POEMS review: Phillip Securities, US stock fees and SGX access

Overview

POEMS is the online trading platform of Phillip Securities Pte Ltd (company 197501035Z), a member of the PhillipCapital group. PhillipCapital says it began as a stockbroker in Singapore on 18 June 1975 and is headquartered there. Through POEMS you can trade stocks, ETFs, bonds and unit trusts, as well as CFDs, forex and futures, which this review does not cover. All facts come from the POEMS and PhillipCapital websites and documents, checked on 28 October 2026.

Licence

Phillip Securities’ risk disclosure describes its services “as the holder of a capital markets services licence”, and PhillipCapital’s best-execution policy refers to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s rules for holders of that licence. No licence number is printed on the pages and documents we read, and the MAS register blocked our browser, so we could not confirm the number.

Who can open an account

Applicants must be at least 18, must not be a US Person and must not be bankrupt. The account-opening page lists documents for Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners living in Singapore, for Malaysians, and for foreigners not living in Singapore (passport, plus a Singapore bank account or details for an international transfer). It does not publish a list of accepted countries.

Accounts and US stock costs

There are two main accounts. The Cash Plus Account has a stand-by margin facility of S$50,000 and lower online rates; the Cash Management Account is linked to your own CDP account.

On Cash Plus, online US stock orders have no commission, no settlement fee and no platform fee, in the pre-market, regular and post-market sessions (not during Asian hours). US shares priced below US$1 are traded offline at offline rates, and the US SEC fee (0.00206%) applies to sales. On the Cash Management Account, US orders cost 0.30% with a minimum of US$20. Fractional US shares can be bought from 0.001 of a share, for orders above US$1.

Other Cash Plus rates depend on the value of your account; for the Starter tier (under S$30,000): Singapore 0.08% with no minimum, Hong Kong 0.08% with a minimum of HK$30. Currency conversion is done “at a prevailing rate of exchange determined by PSPL”; no percentage is published.

Other fees

• Account maintenance (SGX): S$15 a quarter (plus GST) unless you make at least one trade in the quarter; waived for the Privilege tier.
• Foreign custody fee: waived for US and Hong Kong shares until 31 December 2027; the Cash Plus infosheet lists S$2 per counter per month (up to S$150 a quarter), waived if you trade often enough.
• Bonds: 0.25% commission plus GST on the nominal amount. Unit trusts: no sales charge, switching fee or platform fee.

All POEMS fees are subject to GST.

Markets

POEMS lists 26 stock markets, among them SGX, NYSE, Nasdaq and NYSE MKT in the US, HKEX, the ASX, the TSX, the London Stock Exchange, Euronext (Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon) and SIX, plus Taiwan (TWSE), Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and China A shares through the Hong Kong Stock Connect.

Deposits and withdrawals

You deposit from a bank account in your own name: PayNow and FAST in Singapore dollars are credited in about 15 minutes; other options include eNETS, bill payment, USD cheques and international telegraphic transfers. Transfers are free except by telegraphic transfer or cheque (a telegraphic-transfer withdrawal costs S$10). Withdrawals not related to trading cost 0.2%, at least S$20 and at most S$100. A missing or wrong payment reference costs S$20.

How your money is held

Client money is kept in a designated trust account at a bank, separate from Phillip Securities’ own funds, and the infosheet states that it is not covered by Singapore’s deposit insurance scheme. No investor compensation scheme is named.

What we could not confirm

• The MAS licence number and any regulator action (the MAS register showed a bot check and the MAS site was unavailable).
• A minimum deposit for either account.
• The currency conversion margin.

We have not tested POEMS with our own account yet; this review will be updated when we do.