Okay so quite a few of you have asked me about the 4 Xtrackers ETFs listing on SGX on 13 October. S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, MSCI World, and S&P 500 Equal Weight. All 4 are Irish-domiciled, trade in SGD, and can be bought with SRS money. Why does Irish-domiciled matter? Because if you hold US-listed ETFs like VOO or SPY, you are paying 2 taxes to the IRS. 30% of every dividend, and up to 40% of the portfolio when you die. An Irish-domiciled ETF fixes both. So in this article I’ll cover:

1. What the 2 taxes actually cost
2. The 4 ETFs – which to buy, which to skip
3. Whether to buy them on SGX, or stick with CSPX and VUAA in London

Tax 1 – the US estate tax: S$317,000 on a S$1 million portfolio Singapore has no estate duty. The US does – and it applies to foreigners holding US assets. US stocks. US-listed ETFs. Even the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (S27) on SGX, because the fund itself is American....