If I DCA $500 monthly, does it make more sense to buy stocks (DIY) or pump it into a robo?

I compared before and this are my findings.

Stocks selection:

For DIY, you really need to put time and effort to study the companies you are buying. It takes about 1-2hrs per week if you have like 2-3 companies but that increases if you start to have 4-5 companies. For Robo, you don't have to do any studying. Just deposit and let the system do it for you.

For some robo, you might not need to buy a full share. Some robo offers fractional shares which would benefit for smaller accounts. For DIY, some platforms offer fractional shares purchase. I've not tried it before and thus shares like Amazon or Alphabet is out of my buying power. Your stocks that you can choose are limited by the cost of the stock as well.

Fees:

There are definitely fees involved for Robo as such systems don't run for free. While it's still an auotmated system, there are advisors and IT specialists that maintains the system. Run the calculations and ensure that the system is running perfectly. Not to mention security measures and availability, these costs money. So paying low fees for these services, especially good and reputable ones is part and parcel of robo-investing.

Some of the trading platforms offer zero comms, like Tiger Broker and TD Ameritrade(TDA). Some require a minimum balance or activity. I'm using TDA for roughly more than ayear now. After they implemented zero comms, I've been buying and selling stocks for free. There is the entry level that you must start the account with at least US$3600(I think...). Else I've barely paid comms for stock purchase other than my options. Below are my fees YTD, I've been buying and selling on average at least 4-5 trades per week in the last 6 weeks and all the fees I've paid are all options trading. Profits without comms are starting to be my norm now.

Fund transfer speed and Forex:

I'm not sure if some robo-investing are GIRO automated or you need to transfer cash over manually. You can automate the transfer via your online banking. It's a small hassle but easily overcomed after a few months.

As for Forex, some Robo allows you to deposit in SGD but the stocks they purchase are in USD. So they use their internal exchange rate. These rates can be beneficial to them or they can use the interbank rates, which are definitely better than retail. Most robo might reflect your fund transfer in a short period of time, so they can start perform the trade in the next trading day.

I'm transferring over to TDA using my DBS Multicurrency account. I can make a rough calculation on how much I'm getting base on the online forex calculator. There difference is very minimal. For TDA, they have a local account you can trasfer to and it only accepts DBS transfers. Other local banks would incur charges which might eat into your capital.

One thing I've learn is to take note of weekends and holidays as TDA doesn't operate their offices. Therefore if I make a transfer on Friday, it might only reflect in my account on Tuesday as such I'll miss one day of trading. The fastest are when you do it in the 1st three days of the week. The funds will reflect almost the next trading day before market open so you can start using your funds.

Conclusion:

As I prefer to do my own stock pickings and buying on red days, I still use TDA as my preferred choice.

It is important for you to weight the risk of both DIY(stocks) and robo.

With stocks you are facing mainly concentration risk. Studies have found that 90% of returns come from having a portfolio with proper asset allocation over time. Depending on the robo u use, they hold a portfolio of ETFs which itself are very diversified already. I myself have been using StashAway for some time now.

However if you are confident of a certain stock and have done your own due diligence in it, dca monthly to build up your position in the stock is also one method as u have limited funds at the moment. There are many low cost brokerages out there like tiger which is not expensive for you to do DCA.

Hence as with all investments, depending, on your time horizon and risk appetite, different strategy would suit differently.

Opinions expressed are my own personal thoughts and are not financial advices. It is important for you to do your own due diligence