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Summary

1. Best Places to Park Your Savings

2. Singlife Account: Details

3. Singtel Dash EasyEarn: Details

4. Etiqa GIGANTIQ: Details + PolicyPal Referral Bonus

5. How about Cash Management Accounts?

6. Best Short-term Endowment Plans

The InvestQuest’s View!

• For deposits of $10k or less, the Singlife Account is preferred because it offers the highest return rate among the shortlisted options at 2% p.a. In addition, withdrawals are seamless as you are able to transfer funds to/fro your bank account via the Singlife app and you can also use the free Singlife Visa Debit Card for any ad-hoc expenditure.

• For deposits over $10k, the answer is less straight forward because it depends on how many separate accounts you willing to open (for the sake of optimizing) and what is the cumulative amount of planned deposits.

• If you have planned deposit amounts of up to $30k, and assuming you are willing to open a max of two separate accounts, it would be optimal to deposit the first S$10k into Singlife (which is flexible for subsequent deposits/withdrawals), and the remainder into Singtel Dash EasyEarn.

• If you have planned deposits closer to S$100k and above, I would focus on which accounts are least restrictive on the maximum account balance. In this case, GIGANTIQ and Singlife Account would be preferred.

1) Best Places to Park Your Savings

Most important factors to consider

In selecting the best place to park emergency funds and savings, the most important factors to consider would include:

1. Safety: Negligible risk to principal

2. Highly Liquid: Able to withdraw the savings easily, with no penalties or restrictions

3. Highest Returns: Competitive return rates with a preference that returns are guaranteed

4. Account Limit: The higher the better. It would be easiest to park all your emergency savings in a single place

5. Other Benefits: Some accounts include a “free” insurance element

We’ve chosen 1) Singlife Account, 2) Singtel Dash EasyEarn, and 3) Etiqa GIGANTIQ

In the below table, we show the first-year return rates of these savings plans, including the possibility of a referral bonus (if any).

We detail how to get the referral bonus for Singlife Account (in Section 2) and GIGANTIQ (in Section 4).

Note that for Singlife Account: With effect from 1 November 2020, Singlife Account will be reducing the return rate on the first $10k balance from 2.5% to 2% p.a. The new rate is updated in the table above. Do note that return rates are not guaranteed for the Singlife Account and may be changed at Singlife’s discretion (similar to how banks can lower their rates as well). However, you are free to transfer your funds out anytime if that happens.

Note that for GIGANTIQ: With effect from 19 November 2020, GIGANTIQ will be reducing the return rate on the first $10k balance from 2% to 1.8% p.a. for new sign ups. Existing policyholders will still enjoy the previously announced 2.0% p.a. (1.0% p.a. guaranteed + 1.0% p.a. bonus).

Note that these are Insurance Savings Plan Accounts!

Note that these three options are all Insurance Savings Plan Accounts. They are technically not the same as a bank savings account or fixed deposit. However, we believe that they are suitable alternatives as they are very liquid, incur no penalties to surrender the policy, offer higher return rates than traditional banks but are still safe.

Notably, the shortlisted options are covered by the Policy Owners’ Protection (PPF) Scheme** **administered by Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC), up to a surrender value S$100K and aggregate sum assured of S$500K per life assured per insurer. This is similar to how your bank deposits are insured, up to a cap.

2) Singlife Account: Details + Referral Bonus

Who is Singlife owned by?

Singlife is a digital insurer owned by Sumitomo Life, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Aflac Inc (a US-listed insurance company with US$32 billion market cap) and IPGL (Holdings) Ltd.

Singlife Account: Return rate + referral bonuses

With effect from 1 November 2020, Singlife Account will be reducing the return rate on the first $10k balance from 2.5% to 2% p.a. The new rate is updated in the table above. Do note that return rates are not guaranteed for the Singlife Account and may be changed at Singlife’s discretion (similar to how banks can lower their rates as well). However, you are free to transfer your funds out anytime if that happens.

Singlife Account’s Bonus Return Rate: Why I Would Give it a Miss

• The bonus return rate is applied only to the first $10k of your Singlife Account deposits. This means that if you have $50k of deposits, only $10k of it is eligible for the extra 0.5% return rate.

• To be eligible, you are required to spend at least $500 on your Singlife Debit Card in the previous “Policy Month” (see this page for details on how to determine your policy month).

• Note that 0.5% additional return rate on $10k works up to $4.17 a month, or 0.83% on a $500 base. You would likely be better off using a credit card for cashback or points accrual, since the “earnings rate” is likely to exceed 0.83%.

• Bonus return rate promotion runs from 1 November 2020 to 28 February 2021

Singlife Account: Other Key Terms

While the Account’s Policy Term is 1 year (it auto-renews annually), there is no penalty for partial withdrawals or a full surrender at any time. Returns are earned on a daily basis and credited to the account monthly. Hence in practice, it works just like a Bank Savings Account!

*The insurance payout amount is subject to a number of criteria. That said, you will not be made worse off than what is in the Account Balance.

Use our referral code to enjoy a $10 rebate:

1. On your mobile, CLICK HERE for a referral link

2. Install or update the Singlife App (version 3.3.0 or later)

3. Create a Singlife ID and register for a Singlife Account

4. During Account Registration, opt in for the free Singlife Visa Debit Card (the card does not charge annual fees)

5. Activate your Singlife Visa Debit Card

Successful referrals will result in a $10 credit each to your’s and IQ’s Singlife account.

Terms and Conditions of Singlife Account’s referral program may be viewed here.

3) Singtel Dash EasyEarn: Details

Who is Singtel owned by?

Singtel is 52.5% owned by Temasek Holdings. The Singtel Dash EasyEarn policy is underwritten by ETIQA, the insurance arm of Maybank.

Singtel Dash EasyEarn: Return rate

Singtel Dash EasyEarn: Other Key Terms

While the Policy officially matures just prior you turn 100 years old, there is no penalty for a full surrender at any time (you just pay a small transaction fee if you are transferring the deposits to your bank account).

4) Etiqa GIGANTIQ: Details + PolicyPal Referral Bonus

The main plus of GIGANTIQ is the maximum account size limit of $200k, which is more generous than Singtel Dash EasyEarn (depoisits capped at $20k) and Singlife Account (no return rates are given for deposits over $100k).

The main downside is that some fees are charged for deposit withdrawals, which makes it less flexible. This may be less of a concern if you are planning to just park your money there with no immediate plans to use.

Etiqa GIGANTIQ: Return rate

Note: With effect from 19 November 2020, GIGANTIQ will be reducing the return rate on the first $10k balance from 2% to 1.8% p.a. for new sign ups. Existing policyholders will still enjoy the previously announced 2.0% p.a. (1.0% p.a. guaranteed + 1.0% p.a. bonus).

Etiqa GIGANTIQ: Other Key Terms

While the Policy term is officially 1 Year, it is auto-renewed on maturity. There is no penalty for a surrender at any time but a small transaction fee will be charged if you are withdrawing deposits.

GIGANTIQ’s product terms may be found here.

If you are keen to set up a GIGANTIQ account, going through PolicyPal instead of Etiqa’s website allows you to earn up to $830 in PolicyPal Credits.

1. For new PolicyPal users, you may use our referral code to earn up to $30 of PolicyPal Credits. Details may be found below.

2. Using your PolicyPal Account to incept GIGANTIQ allows you to earn a rebate of up to $800 of PolicyPal Credits. Details may be found below.

Max $30 Rebate for New PolicyPal Users

For NEW PolicyPal users, use our referral code to enjoy up to $30 of PolicyPal Credits:

1. CLICK HERE for a referral link to register for a PolicyPal account. I noticed that the referral code does not appear automatically in the registration page, so you can input referral code “THEIQ” just to be safe.

2. Receive $10 of PolicyPal credits for each completed activity:

3. Sign up for Tiq 3-Year Endowment Plan or eEASY save V by Tiq or NTUC Personal Accident Plan

4. Join the “Moneybag” game on PolicyPal

5. Complete an insurance portfolio review with a PolicyPal staff via phone call

Terms and Conditions of PolicyPal’s referral program may be viewed here.

Max P$800 Rebate for Buying GIGANTIQ via PolicyPal

Till 31st December 2020, incepting a GIGANTIQ policy via PolicyPal allows you to earn a rebate of up to 8% on your initial GIGANTIQ deposit in the form of PolicyPal Credits. This rebate is capped at $800 of PolicyPal Credits.

To be eligible:

1. The Policy must be purchased through the PolicyPal mobile app.

2. The Policy must be incepted by Etiqa.

3. The Policy must complete the free-look period of 14 days.

4. The participant must be a registered PolicyPal user with a verified email address and mobile number.

PolicyPal will determine the rebate amount using two critieria (see table below):

• the no. of friends you refer who purchased GIGANTIQ

• the no. of eligible policies bought from PolicyPal

Let’s assume you have incepted a GIGANTIQ policy of S$10k. If you incepted GIGANTIQ with a higher amount, you would still get the same rebates as shown below. We explain how to arrive at the numbers below.

1) How many friends you referred that purchased GIGANTIQ (capped at 20 referrals).

• Each referred friend will entitle you to 0.2% rebate on your initial GIGANTIQ premium (capped at S$10k premium).

• The max PolicyPal Credit rebate you would receive is S$20 per referral (0.2% * S$10k).

2) How many additional policies you purchase from PolicyPal (capped at 4 policy purchases)

• Each additional eligible policy purchase from PolicyPal entitles you to 1% rebate on your initial GIGANTIQ premium (capped at S$10k premium). The max PolicyPal Credit rebate you would receive is S$100 per eligible policy purchased from PolicyPal.

• The rebate is only applied to additional policies purchased after 6th October 2020 and a min total premium of S$2,000 applies per policy purchase.

• Eligible insurance policies include: Investment-linked Policies, Endowment (Advisory – Regular Premium) Policies, Term Life Policies, Whole Life Policies, Retirement Policies, Critical Illness Policies, Motor Policies (capped at one per user)

Do note that PolicyPal Credits are rebated to the account over the course of a year. For example, if you referred 3 friends under this promotion and are entitled to $60 of PolicyPal Credits, your account will be credited with $5 of PolicyPal Credits per month over twelve months ($60 divided by 12).

Terms and Conditions of this promotion may be viewed here.

The InvestQuest’s View!

• For deposits of $10k or less, the Singlife Account is preferred because it offers the highest return rate among the shortlisted options at 2% p.a. In addition, withdrawals are seamless as you are able to transfer funds to/fro your bank account via the Singlife app and you can also use the free Singlife Visa Debit Card for any ad-hoc expenditure.

• For deposits over $10k, the answer is less straight forward because it depends on how many separate accounts you willing to open (for the sake of optimizing) and what is the cumulative amount of planned deposits.

• If you have planned deposit amounts of up to $30k, and assuming you are willing to open a max of two separate accounts, it would be optimal to deposit the first S$10k into Singlife (which is flexible for subsequent deposits/withdrawals), and the remainder into Singtel Dash EasyEarn.

• If you have planned deposits closer to S$100k and above, I would focus on which accounts are least restrictive on the maximum account balance. In this case, GIGANTIQ and Singlife Account would be preferred.

Appendix: How about Cash Management Accounts?

Some may be wondering why we haven’t included Cash Management Accounts offered by the various Brokers or Robo-advisors in our shortlist. We did consider these options and have compiled the below table with the latest projected yields.

*For MoneyOwl WiseSaver, minimum may be lowered to $50 for regular savings plans. Note: For Endowus, a minimum of $10k balance is required across its platform.

For the purpose of emergency funds and savings, we think these accounts fall short due to the following reasons:

1. Lower Returns: Projected yields are less competitive and are not guaranteed.

2. Less Liquid and Less Convenient to Withdraw: Withdrawals typically take between 2-4 working days. In comparison, the Singlife Account allows funds to be withdrawn immediately and even comes with a debit card.

3. Slightly Higher Risk: Principal is not fully protected and account values may fluctuate.

4. No Insurance Element

That said, these Cash Management accounts do make sense for amounts that are in excess of the maximum account limits for the earlier shortlisted accounts. In addition, investors who are already using these platforms and have cash receipts from tactical sales / stock dividends, may also find it more convenient to keep their cash within the platform if they are planning to reinvest in the near future.

Below are the links to the product webpages, if you are keen to find out more details and the latest published yields.

1. Endowus Cash Smart Core / Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced

2. FSMOne Auto-Sweep

3. MoneyOwl WiseSaver

4. Phillip SMART Park

5. Stashaway Simple

Appendix: Best Short-term Endowment Plans

For individuals looking to build a savings fund in excess of the account size limits from our earlier shortlisted options, short-term endowment plans may also be considered.

In the past few months, we had highlighted the Great Eastern SP Series 2 and Etiqa TIQ 3-year Endowment but both are now closed to new subscriptions.

This leaves us with just one policy that we would highlight currently.

Below are the links to the product webpage, if you are keen to find out more details.

1. Manulife Goal 7 (3-Year Endowment Plan) – We note that DBS SavvyEndowment 4 is also underwritten by Manulife and the terms are rather similar