Date: February 14, 2025
- Majority of retail investors are keen to invest with their CPF funds
- More wanted financial education to make informed investment decisions
Singapore, 14 February 2025 – The Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) and the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) are pleased to announce the release of a survey report examining the sentiments and investment behaviour of CPF members (retail investors) regarding the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS).
Conducted in March 2024, this survey received over 3,500 responses, highlighting key insights into investor awareness, preferences, and barriers to utilising their CPF funds for investment.
Key Findings:
- Awareness and Participation: A significant 96% of respondents are aware that they can invest their CPF monies, with 72% having already done so. Notably, 73% plan to invest in the next six to twelve months.
- Investment Preferences: The most popular investment choices include Singapore Savings Bonds, T-Bills, stocks, ETFs and unit trusts. Additionally, there is strong interest in Business Trust products listed on Singapore Exchange, with two-thirds of respondents expressing a willingness to invest in them if included in the CPFIS.
- Need for Financial Education: Despite interest in investing, a substantial 82% of respondents indicated a desire for more CPF-related investing content. This underscores the need for enhanced financial literacy initiatives to empower investors in making informed investment decisions.
- Impact of Fees: The survey revealed that 71% of participants would be more likely to invest if agent bank fees were to be reduced. Currently, these fees are perceived as a barrier to investment.
These findings emphasize the importance of raising awareness of educational resources to encourage greater participation and making informed CPFIS investment decisions among retail investors.
SAS Chairman, Luke Lim said, “Singaporeans view CPF investing as a crucial tool for retirement. A significant majority in the survey expressed interest in utilizing their CPF funds for investments such as stocks and ETFs. Investors also believe in the importance of financial education as they seek more knowledge to make informed decisions regarding their long-term investment portfolios.”
Founder, President and CEO of SIAS, David Gerald added, “SIAS is pleased to note that Singaporeans are becoming more savvy and looking into different ways to invest. However, before making any investments, it is very important to understand the risks involved and how the potential returns compare with the risk-free interest that is earned in the various CPF accounts. Remember that part of your CPF is to sustain you in retirement so bear this is mind when investing your CPF funds. SIAS will continue to work with partners on unbiased education to help more Singaporeans to make informed investment decisions.”
Conclusion:
This survey marks a significant step in understanding retail investors’ investment behaviour with the CPFIS framework. The insights gathered will guide future initiatives aimed at improving investment participation among CPF members.
For more information please contact:
Luke Lim, SAS Chairman
Mobile: (65) 8163 8246
Email: lukelimwj@phillip.com.sg
David Gerald, SIAS Founder, President & CEO
Tel: (65) 6227 2683
Email: admin@sias.org.sg
About Securities Investors Association (Singapore)
SIAS actively promotes good corporate governance and transparency practices, investor rights, investor education, and is the watchdog for investors in Singapore. SIAS rates companies on their governance practices together with industry partners and rewards companies excelling in good corporate governance practices.
SIAS, the largest organised investor group in Asia, is run by an elected Management Committee comprising professionals who are volunteers. It is now a registered Charity and an Institution of Public Character.
In addition to its focus on corporate governance, SIAS extensively provides a variety of investor education programmes to its members and the investing community at large through collaborative arrangements with financial institutions and listed companies interested in investor education as part of their corporate social responsibility agenda.
For more information about SIAS, please visit www.sias.org.sg.
About the Securities Association of Singapore
The Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) was registered and formed on 11 December 2001 as a common platform for corporate members to meet and discuss key issues concerning the industry and present collective views and proposals to regulators and authorities. Members include retail broking houses and foreign/institutional stockbrokers.
SAS actively engages regulators and policymakers and other players in the securities industry, on strategic, regulatory, technology and operational issues and systems affecting the industry.
SAS website: https://thesas.org.sg.
Subscribe to Newsletter
Subscribe to SIAS Mailing List and get updates to all upcoming events and news
By clicking submit, you agree to our privacy statement, collection, use and/or disclosure of your personal data to the extent necessary to provide you with this service.
