Opened CPFIS, SRS accounts as well as a cheaper way of selling CDP shares

This is a short update on what I have done recently.

I read thinking about AK using CPF OA as part of his warchest long ago. Seeing the yield curve so flat and almost zero, made me consider again. Do note that I do not have any large expenses soon that would consume my CPF to 0 or just 20k.

So figured I would be interested in utilising my CPFIS OA funds to invest if opportunities arises. By habit, as I know fees reduces returns in the long run I had to compare the fees.

Generally, fees are the same mostly, but here are some minor ones that I looked at when I compared:

So UOB kinda wins it for me, this I visited UOB after work to open it even though I don't have an account with them and got it open. :)

Do note that CPFIS for shares only allows us to invest 35% of the total OA but you can't touch the 1st 20k (so 100k, you can invest 35k, for 30k, you can invest 10k instead of 10.5k because you can't touch the 1st 20k).

For funds with low fees (including Unit Trusts), you can invest ALL funds less the 1st 20k of your OA. But there's something more interesting, STI ETF is included in it!

That means that when opportunity arises, such as GFC, you can use your entire OA less 20k to put it all in :)

And considering STI is mostly made of Singtel + 3 Banks, where I am more bullish on banks (37% of STI), seems like a good way to get more exposure.

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After opening my CPFIS, account, I read Kyith's article on the SRS regarding the retirement age lock in (you can read it here).  Long story short, the SRS retirement age is based on the first contribution made to the account. The current age is 63.

The SRS is a tax deferment account created by the government to help people with their retirement. It is not linked to CPF. But you have to invest and manage the funds yourself as the account yields next to nothing on its own less tax relief.

I'm not sure whether I would be using the SRS now, but the idea of using $1 just to fix the retirement age sounds like a good idea. You can check out MOF SRS booklet PDF for the clause here.

Unfortunately, there's no difference in SRS accounts for the different banks so I went ahead and opened it with OCBC.

It is done purely on iBanking without needing to drop down at the branch, That's awesome too!

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Last but not least, You can link your CDP account with FSMOne now :)

Although you can do it with your CPFIS, though only for investing in unit trusts, you can sell your holdings in CDP using FSMOne low fees ($10 minimum comms)!

Isn't that awesome! Beats paying $25-28 for CDP brokerage fees. Great for small contract sizing or getting rid of small positions in your portfolio.

Do note to check your CDP account prior to selling to avoid selling more than you have (resulting in a short position).

I did ask iFast staff regarding when would they link up for buying of shares but they say it is work in progress, so maybe one day we would see it for CPFIS and CDP (buying). :)


That's all for the post.