Hi, sorry but what do you mean by having to fork out $300/month and having the discipline for this strategy?
I thought when we purchase, say 1 lot of Nikko AM STI ETF, through SCB Trading Platform, it's equivalent to buying shares of a company. The 1 lot will stay in our portfolio until we decide to sell it. So how does the $300/mth come in to the picture?
Sorry, I'm still in the process of learning about investing, if this sounds like a stupid question I apologize in advance. :/
Because the main focus here is RSP or Regular Savings Plans.
The thing is that the two options from POSB and OCBC, are kind of like automated trading accounts for those who want a taste of investment while not have too many things to control that they lose said control anyway.
RSPs apply the dollar cost averaging strategy to enhance returns. You buy using a fixed amount of cash regularly, if the price is high you only get a few but should the price dip you get more units for your buck. In the long run, this adds up to your average cost per unit being lower so you are gains.
But back to your confusion, the SCB trading account can do what POSB and OCBC are doing for you. It can, but you have to do it yourself. That's the tradeoff for the lower transaction costs. But if you're not used to setting money aside, you can easily come up with a reason to delay that regular purchase via SCB, be it to "time the market" or "consolidate your options" or maybe just "It's not the right time" (but when is?)
The slightly higher cost can be quite a put off but think of it as tuition fees to get your habit of regularly investing cultivated. Dissuade yourself of notions that you know when is a good time to buy because usually we don't. At least that's how I see it.
As for the TS's question, I'm with InvestSaver right now but it's been less than a year so I don't know about returns yet. The decision between BCIP or InvestSaver was easy for me cuz I had a DBS account and am yet to be 21 of age. (essentially I had no choice hahaha)
There is no major difference between the two in terms of general application. You can argue over transaction costs and how they interpret fractional units (POSB is fairer in this extent) but I think InvestSaver is good enough so far. As a newcomer, you should be aiming to just regularly set money aside to grow and not constantly think over which stock or when to buy. BCIP offers 30 units, that's great. But do you really know which one you want? What's the difference?
And let's say you do know the difference, why aren't you on SCB buying directly then?
Nikko Sti ETF is a good staple, don't give yourself the chance to get lost in a doozy of choices.
When your appetite grows, your knowledge should grow with it and by then you have better options made known to you
Sorry for the long post.
