Advice Needed: ILP or Regular Saving Plan

[Rmondo]

For STI ETF,

1) Is Standard Chartered's custodian account considered safe as compared to other banks which links to your own CDP account? The main drawback is when stanchart uplorry, which is very very low possibility right?

2) Let's say if I have capital to buy 1 lot SPDR, is it more recommended to buy -
a) 1 lot (1000 shares) of SPDR STI ETF every 5 months (that's abt $600+ monthly), or
b) 2 lots (200 shares) of Nikko AM STI ETF very month (that's also abt $600+ monthly)
I read that SPDR is better than Nikko if you have the capital to buy 1 lot at a go. But does dollar cost averaging work for SPDR in this case where the shares are bought only once every 5 mths as compared to the monthly Nikko?

When you read that it is better, you need to do your homework and understand why people say that it is better instead of taking people's word for it. That is a dangerous thing to do.

As of now, in terms of vol as well as tracking error and the expense, SPDR does look to be a better option. But bear in mind the age of two, SPDR has been around for much longer, hence you see the disparity. But it's not so huge that Nikko is handicapped per say.

I would think if you can save up enough to buy 1 lot in 1 quarter then it would probably justify you going for SPDR.

If you have a strategy of rebalancing your portfolio every year, and from what I gather, since you belong to the group that has to save up for a few months just to buy 1 lot, you are better off going for Nikko. With 100 shares per lot it would be much easier to do rebalancing if your portfolio is pretty modest. If you can only buy 2 lots per year, it's gonna be real tough to rebalance.

Another advantage that I can think of for you in going with Nikko and investing monthly is that you would likely face lesser temptation to splurge the money away. You stash away 4/5 months of the money to buy 1 lot, then suddenly you see something shiny that catches your eye, you might end up buying it.

 

[manaeater]

hi gurus, i was reading through this thread and am deeply keen on the investment counters being advised here.

I went to Philips today to open an account with them, but under their counters listed(they had 20 in total), only STI ETF was there (amongst others). And when i ask the counter lady, she was not sure about Nikko or SPDR STI ETF.

Or is SPDR STI ETF = STI ETF?

Pardon me as i'm really new on this. I have about $10k on hand now, and reading the previous posts, would it be advisable to throw in about $500 per month to STI ETF, and every quarterly, purchase SPDR STI ETF indexes?

Would appreciate any advise given regarding STI ETF, SPDR STI ETF and also Nikko and what account do i have to go for in order to purchase these indexes.

Thanks!!!

 

[limster]

hi gurus, i was reading through this thread and am deeply keen on the investment counters being advised here.

I went to Philips today to open an account with them, but under their counters listed(they had 20 in total), only STI ETF was there (amongst others). And when i ask the counter lady, she was not sure about Nikko or SPDR STI ETF.

You don't need to ask the counter lady, they will assign a TR to you who should call you shortly and you can ask him/her whatever questions you want. If you feel that the TR they assign shows a lack of knowledge (or not good looking enough or...), then change brokerage until you get a TR you are satisfied with.

I actually opened a Philips account with the intention of making it my main account, but the assigned TR never do anything, after the first call, never update me with anything like placement share, bond issues, etc. Did not even bother to e-mail me. So I basically don't use Philips. Maybe their customer:TR ratio too high or maybe his other clients all multimillionaire so ignore me....

After that I switched to OCBC securities, the TR assigned was much better, frequent e-mail updates, and always updating me on placement shares, bond issues etc.

 

[manaeater]

thanks for the reply limster bro. I will make sure to ask my TR (what's TR btw?) tons of question when he/she calls me.

But can i check with you, is STI ETF = SPDR STI ETF?

And can POEMs buy Nikko ETF? Because it is not listed under the list provided by Philips. Only STI ETF.

Thanks ar!

 

[limster]

thanks for the reply limster bro. I will make sure to ask my TR (what's TR btw?) tons of question when he/she calls me.

Trading Representative.

 

[Boorseye]

thanks for the reply limster bro. I will make sure to ask my TR (what's TR btw?) tons of question when he/she calls me.

But can i check with you, is STI ETF = SPDR STI ETF?

And can POEMs buy Nikko ETF? Because it is not listed under the list provided by Philips. Only STI ETF.

Thanks ar!

My understanding is if you use PSBP, the STI ETF they offer is SPDR STI ETF whereas if you use POSB invest saver or OCBC BCIP, the STI ETF that they offer is nikko AM STI ETF.

Hope this helps

 

[blurblur123]

thanks for the reply limster bro. I will make sure to ask my TR (what's TR btw?) tons of question when he/she calls me.

But can i check with you, is STI ETF = SPDR STI ETF?

And can POEMs buy Nikko ETF? Because it is not listed under the list provided by Philips. Only STI ETF.

Thanks ar!

Yes, STI ETF = SPDR STI ETF. just google it by yrself and u will see the code ES3.