What happens when you buy a Singapore fund

The investor deals with the fund’s manager, and the trustee or registrar enters the investor on the fund’s own register.

Not in the public record How the trustee reports cleared money to the manager, who sends the confirmation note, and whether the register must be updated first are not stated in either prospectus. Fullerton’s own Application Form is not covered, so the payment steps follow the United SGD Fund prospectus and Lion Global’s form.

The investor is a customer of the platform, which places one order with the manager for all its customers.

Not in the public record Platforms set their own cut-offs and settlement times, so only FSM Global’s stated figures are shown. Which account receives the pooled money is not stated.

A representative recommends a fund, or is asked for one, and the firm they act for places the order, directly or through a platform.

Not in the public record The Schroder arrangement and the two banks’ terms are the only examples read, and a licensed adviser firm that is not a bank may work differently. On investment-linked policies, only Etiqa’s contracts and Prudential’s fund booklet were read for voting. No source read says how the firm passes the money to the trustee, or what share of the charges a representative keeps. Advisers must disclose their remuneration to the client, but it is not published.

A digital adviser takes the investor’s deposit, picks and rebalances the holdings itself, and places the orders through a broker or custodian. The investor holds a claim on the adviser’s records, not units on a fund’s register.

Not in the public record The three firms hold different kinds of assets and describe their trades differently, so the diagram draws only what they all state. None says how the broker confirms settlement to the adviser.

A company, fund or other large buyer applies to the manager on its Application Form, pays the trustee by cheque or transfer, and is entered on the register by name, usually into a class built for large sums.

Not in the public record How a global custodian places a fund order for an institution is not in any document read, nor is the institutional share of authorised fund assets, and MAS’s 2025 survey has no split. No class read is defined by these legal categories, so which buyers qualify is the manager’s call.

Most investors never use this route. Only a participating dealer or an approved applicant can ask the manager for new units, in blocks of 500,000, or 50,000 for cash. Everyone else buys existing units on SGX.

Not in the public record The participating dealers are not named in the documents read. The prospectus does not say how the dealer learns the units are issued, how CDP confirms the deposit, or how the trustee reports back to the manager. It also describes no step that reconciles the trustee’s register with CDP’s records.

In your own CDP account you are the named depositor, so the Act treats you as the holder of the units. You hold a pro rata share of what CDP holds, not specific shares. A broker’s custody account is the alternative, where the broker is the named depositor instead.

Not in the public record How and when the investor funds the broker is set by the broker’s own terms. The public CDP rules start at the clearing member.

In a broker’s custody account the broker is the named depositor, and the Act treats it as a bare trustee for you. You hold a pro rata share of its holding, and how votes and payments reach you depends on the broker’s own terms. Since 14 July 2026 it may pool its clients in one omnibus account.

Not in the public record A depository agent must disclose its account structure to a retail client before depositing the client's securities. What each broker discloses is in its own terms.

The investor asks the manager to buy the units back at net asset value, and the proceeds follow.

Not in the public record Neither prospectus read says whether the manager sends a confirmation of the sale.

The investor sells on the platform, which sends the manager one realisation for all its customers.

Not in the public record Platforms set their own sell cut-offs and payout times. FSM Global states a purchase completes on T+4, and the pages read give no payout time for a sale.

The firm that sold the fund places the sale, directly or through a platform.

Not in the public record The two banks’ terms are the only examples read. No source says how a non-bank firm passes the proceeds to its client, or how fast a bank does it for cash.

The investor asks the adviser to withdraw. The adviser sells the holdings it picks, and the proceeds go back to the investor’s account, usually after several business days.

Not in the public record DBS does not state a payout time, and what Saxo takes to settle a StashAway ETF sale is not stated. None of the three says whether a sale is confirmed separately.

A company, fund or other large holder sells by sending the manager a realisation form from its named account. The class it holds sets any minimum holding, and the proceeds are due within seven business days.

Not in the public record How a global custodian places a sale for an institution and the account that receives the proceeds are not in any document read.

Most investors never use this route. They sell on SGX. Only a participating dealer or an approved applicant can ask the manager to redeem units, in blocks of 500,000, or 50,000 for cash. The dealer gets the index shares plus or minus cash, or cash only.

Not in the public record The participating dealers are not named in the documents read. The prospectus does not say how the trustee confirms the redemption to the manager or the dealer.

In your own CDP account you are the named depositor, so the Act treats you as the holder of the units. You hold a pro rata share of what CDP holds, not specific shares. A broker’s custody account is the alternative, where the broker is the named depositor instead.

Not in the public record How and when the investor funds the broker is set by the broker’s own terms. The public CDP rules start at the clearing member.

In a broker’s custody account the broker is the named depositor, and the Act treats it as a bare trustee for you. You hold a pro rata share of its holding, and how votes and payments reach you depends on the broker’s own terms. Since 14 July 2026 it may pool its clients in one omnibus account.

Not in the public record A depository agent must disclose its account structure to a retail client before depositing the client's securities. What each broker discloses is in its own terms.