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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

5. How about Cash Management Accounts?

6. Best Short-term Endowment Plans

The InvestQuest’s View!

• All good things must come to an end! At the moment, our previously mentioned top savings account contenders - Singlife Account, Etiqa GIGANTIQ and Singtel Dash EasyEarn, have all put a halt to new sign ups (you can still top up existing accounts though). We will be sure to update if and when any of them reopen for new subscriptions.

• For deposits of $10k or less, Etiqa GIGANTIQ and Singtel Dash EasyEarn offer equally competitive rates of 1.8% p.a.

• 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 Etiqa GIGANTIQ and S$20k into Singtel Dash EasyEarn.

• If you have planned deposits closer to S$50k and above, I would focus on which accounts are least restrictive on the maximum account balance. In this case, Etiqa 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) Etiqa GIGANTIQ, 2) Singtel Dash EasyEarn, and 3) Singlife Account

In the below table, we show the first-year crediting rates of these savings plans.

Do note that for the moment, all three of them have halted new account openings but you may still execute top-ups if you have an existing opened account.

Note that for Singlife Account: With effect from 29 January 2021, Singlife Account will be reducing its crediting rate on the Singlife Account from 2.0% p.a. to 1.5% p.a., for the first S$10,000. There will be no change to the 1.0% p.a. return for the next S$90,000.

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, 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

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$31 billion market cap) and IPGL (Holdings) Ltd.

Singlife Account: Return rate

Note that for Singlife Account: With effect from 29 January 2021, Singlife Account will be reducing its crediting rate on the Singlife Account from 2.0% p.a. to 1.5% p.a., for the first S$10,000. There will be no change to the 1.0% p.a. return for the next S$90,000.

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 30 June 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!

*Note: 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.

Singlife Account’s product terms may be found 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).

Singtel Dash EasyEarn’s product terms may be found here.

4) Etiqa GIGANTIQ: Details

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.

5) 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. 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.

Since the three earlier mentioned insurance savings accounts have halted new account openings, these Cash Management Accounts might be the next best alternative.

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

6. Syfe Cash+

6) 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.

The ones that look most attractive to us at the moment include:

• Great Eastern SP Series 2 (1-year Endowment)

• NTUC Gro Capital Ease (3-year Endowment)

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

1. Great Eastern SP Series 2 (avail via OCBC Mobile App only – that’s where you will find more product details)

2. NTUC Gro Capital Ease

3. DBS Savvy Endowment 5