MoneyOwl WiseSaver Review: The 4% Hidden Gem In Rising Interest Rate Environment

Inflation… Rising interest rate… It seems like the perfect storm is upon us. No better time than now to make our cash pile work harder for us, right? This little MoneyOwl WiseSaver review by me will help you to understand a little more about this hidden gem that has been yielding me 3% to 4%.

MoneyOwl WiseSaver Review: Introduction

Be it emergency cash that is sitting in a bank account, or dry powder that we’re waiting to deploy into the equities market when we finally decide to get our hands dirty, MoneyOwl WiseSaver is an excellent tool to have at our disposal.

When it comes to holding my liquid funds, I currently utilize the following platforms :

• GXS Bank (3.5%)
• Singapore Savings Bonds (2.6% to 3.0%)
• Singlife Account (2.0%)
• Trust Bank (1.5% to 2.0%)

Apart from these three, I’m also using MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver – so what is it?

What is MoneyOwl WiseSaver?

MoneyOwl WiseSaver is a cash management account by MoneyOwl, which invests in Singapore Dollar bank deposits to provide higher returns than normal bank savings accounts. It is designed for parking spare cash, emergency funds, and “dry powder” for investing, and offers liquidity with no lock-in period, allowing for withdrawals whenever needed

With it, I can potentially earn higher returns with the flexibility to withdraw my funds whenever I need them.

1. What is MoneyOwl WiseSaver’s current yield?

You can head over to MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver page to check what is the current rate.

The screenshot below illustrates the 5-day Moving Average as of June 2023 is currently 4.09% p.a.

Do take note that this is the 5-day moving average. When you transfer funds into WiseSaver, you are not locking in any rate.

The gross yield CAN and WILL change with time, because these fluctuations are a result of the underlying market and economic conditions.

2. What about robo-advisors’ cash-management solutions?

When we look at cash management funds by robo-advisors, they usually consist of a combination of fixed deposits, high-quality government and corporate debt instruments, and short-term bond funds.

Remember 2021? Last year hasn’t been kind to cash management solutions with events relating to Huarong Finance as well as the Evergrande contagion, just to name a few.

They are considered slightly higher risk instruments due to the exposure to interest rate risk and credit default risk.

While they would rarely have a period of negative performance, it isn’t impossible.

The key question to ask is this – what is your fundamental goal of cash investments? If it is capital preservation at all costs, you would put the most importance on the instrument being risk-free.

To me, Singapore Savings Bonds, banks, fixed deposits, and MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver would probably fit the bill for having the lowest risk, along with Singtel Dash PET and Singlife of course.

Most of us are familiar with SSBs and fixed deposits already, but where does the yield for MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver come from?

3. Understanding where the yield comes from

The underlying instrument of the MoneyOwl WiseSaver is the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund.

Learn more → Things Not To Miss About MoneyOwl WiseSaver (Fullerton SGD Cash Fund) Before Investing

That’s right – only a single money market fund is used. No bonds here.

The Fullerton SGD Cash Fund is managed by Fullerton Fund Management.

From MoneyOwl’s website, I understand that since 2009, the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund holds its assets primarily in Singapore Dollar Deposits (varying terms of maturity not more than 366 working days) with eligible local financial institutions and short-term Singapore Government Treasury Bills.

Fullerton then rolls over monies received from matured FDs and reinvests them in the latest FD contracts to keep up with the most competitive yield available in the current rising interest rate environment.

This also means that when the interest rate drops, so will the yield for MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver.

As you can see from the factsheet above, the fund size is a whopping SGD$1.5 billion as of 31st July 2022.

Like me, you may tend to be wary of investing in funds that are really small in size, but I would definitely have no concerns with this one.

4. Is MoneyOwl safe? Who owns Fullerton Fund Management?

In terms of safety, you might be curious about the owners of Fullerton Fund Management. Found the following information on MoneyOwl and Fullerton’s website.

Fullerton Fund Management is an Asia-based investment specialist, with capabilities that span equities, fixed income, multi-asset, treasury management and alternatives, including private equity.

The firm was incorporated in Singapore in 2003 and is a subsidiary of Temasek, and NTUC Income became its minority shareholder in 2018.

OK, I guess that settles it for me.

Let’s quickly recap the main points for MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver by referring to the below image –

Is MoneyOwl’s WiseSaver the best option right now?

Well, it has pretty good rates (for now) and very low risk.

5. Liquidity And Withdrawal Of Funds

A MoneyOwl WiseSaver review would not be complete without answering this frequently asked question. How long does it actually take to withdraw money from MoneyOwl? On the liquidity side of things, the MoneyOwl official website listed 1-2 business days before a withdrawal is completed, which is good enough for me.

To verify that the information is accurate, I personally tested a WiseSaver withdrawal myself in June 2023 and found that it took only 24 hours for it to be processed on a weekday.

I made a withdrawal request on the morning of a Monday and received my money in my bank account on the following morning.

Not quite the instantaneous withdrawal that Singlife and Singtel Dash PET offer, but still – it is very, very ideal.

For me, I’m happy to spread my funds between the different platforms (and stablecoins) so that I’ll always have some liquid funds if I ever need them.

Hopefully, my straightforward MoneyOwl WiseSaver review has shed a little light on what this investment instrument can do for you.

Don’t forget to check out my follow-up write-up on the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund on all the important things to know about it!

MoneyOwl Referral Code: $20-$60 Grab Voucher

Just like other personal finance platforms, MoneyOwl has a referral program that grants you some benefits when you start using them.

At no additional cost to you, my MoneyOwl referral link (2WTS-83YN) would give your MoneyOwl portfolio a head-start when you decide to start an investment portfolio with them – and this MoneyOwl promotion includes WiseSaver too!

Referral terms and conditions here for full disclosure.

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Kevin

Kevin started Turtle Investor when his net worth languished at negative $25,755. His desire to turn things around led him to build passive income from investments and side hustles that pay for all his daily expenses and overseas vacations. You can learn more about Kevin here.