks, and passively runs the funds.
DFA seeks to produce better-than-market returns over the long term through research and pinpointing quality small-caps and value stocks. Besides, the company has wide exposure to markets worldwide, like Japan, Germany, Australia, the US, Canada, the Netherlands, and Singapore.
The fund expense ratio is as low as 0.3% rather than 1% for active funds. The funds offered by DFA are mainly equity and fixed-income classes in Singapore dollars, which include Dimensional Global Core Equity Fund, Dimensional Emerging Market Large Caps Equity Fund, Dimensional Global Short Fixed Income Fund, and Dimensional Global Core Fixed Income Fund.
MoneyOwl offers five investment portfolios by creating various asset allocations of the 4 types of dimensional funds. The five portfolios are equity, growth, balanced, moderate, and conservative portfolios.
CPF investors cannot invest in these funds but they can open another account if interested.
2. I am interested in mutual funds available from Endowus’s Fund Smart. Can I invest in my CPF account?
Yes, you can invest funds from Fund Smart in your CPF account. The fund pool has a huge amount of more than 250 funds, ranging from the highest risk level of 6 to the least of 1. The comprehensive range of funds covering investors of all risk levels is the ideal place for investors of all investment horizons and objectives.
Final Thoughts
Both MoneyOwl and Endowus are Robo Investors offering CPF investing services. Endowus offers comprehensive services like multiple investing levels and a pool of more than 250 funds of various risks.
Key takeaways
- Endowus is fit for sophisticated and trade-active investors.
- MoneyOwl provides special niches like beginners with a simple version of CPF services. The choice is limited and may not be suitable for complex investors.
- Therefore, Endowus offers a more one-stop-for-all style for CPF investors.
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