Branded Content
Moving your Singapore share portfolio just got easier
For investors juggling a Central Depository account alongside separate overseas brokerages, Tiger Brokers now offers a way to bring local and international holdings together on one platform
Tiger Brokers’ digital asset transfer service allows investors to consolidate and manage their local and overseas investments through its mobile app.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
It’s a familiar hassle for investors: your Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed stocks sit in a Central Depository (CDP) account, while your overseas investments are held with separate brokerages.
SGX and CDP have now digitised the share transfer process, cutting out much of the paperwork previously required to consolidate these holdings. Through the digital CDP share transfer service on the Tiger Brokers app, an entire CDP portfolio can be transferred in just a few steps.
Investors can then manage and track their local and overseas investments in one place, while also enjoying rewards and benefits offered by the platform.
Manage your investments in one place
For years, many Singapore investors have kept their Singapore-listed stocks in personal CDP accounts, while holding overseas securities in separate brokerage custody accounts. With investments spread across different accounts, investors often have to switch between multiple platforms, making it harder to get a complete picture of their asset allocation and make investment decisions.
Consolidating these investments is now simpler. Investors can transfer both local and overseas holdings to a Tiger Brokers custodial account, allowing them to manage their portfolio on one platform and more easily track their asset allocation, investment performance and overall risk.
Why consolidate your investment portfolio? Here are three potential benefits.
1) Spend less time searching through old statements
Many investors buy stocks and hold them for the long term. Over the years, they may lose track of exactly which stocks they own, their ticker symbols or the number of shares held in their CDP account. When initiating a transfer, they may therefore need to go through old statements to verify their holdings.
Advantages: After transferring stocks from your CDP account to Tiger Brokers, you can manage your local and overseas stock holdings on a single platform. The Tiger Brokers app provides an overview of your portfolio as well as electronic monthly statements, making it easier to monitor performance and manage your asset allocation.
2) Save on fees and lower holding costs
CDP does not directly charge individual investors custody fees, but it does charge brokerage firms custody-related fees. Some brokerages may pass these costs on to clients as account custody fees or other charges. For long-term investors, these fees can accumulate over time and reduce overall investment returns.
Advantages: Tiger Brokers currently does not charge custody fees for Singapore stocks and absorbs the related costs. Clients can transact through a single custody account, simplifying account management while potentially lowering long-term holding costs.
Tiger Brokers Singapore chief executive officer Ian Leong says, “At Tiger Brokers, we believe that long-term investors shouldn’t be penalised for staying the course. Custody fees may seem small individually, but over time they quietly erode the returns that investors have worked hard to build. By offering zero custody fees for Singapore stocks, we want to remove that friction entirely – so our clients can focus on growing their wealth, not managing unnecessary costs.”
3) Access a wider range of wealth management services
When investments are spread across multiple accounts, it can be harder to get a complete view of your portfolio. This can make tracking overall performance, assessing asset allocation and making investment decisions more complicated.
Advantages: By consolidating holdings through Tiger Brokers, investors can get a clearer overview of their portfolio on a single platform and access additional services, including personalised investment insights, asset allocation advice and portfolio management tools.
Eligible securities can also be used as collateral to access financing, giving investors greater flexibility in how they use their capital. Managing investments in one place can also make it easier to track overall performance and maintain a clearer record of the portfolio.
Leong adds, “When your investments are scattered across multiple accounts, you don’t just lose convenience – you lose clarity. Consolidating your portfolio with Tiger Brokers gives investors a single, comprehensive view of their holdings, backed by tools that help them understand their allocation, track performance, and make more confident decisions. We’re not just a trading platform; we’re a partner in helping our clients manage their wealth more intelligently.”
From paper forms to one-click transfers
The move from paper documents and manual verification to a digital transfer process has made portfolio consolidation faster and simpler.
Previously, transferring stocks from a CDP account to a brokerage account required investors to complete and submit a paper CDP Form 4.2 along with supporting documents such as identification. The signature on the application also had to match the one used when the CDP account was opened. A mismatch could result in the application being rejected, leading to further correspondence and a process that could take several weeks.
Investors also had to manually enter the code and number of shares for each stock being transferred, adding another step to the process.
With Tiger Brokers’ digital transfer service, the account information of clients with linked CDP accounts can be retrieved automatically, removing the need to enter these details manually. Applications and identity verification can also be completed within the app.
By selecting “Full Transfer”, clients can submit an application to transfer their entire CDP portfolio without filling in paper forms, verifying signatures or entering each holding individually.
Leong says, “The days of hunting down old signatures and filling out stacks of paperwork just to move your own investments are behind us. We’ve built a fully digital CDP transfer experience that recognises your linked accounts automatically and lets you transfer your entire SGX portfolio in a single tap. What used to take weeks can now be done in minutes – and that’s exactly the kind of experience modern investors deserve.”
Transfer rewards and other benefits
Depending on the value of assets transferred, clients can receive different tiers of cash rewards of up to $3,500, or a complimentary iPhone 17 Pro Max 512GB. There are also no transfer fees for moving local stocks from a CDP account to a Tiger Brokers account.
Clients will also receive 180 days of Singapore Exchange (SGX) secondary market data service, valued at approximately $120. The service provides real-time market depth and buy and sell order data, giving investors more information to assess market conditions, liquidity and trade execution.
Tiger Brokers also reimburses up to $200 in transfer-out fees charged by an investor’s existing broker, so you can switch without worrying about exit costs.
Transferred securities can also be used as collateral to access financing for investments. Tiger Brokers offers Singapore dollar margin financing at annual interest rates as low as 2.80 per cent per annum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are shares from the Singapore (SG), US and Hong Kong (HK) markets transferred from other brokers eligible for transfer-in rewards?
A: Yes. Eligible shares from these markets transferred from other brokers qualify for the transfer-in rewards.
Q: After transferring my shares, will I still receive dividends and corporate action notifications directly?
A: Yes. Tiger Brokers will assist with various corporate actions and send relevant notifications in real time through its mobile app.
Q: Are digital transfers safe?
A: Yes. Digital share transfers are conducted through a secure system with identity verification and data checks. Tiger Brokers (Singapore) holds a Capital Markets Services licence issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and is subject to applicable regulatory requirements, including requirements relating to the custody and safeguarding of client assets.
Q: After transferring shares from CDP to Tiger Brokers, will I still own them?
A: Yes. The transfer only changes the custody arrangement of the shares; it does not change your status as the beneficial owner. After the transfer, the shares will be held in Tiger Brokers’ custody account and kept separate from Tiger Brokers’ own assets in accordance with applicable client asset protection requirements.
Q: After transferring my shares, will I still be able to attend shareholders’ meetings?
A: Yes. You will retain your voting rights and the right to attend Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General Meetings. Tiger Brokers will send relevant meeting and corporate action notifications through the app, allowing you to complete the registration and voting process without paper documents.
Q: Will the commissions and fees change after the transfer?
A: After the transfer, your trades will be subject to Tiger Brokers’ existing commission and fee schedule. Compared with some CDP-linked accounts, Tiger Brokers offers more competitive trading rates and does not charge custody fees for Singapore stocks, which can help lower overall investment costs.
Q: How long does the transfer process take?
A: As long as the information submitted is accurate, the transfer process can usually be completed within about three business days. Previously, CDP transfers involved completing paper forms, signing documents and manually verifying information, and could take several weeks. With SGX’s digital mechanism and Tiger Brokers’ “Full Transfer” function, investors can now complete the submission and verification process within the app.
Consolidate your portfolio
Fully transfer your securities holdings from CDP to Tiger Brokers through the Tiger Brokers app, or visit the Tiger Brokers website to find out more.
Disclaimer: This content does not constitute financial advice. Investment involves risk. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
