Cash and property are the two main asset Singaporeans own. Cash is an expensive asset to hold in terms of the opportunity to generate wealth for big goals such as financing one’s retirement. And unless you own more than one property, it is best to view the one property you have as a consumption asset.

Equities is an asset class that can provide the high average returns needed to build retirement wealth, or any large amount of future wealth for that matter. As we shall see, the average Singaporean fights shy of this important asset class.

A recent survey of investment attitudes of Singaporeans was conducted by BlackRock, a global asset management firm. The research is part of a Global Investor Pulse project which seeks to understand how people across the globe view and plan for their financial future. The Singapore version of this survey also covered aspects of retirement planning.