Expense ratio 0.07% · S&P 500
ETFs in Singapore, by what they really cost you
The cheapest ETF on paper is often the most expensive one for a Singaporean. Two funds can track the same index, yet the one with the lower expense ratio can cost you more — because a US-domiciled fund loses 30% of its dividends to US withholding tax (there’s no US-Singapore treaty), while an Irish-domiciled one loses only 15%. This tool ranks each exposure by all-in cost — expense ratio plus that dividend-tax drag — and shows CPF/SRS eligibility and where to buy. Official factsheets only; anything unverifiable is marked, not guessed.
Last verified 24 Jul 2026 · 24 official sources · 20 ETFs across 3 domiciles
Last verified24 Jul 2026
Data version20 ETFs across 3 domiciles
Verified sources24 of 24
- iShares — CSPX product page
- Vanguard — S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- iShares — IUSA product page
- Vanguard — VOO factsheet
- iShares — IVV product page
- SSGA — SPDR S&P 500 (S27) SG page
- SSGA — SPDR MSCI World UCITS
- iShares — IWDA product page
- Vanguard — FTSE All-World UCITS ETF
- iShares — EIMI product page
- iShares — CNDX product page
- Invesco — EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS
Fund figures were read on each provider's official factsheet or product page; the withholding-tax facts are cited to IRAS, the IRS and the US-Ireland treaty. Dividend yields used in the tax-drag model are approximate market figures — the drag is an educational estimate, not a published fee. Equal treatment: funds are grouped by exposure and ranked purely by computed cost.
What would each ETF really cost you?
The 500 largest US companies — the most-bought single exposure. The cleanest place to see the domicile tax gap.
Ranked by all-in annual cost = expense ratio + dividend-tax drag, on a flat balance. The tax drag is the withholding a Singapore investor bears via the fund’s domicile — the reason two funds tracking the same index can cost very differently. It’s a modelled estimate (official withholding rates × an assumed gross yield), not a published fee; a real portfolio grows, so treat the cumulative figure as a floor.
On S$50,000 over 10 years, choosing iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF over SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust saves about S$1,098 in cost and tax — almost entirely because one is Irish-domiciled and the other US-domiciled.
iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETFCSPX (LSE, USD) · SXR8 (Xetra)Ireland · UCITSAcc
S$1,325 over 10yr (0.265%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.07%Dividend-tax drag 0.195% · 15% at fund level
iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETFIUSA (LSE, USD)Ireland · UCITSDist
S$1,325 over 10yr (0.265%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.07%Dividend-tax drag 0.195% · 15% at fund level
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETFVUAA (LSE, USD)Ireland · UCITSAcc
S$1,325 over 10yr (0.265%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.07%Dividend-tax drag 0.195% · 15% at fund level
iShares Core S&P 500 ETFIVV (NYSE Arca)USADist
S$2,100 over 10yr (0.42%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.03%Dividend-tax drag 0.39% · 30% (no US-SG treaty)
Vanguard S&P 500 ETFVOO (NYSE Arca)USADist
S$2,100 over 10yr (0.42%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.03%Dividend-tax drag 0.39% · 30% (no US-SG treaty)
SPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSPY (NYSE) · S27 (SGX, USD)USADistSGX: S27
S$2,423 over 10yr (0.485%/yr)
Expense ratio 0.095%Dividend-tax drag 0.39% · 30% (no US-SG treaty)
Domicile, tax and eligibility at a glance
| Fund | Domicile | SGX | CPF-OA | SRS | Dividend WHT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETFCSPX (LSE, USD) · SXR8 (Xetra) | Ireland (UCITS) | — | — | ✓ | 15% at fund level |
| Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETFVUAA (LSE, USD) | Ireland (UCITS) | — | — | ✓ | 15% at fund level |
| iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETFIUSA (LSE, USD) | Ireland (UCITS) | — | — | ✓ | 15% at fund level |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETFVOO (NYSE Arca) | USA | — | — | — | 30% (no US-SG treaty) |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETFIVV (NYSE Arca) | USA | — | — | — | 30% (no US-SG treaty) |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSPY (NYSE) · S27 (SGX, USD) | USA | S27 | — | ✓ | 30% (no US-SG treaty) |
Every fund in this exposure, verified
Expense ratio 0.07% · S&P 500
Expense ratio 0.07% · S&P 500
Expense ratio 0.03% · S&P 500
Expense ratio 0.03% · S&P 500
Expense ratio 0.095% · S&P 500
Where to buy it monthly (regular savings plans)
POSB / DBS Invest-Saver
From S$100/month into the STI ETF (G3B) and ABF Singapore Bond (A35). Sales charge applies — check the current DBS ETF-RSP schedule.
OCBC Blue Chip Investment Plan
From S$100/month into SGX blue chips and the STI ETF (G3B). Fee: 0.30% of the amount or S$5 per counter, whichever is higher.
FSMOne (iFAST)
RSP across 200+ SGX/US/HK/LSE ETFs; standard SGX ETF trade is a flat S$3.80 commission, no platform fee — the cheapest broadly-available route.
The four things that decide your real ETF cost
1. Domicile beats expense ratioDomicile is the single biggest hidden cost for a Singapore investor. A US-domiciled fund (VOO, SPY/S27) has its dividends withheld at 30% because there is no US-Singapore tax treaty, and it counts as a US asset for US estate tax above just US$60,000. An Irish-domiciled UCITS fund (CSPX, VUAA) only suffers 15% withholding at the fund level under the US-Ireland treaty, nothing further on the way to Singapore, and sits outside US estate tax. On the S&P 500's ~1.3% yield that is roughly a 0.2% per-year head start for the Irish fund — usually more than the expense-ratio difference.
2. Accumulating vs distributingAccumulating vs distributing makes no Singapore tax difference — Singapore taxes neither capital gains nor these foreign dividends. Accumulating reinvests inside the fund (no cash to redeploy, no reinvestment cost); distributing pays you cash you reinvest yourself. For hands-off investors, accumulating is the tidier default.
3. SGX-listed has its own caseSGX-listed ETFs (STI, SG bonds, the money-market and Hong Kong/China funds) trade in SGD with no FX conversion and no US estate-tax exposure, and several are CPF-OA and SRS eligible. Their expense ratios are higher than the giant LSE-listed trackers, but for SGD income and CPF/SRS money they are the natural home.
4. An ETF is not a depositETFs are investments, not deposits — their value moves with the market and they are not covered by the SDIC deposit-insurance or the policyholder-protection schemes. Only the money-market ETF resembles cash, and even that is not deposit-insured.
Withholding rates are official — 30% on US-domiciled funds (US statutory rate, no US-Singapore treaty), 15% inside Irish/UCITS funds (US-Ireland treaty), 0% on Singapore-domiciled funds holding Singapore assets. The gross dividend yields used to turn those rates into an annual % (S&P 500 ~1.3%, World ~1.8%, All-World ~1.9%, Nasdaq ~0.7%) are approximate market figures, so the tax-drag line is an educational estimate, not a published fee. Emerging-market and China/HK withholding is levied per underlying market and is not modelled here.
Also on SGX, not yet in the table: CSOP CSI A500 Index ETF (SGX: SUN) — fee/eligibility not confirmable on the official page at research time; CSOP iEdge Southeast Asia+ TECH (SGX: SQQ/SQU) and Xtrackers MSCI Singapore (SGX: O9A) — listed on SGX; details not audited into this table yet.
Quick answers
Should a Singapore investor buy an Irish-domiciled or US-domiciled S&P 500 ETF?For most Singapore investors, Irish-domiciled (UCITS) is more tax-efficient. Because Singapore has no tax treaty with the US, dividends from a US-domiciled ETF like VOO or SPY are withheld at 30%, while an Irish-domiciled fund such as CSPX or VUAA only suffers 15% at the fund level under the US-Ireland treaty, with nothing further withheld on the way to Singapore. On the S&P 500's roughly 1.3% dividend yield that is about a 0.2% per-year advantage — usually more than the expense-ratio difference. US-domiciled ETFs are also US-situs assets exposed to US estate tax above just US$60,000, which Irish-domiciled funds avoid.
What is the cheapest S&P 500 ETF for a Singaporean?By headline expense ratio the US-domiciled VOO and IVV are cheapest at 0.03%, versus 0.07% for the Irish CSPX and VUAA. But once the 30% versus 15% dividend withholding tax is counted, the Irish funds are cheaper on an all-in basis for a Singapore investor. Our calculator ranks by all-in cost (expense ratio plus modelled dividend-tax drag) so you can see the real order for your amount and horizon.
Accumulating or distributing — which is better?There is no Singapore tax difference: Singapore taxes neither your capital gains nor these foreign dividends. An accumulating ETF reinvests dividends inside the fund automatically (no cash to redeploy, no reinvestment cost); a distributing ETF pays you cash you must reinvest yourself. For hands-off, long-term investors, accumulating is the tidier default; if you want income, choose distributing.
Which ETFs can I buy with CPF or SRS?Among SGX-listed ETFs, the STI ETFs (ES3, G3B), the ABF Singapore Bond fund (A35) and the SGD corporate-bond ETF (MBH) are CPFIS-OA and SRS eligible. The Hong Kong and China ETFs (HST, YYY) are SRS-eligible but not CPF-eligible. The large LSE-listed world trackers (CSPX, IWDA, VWRA) are neither CPF nor CPFIS funds, though some can be bought with SRS via a broker — always confirm on the official page.
Are ETFs protected like bank deposits in Singapore?No. ETFs are investments whose value moves with the market; they are not covered by the SDIC deposit-insurance scheme or the policyholder-protection scheme. Even the SGD money-market ETF, which behaves like cash, is not deposit-insured. Only put money in ETFs that you can leave invested through market falls.
Found your ETF? Now find the cheapest place to buy it
The broker you use changes your cost as much as the fund does — LSE-listed world trackers need a broker with London access, while SGX ETFs can be as little as a flat S$3.80 a trade. We compare every broker’s real fees, FX costs and custody model the same honest way.
Compare broker fees →An ETF is a building block, not a plan
Free and no obligation — an adviser can help you:
- Decide how much of your money belongs in equities at all, alongside your emergency fund, CPF and protection
- Match domicile and CPF/SRS eligibility to how you're actually funding the investment
- Build a mix you can hold through a market fall — the cost of panic-selling dwarfs any expense-ratio gap
Are you an adviser? This is the simple public version. Join AdvisorOS for the advanced calculators, AI-assisted client reviews and the full workspace behind these tools.
Sources
- iShares — CSPX product page
- Vanguard — S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- iShares — IUSA product page
- Vanguard — VOO factsheet
- iShares — IVV product page
- SSGA — SPDR S&P 500 (S27) SG page
- SSGA — SPDR MSCI World UCITS
- iShares — IWDA product page
- Vanguard — FTSE All-World UCITS ETF
- iShares — EIMI product page
- iShares — CNDX product page
- Invesco — EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS
- Invesco — QQQ
- SSGA — SPDR STI ETF (ES3)
- Amova — Singapore STI ETF
- Amova — ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund
- Amova — SGD IG Corporate Bond ETF
- Phillip — SGD Money Market ETF
- Lion Global — Hang Seng TECH ETF
- Lion Global — China Leaders ETF
- IRAS — dividends (foreign dividends not taxed for individuals)
- IRS — US income tax treaties A–Z (Singapore absent)
- IRS — estate tax for nonresidents not citizens (US$60,000 threshold)
- US–Ireland tax treaty (15% dividend article)
General information, not investment or tax advice or a recommendation of any fund. ETF figures were read on the providers’ official factsheets as at 2026-07-24; funds change fees and share classes — confirm on the official page before investing. The dividend-tax drag is an educational estimate combining official withholding rates with approximate market dividend yields, not a published cost, and your own tax position may differ — seek qualified tax advice for your circumstances. ETFs are not deposit-insured. MoneyAtlas has no paid placement in this comparison.