Sunday, August 24, 2025

ETF comparison

 


  US-Domiciled : 30% dividend tax
Irish-Domiciled : 15% dividend tax

U.S.-domiciled vs Ireland-domiciled ETF estate tax comparison:


Criteria U.S.-Domiciled ETF Ireland-Domiciled ETF (UCITS)
Estate Tax Exposure Yes – considered U.S.-situs property; subject to U.S. estate tax. No – Irish-domiciled, not U.S.-situs; not subject to U.S. estate tax.
Exemption Threshold Only US$60,000 exemption; above this, U.S. estate tax up to 40% applies. Not applicable; no U.S. estate tax filing required.
Dividend Withholding Tax 30% on U.S. dividends for Singapore investors (non-treaty country). 15% effective rate via U.S.–Ireland tax treaty inside the fund.
Singapore Context Singapore has no estate duty – U.S. estate tax is the main risk. Same – but Ireland domicile avoids the U.S. estate tax risk entirely.
Community / Expert View Generally discouraged by global investors due to estate tax trap and higher dividend tax. Widely recommended for non-U.S. investors (e.g. CSPX, VWRA, VUAA) to avoid U.S. estate tax.

Quick notes (context you may find useful):

  • Singapore currently has no estate duty, so the key exposure here is the U.S. estate tax if you hold U.S.-situs assets directly (including U.S.-domiciled ETFs). (IRS)

  • Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs also tend to be dividend-efficient for U.S. stocks (15% treaty rate inside the fund vs 30% if you hold U.S.-domiciled ETFs directly as a Singapore tax resident), but that’s a dividend withholding point, not estate tax. (No Money Lah)




Feature
S&P 500 ETF (e.g., SPY, VOO) NASDAQ ETF (e.g., QQQ, QQQM)
Index Tracked S&P 500 (500 large US companies) NASDAQ-100 (100 largest non-financial companies on NASDAQ)
Sector Exposure Broad: Tech, Healthcare, Financials, Industrials, etc. Tech-heavy: Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, etc.
Diversification More diversified More concentrated (especially in tech)
Volatility Lower Higher
Dividend Yield Typically higher (~1.3–1.6%) Lower (~0.5–0.8%)
Growth Potential Slower, more stable Faster, more aggressive growth

Historical Performance (approximate annualized 10-year return)
  • S&P 500 ETF (VOO, SPY): ~11–12%

  • NASDAQ ETF (QQQ): ~14–16%

Suggested Strategy

  • Balanced approach: Some investors split 60% S&P 500 and 40% NASDAQ to balance stability with growth.

  • Dollar-cost averaging: Invest over time to reduce timing risk.


Index / ETF Annualized Return (20-Year) Notes
S&P 500 (e.g., VOO, SPY) ~9.5% – 10.0% Includes broad US market exposure
NASDAQ-100 (e.g., QQQ) ~12.5% – 13.5% Strong tech-driven performance

 


Comparing S&P500 ETF (Irish-domiciled), SPYL vs CSPX
Feature SPYL CSPX
Full Name SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc) iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)
Ticker Symbol SPYL CSPX
Domicile Ireland (UCITS) Ireland (UCITS)
Index Tracked S&P 500 Index S&P 500 Index
Structure Accumulating (dividends reinvested) Accumulating (dividends reinvested)
Launch Date 31 Oct 2023 (newer fund) 19 May 2010 (long track record)
Assets Under Management (AUM) ~€9.9 bn ~€106 bn
Expense Ratio (TER) 0.03% p.a. (cheapest UCITS S&P 500) 0.07% p.a.
Replication Method Physical (optimised sampling) Physical (optimised sampling)
Liquidity / Trading Volume Growing, but lower than CSPX Very high, extremely liquid
Popularity Gaining traction, attractive due to low fees Most popular UCITS S&P 500 ETF, widely used in SG/EU
Best For Cost-sensitive investors who want the cheapest fee Investors wanting liquidity, proven history, tight spreads
  • SPYL = lowest fee, but newer and smaller.

  • CSPX = more expensive, but highly liquid with a 15-year proven track record.


Saturday, August 2, 2025

If Apple Built a Stock Brokerage, It’d Look Like Longbridge

 If Apple Built a Stock Brokerage, It’d Look Like Longbridge


1. Poor Body Position
Your head or hips may be too high or too low.
If your head lifts to breathe or if your kick pushes your chest upward, it causes your body to seesaw—hips drop, chest rises, and vice versa.

2. Inconsistent Kick Timing
An unsteady or overly powerful kick can create upward and downward thrust rather than driving you forward.
If you’re “bicycle kicking” or not using a compact flutter kick, it adds vertical motion.

3. Pressing Down with the Hand
During the catch, if you press down on the water instead of pressing back, your upper body lifts.
This throws off balance and rhythm.

4. Core Not Engaged
A soft or loose core can’t hold a stable, horizontal line in the water.
You end up flopping or bouncing instead of gliding.

5. Breathing Mistakes
Lifting your head to breathe instead of rotating your body causes a spike in vertical motion.
You might also “pause” your stroke to breathe, which creates a stop-start rhythm that looks like bouncing



Sunday, July 27, 2025

GENIUS Framework

The GENIUS Framework
G – Grind Fast
Move fast. Launch fast. Learn fast.
Instead of overplanning, get something out and improve quickly.

E – Eliminate Bureaucracy
Flatten hierarchies. Kill approval chains.
Empower engineers to make decisions on the ground.

N – Normalize Failure
Mistakes aren’t shameful - they’re feedback.
Celebrate what went wrong if you learn from it faster than others.

I – Iterate Relentlessly
Don’t wait months to make changes.
Use every test, every failure, every micro-feedback to build version 2.0 - fast.

U – Understand the Core Problem
Musk always asks: “What is the fundamental problem we’re solving?”
Go beyond surface fixes. Break the problem down to its physics and rebuild from first principles.

S – Speed of Innovation > Size of Company
Big teams don’t win. Fast-learning teams do.

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Use your Lat

 


Smoot-Hawley Act

The Smoot-Hawley Act, officially known as the Tariff Act of 1930, was a U.S. law that raised tariffs (taxes) on over 20,000 imported goods to historically high levels. It was signed into law on June 17, 1930, by President Herbert Hoover. The act was sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Representative Willis C. Hawley of Oregon, both Republicans, with the intention of protecting American farmers and industries from foreign competition during the early stages of the Great Depression.

The main effects of the Smoot-Hawley Act were:

  1. Increased Tariffs: It raised the average tariff on dutiable imports from about 38% to over 45%, with some rates going much higher. For example, tariffs on agricultural products like butter and wool were significantly increased.
  2. Global Trade Retaliation: Other countries responded by imposing their own tariffs on U.S. goods, leading to a sharp decline in international trade. Canada, a major U.S. trading partner, retaliated almost immediately, and European nations followed suit.
  3. Economic Impact: Historians and economists debate its role in worsening the Great Depression. While it didn’t cause the Depression (which began in 1929), it likely deepened it by choking off global trade. U.S. imports dropped by about 40% between 1930 and 1932, and exports fell similarly.
  4. Political Fallout: The act became a symbol of protectionism gone wrong. It was widely criticized, even at the time—over 1,000 economists signed a petition urging Hoover to veto it. It’s often cited as a lesson in how trade wars can backfire.

The Smoot-Hawley Act was eventually scaled back in the 1930s and 1940s as the U.S. shifted toward freer trade policies under the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934. Today, it’s remembered as a cautionary tale about the dangers of excessive protectionism.

Tariffs: 1930 Versus 2025


Sunday, March 30, 2025

How To Stay In A Streamline Position While Breathing

Make sure to start the next stroke when your leading hand is fully extended in front


 

How to use your lats when you swim



Friday, March 21, 2025

Only Singaporeans get it "SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SGX:S27)"

 Good write up from SG Budget Babe

Summary of the key points from the  article:

  1. Many Singaporeans invest in the S&P 500 via SPY or VOO ETFs listed in the US, unaware of better options locally.
  2. Investing in US-listed ETFs exposes Singaporeans to additional costs: custodian fees, dividend withholding tax (30%), and US estate taxes.
  3. CSPX (UCITS) offers tax advantages but still incurs custodian fees.
  4. Robo-advisors like EndowUs offer access to the S&P 500 using CPF/SRS, but fees can add up.
  5. SGX-listed SPDR S&P 500 ETF (S27) avoids custodian fees and allows SRS and CDP investing.




ETF comparison

  https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/docs/fs_ndx.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R80FtG2kX9o   US-Domiciled : 30% dividend tax Irish-Domicile...