Should a student invest $10k into Endowus? Would you recommend Endowus?

Hey Anon, I'd highly recommend Endowus. I've been using Endowus since June and have been pretty satisfied thus far. TL;DR I feel that they hit all of the right spots.

First and foremost, when it comes to investing, we are generally looking at the long-term. Although I believe that robo-advisors are here to stay, no one can be completely certain as to whether they'll still be here in 5, 10, or even 15 years down the road. Therefore, to me, it is important for the assets to be held in my own name, similar to how CDP works. For Endowus, they will open a UOB Kay Hian account for every client and the funds bought are held legally in the client's name. This means that our funds are not co-mingled with other clients at any point of time and if the robo-advisor becomes insolvent, there will be lesser complications. For instance, not having to sell the funds at an untimely period - case study, Smartly.

Secondly, should there be a new asset allocation where the robo-advisor introduces a new portfolio, I think that the customer should be given a choice as to whether he/she would like to opt-in for the new portfolio or remain status quo. To illustrate, back in May, Endowus re-optimised their cash portfolio, and clients were allowed to indicate if they'd like to opt-in and re-optimise their existing portfolio to the new one. Similarly, Stashaway also re-optimised their portfolio in May, but clients were not given the choice as to whether they would like to migrate to the new portfolio. From my understanding, their clients were given a deadline to accept the new portfolio changes, but either way, the portfolio will still be re-optimised regardless of their consent.

Lastly, the funds available on Endowus are low-cost and in SGD which means that you do not get exposed to FX volatility, removing any FX risk and cost. Not to mention, it's tax-efficient too as you won't be subjected to the 30% US withholding tax.

If you're not comfortable with injecting the full $10k at one go, you may drop them an email and let them know you prefer to DCA over time. I'm sure they'll be happy to assist and waive the minimum deposit (I did it too). Overall, I'd highly recommend Endowus!​​​

It's the cheapest way to access the Dimensional Funds, which have a very dedicated following... but I like the Endowus philosophy and their product list really is just narrowed down to a small selection of very solid options - I moved a lot of my savings over to their cash funds after the interest rates were slashed for deposit accounts here.