What is the best form of passive investment?

Hi anon,

I am hard-pressed to find something that approximates a passive investment vehicle based on what you have described (assuming it is the monitoring and research that you don't wish to do). All investments carry risk and need at least some form of monitoring, so either you will have to monitor or someone has to do so on your behalf (and that will incur fees for advice).

The only truly monitoring-free and research-free instruments out there (in my view) are guaranteed investments and your first step is none other than CPF. You don't have to monitor it, just contribute to it through work and voluntary contributions if you wish, and let time and compounding do the rest.

Other passive investment vehicles after CPF include private annuities and endowments, whereby you will ensure that your predictability of funds (either maturing at one go, or over a period of time) is not correlated to the market movement.

In this case, I will suggest for you to work with someone competent and responsible for your wealth accumulation needs.

This is because investment yields only non-guaranteed returns. As a result, if you don't wish to monitor it, then work with someone capable to do it for you. However, you may need to pay a slightly higher fee, of course.

As such, you may consider unit trust from an insurance company, as well as a step-up guaranteed payout lifetime annuity. The latter ensures that you will receive a strong passive set of income without having to worry about volatility in the market.

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