Why did I spend more than $600 to transfer my stocks from one brokerage to another?

Just to share a bit before discussing my take on Ant Group’s IPO. Received quite a bit of this query and thought of replying it here. Will also answer this question together with the common question I receive “Which brokerage do you use?” I am currently using multiple brokerages: Kim Eng / Standard Charted Brokerage (SCB) / Phillip Securities (POEMS) / Interactive Brokers (IB) / TD Ameritrade. I have holdings in so many brokerages due to legacy issues, a mistake during my younger days for not planning ahead. I just went through the trouble of transferring stocks and to consolidate in IB, POEMS & SCB moving forward. Have been procrastinating to do the transfer as it is quite costly to do so (around S$60 per counter transfer fee). The fees and hassle have been deterring me for quite some time....