Syfe is a Singapore-based robo-advisor offering several portfolios under their Syfe Wealth platform. Syfe offers investors a low-barrier and fuss-free way to invest and build wealth, which can be done seamlessly through their mobile app.

I’ve been using Syfe for a few months now and find their products compelling and their platform and app easy to use especially for beginners and/or passive investors. Some key features of Syfe Wealth:

Source: Syfe

Amongst the Core portfolios offered by Syfe Wealth, the one with highest equity exposure of 100% (hence the name) is the Core Equity100 portfolio.

Source: Syfe

Overview

Syfe Core Equity100 is basically a portfolio of globally-diversified equity ETFs, spanning the US, China and developed markets. Syfe optimises the Core Equity100 portfolio using a smart beta strategy a.k.a. factor-based investing strategy with the aim of gaining better risk-adjusted returns in the long term. Core Equity100 is tilted towards 3 factors – growth, China, and low volatility.

Read more on how Syfe’s Core Equity100 portfolio works here.

Index

Although the component ETFs that make up the Syfe’s Core portfolios track a particular index, the portfolio itself doesn’t. Core portfolios are actually created by Syfe using a 3-step investment process:

Source: Syfe

Holdings

Equity100 hold over 1,500+ stocks through the ETFs in the portfolio. The largest ETF by weight is QQQ at 20% but if you combine CSPX + RSP (both track the S&P 500) that makes up ~30%. MCHI makes up a substantial 11% of the portfolio.

Looking at the top 10 holdings, the notable difference vs global benchmarks (e.g. FTSE Global All Cap Index or MSCI ACWI All Cap Index) is the high weightage to Chinese tech stocks Tencent and Alibaba. Besides the US Big Tech stocks, the rest of the holdings are defensive stocks like PG, PEP and COST. In contrast, MCSI ACWI All Cap Index has UNH, JNJ, BRK.A and NVDA outside the Big Tech stocks and no Chinese stocks in the top 10.

In terms of sectors, the biggest exposure is to IT similar to global benchmarks. However, Equity100 is overweight Consumer Staples and underweight Financials pretty substantially.

In terms of geographical exposure, Equity100 is substantially overweight China vs global benchmarks.

Source: MSCI ACWI All Cap Index factsheet

Performance

Equity100 actually has a pretty impressive return, beating its benchmark (MSCI World Index) over most trailing periods except the past 1 year as the market declined. Equity100 is returning 10+% annualised returns for more than 3-year holding periods.

Disclaimer: Past performance are not a guarantee for future performance.

Dividend

Dividends received from the various ETFs in the portfolio are automatically reinvested when the amounts reaches an economically viable investment level. For more details, read the FAQ here.

Fees

Syfe has a simple fee structure, charging just one all-in fee according to how much funds or AUM you have with them. Fees start at 0.65% per annum and progressively reduces to 0.4% if you have more than S$100K of funds with them. 

There’s also an additional tier for AUM >S$500K called Private Wealth (which I assume is Platinum). Syfe will even have a dedicated Wealth Expert for you at this tier.

Source: Syfe

There’s even a neat calculator on their website which helps you calculate the annual fees depending on AUM. At the entry-level blue tier, S$10K in UAM will attract fees of S$5.42 annually @ 0.65% p.a. which doesn’t seem expensive.

For Equity100, also note that the underlying ETFs also carry management fees encompassed in their respective expense ratios, but those are charged at the fund level and not charged directly to you.

My Thoughts

I like the heavier exposure Syfe Core Equity100 offers to growth stocks and China, which mirrors quite closely to my investment views as well. The only 1 out of 3 factor tilts I currently don’t have is the low-volatility tilt. My closest exposure for that is SCHD, which I’ve only recently initiated a small position in.

I also like the simplicity in fee structure and the automation investing through a robo-advisor like Syfe brings, i.e. dividend reinvesting and portfolio rebalancing.

Syfe also allows me to set up recurring transfers from Cash+ to Equity100 which happens monthly around the 7th of the month. I just have to ensure Cash+ is sufficiently funded through scheduled transfers from my bank account. Once all that is set up, the whole process happens automatically without my intervention.

For transparency, currently I have set up 2 recurring monthly transfers of $200 each to Core Equity100 and REIT+ portfolios. If these portfolios perform well, I may consider upping the amounts later on.

By investing through Syfe, I don’t intend to replace my existing DIY portfolio but rather as a supplement. The advantage of DIY is flexibility and lower cost but if Syfe can prove to be better performing over a long period, the higher cost might be worth it.

I’ve also written a review for Syfe REIT+ previously, read here.

Referral Code

If you’re interested to sign up for a Syfe Wealth or Syfe Trade account, you can use my referral code SRPT47KQL to earn rewards listed below as long as you meet the qualifying criteria. Enjoy!

Reference Articles

Syfe has a lot of useful and informative articles on their website covering their investing strategy and investing basics. Here are a few:

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. I am not professional financial advisor nor do I work in the finance industry. Anything I write here is purely my personal opinion. Please do your own research and due diligence before investing into anything. All investments come with associated risks. Best to consult a financial advisor if you’re still unsure.

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