2 Singapore REIT ETFs All Investors Should Know About

Singapore real estate investment trusts (better known as REITs) are a popular investment option. Singapore REITs, as a term, can also be shortened further and be referenced simply as S-REITs.

But if we don't want to pick individual S-REITs, the easy answer is to just buy a REIT ETF. 

Remember that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are great vehicles for investors to get exposure to many different companies at one time. In this case, it would be getting exposure to REITs.

So, here are the two biggest REIT ETFs listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) that all investors should know about.

1) Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF

The Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF is a 100% Singapore-focused ETF, meaning all the REITs that are actually inside the ETF are listed in Singapore.

The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.6% and it pays out dividends to shareholders twice a year.

In terms of the assets under management (AUM) of the ETF, this number is around 316 million Singapore dollars.

Some of the top holdings in the ETF are Singapore REITs we’d be familiar with, such as CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U), Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U) and Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU).

2) NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF 

The NikkoAM-StraitsTrading REIT ETF is, as the name suggests, an ETF that gives you some exposure to REITs listed outside of Singapore.

Primarily these other REITs are in Hong Kong and India, although Singapore-listed REITs on the SGX still make up around 75% of the ETF. 

The ETF has a total expense ratio of 0.55% and it pays dividends to shareholders four times a year.

It also happens to be the largest ETF listed on the Singapore Exchange with an AUM of around 339 million Singapore dollars. 

Buying Singapore REIT ETFs for the long term

For Singapore investors, if you want to buy an ETF for REITs, these are the two largest Singapore REIT ETFs that are listed here.

You should remember that by ETF standards, an expense ratio (or annual fee) of 0.55-0.6% is relatively high but one advantage is that you can actually buy single shares of ETFs in Singapore.

That means you don’t need a huge amount of money to purchase these REIT ETFs, which is great whether you’re just starting out investing or already an experienced investor.