Investment Stab

Thursday, 1 October 2020

Complicated Steps To Pay $10 DBS Stock Brokerage Commission

I signed up for DBS Vickers trading account recently after I saw the minimum $10* trading fee.

The standard fee is $25++ so naturally, it made sense to switch over to DBS Vickers from my current broker.

In addition, investing via DBS Vickers qualifies as 1 of the eligible transactions to earn higher interest for our savings in the DBS Multiplier account.

It is one of the things that we wrote about in the previous article: 3 Tips To Earn More Interest With DBS Multiplier.

But, it is not as straight forward as it seems.

I tried to trade with the $10 fee, and I ended up paying the $25 standard trading fee.

And so this article is to help you not have to go through what I went through 👍.

Applying for Cash Upfront Trading

There's a ton of guides online on how to set it up.

Go read them.

Or, read this one from DBS 😉.

Logging Into Vickers

If you want to pay the $10* rate, DON'T LOGIN TO VICKERS!

Yes, DON'T!

You won't see the 'Cash Upfront' payment option, you will only see the 'Cash' option in 'Settlement Mode', which is not the same as 'Cash Upfront'.

Paying the $10* Rate

After you have got the cash upfront account set up, now it is time to select that option when making your investment purchase.

NO!

It is not as simple as logging in to your DBS Vickers account and simply click 'Buy'.

You can't do that even though it should be that intuitive.

There are steps involved 🤷‍♂️.

If you just logged in straight to DBS Vickers to make your purchase, you are going to be charged for $25++ standard trading fees, just like how I got charged that much for my trade.

To get the $10 rate, these are the following steps:

1. Log in to your DBS/POSB Internet Banking

2. Go to 'Invest' > 'DBS Vickers Online Trading Services'

3. Go to 'Trade' > 'Place Order'

4. Under 'Settlement Mode', choose 'Cash Upfront'

And that's how you get the $10 trading fee.

Side Note

Make sure you have previously linked your DBS eMulti-Currency Account or Multiplier Account.

Make sure you also have sufficient funds of the currency inside to pay for your trade.

Ie; if you are buying stocks paid in USD, make sure you have USD in your account.

Actual Cost of Trade

The minimum cost of a trade is $10, or 0.12% of the whole trade, whichever is higher.

Source: DBS

To view the actual cost of trade via Cash Upfront, click HERE.

Conclusion

So hard to save money on trade commission.

We hope you don't have to make this mistake that we did.

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

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3 Tips To Earn More Interest With DBS Multiplier

08:23 Personal Finance No comments

We looked at our own DBS Multipler account and started questioning how the interest tier works and how to maximise our interest.

After reading the FAQs and thinking hard, we (kind of) found 3 tips that are quite worth sharing with you 😉

A New Tool

Before we dive into the DBS Multiplier tips, we want to let you know a new tool we've built here at Investment Stab.

If you're like us, always wondering how much more should I spend in which category in order to maximise the interest I will earn, FRET NOT!

We've took the time to build a DBS Multiplier Account Interest Estimator.

Now we can know how much more to spend in 1 category so as to earn more interest from the DBS Multiplier Account.

Let us know in the comment below which other bank's saving account you would like us to build a calculator for 😉

Alright, and now for the tips.

Tip 1: Combine your Salaries into a Joint Account

Your salary: $3,000 per month

Your spouse salary: $3,500 per month

If you both credit your salary into your individual accounts, your Multiplier account will record your 'Income' as $3,000.

Your spouse's Multiplier account will record their 'Income' as $3,500.

But, if you both credit it into a joint DBS/POSB account that you both own, both of your Multiplier accounts will record your 'Income' as $6,500!

That's like an extra $3,500 income for you and an extra $3,000 income for your spouse, to hit the Multiplier criteria.

Recommended Read: Cannot Withdraw CPF Money If Never Hit CPF Retirement Sum?

Tip 2: Invest in DBS Invest-Savers

The DBS Invest-Savers is a Regular Shares Savings (RSS) plan.

The lowest amount to invest in the RSS is $100.

If spending an extra $100 yields you additional interest that is more than $100 because you added another category, then why not.

Furthermore, it is low in fees and buying the STI ETF means you are buying the top 30 companies in Singapore.

Sounds pretty worthwhile.

The downside is that the contributions are recognised as "Investment" for only a year after you start the Invest-Saver plan with a Multiplier account.

After that, the RSS investment no longer qualifies as the "Investment" category.

Tip 3: Be Joint Borrowers of DBS/POSB Home Loan

Your monthly mortgage payment is $2,000.

If you are the only name on that mortgage, your Multiplier account will get $2,000 under the 'Mortgage' category.

But, if you add your partner's name into the mortgage, both of your Multiplier accounts will record your 'Mortgage' category as $2,000!

That's like an extra $2,000 mortgage for your partner to earn higher interest.

And you don't actually have to really pay another extra $2,000 to earn that qualifying sum ✌

FAQ

For more on the FAQs about DBS Multiplier account, you can click HERE.

Conclusion

We hope these tips are good enough for you.

If you got any more tips you want to share, let us know in the comments below 👍

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

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The CPF Withdrawal Age & CPF Payout Eligibility Age

09:00 CPF-Related No comments

There are 2 age-numbers about CPF that you should know about.

They are the CPF Withdrawal Age, and the CPF Payout Eligibility Age.

Recommended Read: Should I Top Up My Young Next-Of-Kin's CPF?

What is the CPF Withdrawal Age?

Singapore's CPF Withdrawal Age is currently set at 55.

This is the age you can start withdrawing money out of your CPF account.

How Much Can I Withdraw?

You can only withdraw money above the Full Retirement Sum or $5,000 (whichever is higher).

Alternatively, you can withdraw money above the Basic Retirement Sum if you perform a property pledge.

Click here to see the examples of how much you can withdraw.

For members turning age 65 from 2023 onwards, they can also withdraw up to 20% of their Retirement Account savings in a lump sum anytime from age 65 onwards.

What is the CPF Payout Eligibility Age?

Singapore's CPF Payout Eligibility Age (PEA) is currently set at 65.

This is the age you can choose your CPF LIFE plan (CPF LIFE) and start receiving monthly payouts until you pass away.

You also have the option to start your CPF LIFE payouts later, up to age 70.

Why Would I Want To Delay My Payout Age?

You can choose to start receiving payouts anytime between age 65 and age 70 (eg when you reach age 67), but the latest age to start is 70.

For each year deferred, your future CPF LIFE monthly payouts may increase by up to 7%.

Conclusion

Understand at what age you can withdraw how much from CPF.

Consider if you really need to make that withdrawal at 55, or is it better to keep the money inside CPF to earn the higher interest rates.

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

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Should I Top Up My Young Next-Of-Kin's CPF?

10:13 CPF-Related No comments

Young next-of-kin refers to family members that are below the age of 55.

We'll do the 'next-of-kin above age 55' next time.

So subscribe to us if you want to be notified when the next article is out 😉.

Who Qualifies As Next-Of-Kin?

Spouse
Siblings
Parents
Parents-in-law
Grandparents
Grandparents-in-law

Recommended Read: Why I Still Own Big Tech

Benefits of Topping Up

1. Tax Incentive

If you top up your next-of-kin's CPF accounts using cash, you get up to $7,000 per calendar year of tax deduction.

2. Earn More Interest

Topping up to your next-of-kin's CPF allows them to build up their retirement savings, and it will earn interest of up to 6%.

Criteria

There is a list of criteria to fulfil before your cash top-up to your next-of-kin qualifies for the tax deduction.

1. For All Next-Of-Kin Below Age 55

To recipients age below 55, you only get the tax deduction for up to the current Full Retirement Sum (FRS).

FRS - SA Savings - SA monies withdrawn under CPFIS*

*CPFIS: CPF Investment Scheme

Example:

The current CPF FRS is $181,000

Your mother's CPF SA currently has $150,000 and had previously withdrawn $30,000 for CPFIS.

So her "Total SA Savings" is $180,000.

If you top-up $7,000 cash to her CPF SA, only $1,000 will be eligible for the tax deduction.

Any additional amount ($6,000) you top-up will not be eligible for the tax deduction.

2. In Addition For Spouse/Siblings

To qualify for the tax relief for spouse or siblings top-up, in addition to the criteria above, they must also meet one of the following criteria:

Income (e.g. salary or tax-exempt income such as bank interest, dividends and pension) not exceeding $4,000 in the year preceding the year of top-up*; or
Handicapped**

* "Income" of a person would include income from all sources, such as tax-exempt income (e.g. bank interest, dividend and pension) and foreign-sourced income remitted into Singapore. Hence investment income/rental income/directorship income etc, are considered to be the income of a person.

** A handicapped person is one who has been incapacitated mentally or physically. Some examples are visual-impairment, loss of hearing, loss of limb and dementia.

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

Any Additional Things to Note?

One More Thing...

There is a cap on maximum tax deduction one can receive in a given year.

The personal income tax relief cap is currently $80,000.

Meaning you won't get any additional tax deduction for each dollar you top-up to their CPF accounts if you hit the tax deduction cap of $80,000 before the top-up.

Conclusion

Topping up next-of-kin's CPF for tax reduction is a lot of work.

Need to make sure they have not met FRS.

Need to make sure they meet the income criteria.

Need to make sure I have not hit the cap for tax relief.

So view the top-up as helping your next-of-kin hit their retirement goals.

The tax deduction is just icing on the cake; additional benefits.

Not the main point.

Recommended Read: Cannot Withdraw CPF Money If Never Hit CPF Retirement Sum?

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Warren Buffett: Buying Stocks Every Year Since He Was 11 Years Old

10:26 Investment-Related No comments

Source: CNBC

Personal Net Buyer Of Stocks

Buffett has been a net buyer of stocks almost every year since he started when he was 11 years old.

He grew his wealth by buying and owning more and more shares over the years.

Maybe you should too.

Recommended Read: The CPF Bond That You Cannot Sell

The Interview Clip

Need proof to show that the man said it himself?

Here's that 1-minute clip of him saying explicitly just that.

Recommended Read: Why I Still Own Big Tech

Does He Sell Stocks?

Yes, he does!

Just that he is a net-buyer overall.

Meaning even if he sold stocks, he would still invest in other stocks.

Conclusion

World's greatest investor buys stocks every year.

Shouldn't you be doing that too if you want to build wealth? 😉

Recommended Read: Cannot Withdraw CPF Money If Never Hit CPF Retirement Sum?

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Cannot Withdraw CPF Money If Never Hit CPF Retirement Sum?

10:22 CPF-Related 1 comment

Today, we would like to share with you an important issue we believe every Singaporean faces: What happens if I cannot hit my CPF Retirement Sum?

Answer: NOTHING HAPPENS!

Recommended Read: Answering the 2 Common CPF "Complaints"

Seriously, Nothing

Do not worry.

If you do not hit the Retirement Sum (FRS, BRS, or ERS), there is no penalty involved.

You are also not required to top up the difference to CPF in the event you do not hit the Retirement Sum.

Yes! You are correct!

It is not compulsory for you to hit your CPF Retirement Sum.

You Still Get A Monthly Payout

Whether you hit it or not, you would still draw a monthly payout from CPF when you reach your draw down age (age 65).

You will just receive a lower money payout from CPF.

Well, less money in Retirement Sum = Lower Monthly Payouts.

Make sense right? 🤷‍♂️

Recommended Read: The CPF Bond That You Cannot Sell

But The Lump Sum Withdrawal

The only problem is that you are unable to withdraw most of your money in your Retirement Account - you can only withdraw up to $5,000 at age 55.

For members turning age 65 from 2023 onwards, they can also withdraw up to 20% of their Retirement Account savings in a lump sum anytime from age 65 onwards.

If I Want To Withdraw More Money?

You can pledge your property to withdraw money in excess of the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS).

The BRS as of 2020 is set at $90,500.

If you pledge your property at age 55, you will be able to withdraw money in your CPF in excess of the BRS.

Eg: if you have $100,000 in your Retirement Account (RA) as of August 2020, you can withdraw up to $9,500 from your RA if you pledge your property to CPF.

Conclusion

Don't fret over hitting the Retirement Sum.

It is not the end of the world if you don't hit it.

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

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Why I Still Own Big Tech

09:45 Investment-Related 3 comments

Quite a few of my friends have been asking me what I was invested in recently.

When I mentioned that I was invested in Big Tech, they were a little stun for 2 reasons.

1. Why would anyone stay invested in the current market?

2. Why would anyone want to invest in Big Tech now?

Decided to pen down the explanation once and for all.

What I Own Currently

Amazon and Microsoft.

What I sold recently:
Facebook, at $250

Recommended Read: The CPF Bond That You Cannot Sell

I Bought It Long Ago

First of all, I would like to make it clear that I accumulated these positions some time ago.

I bought Amazon when it was in the $900 range, Facebook when in the $170 range, and Microsoft at the $150 range

So they have done pretty well for me.
But, if you were to invest in them today, you might not get the same results as I did.

So do your own due diligence, research, and understand if that investment is suitable for you.

Why Have I Not Sold My Big Tech?

Despite the whole anti-trust congressional hearing, Big Tech reaching new highs, the whole COVID situation, and huge disconnection between the stock market and the real economy, I remain long-term oriented and still think Big Tech has a lot of potentials.

Break-Up Or Not?
An anti-trust congressional hearing happened recently with the CEOs from Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook.

It does not bother me whether or not they are broken up or not.

If they are not broken up, they can "keep their monopolistic business", which means more growth and profits.
That makes sense for me to continue holding them.

If they are broken up, most analysts expect that it will lead to a temporary rise in the stock prices of these companies.
A "conglomerate discount" is usually applied to companies that are huge.
Breaking up Big Tech might release more shareholder value.

Such breakups tend to unleash lots of shareholder value.
Case in point, eBay+PayPal and AT&T.

Split Shares Or Not?
Apple announced that it will split its shares 4-for-1.
Basically, shareholders will receive 3 additional shares for each Apple share they own.
That will make the share price lower from $400+ to $100+, making it more affordable for retail investors, thereby increasing the investor pool.

Generally, share splits have been met with a slight uptick in the share prices.
Because now more funds can afford to invest in the cheaper share price.
Amazon is now trading at $3,100+, Microsoft at $200+, Facebook at $250+, Alphabet at $1,500+.

Sounds to me like it's a good time to split the shares and give it a slight pop in the share prices.

Recommended Read: Why You Should Max Your CPF Retirement Sum Early

Conclusion

These are the 2 reasons why I'm keeping my investment in Big Tech for now.

Are they undervalue or overvalue?
That's up to the individual's interpretation.

To me, for now, they are undervalued or at fair value.

Disclaimer:
Do not make any investment decisions based upon materials found on this website.

Investment Stab is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, and is not qualified to give financial advice.

Investors are reminded to do their own due diligence and invest according to their risk appetite.

Promos & Referrals
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Investment Stab

Singapore-based financial blog that aims to educate people on personal finance, investments, retirement and their Central Provident Fund (CPF) matters.

Thursday, 1 October 2020

Complicated Steps To Pay $10 DBS Stock Brokerage Commission

Wednesday, 2 September 2020

3 Tips To Earn More Interest With DBS Multiplier

Saturday, 22 August 2020

The CPF Withdrawal Age & CPF Payout Eligibility Age

Friday, 14 August 2020

Should I Top Up My Young Next-Of-Kin's CPF?

Tuesday, 11 August 2020

Warren Buffett: Buying Stocks Every Year Since He Was 11 Years Old

Saturday, 8 August 2020

Cannot Withdraw CPF Money If Never Hit CPF Retirement Sum?

Saturday, 1 August 2020

Why I Still Own Big Tech