Singapore has one of the world’s highest smartphone penetration rates (I mean, look at how fast Pokémon Go caught on here) and the vast majority of us have internet connectivity. Similarly, many of our local brokers also offer easy access to invest in a plethora of foreign markets.

Singapore’s market is naturally where we would start our investing journey and many of us trade or invest in companies listed on the SGX. However, consider the size of Singapore’s market; like the country itself, it’s puny compared to other financial centers we actively compete against.

1. Size

Our total market capitalization as of June 2016 is about S$898 billion, it sounds like a lot but Apple’s market cap alone sits at around US$579 billion (S$780 billion) and that’s just one stock. It’s an unfair comparison but it just illustrates how small we are compared to the behemoths out there. We will ...