Half of Singapore's emerging affluent highly dependent on insufficient savings

The move has proven inadequate as they remain far from financial goal.

For half (58%) of the emerging affluent demographic in Singapore, the savings account is the preferred method by which they can achieve their financial goals, according to a survey by Standard Chartered.

This is higher than the global average (49%) and Hong Kong figures (45%) who opt for the savings route to meet their financial targets despite growing evidence of the inadequacy of the savings scheme.

Also read: Singapore nabbed 28th place in retirement security

Relying on earnings has proven to be unproductive as a quarter of respondents feel that they are either very far or far from their top financial goal which could range from providing for their children’s education, investment property and funds to start a business.

Also read: Almost half of employees in Singapore not satisfied with workload compensation

“Emerging affluent consumers may find that overreliance on savings accounts and earnings risks delaying achievement of financial goals,” Andrew Chia, head of retail banking at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore said in a statement.

Other than savings account, 21% admitted to using fixed deposits, 17% have embraced equity investments and 15% have turned to mutual funds.

Digital money management is also gaining popularity in Singapore with 65% admitting that they have more control over their money and investments thanks to the proliferation of online banking tools.

Half (53%) have even said that they would invest in financial products online with assistance from an on-demand adviser whilst the same number is ready to accept a high level of risk for a high level of return when investing online.

On its fourth year, the Standard Chartered study examines the view of 11,000 emerging affluent consumers from 11 markets across Asia, Africa and Middle East.

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia