Got $50? Here are 3 easy investments to start growing your money and 1 to avoid

Got $50? Here are 3 easy investments to start growing your money and 1 to avoid
PHOTO: Pixabay

Investing needn’t be expensive or difficult. Here’s how you can start investing in Singapore below $100 a month.

SingSaver’s recently concluded survey uncovered some interesting findings. It turns out that Singaporeans of the millennial generation, and their even younger successors (Gen Z), actually pay a great deal of attention to saving and investing.

Across a total of 1,000 responses, 85 per cent of Gen Zs (18 – 23) and 41 per cent of Millennials (24 – 39) reported starting saving as early as age 22.

Even more encouragingly, a whopping 80 per cent reported that they have investments, even if 6 out of 10 respondents professed to having very little knowledge or experience.

Clearly, you young ones are invested in your future (pardon the pun)!

We hear you, and we’re here to help. Here’s a quick-start guide on how you can start investing with as little as $50 a month, covering three easy and popular investments to try – and one you might want to leave to the experts (or until you become one).

Investing is simple, but not necessarily easy

But before we dive in, let’s set the stage.

In itself, investing is simple; you put your money in, the market works its magic, you get back even more money. Rinse, repeat and profit. This works almost universally because in our capitalistic system everything is interconnected in some way or another.

However, because of the complex and obscure nature of some investment products out there, even seasoned veterans and professional traders can get caught off guard and be smacked with unexpected losses (remember the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the resulting 2008 stock-market crash?)

And it’s not just greedy, unchecked Wall Street executives we have to worry about. Sometimes, something pops up out of the blue (like Covid-19) and upends entire market sectors, wiping billions and billions of dollars off the books.

But investing can have good, even great outcomes

The lesson to heed is this: Investing is simple, but success may not come easily. You should never take any investment as a guaranteed win or a done deal. If anyone should tell you this, blue-tick them and run.

ALSO READ: How to buy US stocks in Singapore (2020): 3 best investment brokerages

Having said that, investing is still a good practice, especially if you have a lot of spare cash sitting around, have adequate emergency savings, and very little to no high-interest debt.

At the very least, investing can help you keep pace with inflation, which prevents your money from dwindling in value. More commonly, many people invest to build retirement funds, or to obtain a supplementary income stream.

Easy investments you can start with $50 – $100

Name Amount to start investing Type of investment Remarks
Regular Premium Investment-Linked Policy (ILP) or Endowment Plan (EP) $100 Unit trust plus insurance Long investment timeline needed to realise good returns, typically 20 years or more.Must continue paying premiums or policy may lapse.Penalties apply for early surrender.
Regular Shares Savings Plans $50 to $100 ETFs, Unit Trusts and other managed portfolios Aim is to earn dividends over time – longer investment timeline preferred.Management fees may apply.
Robo-advisors From $1 onwards ETFs, Unit Trusts, Stocks Investments decisions made according to algorithms.Longer investment timelines have better resilience against market fluctuations.
Penny stocks $50 to $100 Stocks and shares of smaller companies. Cheap but volatile.Risky, only for experienced investors.

#1 Regular premium investment-linked policy (ILP) or endowment plan

ILPs and endowment funds (or plans) are insurance products that may have been marketed as easy ways to invest and grow your money.

Insurance agents who push these plans usually present rows of impressive-looking figures (anything starts to look good if you add enough zeros) with the promise that that could be your bank balance if you sign up.

Emphasis on could be.

What they don’t explicitly tell you is the various admin charges and fees you’re subjected to. (You can – and should – ask for the info directly.) That’s why ILPs and endowments have been heavily criticised for providing poor returns.

Also, you should know what they show you is simply a forecast. There’s no guarantee that your policy will hit those lofty numbers.

More importantly, you’ll need to commit to a long lock-in period (typically 15 years or more) before your policy grows sufficiently in cash value for you to see any real profits. And there are heavy penalties for surrendering the plan early, especially during the initial few years.

Well, then, should I just keep that $50 – $100 spare cash in my wallet?

But that’s not to say that ILPs and endowments are all bad; it’s just that you shouldn’t put your entire investment budget into them. They do, however, have their place in a well-rounded portfolio.

Consider that these are the only types of investments that provide you with insurance cover. Also, the convenience; as they are managed by your insurer, the only action required on your part is to pay your premiums on time.

Ultimately, ILPs and endowments can be cheap and easy ways to start investing, if you are committed to the long term, and could do with the accompanying insurance cover during your investment tenure.

#2 Regular shares savings plans

A Regular Shares Savings Plan (RSSP) is a subscription-type investment plan where you invest a fixed amount into various investments, such as blue-chip shares, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), Unit Trusts or other managed portfolios.

Read Also
money
Endowment vs insurance savings vs bank savings: What's the difference?

They are recommended for beginners because they can be started cheaply, from as low as $50 per month.

Other advantages include letting investors invest in the market without having to put up large upfront amounts (stocks and shares typically trade in lots of 100), no lock-in period, and lower management fees.

Also, RSSPs don’t require a CDP securities account, which is needed if you want to start trading stocks and shares on your own.

Currently, there are 4 RSSPs available in Singapore. See below for a summary.

RSSP Investment amount Fees and charges
DBS/POSB Invest-Saver From $100 per month Monthly sales charge: 0.50 per cent to 0.82 per cent
OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan From $100 per month New customers below 30: 0.88 per cent per transaction (initial $500 per counter) All other customers: 0.3 per cent or $5 per transaction, whichever is higher
FSM One Regular Savings Plan From $50 per month 0.08 per cent or $1 per transaction
POEMS Share Builders Plan From $100 per month $6 (2 or less counters) or $10 (3 or more counters)

#3 Robo-advisors

Another avenue to start investing easily is through robo-advisors, which are investment platforms that are very similar to RSSPs, discussed above. You can choose, too, to invest in Unit Trusts, ETFs, stocks or a combination.

The difference is that with robo-advisers, your investment decisions are guided by a series of algorithms that take into account your goals, preferences and risk appetites.

Also, rather than a per transaction charge, robo-advisors tend to charge a flat yearly management fee, based on the total value of your portfolio.

In this way, robo-advisors offer passive investing via a customised portfolio, combined with the freedom and flexibility to pause, alter or withdraw your investments anytime you choose.

 There are 11 robo-advisors registered in Singapore, but we will only focus on 4 that offer low enough minimum starting amounts. See the below table for a summary.

Robo-advisor Investment amount Fees and charges
Syfe No minimum $1 to $19,999 – 0.65 per cent p.a.$20,000 to $99,999 – 0.5 per cent p.a.$100,000 onwards – 0.4 per cent p.a.
StashAway No minimum 0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent p.a.
UOBAM Invest $1 $25,000 and below – 0.8 per cent p.a.Above $25,000 – 0.6 per cent p.a.
MoneyOwl From $50 per month First $10,000 – 0 per cent p.a.$10,001 to $100,000 – 0.6 per cent p.a.$100,001 onwards – 0.5 per cent p.a.

Penny stocks (approach with caution)

Just like their regular cousin, penny stocks are shares of companies. However, the difference between regular stocks and penny stocks is the size of the company they are based on.

Unlike, say, blue-chip stocks (which are stocks of established, marketing-leading companies), penny stocks have very low market capitalisation (a measure of the total dollar market value of the issued shares).

Correspondingly, penny stocks cost you pennies – literally – from as low as maybe $0.20 per stock.

Read Also
money
5 investing mistakes that are easily avoidable

Now, as a budding investor with a modest budget, you may think penny stocks are ideal for penniless beginners like you. With their low prices, you could snap up many more shares of a penny stock, where you could hardly afford half a lot of, say, Apple Inc.

But that’s where you would be wrong.

You see, the problem with penny stocks is that because the companies they are attached to are small, there’s greater risk of the company failing. This gives rise to uncertainty, which translates to high volatility.

Now, you should only want volatility in your action movies, but none in your investments. As volatile investments mean while you could make $1 today, you could lose $2 tomorrow.

Yikes, best leave this one to the experienced daredevils with money to burn.

This article was first published in SingSaver.com.sg.

homepage

trending

trending
    'He was jealous': Woman allegedly slashed with knife for chatting with 2 men below Jurong West block
    Who doesn't forget easily and who doesn't gossip? Hong Huifang, Cynthia Koh and Pierre Png, cast of new Singapore-Thai thriller, talk people politics
    Singaporean who defaulted on NS obligations used fake Malaysian passports at checkpoints over 800 times
    This revamped Raffles Place food court has Michelin-recognised and cult-favourite brands - here's what to try
    Heartbroken dad dies hours after teen son is killed in motorcycle accident
    'We should not prejudge him': Ex-diplomat Bilahari Kausikan weighs in on Trump's ambassador-nominee to Singapore
    Kaya toast, extra cute please: Breakfast-themed plushies with a local twist at Marina Square pop-up
    Can Singapore run without air-conditioning or fossil fuels? We break down the innovations Temasek Foundation is backing for $2m
    4 women arrested in Yishun for allegedly offering sexual services disguised as massages
    Geylang petrol station employee, 77, dies after being hit by reversing car
    Climbers battle torrential waters after flash floods hit Mount Kinabalu; all 155 persons safe, says park
    Malaysian man strikes $4m lottery after betting on his, girlfriend's IC numbers for 3 years

Singapore

Singapore
    • Fulfilling a childhood dream: RSAF pilot enlists after JC, takes part in first NDP
    • 'I believe there will be more opportunities in the future': Fresh poly graduate who took up contract role on job hunting
    • Economic Resilience Taskforce unveils new business grant, support for workers amid global trade jitters
    • 'A seminal leader who shaped Malaysia': Lee Hsien Loong wishes Mahathir happy birthday on his centennial
    • All 12 government parliamentary committees to get new chairpersons, 19 first-term PAP MPs included as members
    • 'You need to do some homework': Trump's ambassador nominee to Singapore under fire at Senate hearing
    • Man in Tampines tased by police officers after allegedly brandishing penknife at them
    • Singaporean fugitive nabbed in Thailand for alleged drug trafficking, turned over to CNB
    • Singapore must develop deeper relationships with China, US, Europe: Shanmugam
    • 'Give a positive review': Hidden AI prompt found in academic paper by NUS researchers

Entertainment

Entertainment
    • Ex-NCT member Taeil sentenced to 3.5 years of jail for sexual assault
    • Sheila Sim takes haircutting course after giving daughter bad trim
    • 'I could not possibly discard the embryo': Lee Si-young pregnant with second child through IVF months after divorce
    • High energy, strong vocals: J-pop boy band Be:First makes explosive debut in Singapore
    • 'I was so excited I wanted to cry': Fans spend up to $50k in auction to experience a day with Jackson Wang
    • Tori Kelly reveals she is expecting her first baby
    • Jay-Z hits out at 'harassment' from man claiming to be his son
    • My Chemical Romance sparks speculation on new music with teasing clues on Instagram
    • Orlando Bloom breaks silence on split from Katy Perry with family photo
    • Nicki Minaj alleges Jay-Z owes her at least $128m

Lifestyle

Lifestyle
    • Singapore coffee brand Alchemist debuts 2 outlets in Japan, marking first overseas venture
    • Now you can get Springleaf prata in a cup - with curry - from a vending machine
    • Orh Gao Taproom, popular bar by night and kopitiam by day in Serene Centre, to shutter
    • Singapore Food Festival returns in September, includes SG60 Specials series
    • 'Definitely a big improvement': How Chery went from cheap joke to become a competitive automotive player
    • I try Springleaf prata in a cup from a vending machine - how does it compare to the real deal?
    • Cat A COE prices cross $100k mark again in first bidding exercise for July 2025
    • Sleeping on the job: This company will pay people $7 per hour to nap
    • Chanel shows haute couture in private salon setting at Grand Palais
    • McDonald's launching Chilli Crab Sauce Burger in collab with Jumbo Seafood, also releasing limited-edition Lunch Bag

Digicult

Digicult
    • Slim, sleek, but slightly too short-lived: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review
    • World's best Dota 2 teams to compete for $1m prize pool in Singapore in November
    • 'Report 1 shop, another 10 appear': Hoyo Fest artists on copyright struggles
    • NTU penalises 3 students over use of AI tools; they dispute university's findings
    • Australia social media teen ban software trial organisers say the tech works
    • Disney, Universal sue image creator Midjourney for copyright infringement
    • Initiative by IMDA, AI Verify Foundation tests AI accuracy, trustworthiness in real-world scenarios
    • Under siege? Helldivers 2's latest city to be invaded by aliens could be spoof of Singapore
    • Honor 400 Series launches in Singapore with first free in-device AI image-to-video tool
    • Home Team humanoid robots to be deployed by mid-2027, $100m to be invested: Josephine Teo

Money

Money
    • Best credit card promotions in Singapore (June 2025): Citibank, DBS, HSBC, UOB and more
    • Temasek sees $45b rise in net portfolio value to record high of $434b amid global uncertainties
    • 'It's our grandfather's company, we won't sell', says Wong family as shareholders reject GE delisting bid
    • Japan, South Korea hit with 25% tariffs as Trump ramps up trade war in letters to leaders
    • Trump says alignment with BRICS' 'anti-American policies' to invite additional 10% tariffs
    • Regulators warned Air India Express about delay on Airbus engine fix, forging records
    • Higher seller's stamp duty a 'light touch' to curb property flipping: Experts
    • Trump tax bill averts one debt crisis but makes future financial woes worse
    • Seller's stamp duty rates for private homes raised; holding period increased from 3 years to 4
    • Trump escalates feud with Musk, threatens Tesla, SpaceX support

Latest

Latest
  • Daily roundup: Ex-diplomat Bilahari Kausikan weighs in on Trump's ambassador-nominee to Singapore — and other top stories today
  • US wants South Korea to join efforts to counter China in shipbuilding
  • Effigies of refugees set alight on bonfire condemned in Northern Ireland
  • Asean agrees Myanmar election is not a priority, Malaysia says
  • Philippines' president to discuss tariffs in Trump meeting this July, top diplomat says
  • New Zealand braces for severe weather as storm threatens flooding
  • China offers to help resolve Thailand and Cambodia border dispute
  • South Korea, Japan and US conduct air drill as defence chiefs meet
  • US's Marco Rubio to meet China's Wang Yi in Malaysia amid trade tension

In Case You Missed It

In Case You Missed It
  • Jail for ex-auxiliary police officer who loaded 1 bullet and accidentally discharged revolver
  • Woman injured on SMRT bus after bottle thrown at vehicle shatters window
  • Singaporean drivers rack up over $17k in fines for VEP violations in 5 days
  • Roblox avatar and lantern: Star Awards 2025 looks that made us go 'huh?'
  • Long time no see! Sharon Au, Li Nanxing, Yvonne Lim and others return to Star Awards stage
  • 'Intimacy was not anything sexual', says man who drove car with lover's husband on bonnet
  • Boy, 9, has kidney removed after falling at Bukit Batok playground
  • 'We just want our money': Income Insurance shareholders disappointed at failed Allianz deal
  • Buying property in Malaysia as a Singaporean: 6 key restrictions to be aware of
This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.