Which Wealth Account to Go With for S$200k Fresh Funds?

[singaporean11]

Hi all,

I have S$200k in fresh funds and I'm considering opening a wealth banking account.

Currently looking at:

• SC Priority (S$200k)
• HSBC Premier (S$200k)
• Citi Priority (S$70k)

I've done some research, and they all seem quite similar on the surface. The main standout for me is that HSBC Premier extends the Premier status to my spouse and children, which is a nice perk.

I don’t have any investment background and would prefer to keep the funds in low-risk deposits or instruments—not looking to actively trade or invest for now.

Would appreciate any advice or personal experiences, especially around service quality, perks, or whether any of these stand out more in practice. Thanks!

What perks you are looking for?

SC Priority has complimentary SC Visa Infinite credit card (auto annual membership fee waiver if you maintain at least S$200k per calendar year), 12x complimentary(/free) lounge access.

HSBC Premier has complimentary HSBC Premier Mastercard credit card (auto annual membership fee waiver if you maintain at least S$200k per calendar year), but only 4x complimentary(/free) lounge access.

HSBC Premier has complimentary global data roaming, 3GB 15-day pass per calendar year, but SC Priority don't.

But if you have >=S$1.5M, then SC Priority Private will provide also 8x complimentary airport limousine transfer on top of 24x complimentary airport lounge access.

There are also some complimentary travel insurance stuff but with conditions etc., so not meaningful to most people.

 

[BBCWatcher]

SC Priority has complimentary SC Visa Infinite credit card (auto annual membership fee waiver if you maintain at least S$200k per calendar year), 12x complimentary(/free) lounge access.

According to Standard Chartered’s fee schedule there’s an annual fee of S$327 for that card from the 2nd year, and it’s “strictly non-waivable.” If there’s a published fee waiver that says otherwise, I haven’t found it yet.

I’ll obliquely point out that some cards issued in some other countries offer much better airport lounge access benefits than every card I’ve seen in Singapore, and you don’t need to park S$200K+ in lower interest accounts to get them. If you have such options, check them out.

HSBC Premier has complimentary global data roaming, 3GB 15-day pass per calendar year, but SC Priority don't.

This is worth US$10 at most. Just get a S$8 eSIM from Eight if you want 2GB of international data valid for 30 days. Or visit eSIMdb.com for more offers.

But if you have >=S$1.5M, then SC Priority Private will provide also 8x complimentary airport limousine transfer on top of 24x complimentary airport lounge access.

Which of course you pay for if (mostly likely when) you earn less interest on S$1.5 million. For example, if you earn even 0.2 percentage points lower interest then that’s S$3,000 per year in lost interest.

This is how you should be comparing these various offers: are you getting the best overall value for money? Banks are not charities.

There are also some complimentary travel insurance stuff but with conditions etc., so not meaningful to most people.

The various free travel insurance offers are nearly always essentially worthless. Many “commoner” credit cards offer those meagre benefits that don’t actually work in either moderate or high medical cost countries. And the card offering the too limited travel insurance can effectively penalize you in return due to a lower rebate or lower point value when you charge the trip/ticket to that particular card.

 

[limster]

Plenty of other threads discussing priority/premier banking. As I have mentioned elsewhere, SCB Priority is the best because online trading comm is 0.02% less (0.18% vs 0.20%) and your VWRA holdings count towards AUM.

The Stanchart Priority Banking Visa Infinite is basically useless so I terminated it after I change to EV. Only reason I used the card was for petrol discount.

However, I had no problems getting annual fee waiver. Initially I had to use the phone banking to get auto-waiver ("Press 1 to apply for waiver") But subsequently, they would send me SMS to say fee has been auto-waived.

Let's put it this way, the "lousier" the card, the more likely that the bank will waive the fees, because they know the card is so lousy, nobody in their right mind will pay annual fees for it.

Maybe I'm lucky to get the UOB Visa Signature with lifetime fee waiver. Its a 4MPD card with lifetime fee waiver. OCBC Premier Visa Infinite I have lifetime fee waiver but its a lousy card (lousier the card, the more likely to get waiver....)

 

[BBCWatcher]

Plenty of other threads discussing priority/premier banking. As I have mentioned elsewhere, SCB Priority is the best because online trading comm is 0.02% less (0.18% vs 0.20%) and your VWRA holdings count towards AUM.

0.18% is still not a great commission rate. For example, Interactive Brokers charges 0.05% (minimum US$1.70) plus GST. There's also Standard Chartered's currency conversion cost which isn't that great either.

 

[limster]

0.18% is still not a great commission rate. For example, Interactive Brokers charges 0.05% (minimum US$1.70) plus GST. There's also Standard Chartered's currency conversion cost which isn't that great either.

Pls list the top 3 brokerages for Singaporeans out of presumably 10++ options?

To me IBKR, SCB, and FSMOne are the top 3.

Must the investor always choose the cheapest out of 10+ options? I doubt so. Sometimes no.2 and no.3 might be more suitable.

 

[singaporean11]

0.18% is still not a great commission rate. For example, Interactive Brokers charges 0.05% (minimum US$1.70) plus GST. There's also Standard Chartered's currency conversion cost which isn't that great either.

I definitely will not use Interactive Brokers to buy HK/China shares! The risk is just too high for the small cheapness in commision rate!

 

[yslvlys]

I definitely will not use Interactive Brokers to buy HK/China shares! The risk is just too high for the small cheapness in commision rate!

What is the risk?

 

[BBCWatcher]

What is the risk?

Good question. If for example you fear doing business with a smaller company, let’s take a look at the market capitalizations of these two companies (figures as of the close of market trading yesterday):

• Interactive Brokers: US$86.748
• Standard Chartered: £27.163 billion → US$36.319

By this measure Standard Chartered is less than half the size of Interactive Brokers.

If you want to look at bond ratings, Interactive Brokers Group and Standard Chartered plc have identical S&P ratings: BBB+. If you want to look at exchange membership for your VWRA trades (as an example), Interactive Brokers is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Standard Chartered doesn’t seem to be.

 

[FlyGuardX]

how does moomoo fees compare to these interactive broker

 

[limster]

IBKR has a huge key man risk: Thomas Peterffy who owns 75% of IBKR and is 80 years old. If you read about him in books like Dark Pools, you'll know he was one of the 'good guys'. After he leaves, who knows what direction IBKR will take. Will he hand over his controlling shares to his children? Are his children any good at running a brokerage? As the saying goes: 富不过三代

Bogle is no longer around. Vanguard seems stuck in a rut and not able to innovate to cut the costs of their ETFs. Last time they were the cheapest ETFs, now there are multiple companies that have innovated and found ways to provide even lower cost ETFs than Vanguard.

​

 

[BBCWatcher]

IBKR has a huge key man risk: Thomas Peterffy who owns 75% of IBKR and is 80 years old....

Thomas Peterffy hasn't been CEO since October 1, 2019. Milan Galik has.

On September 30, 2019, IBKR's stock closed at US$61.13 (adjusted). Yesterday IBKR closed at US$205.27. That compares to the S&P 500 Index values for those two dates: 4,307.54 and 5,844.61 respectively. Investors obviously seem quite happy with the company's prospects.

Thomas Peterffy has one heir: his son William Peterffy, a director. The elder Peterffy is fairly heavily involved in philanthropy (i.e. donating wealth to charitable causes), and his son seems even more inclined to donate his wealth.

....But you're investing in shares of a Vanguard or BlackRock ETF listed/traded on the London Stock Exchange. You're choosing a broker, not a marriage partner. Actually, both Standard Chartered and Interactive Brokers do a fine job handling that. It comes down to costs, really.

Bogle is no longer with Vanguard. Vanguard seems stuck in a rut and not able to innovate to cut the costs of their ETFs. Last time they were the cheapest ETFs, now there are multiple companies that have innovated and found ways to provide even lower cost ETFs than Vanguard.

Huh? It's widely and recently reported that Vanguard has gained ETF market share from BlackRock.

 

[limster]

Huh? It's widely and recently reported that Vanguard has gained ETF market share from BlackRock.

you are clearly not up to date if you think that the ETF universe is still Vanguard and Blackrock. both are no longer the cheapest ETFs for SG investors.

at the end of the day, who knows what the son will do with his controlling interest in IBKR when he inherits. nowadays billionaires like to mix business with politics

 

[BBCWatcher]

you are clearly not up to date if you think that the ETF universe is still Vanguard and Blackrock. both are no longer the cheapest ETFs for SG investors.

Here's what you wrote:

Bogle is no longer with Vanguard. Vanguard seems stuck in a rut and not able to innovate to cut the costs of their ETFs. Last time they were the cheapest ETFs, now there are multiple companies that have innovated and found ways to provide even lower cost ETFs than Vanguard.

You introduced Vanguard to this thread; I didn't. I merely pointed out that Vanguard is gaining market share against BlackRock, the largest ETF provider (albeit now much more narrowly the largest). Some other ETF providers are also gaining share according to recent reporting; I didn't write otherwise.

But what does this have to do with whether particular brokers offer attractive commissions (inclusive of the value, if any, of "Priority" or "Privilege" or "Platinum" perks) and are high quality custodians? Choose whichever ETF you want, assuming your broker(s) can help you buy it.

at the end of the day, who knows what the son will do with his controlling interest in IBKR when he inherits. nowadays billionaires like to mix business with politics

What does this have to do with whether particular brokers offer attractive commissions (inclusive of any perks) and are high quality custodians?

Here's what I would assert: both Interactive Brokers and Standard Chartered are high quality custodians. You can buy VWRA, ISAC, or some other security through either one, and they'll both do a good job holding your security. Standard Chartered's commissions (including currency conversion costs) are almost always higher. It's possible some perk (like a few limo rides) that Standard Chartered offers will be enough to offset their higher commissions, but that'll depend on your situation.

 

[FlyGuardX]

seem like this went off topic already

 

[limster]

seem like this went off topic already

because for some people there is only one broker you are allowed to use and certain ETFs you are allowed to buy.

this topic is about premier/priority banking and BBC hasn't even said whether he has PB status in any of the banks and is sharing his actual experience with PB, or whether he is just posting wall of text cut and paste from AI/internet.

If someone asked whether iPhone is good, and I don't own an iPhone, I don't post since I don't have any experience with iPhone. But some people post no matter what.

 

[~sabaisabai~]

Yes it's already out of topic
ts asking 200k wealth account ended up ETF and brokers

 

[BBCWatcher]

this topic is about premier/priority banking and BBC hasn't even said whether he has PB status in any of the banks and is sharing his actual experience with PB, or whether he is just posting wall of text cut and paste from AI/internet.

I happen to have a lovely "status." But so what? It's not actually worth very much and wasn't/isn't enough compensation for a materially higher commission, lower interest, and/or other deficiency(ies) in the core service(s). "Status" is just part of a bank's or broker's rate card, that's all.

So can you place S$200K with any financial institution in Singapore that purportedly offers a named "status" ("Priority," "Privilege," "Titanium," or whatever) and get a better overall deal than placing the S$200K with some other financial institution that doesn't attach a "status" name to their offer? Maybe not!

 

[Cramer]

There ain't much perks for you especially if you are not going to buy any investment products etc from them. Putting in the bare minimum amount only makes you a small fish in their pond. And get ready to lose if you are buying into something - whether you make or not do not matter to them, and many recommendations are only because of the commissions they (the RMs) will earn. Make sure you know the market otherwise a simple FX conversion via them can be a 3% fee when you thought it should be better than the money changers. They love an ignorant customer more than anything else take their words at face value surely.

 

[singaporean11]

What is the risk?

Just like US President can made executive decree to ban Harvard University from accepting international students, US President also have the power to order all US companies to follow US Presidential decree regardless of where they are operating (e.g. IB in SG), which in this case to damage China he can order a freeze of all HK/China equities and assets held in custodian of US companies. Then your equities and assets will be stuck!

 

[DevilPlate]

Pls list the top 3 brokerages for Singaporeans out of presumably 10++ options?

To me IBKR, SCB, and FSMOne are the top 3.

Must the investor always choose the cheapest out of 10+ options? I doubt so. Sometimes no.2 and no.3 might be more suitable.

I know IBKR low comm but i don’t bother to open acct with them
If i wana trade often, i use Tiger