Suitable roboadvisor for conservative investor

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Just to add that Endowus recently released their official mobile app and I have to say it is pretty solid.

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duhduhduh

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with the low interest rate environment

is 5% return possible for 'conservative portfolio'?

any experts wanna comment here?

feels the comments above are promoting the platforms without consideration that OP requested for very conservative portfolio whereby he requested for lowest risk possible.
 

limster

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Hi all,


Lowest risk if possible. Just looking at around ~5% returns if possible? Good if it can be higher (still with a low risk of course). Of course, I'd like the annual fees to be low as well.

feels the comments above are promoting the platforms without consideration that OP requested for very conservative portfolio whereby he requested for lowest risk possible.

I think he said "lowest risk if possible" and also talked about getting 5% or higher. =:p
 

s0crates

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Depends on what you mean by conservative portfolio. If you mean a 100% bond portfolio then it's not possible imo.

Btw I don't consider investing in foreign currency denominated bond ETFs as being part of a conservative portfolio - it just doesn't make sense taking FX risk for a "safe investment".

if you follow the stashaway Facebook community it's quite funny how some people lament about the USD fluctuations affecting their portfolios. Obviously these people don't know what you they are getting themselves into.

with the low interest rate environment

is 5% return possible for 'conservative portfolio'?

any experts wanna comment here?

feels the comments above are promoting the platforms without consideration that OP requested for very conservative portfolio whereby he requested for lowest risk possible.
 

kurt111494

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Hi all, didn't expect the thread to attract so much feedback! Thank you all for providing your personal reviews and advice :)

no idea why you would exclude Endowus based on all the feedback. Haha

It's definitely still on my list :) I will probably channel extra funds into it after settling with Syfe and Stashaway.

Anyway, I still have a few months to research and consider before one of my deposits mature. So keep the comments coming! :s12:
 

Project_Xco

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Question to more senior Stashaway users. I used SA for few weeks now at 36% risk index and I am happy with how they allocate their portfolio. It is like 38% US, 25% China and I got 7% global reits and 20% gold.

Question is i like to keep it diversified this way as much as possible. But in the past, have they make major changes to the allocation? like u know, suddenly take 20% china away and replace with London ETF for example.
 

tutonic

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Question to more senior Stashaway users. I used SA for few weeks now at 36% risk index and I am happy with how they allocate their portfolio. It is like 38% US, 25% China and I got 7% global reits and 20% gold.

Question is i like to keep it diversified this way as much as possible. But in the past, have they make major changes to the allocation? like u know, suddenly take 20% china away and replace with London ETF for example.

The china holdings are relatively new. The old allocation at 36% didn't have any China or global REITs. It used to be just XLE, XLC, XLK, if I recall correctly. There also was only 5% gold in the 36% portfolio, iirc. During the crash period, around April or something, then Stashaway re-optimise, but then again, there's the choice of whether you want to accept or just keeping your existing holdings. The current make-up of the higher risk portfolios look nicer now, compared to before.

There's a chance that they might change their allocation, but you'll always have the choice to opt-out of any reoptimisation, from what I know. I could be wrong.
 

Project_Xco

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There's a chance that they might change their allocation, but you'll always have the choice to opt-out of any reoptimisation, from what I know. I could be wrong.

Just checked the app, yes you can toggle auto-reoptimization on/off.

I think i just let it remain on and allow them to reoptimise the portfolio according the the current market conditions to help preserve the value of the investment. This is also a Roboadvisor feature which I think I should take advantage of as I don't actively monitor/fully understand changing market conditions.
 

kurt111494

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Sorry can I just check, for Syfe's promotion...$100 for the first $20000 - can this $20000 be split into 2 different portfolios? Or must only be in 1 portfolio?
 
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I have Syfe, Stash and Endowus accounts and I was "lucky" enough to see how each of the platform performed during Sep 20's US market correction. I used Syfe only for REIT portfolio since it doesn't make sense to use 2 ETF-based Robo Advisors.

My experience thus far are:

[Syfe]
- REIT portfolio is a unique selling point. It tracks the underlying iEDGE REIT so no surprises when market goes up/down.
- I haven't tried Syfe's Equity100 or GlobalARI portfolio but some Youtube reviews commented their ARI strategy can be quite "conservative"
- The mobile app is too simple and have lots of room to improve
- Syfe have a decent number of Youtube webinar to keep us updated.

[StashAway]
- Main product is USD-based ETF and SGD-based Cash Management @1.4%pa
- I use their ETF portfolio so the Sept 20 US market correction did bring down the value by 1-2% overall but nothing drastic. Proves their diversification works. Since it tracks indexes, your portfolio growth also goes in tandem with them.
- Best mobile app among all
- Limited Youtube webinar but do have weekly market updates by their CIO Freddy.

[Endowus]
- Offers SGD-based low-cost unit-trust based and cash management portfolios. Minimizes currency fluctuation as a result.
- Offers low and high returns cash management solutions about 1%-2%pa. Also, 100% bond portfolio if you configure the risk level to 15% - 18%
- Their equity-focused portfolios drops the least in the Sept 20 US market correction perhaps because it is not ETF-based.
- Offers the most wide-ranging webinars and recently release some new product offerings for DIY enthusiasts.


I like diversifying my hard earned money into different Robo Advisors and gradually shift the money into the best performing ones for my risk appetite and style.

assume need to use CPF-OA ( CPF-IS )
how does robo vs fsm RSP using UT?
 

duhduhduh

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I think he said "lowest risk if possible" and also talked about getting 5% or higher. =:p
Haha we are not his financial advisors... but the way how he terms it... if something goes wrong, we know what will happen. :o
Depends on what you mean by conservative portfolio. If you mean a 100% bond portfolio then it's not possible imo.

Btw I don't consider investing in foreign currency denominated bond ETFs as being part of a conservative portfolio - it just doesn't make sense taking FX risk for a "safe investment".

if you follow the stashaway Facebook community it's quite funny how some people lament about the USD fluctuations affecting their portfolios. Obviously these people don't know what you they are getting themselves into.
yup, so it all depends how 'conservative' is TS is.
imo one may feel safe putting it into stashaway, but the risk tolerrance is different for another. :D
 

limster

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Question to more senior Stashaway users. I used SA for few weeks now at 36% risk index and I am happy with how they allocate their portfolio. It is like 38% US, 25% China and I got 7% global reits and 20% gold.

Wow 25% China, nice! :D
 
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I have StashAway and Endowus. I like them for different reasons - stashaway for speed and simplicity of app and Endowus for ability to invest in institutional funds (as I was told).

So far the referral awards help to block some fees so I do see returns.

Lemme know if you need referral.
I'm interested in stash or endow. How custom can both be ? Looking at aggressive portfolio

Sent from Tehhan's iPhone using GAGT
 
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Endowus does unit trusts. Their overall fees (platform + fund expense ratios) are one of the highest. Flip side is everything is in SGD, so no worries about currency fluctuations and US dividend tax and estate tax. One more thing to note is that Endowus prime offering (Dimensional Funds) is all about value. Unfortunately value has been underperforming for years. Whether it will keep underperforming or revert to mean is anyone's guess, but basically it has been underperforming the market for about the last 10 years I think.

Syfe does ETFs and is the only Robo doing REITs. So if you like REITs, Syfe is the way to go. The total cost is also very respectable and one of the lowest.
Syfe ARI is about risk management, so may be helpful for someone who is risk adverse. Because of sREITs and some of the ETFs in 100%Equities are UCITs compliant, not everything is under US dividend or estate taxable. But you need to know the difference and make an effort in your own portfolio construction. If US taxes are a big deal to you, Endowus is probably better for a no-worries approach.

Stashaway is pure US etfs. No running away from dividend or estate taxes. (Except for the local income portfolio which looks like rubbish. To me.)
Stashaway is also about risk management so you can probably pick a low risk portfolio. It also seems to produce better results than Syfe, but don't quote me on that.
Expense-wise, Stashaway is more expensive than Syfe until you hit about the 7 digit mark. But not by too much and still lower than Endowus.

If you like having all your investments in one place, note that Endowus is the ONLY robo thus far that allows CPF investing. It also allows SRS investing to cover all bases.
Stashaway does SRS, but no CPF.
Syfe only does cash but the claim is that SRS is on the way. No timeline that I know of though.
How does endowus compare if invest ownself using UT and CPF, say about 100k

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CCPie

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Question to more senior Stashaway users. I used SA for few weeks now at 36% risk index and I am happy with how they allocate their portfolio. It is like 38% US, 25% China and I got 7% global reits and 20% gold.

Question is i like to keep it diversified this way as much as possible. But in the past, have they make major changes to the allocation? like u know, suddenly take 20% china away and replace with London ETF for example.

Yes during covid got very big change. My suggestion is the opt out of the automatic rebalancing first. Tbh Im not so satisfied with the current allocations but live and learn bah.
 
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