facebookWhat advice would you give someone who is vested mainly in Singapore if he or she is looking to increase global exposure (allocation, markets, sectors?)? - Seedly

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Kenson Tan

12 Oct 2020

SeedlyAMA

What advice would you give someone who is vested mainly in Singapore if he or she is looking to increase global exposure (allocation, markets, sectors?)?

Thinking of expanding my portfolio and looking beyond our local market. Thanks :)

AMA MoneyOwl

Discussion (1)

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Chuin Ting Weber

07 Oct 2020

CEO and CIO at MoneyOwl

Dear Kenson,

You are spot on with the discernment that global exposure is important! The easiest way to do this is to invest in a portfolio that is globally diversified and market-based. In each of MoneyOwl’s portfolios, there are more than 8000 securities. You can try out our investment platform at If you use MyInfo, it takes only about 6 minutes to set it up and you can fund the account straightaway. https://www.moneyowl.com.sg/investment/

Allow me also to repeat some points from another AMA question here about investing in Singapore vs diversifying globally:

At MoneyOwl we suggest that you should be globally diversified in your equity portfolio – buying from many countries, sectors and companies.
Firstly, from an investment risk point of view, as you had mentioned. We know that global stock markets go up in the long run but this does not apply to individual companies or even individual country indices. (Except maybe for S&P500, which while being a US index contains globalised companies.) STI is only 30 Singapore companies a, it is tiny relative to the $70+ trillion sized global equity market. So the feeling of familiarity might actually belie the concentration risk you are taking.
Secondly, from a broader point of view of your human capital in addition to financial assets. Working and living in Singapore, you are already exposed to the macro risks of the Singapore economy in terms of the potential impact on your job – and arguably you are the the most important financial asset. You may not want to double down.
Thirdly, diversification is actually relevant to return and not just to risk. At any one time, there are countries, sectors and companies that are winners and others that are losers. It is impossible to predict consistently. But holding the whole market – globally – ensures that you will always have winners in your portfolio and you participate in global economic growth through companies that benefit from global demand. The logic is that stock prices are ultimately driven by earnings of companies, and earnings are driven by aggregate demand and aggregate demand is driven by population growth and increase in standards of living over the long term. Key words being aggregate and global. Hence, stock markets always go up in the long run even if there are wild fluctuations and crises in between.​​​

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