No, you can use your existing FSM Global investment account to invest in bonds.

Market Order is an order to transact based on any prevailing market price that we obtained from our counterparty.

Range Order is an order to transact only if the price of Bonds as obtained from the counterparty is within the stipulated minimum and maximum price range you are willing to transact at.  We will attempt to transact based on the stipulated minimum and maximum price range for 4 business days from the day your order is received. If your price range is not met within these 4 days, your order will be deemed unfulfilled.

Limit Order is an order to transact only if the price of Bonds as obtained from the counterparty matches your preferred price. We will attempt to meet your stipulated price for 4 business days from the day your order is received. If your stipulated price is not met within these 4 days, your order will be deemed unfulfilled.

The cut off time to process a bond order is before 5pm (Singapore time) on any business day. Order(s) placed on/after 5pm on a business day or on a non-business day will be processed on the next business day.

If you select Market order, the bond order will be fulfilled, subjected to the Bond’s available liquidity. If you select Range Order, it will be dependent on whether we can match the order within the stipulated minimum and maximum price range. Limit Order, it is dependent on whether we can match the order within the limit price. All unfulfilled orders will expire after 4 business days.

FSM Global will execute the bond transaction through the secondary market with our counterparty, and the transacted price will be based on the best price available.

Yes, you will receive a confirmation note in your FSM Global Inbox.

Not necessary, you can always sell the bond at anytime you wish.

SGS Bonds
The buy Transaction date (T) of your purchase has to be 8 business days before the payout date to entitle for coupon payout.

Wholesale Bonds
The bond buy order has to be completed and reflected in your account before the bond coupon payment date to entitle for coupon payout.

Retail Bonds
The bond buy order has to be completed and reflected in your account on or before bond coupon record date to entitle for coupon payout.

Generally, the coupons will be credited into the respective currency Cash Account in around 5 business days. For example, coupons from a SGD-denominated bond will be credited into SGD Cash Account.

If you have opted in to Auto-Sweep Account, your SGD coupon payout will be automatically invested in Auto-Sweep Account to earn potentially higher return. Your coupon will be swept from SGD Cash Account to Auto-Sweep Account one business day after you received the coupon in the SGD Cash Account. Coupon in other currencies will remain in the respective currency Cash Account.

Upon maturity, the proceeds will be credited into the respective currency Cash Account(s) in around 2 business days.

If you have opted in to Auto-Sweep Account, your SGD proceeds will be automatically invested in Auto-Sweep Account to earn potentially higher return. Your proceeds will be swept from SGD Cash Account to Auto-Sweep Account one business day after you received it in the SGD Cash Account. Proceeds in other currencies will remain in the respective currency Cash Account.

If you wish to withdraw money from your Cash Solutions after you received the proceeds, you may do so by going to Cash > Withdrawal to Linked Bank/iFAST Global Bank.

A processing fee (for each buy and sell) and platform fee apply to bonds on our platform. Please click here to view the applicable rates.

We will calculate based on the average daily Assets Under Management (AUM) of your bond holdings in the preceding quarter and multiply it by the respective platform fee rates to derive the actual platform fee amount.

The quarterly platform fee will be deducted during the months of March, June, September and December. Payment of the platform fee will follow this sequence.

1. FSM Cash Account (SGD),  or
2. Auto-Sweep Account, or
3. Nikko AM Shenton ShortTerm Bond S$, or
4. Cash Fund, or
5. Best performing fund

Note:
- Quarterly platform fees will be deducted using only one of the methods listed above. If the fee exceeds the balance in the Cash Account, it will be fully deducted from the next available method (e.g., Auto-Sweep Account, and so on). The full quarterly fee will be deducted in a single transaction.
- For methods 2 to 5, the number of units to be deducted will be based on the price as of the last working day of the billing quarter. If that price is unavailable at the time of deduction, the latest available price will be used instead.
- A pro-rated platform fee may be incurred in the event of a full sell or transfer-out, and it will be deducted using methods 1 or 2. If there are insufficient funds, the fee will be deducted from the proceeds of the sold or transferred holdings.

The Quarterly Platform Fee Invoice will be posted in FSM Global Inbox around second week of March, June, September and December.

Yes, Non-Singapore Residents are able to invest in bonds but U.S. Citizens/Residents are restricted from doing so.

Securities are held on your behalf by iFAST and/or its appointed Custodian, hence the Securities are not registered in your name.

Your bond holdings are held under a custody account with iFAST Financial Pte Ltd (‘iFAST’), a licensed custodian under the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

For SGX-listed Retail Bonds, SGS / SG T-Bills, iFAST is a CDP Approved Depository Agent (DA) so we will also maintain a sub-account with CDP on behalf of each client, even though the above listed bonds are held with iFAST.

Non-US Sourced Income bonds:
Coupon payment from bonds are not taxable.

US Sourced Income bonds:
Form W-8BEN is required to process your coupon payments. Some bonds (eg. preference shares) might be subjected to withholding tax.

For more information, please refer to https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nra-withholding or consult a professional tax adviser.

A U.S. Source Income bond is issued by a corporate / non-corporate issuer that derives its income within the United States.

To trade in U.S. source income bonds, you are required to complete Form W-8BEN to certify your non-US tax status.

Log in to your account > Account Settings > Click on "W-8BEN Declaration (U.S. Trading Service & U.S. Source Income Bond)". This electronic method is the fastest and easiest way to declare your non-US tax status. You will also be able to check the expiration of the declaration or use this page to re-declare your non-US tax status when it expires.

Upon declaring your non-US tax status using our electronic method, you may be required to send us an additional Form W-8BEN with your signature for our records.

For beneficiary accounts, you will need to submit Form W-8BEN for the main and beneficiary account holder respectively.

Form W-8BEN is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form that certifies the Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting. Submission of this form is compulsory if you intend to invest in US securities.

Please note that the Form W-8BEN cannot be used by certain persons as prescribed in the form and is generally applicable only if you are an individual and a non-US tax resident. This should not be construed as tax advice and please consult a professional tax adviser for tax-related questions.

If a change in circumstances makes any information on the Form W-8BEN incorrect, you must re-submit the appropriate form within 30 days of the change in circumstances.

Yes, please ensure you have sufficient balance in your FSM Cash Solutions (Cash Account or Auto-Sweep Account) before placing your buy order. Please click here for the payment instructions.

Yes you can. Wholesale Bonds are available to either Accredited Investors (AIs) or anyone who transacts a minimum investment amount of at least SGD 200,000 (or its equivalent in foreign currency) in a single order. However, do note that some bonds are only available for Accredited Investors (AIs).

The Form W-8BEN is valid for 3 years starting from the date of declaration to the last day of the third succeeding calendar year e.g. Form W-8BEN signed on 31st Oct 2017 remains valid through 31st Dec 2020.

If there is a change in circumstances that makes any information on the previous Form W-8BEN  incorrect, you must complete a new Form W-8BEN. This should not be construed as tax advice and please consult a professional tax adviser for tax-related questions.