sinkies are at a perpetual disadvantage to americans

it is not just sinkies

it is every country in the world that is not USA

the biggest advantage is the USD

the 2nd is american products

USD denominated means that americans are the only people that do not need to have FX friction in and out of investments - ever

they do not need to find out what is the cheapest way to convert large amounts of currency, because they just dont

next is american products, which are just simply built different, built better

american ETFs are always the cheapest

ofc, considering div tax + IHT, you dont want your ETFs to be US domiciled

if you are poor, dont worry about the above statement, continue your VOO DCA

if you are rich, you'd realize that although TER is higher for non-US domicile, after factoring in the better tax treatment + IHT exemption, you are significantly better off

but US ETFs are just way more liquid than non-US ETFs

 

then theres wealthfront, betterment, robinhood, apple card 4.5% savings account + 2% unlimited cashback

what do we have? tigerbrokers, syfe, moomoo? LOL

to be honest, i dont blame such brokers / fintech companies

sinkies damn kiam sup about money, the market is tiny and having to deal with SGD FX is such huge friction, it eats away at the attractability of whatever benefits they can offer

and the mix of the above both factors contribute to liquidity

the world is shifting away from non-liquidity, if you realize

products are better simply because they are more liquid, and that ofc makes sense

being denominated in USD makes USD denominated products accessible not just to americans, but to any other person globally, because there is no aversion for ultra rich people to hold/transact in USD compared to their local currency, all these increase the liquidity of USD products

actually, i would think in almost all cases, every billionaire in the world denominates in USD

probably centi millionaires as well

only the deca millionaires and below have some obsession with local currency milestones, which is why they are only best in the local ladder ranks, but low on the global ladder ranks

best is singapore, jb and some say batam?

you need to dream bigger my friend

the world is your oyster omelette

rich people think in USD

and while the USD has lost purchasing power over the years

95% other currencies has lost even more

perhaps this is the one the few benefits of being sinkie, since the sinkie currency has outperformed USD on longer time frames

would that continue in the future?

i think not, or just marginally

when you realize that all americans have access to 4% money market funds with no FX fees and 250K FDIC bank insurance and access to tons of financial tools

it becomes apparently very quickly that the rate of return you need to beat is 4% a year, in USD terms, since that is their "risk-free" rate , just to keep up with everyone else

but there is a silver lining

objectively speaking, in the whole wide world

being tax resident of singapore probably puts you at the top 1% of the world population in terms of financial opportunity

while americans have the USD + access advantage, they are at a massive disadvantage after you factor in taxes

other than singapore, there is a handful of places in the world that allows you to grow wealth as close as possible to maximum speed

if you wonder why money all over the world is moving into singapore to set up family offices, that is the answer right there