Which broker is best for investment in Singapore?

An investment broker will help you connect to the financial market. Since numerous brokers are in the market today, ensure you do your due diligence to make the right choice. The best investment brokers in Singapore are: • Moomoo • Interactive Brokers • Saxo Markets • Syfe Trade • T.D Ameritrade

5 Investment Brokers to Consider in Singapore for 2023

Singapore is among the leading financial centers in Asia. It was ranked the third largest economic hub by the Global Financial Center Index in 2022. This is because Singapore is home to many stock markets, thus attracting investors from all over the region.

An investment broker will help you connect to the market if you plan to invest online. A broker acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers in the stock market. They facilitate the buying and selling of bonds, stocks, and other securities.

So, are there legit brokers in Singapore that can connect you to the market? This guide explains everything you need to know about investment brokers and the best trading platforms in Singapore.

Who Are Investment Brokers?

An investment broker is an individual or brokerage firm that conducts all investment transactions on behalf of its client. They act as intermediaries between sellers and buyers. The services you get depend on the type of securities you’re trading and the broker you’re transacting with.

For example, full-service brokers offer retirement planning help and other personalized investment advice, while discount brokers only manage buying and selling.

Why Are They Important?

Investment brokers are important because they help investors analyze market conditions, make transactions, and provide recommendations. To trade on most security exchanges, investors need an investment broker who will give trading services and discounts through fees and commissions.

Do You Need a Broker?

Yes, having an investment broker is recommended for investing and trading because it’s saves you time and stress. In addition, brokers connect clients with buyers, offer research, planning, and investment recommendations. Brokers can also provide physical or online services, with full-service or discount options.

A full-service broker may be best for those with large investment portfolios as they are licensed to make security exchanges and have a fiduciary duty.

How Much Do Brokers Charge?

Brokers charge fees per trade, which varies depending on the services and level of the broker. For example, discount brokers charge a minimum commission fee of about $5 to $30 per transaction, while full-service brokers charge fees ranging from $100 to $200 for each trade. This is due to their additional services such as research and advisory.

Some investment brokers also charge annual maintenance and trading fees. Therefore, before signing up with a brokerage firm, ensure you understand all trading fees and minimum balance requirements.

Broker Type	Fees per Trade	Additional Fees
Discount	$5 to $30	None
Full-Service	$100 to $200	Annual maintenance and trading fees

How to Find the Right Investment Broker for You

There is so much demand for online brokerage firms, which has increased the number of brokers in the space. So, how do you choose the right broker? Here are the factors to consider when choosing an online broker.

1. Commission

Almost all online brokers offer the same investment options. The most popular financial products they trade include investment options, mutual funds, individual stocks, exchange-traded funds, opportunities, and bonds. However, some brokers offer extra services like access to cryptocurrencies, foreign currency exchange markets, and future trading.

The investment option you choose determines the amount you pay as a commission.

Individual Stocks: Some online brokers charge a commission to sell or buy stocks, while others charge no commission.
Options: When investing in options, you must incur the stock trade commission and a per-contract fee, which vary among brokerage firms.
Mutual Funds: Mutual funds usually carry some expense fees. A broker can also charge some fees to help you purchase mutual funds. To avoid incurring much investment brokerage fees, choose an online broker offering no transaction fees when purchasing mutual funds.
ETFs are purchased like stocks, so some brokers charge stock trade commissions. If you plan to invest in them, ensure you choose brokers who offer commission-free ETFs.
Bonds: Some brokers charge commission fees to purchase individual bonds, so you should consider investing in no-transaction-fee ETFs and mutual funds.

2. Reliability

There are numerous brokerage firms out there, but finding a reliable broker or firm can be pretty hectic. Since you’ll be investing a considerable amount of money, investing with someone you can trust is advisable.

Ensure you open a trading account with a broker or brokerage firm registered with a monetary authority. Ideally, you should invest with a large institution that has been in the market for many years and has a good reputation.

3. Check the Account Minimum Requirements

Some online brokers in Singapore require clients to have a minimum deposit when trading stock. If you open a brokerage account with fewer amounts, you will struggle to find a broker to help you in stock trading.

4. Check for Account Fees

Some brokers will charge you a certain amount when transferring your investments, closing your account, or transferring your assets to another broker.

Other charges to look out for when choosing a broker include annual fees, trading platform subscriptions, inactivity fees, and additional charges for data or research.

5. Pricing and Execution

If you want your investment to be executed at the best prices, ensure you look at the fine pricing print. Remember, even a difference of a few pennies can affect the outcome.

6. Consider the Education, Features, and Tools

If it’s your first time investing through a broker, it’s advisable to register with brokerage firms that offer educational resources. Some of these resources include how-to guides, live webinars, glossaries, and video tutorials. Moreover, some online brokerages provide additional guidance to their clients.

Additionally, consider investing your money with brokers who allow their investors to purchase ETFs and stock by the dollar amount instead of using the number of shares. This method is ideal if you don’t have much money but want to create and build a diversified portfolio.

7. Promotions

Most online brokers entice new customers by providing catchy deals and cash bonuses if you invest a certain amount. However, be careful of such firms, as some may be giving bait to steal from you.

Best Investment Brokers in Singapore

Singapore is now among the best countries for investing in stocks and other financial instruments. That has led to the emergence of numerous trading platforms in Singapore.

Here are the top five investment brokers that you can trust.

Broker Name	Key Features	Best For	Commission Fees
Moomoo	Zero commission	Trading in the US market	S$0.99 (for Singaporeans)
Interactive Brokers	Lower margin rates	More active traders trading on a margin	S$2.50
Saxo Markets	3-User friendly platforms	Starters	S$2
Syfe Trade	Five free trades every month	Trading with little capital	S$1.98
T.D Ameritrade	Advanced ‘thinkorswim’ platform	Virtual trading using PaperMoney	US$0.70 (For options)

1. Moomoo – Best for Investment Broker in Singapore

Moomoo is a trading platform that offers free lifetime commission for trading in the US market and ETFs. It’s regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and offers various trading securities such as H.K. stocks, U.S. stocks, U.S. stock options, S.G. stocks, ADRs, Futures, REITs, and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

It gained popularity by giving free Apple shares to new account holders and now it offers a welcome bones of up to $3,500 in free stocks.

The minimum commission fee for S.G stocks is S$0.99 and 0.03 % trading fees, while US stocks have a minimum commission fee of $1.99 and $0.0049 trading fees. Moomoo also allows trading of H.K stocks with minimum commission fees of HK$3.

The mobile-friendly platform doesn’t charge inactivity fees.

Steps to Open a Moomoo Securities Account

Since Moomoo is a digital trading platform, you can access all their services through your mobile phone. To open an account with them, follow the steps below.

Download the app from the Google play store or App Store.
Install the app and open a brokerage account.
Fill in all the required details; your name, contacts, address, and income.
Once you complete filling in your information, you will be asked if the information provided is accurate, and if everything is okay, press the submit button.
Moomoo will receive your application, and if everything is okay, they will send the confirmation message.
Before you start trading, ensure your Moomoo online trading account is funded.

2. Interactive Brokers (IBKR) – Best Investment Broker for Active Traders

Interactive Brokers is an online brokerage platform that offers low commission and margin rates, making it an excellent option for active traders. With over 45 years of experience, it’s a reliable platform with 130 markets worldwide, capable of handling over 2,621,000 trades per day.

They have 33 offices in Europe and Asia, including a Singapore capital of around $10.22 billion. They offer trading services for stocks, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs, futures, gold, silver, cryptocurrencies, and more.

This trading platform has low fees, including no ticket charges or account fees. The Block Desk feature allows you to track securities remotely. In addition, the minimum commission fee is S$2.50, and the trading commission is around 0.08%.

Interactive brokers provide their users with a free trial where you can test how it works. They also offer two plans which include:

IBKR Lite: This plan offers clients 0% commission on ETFs and U.S. stocks. Also, there are no inactivity fees, but you must be US-domiciled to be allowed to use these services.
IBKR PRO: Clients using this plan can access the IB SmartRouting system that offers you $0.47 per 100 shares.

Steps to Follow When Opening an Interactive Brokers Account

Here are the steps to follow when opening an Investment Brokers account.

Download the interactive broker’s app from the Google play store or App Store.
Install the app and open a brokerage account.
Fill in all the required details; your name, contacts, address, and income.
Once you complete filling in your information, you will be asked if the information provided is accurate, and if everything is okay, press the submit button.
Once the account is approved, you will be required to fund your account. You can do this via a bank wire or by transferring securities from another brokerage firm.

IBKR only allows you to open a Custodian Account, which means your investment will be stored by Interactive Brokers, not the CDP Account. Remember, interactive brokers don’t charge any custodian account fees.

3. SAXO Markets – Best Investment Broker for Seasoned Investors

SAXO Markets covers a variety of portfolios like ETFs, stocks, bonds, forex, commodities, and Contract for differences (CFDs). It also features three user friendly platforms – SaxotraderGO, SaxoInvestor, and SaxoTraderPRO.

This platform doesn’t charge custody fees and has a low minimum commission of S$2 and a trading fee of 0.08% in the Singaporean market. In addition, the minimum commission and trading fee for the US market are $4 and 0.06%, respectively.

SAXO offers five accounts that offer lower rates for your investments. Here are the rates for each SGX.

Silver – 0.06%
Bronze – 0.08%
Platinum – 0.04%
Gold – 0.05%
Diamond – 0.03%

The interest is based on your plan, and there’s no lock-up period. Furthermore, you can access over 6,400 ETFs and 22,000 stocks across their exchange platforms worldwide.

Steps to Follow When Opening a Saxo Markets Account

It’s easy and fast to open an account with them. Follow the steps below.

Download the SAXO markets app from the Google play store or App Store.
Install the app and open a brokerage account.
Fill in all the required details; your name, contacts, address, and income.
Once you complete filling in your information, you will be asked if the information provided is accurate, and if everything is okay, press the submit button.
Once the account is approved, you will be required to fund your account.

4. Syfe Trade – Best Investment Broker for Low Risk Investors

Syfe Trade is one of the cheapest online brokerages in Singapore and it offers at least five free trades every month. However, investors who do more than the recommended free trades have to pay a fee of $0.99.

This platform is user-friendly, safe, reputable, and allows you to track your investment quickly. It is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and it won the DigFin Innovation Award for the best digital advisory solution in 2021.

Syfe Trade offers a welcome gift of up to $200, which you can use to buy US stocks. In addition, all investments of up to $500,000 are protected by SIPC.

In a day, you can sell or buy over 10,000 US ETFs and stocks with a trading commission of 0.06% and a minimum commission fee of S$1.98.

How to Open Syfe Trade Account

To open a Syfe Trade account:

Download the Syfe App from App Store, Google Play, or the Syfe website.
Once downloaded, open an account by using Singpass to verify your details or identities. You can also upload your supporting documents manually.
Click the Create Account tab to start the registration process.
Next, you’re required to complete your investment knowledge assessment form. This form helps the brokerage firm to verify if you have the proper knowledge to invest in Specified Investment Products (SIP).
After filling out the form, you can sign off on the contract details. The procedure is done electronically, verifying that you understand the agreement and the information you’ve provided is accurate.

Once your account is verified, you can transfer funds into your account using different payment methods such as Fast, PayNow, and T.T. You can always track the movement of your investments anytime since Syfe is always open.

5. T.D. Ameritrade – Best Investment Broker for Beginners

T.D Ameritrade was founded in 1975 and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) – making it one of the safest online brokerage firms in Singapore today.

This platform offers commission-free trading of stocks, options, and ETFs to the US market. It also has no minimum commission, platform fees, or trading fees. You’re only supposed to have minimum funding of $3,500.

It is ideal for beginners as it has excellent educational materials, and provides a trading specialist who helps you for free. After registering with them, you can access all the products and services provided, including charting, scanning, and technical analysis.

How to Open a T.D Ameritrade Account

The T.D. Ameritrade platform supports a fully functional app that makes it easier for traders from US and Singapore markets to interact. To register with this brokerage platform, follow the steps below.

Download the T.D. Ameritrade app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Install the app and open a brokerage account.
Clarify whether you want to open an individual or joint account
Fill in all the required details; your name, contacts, address, and income.
Upload a copy of your bank account statement and NRIC.
Submit and wait for your account to be verified. Usually, they take up to three days to activate your account.
Once your account is activated, deposit not less than $3,500.

You can also open a margin account to borrow money from your broker to purchase your investments. Remember, not everyone is allowed to open this account, and if you’re eligible, you have to pay the stipulated margin.

Closing

An investment broker is an individual or brokerage firm that conducts all investment transactions on behalf of its client. Numerous brokerage firms are out there, so you have to do your own research to ensure you invest with an experienced and reliable broker.

Key Takeaways

A broker acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers in the stock market.
When selecting an investment broker, consider factors such as commissions, account fees, reliability, pricing, and execution.
Singapore’s top five investment brokers include Moomoo, Syfe Trade, Interactive Traders, and T.D. Ameritrade, and SAXO Markets.

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