How to buy US stocks and ETFs from Singapore

This page lists the investment platforms whose own pages say they accept residents of Singapore, with their licences, fees and the deposit methods available here. We only count platforms that publish a list of the countries they accept: a company that does not say whom it accepts is left out, even if it might open an account for you. Being on the list is not a recommendation.

Some verified points for Singapore:

• Interactive Brokers names Singapore on its list of available countries and territories. According to IBKR’s site, one of its companies, Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd., is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under licence number CMS100917. Its pages do not say which of its companies opens accounts for residents of Singapore, so check the company named in your client agreement. IBKR charges no fee for bank transfer deposits (your bank may), and after two free withdrawals a calendar month it charges a fee per withdrawal.
• Saxo names Singapore among the countries on its account opening form. Its Singapore site says Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd is “authorised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)” and shows a company registration number, not a licence number. Client agreements are made with “the relevant Saxo entity based on your country of residence”; its pages do not say which company that is for Singapore. Saxo says it does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees.
• When we checked, the MAS website showed an error page and the site of its online services answered with a bot check, so we have not confirmed these licences with MAS ourselves. Check them with MAS before you open an account.

The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC), whose board is accountable to the minister in charge of MAS, insures Singapore dollar deposits at its member banks and finance companies: if a member fails, your insured deposits with it are “aggregated and insured up to S$100,000”. Among the products it does not insure, SDIC lists “Foreign currency deposits” and “Investment products such as unit trusts, shares and other securities”. Deposit insurance is not an investor compensation scheme, and no such scheme pays for falling prices.

For US shares, the platform will ask you for Form W-8BEN. The IRS says most US-source income of a foreign person, dividends included, is taxed at 30% through a withholding tax unless a tax treaty or the tax code sets a lower rate. Singapore was not on the IRS list of US income tax treaties when we checked. Your own tax rules may apply to the same dividend too, so ask the tax authority or a qualified tax adviser.