Guide to Investing

Best Stock Brokers for Singapore Investors in 2023 (US, Singapore, Hong Kong markets)

July 3, 2022

I’ve been getting quite a few questions on the best stock brokers for a Singapore investor recently.

The broker landscape is getting pretty competitive recently, which is great news for investors, so let’s explore our options.

What to look out for in a Stock Broker (as a Singapore Investor)?

At a high level, the 4 biggest points you look out for in a stock broker are:

1. Fees – Generally speaking, the lower the fees, the better (as long as you don’t sacrifice too much of the other points on this list)

2. Market Access – Which markets the broker gives you access to. As a Singapore investor, the key markets you want (in order of priority) are Singapore, US, Hong Kong and London.

That said, this is ultimately a personal choice, some people are happy with just Singapore and US.

3. Trade Execution – How well the broker executes your trades. Does the broker execute at market price, or is there a small spread?

4. Safety of assets – How safe are your assets? Is there a chance the stock broker will go under? Are assets held in your name?

Apart from the 4 above, everything else is mostly a good to have, and will depend on personal preference:

a. Account Opening Bonus – You get free stuff when you open an account. Nothing Singaporeans love more than a good freebie.

b. CDP vs Custodian – CDP vs Custodian is applicable only for Singapore shares.

It’s ultimately down to personal preference, but for me I would say that if you plan to hold the shares long term, it’s worth paying a bit more on brokerage fees to have your shares held in CDP.

If you just plan to trade, then go with custodian for cheaper fees.

c. User Interface – Again a personal preference.

Sometimes you just cannot get along with the User Interface of certain stock brokers.

Latest Fee Schedules for Singapore Stock Brokers

I’ve set out the latest fees (commission + platform fee) for the shortlisted Singapore Stock Brokers below:

Market	Webull	Interactive Brokers	Tiger Brokers	Moomoo (powered by Futu)	DBS Vickers Cash Upfront
US	0.025% Total Trade Amount (Min. USD 0.50) 0 platform fee	USD 0.005 per share (Min. USD 1/order)	0 commission for 180 days USD 0.005 per share (Min. USD 1/order)	0 commission $0.99 / order
London		GBP 4
Germany		0.1% trade value
Paris		0.1% trade value
Hong Kong	0.03% Total Trade Amount (Min. HKD 12) 0 platform fee	0.08% trade value (Min. HKD 18) (Min. CNH 15) (Min. AUD 6) (Min. JPY 80) (M(Min. SGD 2.5)	0 commission for 365 days 0.03% trade value (Min. HKD 8/order)	0.03% (Min. HKD 3) HKD 15 / Order
Australia	A-shares stocks 0.02%*Total Trade Amount (Min. CNH 12)		0.03% trade value (Min. AUD 2/order) 0.07% trade value (Min. AUD 6/order) (platform fee)
China			0 commission for 365 days 0.03% trade value (Min. CNH8)
Tokyo
Singapore (SGX)			0 commission for 365 days 0.03% trade value (Min. SGD 1/order)	1 Year Commission-Free 0.03% Transaction amount (Min. 0.99 / Order)	Buy – 0.12% (Min. SGD 10.80) Sell – 0.28% (Min. SGD 25)

My personal views – Best Stock Broker for Singapore Investors in 2023

Now I’m just going to cut to the chase and share my views on the best brokers to use.

For Casual Investors

US or Hong Kong – Webull
Singapore – MooMoo or Tiger Brokers

For Sophisticated Investors

International Markets (US, Hong Kong, London etc) – Interactive Brokers
- (consider Webull for US/HK markets as a secondary broker)
- (or Saxo if you’re not a fan of IBKR)
Singapore – DBS Vickers Cash Upfront

Promo Code / Account Opening Bonus for Stock Brokers

Promo codes / Accounting Opening bonus for each of the recommended brokers are set out below, but I do highly recommend reading the rest of this article before making a decision.

Don’t miss out on all the exclusive sign-up offers!

Best Stock Broker for US/HK markets (Casual Investors) – Webull

What I like about Webull

I did a full review on Webull previously, and I actually really like it.

It’s touted as a one-stop investment hub for US and HK markets, because it offers 0 platform fees for US and HK Trades.

FX fees are decent enough too at 0.3% spread.

It’s not best in class like Interactive Brokers which gives you interbank FX rates at a $2 commission. But definitely on par with all the other brokers on this list.

I absolutely love the Webull app as well. I find the app very well designed, very smooth, and very easy to use – even better than Tiger Brokers and Moomoo in my personal view.

Personally I use Webull as my main app to track stock prices these days.

What I don’t like about Webull

If there is a drawback with Webull, it is that you only have access to the US and Hong Kong markets/China A-shares.

Which means that you’ll probably need to find another broker to access Singapore or London markets.

Webull is a Chinese owned stockbroker (like Moomoo and Tiger), so read into that what you will.

According to the Terms and Conditions the assets are held in a custody account, held on trust for you.

At this day and age, I wouldn’t say for certain that any one broker is completely risk free. I would almost never put all my assets into any one broker.

Best to spread them around.

Webull does do payment for order flow (they sell their order book to market makers like Citadel), but as a retail investor I don’t think that’s a big issue.

As long as you use limit orders (set a price to buy at instead or a market order), this shouldn’t affect you a great deal, and the free commissions are probably worth it.

They’re also running sign up offers with free shares up for grabs, which is worth checking out: Webull Signup Link

Best Stock Broker for Singapore market (Casual Investors) – Tiger Brokers

What I like about Tiger Brokers

Tiger Brokers has access to quite a few big markets, at very decent fees.

You can access to the usual Singapore, US and Hong Kong, but on top of that you also get access to Australia and China A-Shares.

Fees are acceptable too, and if you’re a new customer you get 180 days commission free trades for US stocks.

FX fees come in at 0.3%, pretty much in line with Moomoo and Webull, which is acceptable.

Tiger Brokers is also able to support advanced functions for options trades.

Special Account opening promo for FH readers

Tiger Brokers is doing a special promo for FH readers!

In addition to the account opening promo, you’ll also get an additional SGD 20 stock voucher!

Full details below:

Promotion Period:

Now until 31 Oct 2023

Account Opening Rewards:

Zero-commission trades
- US stocks for 180 days
- HK & SG stocks and CN A- shares for 365 days
Activate Auto-sweep on Tiger Vault for the first time, to enjoy 30-day(trading days only) interest bonus boosted to 8%* p.a.

First Deposit ≥ SGD 300 Reward:

USD 10 Apple fractional shares (NASDAQ: AAPL)

First Deposit ≥ SGD 1,000 & complete 5 New BUY Trades* Rewards:

USD 8.8 of Starbucks fractional shares (NASDAQ: SBUX)
USD30 Apple fractional shares
1 attempt of sure-win draw (valued between SGD8.8 – SGD888)

Extra bonus for Financial Horse readers

SGD 20 stock voucher (First Deposit of any amount)

If your initial deposit or the value of shares transferred in is ≥ USD 10,000, you will receive an additional USD 50 stock voucher. Valid until 31 October 2023.

Tiger Brokers signup link

What I don’t like about Tiger Brokers

Just like Webull and Moomoo, Tiger Brokers is a China owned broker – so read into that what you will.

For what it’s worth, all of them are MAS licensed though.

Best Stock Broker for Singapore market (Casual Investors) – Moomoo

What I like about Moomoo

Frankly speaking, Moomoo and Tiger are very similar.

Moomoo is slightly cheaper in terms of fees for the US markets.

But with Moomoo you don’t get access to Australia markets.

User Interface wise, both are pretty similar as well.

And I mean this in a good way.

Because frankly, because I didn’t have any issues navigating around the app and finding whatever function I needed for both Moomoo and Tiger Brokers.

MooMoo signup link

What I don’t like about Moomoo

Moomoo is also a China owned broker, listed in the US under Futu.

Best Stock Broker for International markets (Sophisticated Investors) – Interactive Brokers

What I like about Interactive Brokers

For serious investors who are investing large sums of money, I think Interactive Brokers is probably the best option out there right now.

You get ridiculously low fees, interbank FX rates (for a $2 commission), and access to almost every market you can possibly want.

And their platform is sophisticated enough to execute whatever complex options trade you may wish to cook up.

Frankly – what more do you want in a stock broker?

Interactive Brokers Sign Up Link

What I don’t like about Interactive Brokers

If there is one drawback about Interactive Brokers, it would be that the platform is kind of complex.

I know that this is a stupid point to gripe about, but if you just go inside and play around, you’ll get what I mean.

If Moomoo / Webull is like riding a bike, Interactive Brokers is like flying a 747.

Literally every option you want, is at your fingertips.

That’s good when you need it.

But sometimes, you just want to buy a stock and not fuss around too much with the app. In which case the platform options can be a bit too overwhelming for this simple horse.

Interactive Brokers also doesn’t have access to CDP for Singapore stocks, so you’ll need to use another stock broker for that.

Alternative: Saxo

If you’re not a fan of Interactive Brokers, or you just can’t stand their User Interface, Saxo is another strong option to check out.

Fees are slightly more expensive than Interactive Brokers, but the access to markets, the product offering, the user interface, are all very solid.

A very decent alternative to Interactive Brokers for the sophisticated investors, looking to invest in international markets.

Special account opening bonus for Saxo Brokers too (drop email to saxo@financialhorse.com for full steps).

Best Stock Broker for Singapore market (Sophisticated Investors) – DBS Vickers Cash Upfront

What I like about DBS Vickers Cash Upfront

If you want CDP access for Singapore shares, you’ll probably have to stick with DBS Vickers Cash Upfront.

It’s 0.12% (minimum $10.80) per trade for buy trades, and 0.28% (minimum $25) for sell trades.

It’s a bit pricey, but personally I think it’s worth it for the peace of mind and convenience that comes with holding your shares in CDP, in your own name.

You also get annual reports and rights issue forms sent directly to your address as well, which is worth the fees in my view.

What I don’t like about DBS Vickers Cash Upfront

That said, there’s no denying that fees are on the high side.

If those really bother you, you can use FSMOne which has flat $8.8 fees, but you will need to link your CDP account to FSMOne (can be done online now).

DBS Vickers internet banking platform is also a bit dated, and their mobile app is non-existent.

But I mean, I only go in to execute a trade, and then I go out.

I can live with it.