As I have mentioned in my previous post, I recently opened a Smartly robo-advisor account with my wife’s referral code. This was introduced recently by Smartly, probably as a response to StashAway’s referral program that was introduced a few month’s back. Competition among the robo-advisors in Singapore is already starting to translate into monetary benefits for retail investors i.e. in the form of platform/account fee waiver for this case.
I reckon the greater the number of retail investors that open accounts with Smartly and StashAway in Singapore, the higher the probability that their platform/account fees might actually reduce over time. Which means as account holders of both Smartly and Stashaway, I now have every incentive to encourage more retail investors to sign up. However, I have been asked by readers why they are unable to find my referral code/link on my blog.
The reason is that my intention for now is not to monetise my blog in any way. I don’t wish to influence your analysis and decision on whether to open accounts with Smartly and StashAway in Singapore or which one to choose. You have to read and understand both their methodologies, approaches and even what robo-advisors are in the first place before you decide.
However, if you choose to open a Smartly or StashAway robo-advisor account in Singapore, I would recommend you obtain a referral code/link to enjoy the platform/account fee waiver. It can be anyone that already has an existing Smartly or StashAway robo-advisor account, since he/she would be able to provide you with a referral code/link. Don’t miss out on the platform/account fee waiver since it can help to lower your costs in the long run.
After I set up my Smartly robo-advisor account, I had another look at my existing banking Standing Instructions to transfer cash funds into my StashAway robo-advisor account (S$100 per month). Given how my belief in the benefits of the rebalancing effect and effectiveness of Smartly and StashAway in Singapore is growing, I decided to set up more Standing Instructions with my bank. It’s now at S$100 per week into my Smartly and StashAway robo-advisor accounts alternating between both of them from week to week. Which comes up to S$400 per month, a significant increase from my previous arrangement.
I fully support the growth of robo-advisors in Singapore and I will continue to support them as long as they act in the interests of the retail investors. I hope Smartly and StashAway will continue to grow and improve over time. Perhaps even lowering the platform/account fees eventually?
Support is one thing, profit is another thing. What’s the return like?
The return so far from regular weekly contributions since July 2017 is about 3%, which is decent if you take into account the investment time horizon of a few months. Actually, my preference would be for the return to be negative while I’m still investing since that means I won’t be investing at such high pricing levels of the equity markets.