The last big remaining Singapore independent broker after Kim Eng was purchased by Maybank, Phillip Capital offers a wide range of regional markets. Notably, the line-up now includes Sri Lanka, making it the first multimarket stock broker to offer this to retail investors.
Commissions are very competitive and the fund supermarket could also interest anyone looking to invest in Singapore-based mutual funds. The main weakness is that most markets are not available for online trading – OCBC Securities is stronger in this respect, although Phillip is steadily moving more markets to its online system. Overall, Phillip and OCBC currently seem to be the two firms to consider first if you’re looking for a Singapore brokerage account.
If you’re comparing brokerage accounts regionally, be aware that the Singapore firm is run separately from Phillip Securities Hong Kong and the two divisions offer slightly different services. The Singapore arm is probably a better choice for international investors.
| Online trading | Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan - Tokyo, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, USA |
| Telephone trading | Australia, Canada, China B, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Korea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan |
| Typical online | min ~S$20-50 |
| Online details | Hong Kong 0.25% (min HK$100), Indonesia 0.35% (min S$25), Japan 0.5% (min ¥3000), Malaysia 0.5% (min MYR60), Singapore up to 0.28% (min S$25), Thailand 0.5% (min THB500), UK 0.4% (min £25), USA 0.3% (min US$20) |
| Typical telephone | min ~S$20-80 |
| Telephone details | Australia 0.8% (min A$60), China B 0.5% (min Shanghai US$35, Shenzhen HKD$200), Canada higher of C$0.025/share or 0.4% (min C$35), France 0.6% (min €35), Germany 0.6% (min €35), Hong Kong 0.3% (min HK$150), Indonesia 0.5% (min S$30), Japan 0.6% (min ¥3000), Korea 0.8% (min KRW40,000), Malaysia 1% (min MYR80), Philippines 0.5% (min S$50), Singapore 0.375% (min S$40), Sri Lanka 0.8% (min S$50), Taiwan 0.4% (min NT$1,000), Thailand 0.75% (min THB750), UK 0.6% (min £35), USA 0.5% (min US$25) |
| Account fees and inactivity fees | None |
| Custody charges for stocks | Non-Singapore shares custody charges: S$2 per holding per month, if fewer than two trades in month or six trades in quarter (max $150 per quarter), Taiwan shares custody charges: 0.01% monthly, no waiver for activity, Sri Lanka shares custody charges: 0.0075% monthly (min S$5), no waiver for activity |
| Dividend charges | 1% of net value (min S$1, max S$50) for dividends |
| Corporate action charges | S$10 |
| Currency conversion charges | Not stated |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
| Currencies allowed | AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, MYR, SGD, USD |
| Tax-advantaged accounts | CPF, SRS |
| Other products and services | Bonds, CFDs, fund supermarket, futures, FX |
| Minimum account size | None (S$5,000 initial payment for non-residents, which can be traded) |
| Company location | Singapore |
| Further information | Go to the Phillip Capital Singapore website |
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