Singapore investors more decisive than global peers, survey says

Only 2% are unsure of their biggest portfolio risk versus 4% globally.

Singaporean retail investors are amongst the most decisive globally, with fewer respondents saying they are unsure about investment sectors, asset classes, and portfolio risks, according to eToro.

Its Q2 Retail Investor Beat survey found that only 12% of respondents were unsure which sector they would invest in next, compared with 19% globally.

For asset classes, 11% were unsure, versus 17% worldwide, whilst just 2% could not identify the biggest risk to their portfolio, compared with 4% globally.

Singaporean investors also hold a broader mix of asset classes than the global average. Cash assets are held by 82%, compared with 67% globally, whilst 54% hold domestic bonds, against 39% worldwide.

Foreign bonds are held by 37%, compared with 25% globally. Foreign equities are held by 47% of local investors, against 38% worldwide, whilst 59% hold domestic equities, compared with 52% globally.

Singaporean investors also report exposure to commodities at 34%, currencies or foreign exchange at 28%, and alternatives such as real estate and private equity at 26%. Global figures stand at 33%, 25%, and 25%, respectively.

Materials and mining stocks are the exception, with 17% of Singaporean investors holding them, compared with 26% globally.

Local investors also show greater exposure to overseas markets, with US equities held by 58% of Singaporean respondents, compared with 49% globally.

China exposure stands at 27%, against 12%, whilst emerging-market exposure reaches 35%, compared with 16%. Japan accounts for 14% of holdings, versus 10% globally.

Zavier Wong, Market Analyst at eToro Singapore, attributed the regional exposure to Singapore’s proximity to China and Japan.

“Singapore sits inside the same time zone and information flow as China and Japan, so those markets function almost like an extension of the local one,” Wong said.

He said familiarity with these markets can lower the barrier to taking a position, pointing to Singaporean investors’ exposure to China and emerging markets.

Wong also linked local investors’ decisiveness to their engagement with markets and news, adding that Singapore has one of the most hyperconnected retail bases worldwide, with constant access to price moves and developments.

The survey also found that the share of Singaporean investors identifying Middle East conflict as a portfolio concern fell to 26% from 34% in one quarter.

“That fast decision-making power cuts both ways, too; if tensions were to flare up again, we can expect local positioning to move just as quickly in response,” Wong said.