You’ll have heard of goal date funds as the favored selection for retirement savers within the US. So, why are they not the default right here? The new Retirement digiPortfolio by your neighbourhood financial institution is about to alter that, however guess what’s even higher? It goes above and past what a goal date fund can provide, since you may personalise your personal retirement age as an alternative of getting to stay to the fund’s preset ending yr. It doesn’t have to finish there both – if you would like, you may even go for DBS to proceed managing the portfolio for you thru your retirement (whether or not it’s 20 / 30 / 40 years of it!)
Robo-advisors are a preferred answer for amongst each the younger and dealing adults who want to get began with investing however
- Don’t actually know find out how to make investments for retirement
- Too busy with work, not a lot time left to review the markets
- Need skilled assist…however don’t wish to pay for the energetic administration charges and gross sales costs related to human advisors
Nevertheless, after the closure of unbiased robos Neatly after which MoneyOwl, the status of robo-advisors in Singapore has suffered a success. To keep away from the same destiny, some traders would reasonably go for robo-solutions provided by banks, that are perceivably safer and doesn’t depart the portfolio completely within the arms of preset algorithms and robots.
There’s solely 3 to select from proper now, and one of the crucial accessible is the DBS/POSB digiPortfolio, which is offered in-app for the hundreds of thousands of DBS and POSB clients in Singapore.
Lots of you might already be invested in a digiPortfolio as a result of it helps you earn extra bonus curiosity in your DBS/POSB Multiplier account 🐰.
Message from DBS:
We created digiPortfolio to democratise entry to wealth to everybody, as a part of our financial institution’s mission in the direction of monetary inclusivity.
Such curated portfolios have been beforehand solely accessible to excessive web price (HNW) clients with investments of S$500,000 and above.
With a simple-to-understand, ‘hands-off’, ready-made portfolio, beginning at an inexpensive S$100, you don’t want to carry off on investing anymore.
For these of you who keep in mind, when DBS/POSB first launched their hybrid-human robo-advisory answer i.e. digiPortfolio again in 2019, they made the sudden transfer of opening up entry to DBS funding crew’s experience which was beforehand restricted to the financial institution’s excessive web price shoppers solely. Since then, they’ve grown their choices from 2 to five, so now you can select and even arrange totally different portfolios to suit your investing aims.

I’ve beforehand reviewed the opposite 4 portfolios right here (Asia and International) and right here (SaveUp and Revenue), so you may examine these out.
Overview of Retirement digiPortfolio
Keep in mind goal date funds? It’s an age-based funding technique the place you are taking extra threat while you’re youthful, and get extra conservative as you close to your goal retirement yr. Equally, DBS/POSB Retirement digiPortfolio follows the identical glidepath technique (that’s why you see the advert with the surfer gliding the waves!), however that is the place the similarities finish and Retirement digiPortfolio comes out superior.
TLDR: TDFs are cohort-based the place all traders make investments in response to the TDF’s pre-determined finish date. For instance, a 2030 TDF’s glidepath is mounted for all its traders and can de-risk from in the present day to 2030.
Retirement digiPortfolio, then again, is extra versatile and allows you to set your personal retirement age reasonably than finish date. What’s extra, if a person desires to tweak their retirement age in a while, the portfolio will routinely calibrate the asset combine to the person’s life stage and retirement timeline at any time.
There’s extra! After retirement, Retirement digiPortfolio permits traders to automate their drawdowns through a decumulation withdrawal plan in response to their retirement earnings wants.
Sounds good, however how precisely does this work?
On this article, I’ll be diving into their newest Retirement Portfolio to grasp the way it works, who it’s good for (and who isn’t), and why.
How ought to your funding portfolio seem like?
A holistic portfolio usually has a mixture of totally different asset courses (e.g. shares, bonds, property, money), with the proportions adjusted accordingly to the investor’s wants.
The most effective portfolio is one which permits you to sleep properly at evening whereas compounding over time for long-term features.
To attain this, any savvy investor will let you know that it’s essential to design and alter your portfolio as your age and threat urge for food adjustments.
- While you’re youthful with out a lot monetary commitments or dependents (youngsters / aged dad and mom), you may normally afford to tackle extra dangers with a larger publicity to equities and shares. This allows you to capitalise on long-term progress and compounding over the following few many years.
- As you progress into your subsequent life stage, your monetary tasks improve and also you abruptly can’t afford to threat a lot anymore, lest you lose cash meant in your mortgage or youngsters’s college college charges.
- As you inch nearer to retirement, you’ve gotten much less time left to capitalize on market progress, so that you begin caring extra about having secure, mounted earnings. Your coronary heart can now not take as a lot volatility as you probably did in your early profession years.
A straightforward approach to consider it will be to allocate in a different way based mostly on age.
For instance:
In your 20s – 30s: 80% shares, 15% mounted earnings, 5% money
In your 40s – 50s: 60% shares, 35% mounted earnings, 5% money
In your 60s – 80s: 15% shares, 80% mounted earnings, 5% money
Notice: These are usually not prescribed percentages. Chances are you’ll want to alter your personal based mostly in your preferences and threat urge for food.
That is also called a glidepath technique, and you’ll then manually rebalance your portfolio as you age so that you simply defend your features and scale back the percentages of dropping the retirement funds you painstakingly compounded through the years…within the occasion of an premature market crash.
However…what for those who might automate it as an alternative?
DBS Retirement digiPortfolio assessment
That is precisely what you are able to do with the DBS Retirement digiPortfolio.
DBS has designed this portfolio based mostly on the idea that traders ought to solely tackle threat acceptable to their life stage (outlined as Early Profession, Mid-life, and Retirement).
It components in how distant you’re from your required retirement age, and adjusts yearly by an computerized rebalancing in your birthday.

The above reveals an illustrated instance of how an investor’s asset allocation in DBS Retirement digiPortfolio can change by the years. Notice that your precise portfolio allocation relies on your indicative years to retirement.
- While you’re youthful and have an extended funding time horizon, the portfolio will allocate a larger publicity to equities vs. mounted earnings whereas protecting 3% in money.
- Yearly as you get nearer to your retirement age, the portfolio will “glide” with you and de-risk accordingly to scale back your publicity to equities, whereas placing a heavier emphasis on mounted earnings so you’re cushioned towards market volatility.
That approach, even for those who’re so suay to witness a 50% market crash while you’re simply 1 yr to retiring, your $1,000,000 retirement portfolio gained’t be affected to the extent that it abruptly drop to simply $500,000 in a single day, eroding the cash that was in any other case meant to see you thru your non-working years.
What’s extra, the DBS Retirement digiPortfolio doesn’t cease even after your preset retirement age or while you begin withdrawing from it. DBS has mentioned that the portfolio will proceed to be managed in your behalf, to make sure that it stays up to date to the financial institution’s funding crew’s newest funding views.
The way it actually works
Let’s say you’ve gotten a sizeable pile of money financial savings now which you wish to make investments so you may retire at 60, 80…or perhaps earlier at age 45.
The instrument reveals that for those who have been to begin now and diligently add $2,000 to the portfolio each month, with over 4 many years to compound earlier than you retire at 80, you may find yourself with an estimated $7.7 million for retirement.

However for those who want to retire even earlier (35 years forward of schedule), then the identical capital injections is estimated to finish up at ~$570k while you flip 45.
In distinction, attempting to time the market with a $100,000 lump sum with out the next top-ups in a disciplined method might depart you wanting the $571k projection.
Discover how the asset allocation adjustments based mostly on how distant you’re to the specified retirement age entered?
- Retire at 45: 54% equities, 43% mounted earnings, 3% money
(shorter time horizon to retirement) - Retire at 80: 65% equities, 32% mounted earnings, 3% money
(longer time horizon to retirement)
Now let’s have a look at what if in case you have much less money and wish to decide to investing $500 a month as an alternative, whereas retiring at Singapore’s official retirement age (at present 63)?
Right here’s what the consequence would seem like for an investor aged 33:

vs. somebody 5 years older:

The portfolio fashions and the ‘glidepath’ will likely be professionally managed by DBS, guided by views from the DBS Chief Funding Workplace and J.P. Morgan Asset Administration. DBS says that is an extension of its years-long effort to decrease limitations of entry to investing and democratise retail traders’ entry to wealth administration companies.
Since this retirement portfolio is created in collaboration with J.P. Morgan Asset Administration (JPMAM), in order you may count on, the entire underlying holdings are in JPMAM funds:
In abstract, for equities, your cash will go right into a US Massive-Cap fund, an Asia Development fund, a Japan fund and a Europe fund. The precise allocation will fluctuate relying on the years you’ve gotten left to retirement – see under for an instance:
Investor who’s 30 years from retirement | Investor at retirement | |
US equities | 30% | 6% |
Europe equities | 15% | 4% |
Asia ex-Japan equities | 15% | 3% |
Japan equities | 5% | 2% |
Authorities bonds | 12% | 27% |
Company bonds | 10% | 40% |
Rising markets debt | 10% | 15% |
For mounted earnings, your cash will get invested into models of an Rising Market bond fund, a International Company bond fund, and a International Authorities bond fund.
Based mostly on the glidepath technique, the precise combine of those fairness and glued earnings funds will change yearly to de-risk progressively in the direction of retirement.
How a lot are charges?
As a DIY investor, shopping for into funds and rebalancing them every time incur frequent transaction and switching prices. For many who see worth in having full-time funding groups monitor and alter methods in response to altering market conditions, you’d in all probability admire how DBS just isn’t charging something for the transaction prices that you’d in any other case incur by yourself while you purchase and promote immediately into these particular person underlying funds.
As a DIY investor, shopping for into funds and rebalancing them every time incur frequent transaction and switching prices. Right here’s an instance of the “Preliminary Cost” and “Swap Cost” within the desk under, that are charges that DIY traders who select to purchase these funds immediately could incur. That is taken from simply 1 out of the 7 funds. You need to, nonetheless, word that these 2 courses of charges are NOT relevant to digiPortfolio.


For many who see worth in having full-time funding groups monitor and alter methods in response to altering market conditions, you’d in all probability admire how DBS is not charging something for the transaction prices that you’d in any other case incur by yourself while you purchase and promote immediately into these particular person underlying funds.
In truth, outsourcing this to Retirement digiPortfolio will get it finished routinely for you at a flat 0.75% annual administration charge.
What’s extra, to make the portfolio much more accessible and inexpensive for traders with retirement in thoughts, charges will fall even additional to simply 0.25% p.a. (as an alternative of 0.75% p.a.) when you hit your chosen retirement yr.
Now that you simply perceive how the product works, let’s dive into who it is likely to be appropriate for, and who wouldn’t.
Who this portfolio is for vs. who it isn’t
Who it is likely to be for
Figuring out the entire above, you may take into account the Retirement Portfolio if:
- You wish to make investments to construct your wealth for retirement through the years
- You’re busy together with your profession or private life, and actually don’t have the time to actively monitor markets
- You are feeling safer with the reassurance of consultants serving to you in your portfolio, but additionally wish to pay a decrease charge for it
- You propose to scale back your threat publicity from progress to stability as you get nearer to your goal retirement age. Doing it your self will likely be extra tedious and it’s essential to be ready incur fairly a little bit of charges while you promote and purchase totally different holdings in an effort to de-risk your portfolio
- You want to complement your different retirement plans (e.g. CPF Life) to attain your required retirement objectives
Who it won’t be for
However for those who’ve already arrange your personal funding portfolio on one other platform and choose to proceed actively managing the whole portfolio by your self, then this answer could not appear as enticing to you. Outsourcing it to DBS will incur 0.75% p.a. flat charge for the portfolio administration, so for people preferring to DIY 100% and are usually not eager on diversifying outdoors of it, you might not discover this as compelling.
For traders additionally choose to put money into passive exchange-traded funds monitoring the market as an alternative of professionally-managed energetic unit trusts and mutual funds, you might then not admire such a portfolio.
That is additionally not appropriate for these who wish to use their joint account to fund and make investments in the direction of their joint retirement portfolio, as a result of DBS at present solely accepts funding from particular person accounts. You will have to make use of your personal single account to fund or obtain earnings from this digiPortfolio as an alternative.
And for {couples} who wish to use this to speculate in the direction of their joint retirement portfolio, this won’t be appropriate in your wants because the portfolio was designed based mostly on the investor’s age to retirement. Plus, I can see why this is able to be a tough process for DBS/POSB to fulfil (i.e. even my husband and I aren’t the identical age, and we actually gained’t be retiring in the identical yr!)
The workaround answer could be to speculate individually – not tough since DBS has made it such which you can arrange inside just some faucets in your digibank app.
Conclusion
The DBS Retirement digiPortfolio is a welcome addition to the financial institution’s robo-advisory choices as a result of it lastly provides an all-in-one portfolio answer for people wanting to speculate for retirement and comes with no lock-ins or penalty costs.
Previous to this, your solely different possibility was to DIY or to make use of one other robo (largely not backed or owned by the banks).
In fact, in case your focus is solely on lowest charges, then you need to word that from a value perspective, DIY nearly at all times wins.
The larger query is whether or not YOU can efficiently DIY. If you happen to can, nice!
Most traders, sadly, fail to stay to the plan and make emotional selections corresponding to staying out of the markets when it crashes, or piling in as a result of FOMO when the markets are rallying (like now). If that’s what you’ve gotten been doing too, then perhaps you want a distinct answer.
Additionally do not forget that for those who have been to commerce or high up your funding usually, each single transaction will incur a charge. However, a plan like DBS digiPortfolio adopts a charge construction the place clients can high up, withdraw, or practise dollar-cost averaging a number of occasions all through the month and nonetheless solely incur the 0.75% p.a. charge – nothing extra.
With digiPortfolio, it makes it straightforward for you automate your investments so you may make investments by dollar-cost averaging and keep invested out there to construct your long-term wealth.
In spite of everything, actively managing your portfolio and manually rebalancing it may be time intensive. It requires you to trace altering asset values, and manually make selections to purchase or promote. If you happen to don’t benefit from the work (like I do), it may be laborious to remain the course.
TLDR: DBS Retirement digiPortfolio is price contemplating in your long-term funding goal of retirement, as it may be automated to
- care for your portfolio asset allocation and de-risks progressively every year in the direction of your retirement
- helps you dollar-cost common
- ensures your self-discipline and that you simply keep invested
- removes emotional decision-making that may negatively have an effect on your long-term funding returns
and extra importantly, liberate time so you are able to do what you’re keen on, whereas realizing that your long-term retirement wants are being taken care of.
Sponsored Message
Making an attempt to speculate in your retirement however don’t know the way?
Faucet on “Make investments” in your DBS/POSB digibank app and choose digiPortfolio to take a look at the DBS/POSB Retirement portfolio in the present day!
Disclosure: This text is delivered to you in collaboration with DBS, who helped to make sure that every little thing I write right here is factual and correct. All opinions are of my very own.
Disclaimers:All investments include dangers and you'll lose cash in your funding. The Retirement digiPortfolio consists of funds which can be topic to market fluctuations and different dangers.
This text is written in collaboration with DBS Financial institution Ltd, Firm Registration. No.: 196800306E ("DBS”), an Exempt Monetary Adviser as outlined within the Monetary Advisers Act and controlled by the Financial Authority of Singapore and is for basic data solely and shouldn't be relied upon as monetary recommendation. This publication is probably not reproduced, or communicated to some other particular person with out prior written permission.
It doesn't take into consideration the precise funding aims, monetary scenario or wants of any specific particular person. Earlier than getting into into any transaction involving any product talked about on this publication, the place relevant, you need to search recommendation from a monetary adviser concerning its suitability in your personal aims and circumstances. If you happen to select not to take action, you need to make an unbiased evaluation and do your personal due diligence on the product. This commercial has not been reviewed by the Financial Authority of Singapore.
The knowledge herein just isn't meant for distribution to, or use by, any particular person or entity in any jurisdiction or nation the place such distribution or use could be opposite to legislation or regulation.
This commercial has not been reviewed by J.P. Morgan Asset Administration. Neither J.P. Morgan Asset Administration nor its associates makes any illustration or guarantee as to its adequacy, completeness, accuracy or timeliness for any specific goal and accordingly, takes no accountability for the accuracy of the contents of this publication nor accepts any legal responsibility for any assertion or misstatement made on this publication.
All investments include dangers and you'll lose cash in your funding. Make investments provided that you perceive and might monitor your funding. The worth of the models within the funds and the earnings accruing to the models, if any, could rise or fall. Earlier than investing, you need to learn the prospectus and Product Highlights Sheet for the funds within the Retirement digiPortfolio, which can be obtained from the digiPortfolio tab in DBS digibank.