Best Cash Management Account In Singapore (2024) Complete Guide
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Are you looking for higher return for your Singapore dollar with minimal investment risk?
Cash management account (CMA) is a great place to park your cash, not only it is a low-risk investment with stable returns, CMA make your idle cash work for you 24/7 and earn you attractive interest rates comparable to that of Singapore Saving Bonds and other high interest low-risk investment in Singapore without the many restrictions that comes with it.
5.32%
p.a. (Approx.)
$1,330
Est. earning over 1 year at $25,000
- $1 Min.
- No Lock-in
- No Redemption Fee
- No Subscription Fee
5.30%
p.a. (Approx.)
$1,325
Est. earning over 1 year at $25,000
- $1 Min.
- No Lock-in
- No Redemption Fee
- No Subscription Fee
Note: The information is accurate at the time of writing.
Let’s take a look at some of the best cash management account in Singapore.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Cash Management Account (CMA) is a low-risk investment that offers high interest rate that is often more than those of high-interest savings accounts, SSB, SGS and T-Bills.
- Projected interest rate are usually not guaranteed, the interest return may vary and is dependent on the market condition. Currently, Moomoo offers highest interest rate of approx. 5% p.a.
- CMA is a cash management solution that offers the flexibility of withdrawing your cash anytime without penalty while helping you earn interest using your idle cash.
Best Cash Management Accounts In Singapore (Low-Risk Investment)
Cash Management Account Broker | Est. Returns (p.a.) | Min. Deposit | Fees | Withdrawal Limit | Liquidity | Funding |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Moomoo Cash Plus (SGD) | 3.0-4.5%*` | $0.01 | No Fees | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | Cash |
Moomoo Cash Plus (USD) | 4.0-5.8%*` | $0.01 | No Fees | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | Cash |
Moneybull By Webull (SGD) | 3.0-4.5%*` | $1 | No Fees | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | Cash |
Moneybull By Webull (USD) | 3.8-5.4%*` | $1 | No Fees | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | Cash |
Endowus Cash Smart Secure | 3.5% to 3.8%* | $1,000 | Fund Fees: 0.15% Management Fees: 0.05% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | SRS and Cash |
Endowus Cash Smart Enhanced | 4.1% to 4.4%* | $1,000 | Fund Fees: 0.27% Management Fees: 0.05% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | SRS and Cash |
Endowus Cash Smart Ultra | 4.6% to 4.9%* | $1,000 | Fund Fees: 0.29% Management Fees: 0.05% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | SRS and Cash |
StashAway Simple | 3.4%* | $1 | Fund Fees: 0.15% Management Fees: 0.15% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | SRS and Cash |
StashAway Simple Plus | 4.6% to 5%* | $1 | Fund Fees: 0.19% Management Fees: 0.20% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | SRS and Cash |
Syfe Cash+ | 3.5%* | $1 | Fund Fees: 0.15%^ Management Fees: 0.00% | Unlimited | High, No Lock-in | Cash |
*Projected returns after all fees & interest rate is subjected to change.
^Fees after trailer fees rebate.
`Management fee is charged by the fund company which are included in the NAV calculation.
Note: Data are consolidated, checked for accuracy and ensure outmost reliability by the Author through hours of research into each of the low-risk investment options, the author aims to provide the most accurate data by following strictly according to our editorial guidelines but always do your own due diligence before investing.
Depending on your cash management needs, different individuals maybe suitable for different Cash Management Account:
- Investors looking to earn interest using their uninvested cash, consider: Moomoo Cash Plus by Moomoo or Moneybull by Webull.
- Investors looking to invest using the cash in your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), consider: Endowus Cash Smart or StashAway Simple.
- Beginner investors or savers looking for a low or no fee option to put your idle cash to work, consider: Moomoo Cash Plus or Moneybull.
- Individuals looking for higher return on your excess idle cash, consider: Moomoo Cash Plus, Moneybull, Endowus Cash Smart Ultra, or Stash Away Simple Plus.
- Individuals looking for highest return, consider: Moomoo Cash Plus
Personally, I’ve opened my own Cash Management Account with Moomoo and till date, my experience with the platform have been nothing less than amazing.
What is A Cash Management Account
Cash Management Account (CMA) are non-bank money management account that is generally managed online where you can park your idle cash and earn an competitive interest rate while enjoying the flexibility of withdrawing your cash anytime you need.
Putting your money into a Cash Management Account means to park your money into an account where it will invest in highly stable and low risk cash investment such as:
- Cash management funds.
- Bank deposits.
- Short-term debt.
Mainly offered by brokerage firms, FinTech or financial institutes, a CMA aims to help you grow your wealth with capital preservation as its main priority, making it a high-return, low-risk investment options for risk adverse individuals.
What To Consider When Choosing A Cash Management Account in Singapore?
Cash Management Accounts offers investors and savers the option to park their idle money in money market funds.
While most Cash Management Account are similar in many ways, there are many things to consider when choosing a Cash Management Account in Singapore.
Finding the best cash management account to store idle cash and keep your assets primarily in Singapore dollar is essential to get the best rate of return on your money while keeping your cash highly liquid.
Here are some things to consider when choosing a Cash Management Account to use as your cash account.
1. Licensed by Monetary Authority of Singapore
Probably the first thing you’ll need to look for is to make sure that it is licensed by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) making sure that it is a legal provider of any form of financial service.
Companies that are licensed by the MAS can be found on the MAS website itself.
- Go into the MAS website.
- Do a quick search in the “Financial Institutions Directory“
In this example, I’ve done a quick check on Moomoo and found that it is holding two license:
- Capital Market Service Licensee: Perform financial dealing such as stocks and money management etc.
- Exempt Financial Adviser: Provide financial and investment product advisory etc.
Having to know that it is licensed by MAS give you the confidence that you are safe to put your money with them. Regardless if it is for buying and selling stocks or to open a cash management account.
2. Interest Rate
Interest rate offered by different Cash Management Account providers varies widely in Singapore.
Ranging from as low as 2.0% to as high as 5.5% or more, knowing which CMA provider offers the most competitive interest rate will allow you to earn more using your money.
Things to look out for when looking at the interest rates are:
- Check if it is a projected interest rate, meaning the interest rate can change according to the market condition.
- Check if the interest rates shown is after fees or before fees deductions.
- Check if the interest rates offered provide any form of guarantee on the interest returns. Most CMA providers don’t provide any guarantee as it can be risky for the brokerage.
- Check if there is any conditions you’ll need to meet to receive the interest rate.
Generally, a higher interest rate is often better than the lower one, but higher interest rate often come with a higher level of risk.
When choosing the right wealth management provider, always take your risk tolerance into account when choosing the CMA provider and the CMA plan.
3. Fees Structure
Fee structure of the Cash Management Account is important if you are looking to park your money worry-free from the fees comes with opening of the account.
For CMA there are a few fees that maybe applicable similar to how it is for a normal stock brokerage account.
The different types of fees are:
- Fund-Level Fees: Fun-level fees are fees that the Cash Management Account provider needs to pay to the underlying managed funds of your CMA. The fees varies according to the different management portfolios. These fees can range from 0.05% to 1.00% p.a.
- Management Fees: Management fees are sometimes also called platform fees. These are fees you as the account owner need to pay the Cash Management Account provider to manage the account on the platform. These fees can range from 0.00% to 0.50% p.a.
When choosing the best account to open your Cash Management Account, always choose one which have low or no fees to minimize the cost of managing of your money.
4. Minimum Deposit Requirement
Minimum deposit requirement may not be as essential if you have a lot of cash idling around.
But having a low or no minimum deposit requirement will means that you are able to enjoy all the benefits that comes from opening a Cash Management Account without the restriction of needing to keep a certain amount of money in the account.
- Higher level of flexibility on how you can use your cash.
- Less headache on managing your account.
Always take note if there is any underlying conditions where you need to fulfil in order to enjoy the higher interest rates.
5. Withdrawal Limits And Lock-in Period
Cash Management Account is typically designed for ease of deposit and withdrawals like our everyday savings accounts in additional to providing high interest returns on our money deposited into the account.
Understanding if there is any limited to the withdrawal is outmost important especially if you are an investor waiting for an opportunity to invest, or an individual who is looking to use your cash anytime in the near future.
- Unlimited withdrawal limit: Highly preferred as it provide you the flexibility to withdraw your money anytime.
- Limited withdrawal limit: Not recommended as it limits your liquidity of the cash you’ve placed in the account.
Likewise, understanding the lock-in period is important as it is related to your ability to liquidate your cash in the account for your other personal use.
If you want high level of liquidity of your cash funds, choose opening your account with a provider that offers:
- Unlimited withdrawal limit.
- No lock-in periods.
How Cash Management Account Compare to Government Issued Bonds And T-Bills In Singapore
Top three most popular low-risk investment that investors and savers park their excess cash to enjoy a higher interest rate while ensuring a certain level of liquidity of withdrawing the cash when required are:
- Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB)
- Singapore Government Savings Bonds (SGS bonds)
- Singapore Treasury Bills (T-bills)
These government and corporate debt are always part of the investment portfolio of risk adverse investors. But how does it compare with cash management account?
Let’s take a look at the difference between SSB, SGS Bonds, T-Bills and Cash Management Account.
Feature | Cash Management Account | Singapore Government Savings Bonds | Singapore Savings Bonds | Treasury Bills |
---|---|---|---|---|
Purpose | Convenient cash access with interest. | Low-risk fixed-interest investment. | Flexible low-risk investment. | Short-term low-risk investment. |
Investment Amount | No or Low Minimum | Min. SGD 500, multiples of SGD 500. | Min. SGD 500, up to SGD 200,000. | Min. SGD 1,000, multiples of SGD 1,000. |
Maturity Period | No maturity. Possible withdrawal restrictions. | Fixed 2-10 years. | Fixed 2-10 years, with early redemption option. | Fixed 3-12 months. |
Interest Rates | 2.00% to 5.00%’ | 0.678% to 3.626%‘ | 2.76% to 3.63%‘ | 0.115% to 4.476%‘ |
Risk Level | Low-risk. Not guaranteed or insured by govt. | Low-risk. Backed by Singapore govt.” | Low-risk. Backed by Singapore govt.” | Low-risk. Backed by Singapore govt.” |
Liquidity | High. Flexible withdrawals/transfers. | Average. Sold before maturity, may incur gain/loss. | Average. Redeemable after 1 month, may incur penalty. | Average. Sold before maturity, may incur gain/loss. |
Funding | Cash or SRS | Cash or SRS | Cash or SRS | Cash or SRS |
Accessibility | Brokerage Firm and Financial Institutions. | Central Depository (CDP) or licensed institutions. | Central Depository (CDP) or licensed institutions. | Central Bank of Singapore or licensed institutions. |
‘Interest rate may vary from time to time, the state interest rate are checked for accuracy with the best ability of the author.
“Insured up to S$75,000 by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation Limited (SDIC)
Note: Data are consolidated, checked for accuracy and ensure outmost reliability by the Author through hours of research into each of the low-risk investment options, the author aims to provide the most accurate data by following strictly according to our editorial guidelines but always do your own due diligence before investing.
By comparing Cash Management Account with SSB, SGS bonds, and T-bills, it is shows that a CMA have the overall advantages of:
- No or low minimum investment requirement.
- High level of flexibility for withdrawal without any penalty.
- Highest interest rate.
While Cash Management Account may not be guaranteed or insured by the government, it is extremely low risk since it invest in high quality short-term money market instruments and debt securities that are highly stable.
Cash management account offers interest rate comparable to Singapore dollar savings deposits without the limitations and drawback of the investment instrument. Making parking your uninvested cash in a CMA a great way to earn passive income with little to no effort.
5.32%
p.a. (Approx.)
$1,330
Est. earning over 1 year at $25,000
- $1 Min.
- No Lock-in
- No Redemption Fee
- No Subscription Fee
5.30%
p.a. (Approx.)
$1,325
Est. earning over 1 year at $25,000
- $1 Min.
- No Lock-in
- No Redemption Fee
- No Subscription Fee
Note: The information is accurate at the time of writing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article are independent opinion of the author, based on my own trading and investing experience. Neither the companies mentioned or its affiliates shall be liable for the content of the information provided. The information was accurate to the best knowledge of the author. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. * T&C Applies
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Antony C. is a dividend investor with over 15+ years of investing experience. He’s also the book author of “Start Small, Dream Big“, certified PMP® holder and founder of IncomeBuddies.com (IB). At IB, he share his personal journey and expertise on growing passive income through dividend investing and building online business. Antony has been featured in global news outlet including Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq and Non Fiction Author Association (NFAA).