Saxo Bank (its Singapore arm is Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd.) is the broker Singapore investors reach for when they want a serious platform with global reach rather than a beginner app. The pitch: trade SGX shares from 0.08% with a SGD 3 minimum, US shares from 0.08% with a USD 1 minimum, and reach 23,500-plus instruments across stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, funds and FX from one login, all figures from Saxo Singapore's own pricing pages as of June 2026. It is regulated here by MAS, and its parent Saxo Bank A/S holds an 'A-' rating from S&P. The catch is the fee small print: a 0.25% currency-conversion fee, a custody fee on foreign holdings unless you opt into securities lending, and commissions that only drop to 0.03% once you fund a Platinum or VIP tier. This guide breaks down what you really pay across Classic, Platinum and VIP, where the quiet fees hide, how the new AutoInvest works, and who is better off elsewhere.
Saxo Bank is a Danish bank and brokerage founded in 1992, with its Singapore subsidiary Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd. operating here since 2006. From one account you can buy SGX blue chips, US ETFs, Hong Kong tech names, London-listed UCITS funds, government bonds, options and futures across dozens of exchanges, which is a wider product range than most beginner-focused apps offer. That breadth, plus a genuinely powerful desktop platform, is why more experienced investors gravitate to it.
The second draw is institutional pedigree. Saxo is a licensed bank in Denmark, regulated in Singapore by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and its parent Saxo Bank A/S carries an 'A-' rating from S&P Global Ratings. For an investor who wants a regulated, well-capitalised custodian rather than a startup brokerage, that track record matters. Our guide to starting investing in Singapore explains why a stable, low-fee broker is the single biggest controllable lever on your long-run return.
The honest counterweight is that Saxo is not the absolute cheapest, and its pricing rewards size. The headline commission only falls from 0.08% to 0.03% once you fund a Platinum (SGD 300,000) or VIP (SGD 1.5 million) tier, and a 0.25% currency-conversion fee plus a custody fee on foreign holdings can outweigh the commission for a small, frequently-converting investor. Like most modern brokers it is a custodian, not a CDP-linked one, so your SGX shares are held in Saxo's name on your behalf rather than registered to you directly. The CDP glossary entry covers what direct ownership actually means.
Saxo has one account with three pricing tiers, and the tier is decided by how much you fund, not by what you ask for. Everyone starts on Classic. You move up to Platinum or VIP by hitting a funding threshold, and the higher you go, the lower your commissions, custody fee and FX spread become. For most Singapore retail investors, Classic is the realistic tier, so read the fee section through that lens.
Classic has no minimum initial funding, so you can open and trade with any amount. Platinum requires SGD 300,000 in initial funding and brings lower commissions, a thinner FX spread and a lower margin rate. VIP requires SGD 1.5 million and gives the best pricing, the lowest custody fee, and perks like fee-free requests to add new instruments. Platinum and VIP also earn interest on cash balances above SGD 5,000 (or equivalent), as of June 2026.
One quirk that catches Classic and Platinum clients: adding a brand-new instrument that is not already on the platform costs USD 200 per instrument, while VIP clients can request additions for free. For an investor buying mainstream SGX and US stocks and ETFs this never bites, since those are already available, but it is worth knowing before you assume every obscure listing is one click away.
Here is what you pay on the trades a typical Singapore investor makes, taken from Saxo Singapore's pricing pages as of June 2026. Goods and Services Tax (currently 9%) applies to eligible fees and commissions on top of the figures below.
On the Classic tier, Singapore stocks and ETFs cost 0.08% of trade value with a minimum of SGD 3 per order, and US stocks and ETFs cost 0.08% with a minimum of USD 1 per order. Those rates drop on Platinum and VIP, reaching as low as 0.03% (still with the SGD 3 and USD 1 minimums) at the top tier. To put Classic in context, a SGD 2,000 SGX trade costs the SGD 3 minimum, while a SGD 10,000 trade costs SGD 8. Bond commissions start from 0.05%, and US-listed ETFs trade from USD 1, while mutual funds carry zero commission, custody or platform fee.
Currency conversion is the fee that surprises people. When you trade an asset in a currency that differs from your sub-account's base currency, Saxo applies a 0.25% conversion fee on top of the spot rate. That is far cheaper than a typical bank's 0.5% to 1% spread, but several times the roughly 0.03% that the cheapest custodian brokers charge, so on a SGD 10,000 conversion Saxo's roughly SGD 25 sits between a bank and the cheapest broker. Saxo's workaround is to open a sub-account in the same currency as the asset, so you convert once on funding rather than on every trade. See the expense ratio entry for the other recurring cost that quietly compounds.
| What you pay | Classic | Platinum | VIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| SG stocks / ETFs (SGX) | 0.08%, min SGD 3 | Lower, min SGD 3 | From 0.03%, min SGD 3 |
| US stocks / ETFs | 0.08%, min USD 1 | Lower, min USD 1 | From 0.03%, min USD 1 |
| Currency conversion (FX) | 0.25% | 0.25% | 0.25% |
| Custody fee (foreign holdings) | 0.12% a year | 0.12% a year | 0.06% a year |
| Minimum initial funding | None | SGD 300,000 | SGD 1,500,000 |
| Platform / inactivity fee | None | None | None |
Saxo's most-debated charge is the custody fee. It runs at 0.12% a year for Classic and Platinum and 0.06% for VIP, charged on the value of foreign stocks, ETFs and bonds you hold, with a small monthly minimum. There are two ways it disappears. First, Singapore residents and Singapore-incorporated entities pay no custody fee on SGX-listed stocks and ETFs, so a pure local-shares investor avoids it entirely. Second, opting into Saxo's securities-lending programme waives the custody fee on any tier, in exchange for letting Saxo lend out your shares, which carries its own counterparty considerations to weigh.
The currency-conversion fee is the other recurring cost worth planning around. Because Saxo charges 0.25% every time you trade in a non-base currency, an investor who funds in SGD and buys US ETFs repeatedly pays it each time unless they hold a USD sub-account. For someone dollar-cost averaging small monthly sums into a US ETF, that 0.25% on every buy can quietly exceed the commission. Opening a same-currency sub-account and converting in larger, less frequent batches is the standard fix.
Two smaller items round it out. Classic-tier clients pay a USD 50 reporting fee for certain tax or trade reports that higher tiers get waived, and uninvested cash earns interest only on Platinum and VIP tiers above SGD 5,000, not on Classic. None of these are unusual for a full-service broker, but they explain why Saxo can read as pricier than a no-frills app once you account for FX and custody rather than commission alone. A proper emergency fund in a high-interest savings account still belongs outside any brokerage.
In January 2026 Saxo launched AutoInvest in Singapore, a recurring-investment feature aimed squarely at the dollar-cost-averaging crowd that previously had to use bank regular savings plans or beginner apps. It lets you set up automatic monthly investing into ETFs with zero commission, no minimum investment and no lock-in, and you can edit, pause or stop it at any time.
Mechanically, you choose up to 10 ETFs from a list of more than 100, and Saxo buys them on a schedule, including fractional shares so your full contribution gets invested rather than left as cash drag. Because the commission is zero on AutoInvest ETF purchases, the main cost to watch is the 0.25% FX fee if you are buying USD-denominated ETFs from an SGD balance, which is why a USD sub-account matters here too.
This narrows the gap between Saxo and pure beginner platforms for hands-off investors. If your plan is a broad global ETF funded monthly and left alone, AutoInvest makes Saxo a credible one-stop home for it. The robo-advisor versus DIY ETF comparison helps decide whether you want to pick the ETFs yourself or hand it to a robo-advisor instead.
Most people choosing Saxo are also looking at Interactive Brokers, moomoo, Tiger Brokers and the CDP-linked bank brokerages (DBS Vickers, OCBC Securities, UOB Kay Hian). The rough split: full-service custodian brokers (Saxo, IBKR) for breadth and a serious platform, newer apps (moomoo, Tiger) for low fees and sign-up perks, and bank brokers for direct CDP ownership of SGX shares.
Against Interactive Brokers, Saxo's edge is a more polished platform, a bank-grade parent and strong research tools; IBKR's edge is materially cheaper currency conversion (around 0.03% versus Saxo's 0.25%) and no custody fee, which makes IBKR usually cheaper for a frequent-FX investor. Against moomoo and Tiger, Saxo offers far more products and a sturdier reputation, while they win on a friendlier app, frequent promotions and no custody fee for casual investors.
Against the bank brokers, Saxo is cheaper per trade but does not give CDP ownership, so your SGX shares sit in Saxo's name. For investors who specifically want Singapore shares registered to them, a CDP-linked bank broker remains the answer despite higher commissions. The active versus passive comparison is a useful reminder that the broker matters far less than keeping costs and behaviour in check.
| Broker | Share ownership | FX / custody cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saxo | Custodian (held in Saxo's name) | 0.25% FX; 0.12% custody (waivable) | Multi-asset investors wanting a serious platform |
| Interactive Brokers | Custodian | ~0.03% FX; no custody fee | Frequent-FX, cost-focused investors |
| moomoo / Tiger Brokers | Custodian | Higher FX; no custody fee | Beginners wanting a simple app and perks |
| Bank brokers (DBS Vickers etc.) | CDP (your own name) | No FX needed for SGX | Owning SGX blue chips directly |
Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd. is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Capital Markets Services licence holder and an exempt financial adviser. Like all licensed brokers here, it must keep client money and assets segregated from the firm's own, and it places client funds in trust accounts by the next business day after receipt, as MAS rules require. That segregation is the first and most important layer of protection if the firm runs into trouble.
Behind the Singapore entity sits Saxo Bank A/S, a licensed Danish bank rated 'A-' by S&P Global Ratings, which adds balance-sheet strength that a standalone brokerage does not have. You can verify the Singapore licence yourself in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory before opening an account, which is worth doing for any broker.
What you do not get is Singapore's deposit insurance: the SDIC scheme insures bank deposits up to SGD 100,000, but brokerage holdings are investments, not bank deposits, so they are not SDIC-covered. The relevant safeguards are MAS regulation and client-asset segregation, not SDIC. As always, the largest risk by far is market risk on the assets themselves, which no protection scheme insures against.
Saxo is the right call if you want one regulated, bank-backed account spanning stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures and funds, value a strong desktop platform and research, and either trade SGX shares (no custody fee for SG residents) or carry enough balance that the tier discounts kick in. For an investor who funds a USD sub-account once and buys US ETFs, or who wants AutoInvest's commission-free recurring ETF buying, Saxo is a credible long-term home.
It is the wrong call if you convert small amounts of currency often and have not set up a same-currency sub-account, since the 0.25% FX fee and the custody fee can outweigh the commission savings. In that case Interactive Brokers is usually cheaper. It is also the wrong call if you want SGX shares in your own CDP name, where a bank broker fits better, or if you only invest tiny amounts where the per-order minimum and custody minimum sting.
Before opening anything, get the order of operations right: an emergency fund and cleared high-interest debt come first, then a broker. Model what regular investing actually grows into with the compound interest calculator, and sense-check your overall position with the financial health check. The broker is a tool; the habit of investing consistently in low-cost funds is what builds wealth.
Opening is fully online and free, with no minimum deposit on the Classic tier. You will need your NRIC or passport, proof of address, your tax residency and Tax Identification Number, employment and basic financial details, and answers to a suitability questionnaire about your investing experience, which is standard for an MAS-regulated broker.
After approval, fund the account by transferring SGD from your Singapore bank. A common cost-saving move is to open a sub-account in the currency of the assets you plan to buy (for example USD) and convert once on funding at the 0.25% fee, rather than paying it on every trade. If you intend to invest hands-off, set up AutoInvest into one or two broad ETFs and leave it; if you want full control, use the SaxoTraderGO web app before graduating to the heavier SaxoTraderPRO desktop platform.
Keep your first trades small while you learn the order types, and remember the cheapest or most powerful broker still cannot save you from buying badly. Pair the account with a plain plan: a broad global ETF, funded monthly, left alone. The how to start investing guide walks through choosing the actual funds once your account is live.
Yes. Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd. is regulated by MAS as a Capital Markets Services licence holder and exempt financial adviser, and must keep client money segregated in trust accounts. Its parent, Saxo Bank A/S, is a licensed Danish bank rated 'A-' by S&P. These safeguards protect against firm failure, not investment losses, and brokerage holdings are not SDIC-insured.
As of June 2026, the Classic tier charges 0.08% on SG stocks (minimum SGD 3) and 0.08% on US stocks (minimum USD 1), dropping toward 0.03% on Platinum and VIP. Currency conversion costs 0.25%, and a custody fee of 0.12% a year applies to foreign holdings unless waived. There is no platform or inactivity fee, and 9% GST applies to eligible fees.
There is no minimum initial funding for a Classic account, so you can open and trade with any amount. The Platinum tier requires SGD 300,000 in funding and VIP requires SGD 1.5 million, which bring progressively lower commissions, a tighter FX spread and a lower custody fee, but most retail investors stay on Classic.
Yes, Saxo charges an annual custody fee on foreign stocks, ETFs and bonds, at 0.12% for Classic and Platinum and 0.06% for VIP. Singapore residents pay no custody fee on SGX-listed stocks and ETFs, and opting into Saxo's securities-lending programme waives the custody fee on any tier in exchange for lending out your shares.
AutoInvest, launched in Singapore in January 2026, is a recurring monthly investing feature for ETFs with zero commission, no minimum investment and no lock-in. You can pick up to 10 ETFs from over 100, with fractional shares so your full contribution is invested. The main cost to watch is the 0.25% FX fee on USD ETFs bought from an SGD balance.
Not usually for a frequent-FX investor. Saxo's commissions are competitive, but its 0.25% currency-conversion fee and custody fee on foreign holdings make Interactive Brokers, which charges around 0.03% FX and no custody fee, cheaper for someone converting currency often. Saxo's edge is its broader product range, bank-backed parent and stronger platform, not rock-bottom cost.
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.