For a fresh grad, what do you recommend to go into first if I want to start investing? Endowment, UT, ETF?

I would recommend high interest saving bonds or put your money into a Robo investor like StashAway first. Build up knowledge on stocks first before buying into them. Dun rush!

I was in your shoes 2 years ago. This is what I did:

1. Save up 6 months rainy days fund in high interest savings account (DBS Multiplier).

2. Insurance coverage.

3. DCA in ETFs (StashAway and Nikko AM STI ETF). I would have DCA in DBS digiPortfolio (Asia) instead of Nikko AM STI ETF if it was available then.

4. Learn about stocks while building my war chest.

5. Started investing in blue-chip stocks this year (March & April).

You can start off by planning your financial roadmap. Investment should always be the last to decide after you have settled on your "defensive" items such as insurance covers and safety net savings. Once these defensive measures are in place then we'll plan for the attack. You can start of by talking to bankers regarding UT. Most now would need to do a risk profile analysis and that would find out what's your risk appetite. I'm sure some of them might promote their Roboadvisory just learn and ask and absorb. More knowledge means better at understanding the other factors.

At the same time you can read up about the different ETFs. I can name some like the SPDR STI ETF, Nikko-AM STI ETF, ABF SG Bond ETF, SPDR Gold ETF and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. Take note of their expense ratio or fees. Always remember, if you have someone manage your investment, there are fees to be paid!

My advice is that its importance to increase your financial knowledge first and understanding your personal risk appetite! This would require some effort put into research and self-reflection. Take the time as you are still young and in no rush.

Some questions: "Am I investing in hopes of realising it all in the future to fund my child's future education/buy a house?" or "Do I want it to be an alternative source of annual income that can come in terms of dividend?"

Important thing now is do not rush into buying popular stocks now just because they're cheap. You need the financial knowledge first to pick good stocks and evaluate them yourself.

I would recommend investing 50% in a market portfolio like S&P500 ETF as it historically yields 10% return and has a general upward trend. Another 50% can be other individual stocks that you like and see a potential of 10% return. Diversification is always important. There is no reward for bearing unnecessary risks.

While building up your knowledge, you can think about investing in low-risk savings plans (e.g. from banks, SSB) first to gain some extra interest, instead of keeping cash in the bank.​​​