Support centre

About Brokerage

• How is Brokerage different from Select Custom?

  With both Brokerage and Select Custom (part of Syfe Portfolios), you get access to a broad range of ETFs. Deciding between the two options? Here are some differences to take note of.
  
  Pricing

  With Brokerage, you pay a flat fee of US$1.49 for US stocks and ETFs (US$0.99 for the first 3 months) and 0.06% of traded value (min. S$1.98) for Singapore stocks, REITs, and ETFs. Learn more about Brokerage pricing here.

  With Select Custom, your management fee depends on your portfolio value and ranges between 0.35% - 0.65% per year, depending on the pricing tier you are at. For example, with a $10,000 investment in your portfolio, your monthly fee is SGD$5.42. You may use our Fee Calculator to estimate your monthly management fees or learn more about Syfe Portfolios pricing here.
  
  Choice of ETFs

  At the moment, you can only buy and sell US-listed stocks and ETFs and SG-listed stocks, ETFs, and REITs on Brokerage.

  Select Custom offers a broader range of ETFs such as those domiciled in Ireland e.g. iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (CSPX). UCITS ETFs offer certain withholding tax advantages compared to their US-listed counterparts.
  
  Portfolio management

  Brokerage is a self-directed brokerage platform. To invest in Brokerage, you will need to execute your own trades. Dividends are also not reinvested for you; they are credited directly to your Brokerage account. 

  Select Custom is an automated, fully-managed portfolio that helps you manage your investments:

  • There's no need to execute your own trades as Syfe will do the investing for you once you've transferred funds
  • Dividends are automatically reinvested, free of charge
  • You can include up to 8 ETFs in one Select Custom portfolio and determine your asset allocation
  • You can set up a recurring transfer to your Select Custom portfolio for regular investing. If you've added 8 ETFs to your portfolio, you'll be able to invest in all of them at once
  • With Select Custom, you get access to Syfe's wealth experts

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• What is Brokerage?

  Syfe Brokerage, Singapore’s first neobroker, is where users can grow their money by investing in the US and SG markets.

  Investors can easily buy into the world’s biggest companies starting with as little as USD 1, have access to free trades, a simplified user experience, and access to real-time market data and analysis. Click here to learn more about Brokerage.
  
  What securities can I trade with Brokerage?

  You can trade over 10,000 stocks and ETFs listed in the US markets, as well as stocks, ETFs, and REITs listed in the Singapore market. Learn more here. 
  
  Why should I use Brokerage if I am already using another broker?

  Brokerage is a simple and secure way to buy and sell stocks. What sets us apart are these additional features:

  1. Free trades every month so you can grow your portfolio (applicable to US market)
  2. Fractional shares: Invest in the companies you believe in, regardless of share price (applicable to US market)
  3. Individual accounts protected up to USD 500K under SIPC protection (applicable to US market)
  4. 24/7 customer support (applicable to both US & SG markets)
  5. Free access to real-time stock quotes and analysis (applicable to US market)
  6. Secure and instant set-up with Singpass (applicable to both US & SG markets)

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• Which markets and asset classes can I access on Brokerage?

  On Brokerage, you can invest in:

  • stocks and ETFs listed in any of the US stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (Nasdaq), and
  • stocks, ETFs, and REITs traded in the Singapore stock exchange (SGX).

  Please note that US-listed securities are traded in USD, while SG-listed securities are traded in SGD. You have the option to transfer both SGD and USD to your Brokerage account. Learn more here. 

  Kindly refer to the below table for more information regarding both markets available on Brokerage.

  	US Market	SG Market
  Denomination currency	USD	SGD (Dual-listed shares are not available)
  Available asset classes	Stocks and ETFs	Stocks, ETFs, REITs
  Trading hours	9.30 am - 4 pm EST Pre & post market hours applicable	9 am - 12 pm / 1 pm - 5.16 pm SGT (Lunch break from 12 pm to 1 pm) Only post market hours applicable
  Half-day trading	Not applicable	9 am - 12.16 pm SGT Applicable on Chinese New Year eve, Christmas eve, and New Year's eve, should they fall on a trading day
  Order types allowed	Market order (by value & by shares), limit order, stop order	Market order (by shares) and limit order
  Pattern Day Trading restriction	Applicable, learn more here	Not applicable
  Fractional trading	Applicable	Not applicable

   

  How to differentiate securities traded in the US and SG markets?

  In the Brokerage app, you will be able to see the symbols 'US' or 'SG' indicated next to each security ticker, which refers to the market the security is listed in. 

   

  Are options / derivatives available on Brokerage?

  At the moment, customers can only trade stocks and ETFs from the US and Singapore markets, and REITs from the Singapore market on the Brokerage platform. 
  

  Future expansion of our product suite will be based on market demand and client feedback, as well as the necessary regulatory approvals.

   

  Do you offer trading on OTC markets?

  No, currently we do not offer trading on OTC markets.

   

   

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• How can I access Brokerage?

  You can access Brokerage through the Syfe app. Head over to Apple Store or Google Play Store to download the Syfe app today.

  Kindly note that Brokerage is not available on desktop.

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• What is fractional trading and which securities can I trade fractionally?

  Fractional trading allows you to own a fraction of a share, so you get to invest in your favourite company—regardless of its share price. You decide how much you want to invest, and even if the amount doesn't buy a whole number of shares, you can still buy fractional amounts. In short, you can maximise all your available funds to invest in the shares you want.
  
  Which securities can I trade fractionally?

  US Market

  Over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs are now eligible to be fractionally traded on Brokerage, and we're in process of enabling fractional trading for more securities. This will be enabled in phases based on different parameters such as security demand, trading frequency, volatility, and share price. We expect the majority of US securities (excluding penny stocks) to be fractionally enabled in the coming months.

  Fractional shares trading in the U.S. market is enabled by default, however, please note that you may see an error message if you try to do fractional trading for securities that cannot be fractionally traded.

  SG Market

  Fractional trading is currently not supported for SG-listed securities. 
  
  What are the fees associated with fractional shares?

  There are no additional fees for fractional shares trading. Brokerage's standard fees apply for each trade transaction.

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• What is the Customer Account Review ("CAR") criteria and if I do not meet the criteria, can I still open a Brokerage account?

  Effective 1 January 2012, the MAS requires financial institutions to assess whether a retail investor has the relevant knowledge or experience to understand the risks and features of a Listed Specified Investment Product (SIP) before that product is offered to them.

  You are assessed to be eligible to transact in Listed SIPs when you fulfil any one of the three criteria based on your educational qualifications, working experience and/or investment experience. As such, it is important that you answer these questions accurately during the online application process.

  The CAR criteria will also be met if you have previously completed the SGX Online Education within the past 3 years, and scored above 75% for the assessment. You should also not have been refused on four occasions by other financial institutions to open a trading account.

  Listed SIPs available on our platform include ETFs. You may refer to the MAS Notice SFA 04-N12 on the Sale of Investment Products for more information on the Customer Account Review ("CAR") criteria.

  If you do not meet the CAR criteria, you can still qualify for all securities by completing the SGX Online Education for listed SIPs.

  Alternatively, you can still proceed in opening a Brokerage account which has access to all instruments available on our platform, excluding some ETFs which are more complex in nature.

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• If I already own a Syfe Portfolios account, do I need to convert/create a new account with Brokerage?

  If you are an existing Syfe Portfolios user, you do not need to create a new account or convert an existing one. Kindly proceed to sign up for Brokerage using the following steps:

  1. Login to your Syfe app
  2. Switch to Brokerage (simply click on the dropdown on the top left corner > Brokerage)
  3. Click on the "Complete Now" button
  4. Sign the necessary contract details
  5. Transfer funds to your Brokerage Account using PayNow, Fast, Telegraphic Transfer and other methods

  Done! You are ready to start investing. You can access your Brokerage and Syfe Portfolios account anytime via the Syfe app.

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• What trading rules should I take note of?

  Minimum transfer amount

  There is no minimum transfer amount - you may transfer any amount (either in SGD or USD) into your Brokerage account.

  Then, you will be able to convert funds from SGD to USD, and vice versa, within the app. Please note that the smallest amount that can be converted within the app is SGD 1 or USD 1.
  
  

  Minimum trade quantity

  US Market

  Fractional trading is enabled for most US-listed securities. To place a trade, your trade value must be a minimum of USD 1. This applies for both buy and sell trades. 

  For US-listed securities where fractional trading is not applicable, the minimum trade quantity is 1 share.

  SG Market

  Fractional trading is not applicable for SG-listed securities. Kindly refer to the below trade quantity rule for different asset classes listed in the SG market:

  • Stocks and REITs: minimum 1 round lot of 100 shares (e.g. 100, 200, 300)
  • ETFs: minimum 1 share (no fractions)

  Please note that we currently do not offer odd lot trading on the SGX. However, clients can request to close odd lot SGX positions by sending a request to the Syfe Support Team here.

  Minimum bid size and forced order range: 

  Product	Price range (S$)	Minimum bid size (S$)	Forced order range
  Stocks, REITs	Below 0.20	0.001	+/- 30 bids
  	0.20 – 0.995	0.005
  	1.00 and above	0.01
  ETFs	All	0.01 or 0.001  as SGX-ST determines	+/- 10%

  For more information about SGX trading rules, you can refer to the SGX website here.
  
  

  Lock-in period

  There's no lock-in period for Brokerage - you are free to sell off your holdings and place a withdrawal request anytime.

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• Is there an option to transfer shares from another brokerage to Brokerage?

  You will be able to transfer shares from another brokerage to Brokerage via Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS). 

  As of now, ACATS is only available for US-listed securities. However, we are currently looking to enable Singapore shares transfer functionality from other brokers. You may wish to reach out to our support team if you are interested in moving your Singapore shares from other brokers to your Syfe account.

  What is the ACATS process like?
  The brokerage that you intend to transfer your securities to (Brokerage in this case) is the “receiving firm”. The brokerage where your securities are currently held is the “delivering firm”.

  The process always starts with the receiving firm. To transfer securities to Brokerage, kindly fill up the “Securities Account Transfer Request” form here and mail it with the most recent account statement of your existing brokerage to support.sg@syfe.com. Our Syfe Support Team will be in touch for any clarifications.

  What securities can I transfer with ACATS?
  You can transfer cash and all publicly traded stocks or ETFs on the US stock market.

  However, please note that transfer of fractional holdings is not supported, only whole shares can be transferred.

  If you own fractional holdings you may either:

  1. Liquidate the fractional holdings into cash with your existing broker before a full transfer of whole shares and cash can be processed, or
  2. Opt for a partial transfer of whole shares only.

  If you are unsure, you may check with our Syfe Support Team via email at support.sg@syfe.com before initiating an ACATS transfer request.
  

  How long will it take to transfer my securities?
  Once the delivering firm verifies the information sent over by the receiving firm, the ACATS process begins and you can expect your securities in your Brokerage account within 10 to 14 business days. It may take longer if the application is rejected for various reasons, such as if form is filled incorrectly.

  Can I transfer only some of my securities?
  Yes. Just fill in Section 4 of the “Securities Account Transfer Request” form.

  Are there any fees to use ACATS?
  There are no fees to transfer your securities into your Brokerage account but your existing brokerage may charge you a transfer fee. Kindly check with your existing brokerage directly on the fees they charge.

  How do I start?
  You may download the Securities Account Transfer Request form here. Please send the completed form and the most recent account statement of your existing brokerage to support.sg@syfe.com. We will update you once the transfer has completed successfully.

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• Will I be covered under SIPC protection?

  Yes. Alpaca Securities LLC, a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), serves as the sub-custodian for your securities account for US-listed securities only.

  In the event that a SIPC-member fails and is placed in liquidation under the Securities Investor Protection Act, SIPC protects the securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash).

  However, kindly note that SIPC does not protect against any decline in the value of your securities. For more information, please refer to www.sipc.org.

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