Money market exchange-traded funds and short-term fixed income funds are drawing increased interest from Singapore investors amid economic and market uncertainties.
Figures from the Investment Management Association of Singapore show that money market funds, including money market ETFs, attracted 60% of the S$6.3 billion (US$4.9 billion) of total inflows into all fund types in the first half of 2025.
At Phillip Capital Management, the Phillip Capital SGD Money Market ETF, Singapore’s first, grew nearly 75% in 2025, better than the 52% increase for its traditional money market fund, according to Sabrina Loh, fixed income director at the local asset management firm.
The ETF was listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2020. Its underlying assets are largely short-term bills issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the city state’s central bank.
Loh attributes the growth of money market ETFs to a stronger local dollar as investors diversified away from US dollar assets after President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs in April. The Singapore currency has gained 5% against the US dollar since April 2025.
“A money market ETF is definitely a good tool for you to keep cash, for you to pause and take a view of the market, so all these [economic and market changes] actually contributed to the reason for strong, good inflow into the ETF market,” she says.
Low risk
Another short-term fixed income ETF that has performed well is the LionGlobal Short Duration Bond Fund. Listed in September, it raised S$140 million at the initial public offering and has grown to S$190 million.
According to Kang Wei Chin, director of securities trading at SGX Group, investors are using ETFs to “park a lot of their excess cash because short-term bond ETFs are considered lower risk compared to other fixed income ETFs because of the shorter duration”.
He says money market ETFs are among the bourse’s top 20 ETFs, with more than S$200 million of assets under management, driven by demand from both retail and institutional investors as well as robo advisers.
Robo advisers
Loh says one of the reasons for launching the Phillip money market ETF was to cater to robo advisers, which had been seen as a market growth segment.
However, she says this expected growth has yet to play out. Although the ETF’s current assets of S$202 million was up from S$70 million at the launch, the figure is still far short of the S$1 billion targeted by the firm. Market reports indicate that robo advisers have high client acquisition costs but that the revenue yield on client assets is low.
Still, Loh remains optimistic about money market ETFs, and predicts the Phillip fund will grow 35% in the next three years.
“I think if the history repeats itself, we will always see growth in money markets [funds]. It’s whether the growth is flat or slow, but it is definitely there because it’s all about liquidity. And when more investors can understand the product and have a good experience, that will continue the growth,” she says.
