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Guide to Funds and Unit Trusts
What are Funds?
A fund pools money from a group of investors to invest in a range of assets based on the fund’s investment objective. Funds are professionally managed by fund managers, and successful investments add value to a fund and their returns are distributed back to investors.
This form of collective investment gives rise to economies of scale and access to a wider range of assets that may not always be available to an individual investor. At the point of investment, each investor receives units of the fund based on the amount invested; this is why the terms "fund" and "unit trust" are often used interchangeably. Sometimes, "mutual fund" is also used to describe this form of investment.
Funds are a collection of different assets and they commonly invest in equity (stocks) or debt instruments (bonds) or a mix of both. To reduce risks, these assets are diversified across geographical markets and industry types.
Types of Funds
| They invest in company stocks and may have a particular focus, such as geography, sector or strategy (growth or income).
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| They invest in a range of debt instruments, such as bonds, loans and asset-backed securities.
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| They are a hybrid of equity and fixed income funds. By investing in equity and debt instruments, their objectives are both growth and income.
An example of a balanced fund would be the Global Multi-Asset Income (GMAI) solution |
| They invest in short-term debt instruments such as repos, treasury bills and commercial paper. They may be issued by governments, municipalities and corporations.
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Benefits
Professional management | Fund managers have greater access to investment information and tools. You can benefit from their expertise and full-time attention given to research and monitoring. |
Risk management | Investing in diversified assets helps to spread risks. |
Liquidity | Most funds can be redeemed daily, freeing up cash when you need it. |
Affordability | Investments start from just SGD100/month or a minimum lump sum of SGD1,000. |
Greater diversification | A bigger investment capital pooled from a group of investors can achieve greater risk diversification. |
How to Invest
Use the Fund Search tool to view and select your preferred funds.
Note: If you need physical copies of the Unit Trust offer documents, please speak to your relationship manager.
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