The Straits Times Index (STI) is probably an index which is very familiar to most investors in Singapore. For many, investing in STI probably marks the first foray (or even a rite of passage) into the investing world for most Singaporean investors.

I'm of no exception too. I remember subscribing into the Share Builders Plan under PhilipCapital to build my portfolio with ES3 (STI ETF) back then when I started investing. I have stopped doing so and began to build my own portfolio comprising of various indexes, ETFs and stocks long time ago. But I'm still aware that some of the fellow investors I know still have STI as part of their portfolio.

Albeit not as many as it used to be.

Why? You might be asking.

In the last decade or so, more and more investors are looking into investments beyond the shores of Singapore. And there's a good reason