There is no single best exchange traded fund for everyone in Singapore, but for most people the answer is short: a broad index ETF held for years. For Singapore-dollar income, the SPDR STI ETF (SGX: ES3) tracks the 30 biggest local stocks at a 0.30% expense ratio. For global growth, an Ireland-domiciled world fund such as VWRA at 0.22%, or a pure S&P 500 fund such as CSPX at 0.07%, gives you thousands of companies in one trade and cuts the US dividend tax bill in half. The trick is matching the fund to your goal and not paying twice in fees and withholding tax.
An exchange traded fund is a basket of investments that trades on a stock exchange like a single share. Buy one unit of the SPDR STI ETF and you own a sliver of all 30 companies in the Straits Times Index. Buy one unit of a world ETF and you own a slice of roughly 3,900 companies across nearly 50 countries. You get instant diversification for the price of one trade, which is why ETFs are the default starting point in how to start investing in Singapore.
Most of the funds worth owning are index funds: they copy an index rather than pay a manager to pick stocks. That keeps the expense ratio low, often a fraction of what a unit trust charges. The flip side is that an index ETF will never beat its market, only match it minus a small fee. For most long-term investors that is a feature, not a bug, because the majority of active managers underperform their index over a decade.
SGX is a small but growing ETF market. At the end of 2025 there were around 50 ETFs listed on SGX holding about S$18 billion in assets, up roughly 37% on the year before. That is tiny next to the more than 15,000 ETFs worldwide, but it is enough to cover the building blocks most Singaporeans need: local shares, world shares, REITs, bonds and gold.
The local benchmark also had a big year. The Straits Times Index crossed 5,000 for the first time on 12 February 2026, a record high. One name change to watch: Nikko Asset Management rebranded to Amova in 2026, so the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF is now the Amova Singapore STI ETF (SGX: G3B). Same fund, new label.
Stop hunting for one winner and pick the fund that does the job you need. The table below lists the most widely held options for each role, with fees verified against the fund providers as of June 2026. Yields move with markets and payouts, so treat them as recent figures, not promises.
| Job | ETF (ticker) | Tracks | Expense ratio | Recent yield | Domicile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG blue chips | SPDR STI ETF (ES3) | 30 largest SGX stocks | 0.30% | ~3.3% | Singapore |
| SG blue chips | Amova Singapore STI ETF (G3B) | 30 largest SGX stocks | 0.30% | ~3.5% | Singapore |
| Whole world | Vanguard FTSE All-World (VWRA) | ~3,900 global stocks | 0.22% | Accumulating | Ireland |
| Whole world | iShares Core MSCI World (IWDA) | ~1,400 developed-market stocks | 0.20% | Accumulating | Ireland |
| US large-cap | iShares Core S&P 500 (CSPX) | S&P 500 | 0.07% | Accumulating | Ireland |
| US tech | Invesco QQQ (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 | ~0.20% | Low | United States |
| SG property income | Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF (CLR) | High-yield Singapore REITs | 0.50% | ~5.5% | Singapore |
| SG bonds | ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund (A35) | SG govt and quasi-govt bonds | 0.15% | Coupon income | Singapore |
| Gold | SPDR Gold Shares (O87) | Gold bullion price | 0.40% | None | United States |
If you want Singapore-dollar dividends with no currency risk, an STI ETF is the simplest start. Two funds track the index, the SPDR STI ETF and the Amova Singapore STI ETF, and both charge a 0.30% total expense ratio. They are close to identical, so liquidity and how you buy decide the winner. The SPDR fund (ES3) launched in 2002, is the oldest and most traded, and tends to have tighter buy-sell spreads. The Amova fund (G3B) is available through the POSB Invest-Saver regular savings plan, which lets you drip-feed from as little as S$100 a month.
Recent payout yields have sat around 3.3% to 3.5%, helped by the high dividends from the three local banks that dominate the index. That concentration is the catch: DBS, OCBC and UOB make up a large chunk of the STI, so an STI ETF is really a bet on Singapore banks plus a handful of property and industrial names. It is income-friendly but not very diversified, which is exactly why most people pair it with a world fund.
For long-run growth, a single global ETF beats trying to pick countries. The two staples for Singapore investors are VWRA, which holds about 3,900 stocks across developed and emerging markets at a 0.22% expense ratio, and IWDA, which holds roughly 1,400 developed-market stocks at 0.20%. If you only want US exposure, CSPX tracks the S&P 500 at a market-low 0.07%. All three are accumulating funds: they reinvest dividends inside the fund instead of paying cash, which keeps your money compounding and saves you the work of reinvesting. See how compounding builds wealth for why that matters over 20 years.
The deciding factor is not the fee, it is the domicile. These funds are listed in London but domiciled in Ireland, and that is deliberate. Ireland has a tax treaty with the US, so dividends from US companies inside the fund are taxed at 15% withholding instead of the 30% a US-listed fund would suffer. On a US-heavy portfolio that gap quietly adds up to real money over a decade. Singapore-listed US ETFs and US-domiciled funds like the original SPY do not get that break for Singapore residents, which is why VWRA, IWDA and CSPX have become the standard.
Match the fund to the goal, then keep costs low and leave it alone. A workable two-fund core for most young Singaporeans is one world ETF for growth plus one STI or REIT ETF for Singapore-dollar income, rebalanced once a year. Compare the index route against a managed one in robo-advisor vs DIY ETF before you commit.
SGX-listed ETFs like the STI ETF can be bought through any local broker. To hold them in your own name, open a Central Depository (CDP) account with SingPass and link a broker such as DBS Vickers, OCBC Securities or Phillip Securities; the step-by-step is in opening a brokerage and CDP account. The London-listed funds (VWRA, IWDA, CSPX) are not on SGX, so you buy them through a broker with access to the London Stock Exchange, such as Interactive Brokers or a Singapore broker with foreign-market access.
Three buying styles cover almost everyone. A normal brokerage trade suits lump sums and the London-listed world funds. A regular savings plan, such as POSB Invest-Saver into the STI ETF, automates small monthly buys. A robo-advisor builds and rebalances an ETF portfolio for you for a small annual fee, which is the hands-off option for people who would rather not pick funds at all.
An index ETF cannot beat its market by design, so in a roaring bull run a lucky stock-picker will outpace you. Diversification also cuts both ways: when the whole market falls, your ETF falls with it, and a world fund will not shield you from a global bear market. ETFs trade intraday like shares, which tempts some people into buying and selling on news, the opposite of the buy-and-hold habit that makes them work.
Fees are low but not zero, and they stack. The fund charges its expense ratio, your broker charges commission, and currency conversion costs a little when you buy a London-listed fund in US dollars. None of these is large on its own, but choosing a cheaper fund and a cheaper broker is the one return boost that is fully in your control.
For most beginners a single broad world ETF such as VWRA, held for the long term, is the simplest sensible choice because it spreads your money across thousands of companies in one trade. If you want Singapore-dollar dividends instead, an STI ETF is the easiest local starting point.
Ireland has a tax treaty with the United States, so US dividends inside an Ireland-domiciled fund are taxed at 15% withholding rather than the 30% a US-listed ETF charges Singapore residents. Over many years that lower tax drag noticeably improves your total return.
You can start small. A regular savings plan like POSB Invest-Saver lets you buy the STI ETF from about S$100 a month, and many brokers now allow buying a single ETF unit, so the practical minimum is the price of one unit plus the trading commission.
Singapore does not tax individual investors on dividends or capital gains, so payouts from SGX-listed ETFs reach you tax-free at the local level. The tax that does bite is foreign withholding on overseas dividends inside the fund, which is why fund domicile matters for US exposure.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.