Tiger Brokers review: Singapore's best low-cost broker?

Tiger Brokers is a NASDAQ-listed online brokerage platform that is supported by Xiaomi.
They offer customers low-cost access to global markets such as Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, China, and Australia.
On Tiger's platform, investors can trade stocks, ETFs, REITs, options, warrants, futures, funds, and more.

Tiger Brokers was founded in June 2014 as a third-generation pure online broker concentrating on Chinese retail clients both within China and abroad. With a market share of close to 60% among all online brokers for global Chinese investors, and over USD$100 billion in trading volume for the 2020 calendar year, it is quickly becoming the largest online broker for Chinese investors.

Tiger Brokers is governed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Southeast Asia, where they operate a legal brokerage firm under a Capital Markets Services License. Internationally, Tiger Brokers is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Australia's ASIC, and New Zealand's Financial Services Commission (FSPR).

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Tiger Brokers

Highlights

Supports U.S. equities, H.K. equities, ETFs, options, and futures as well as margin trading for investors.
Enjoy some of the most competitive commission fees in the market here at Tiger Brokers to add value to your investing journey.
Holds a Capital Markets Services Licence under the Securities and Futures Act issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Tradable assets

Stocks. Tiger Brokers is an online brokerage platform that allows you to trade stocks from Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, and China.
ETFs. In addition to US and Singapore ETFs, Tiger Brokers' Tiger Trade platform offers access to Singapore's first China-focused dividend-paying ETF. This ETF allows investors to participate in China's growth narrative by adding Chinese stocks to their portfolio in a simple and cost-effective manner.
Mutual funds. Investors can subscribe to and redeem a wide selection of mutual funds in the Fund Mall using Tiger Trade's all-in-one account, adding easy and instant diversification to their portfolios without having to open a separate, non-linked account.
Futures. Tiger Brokers' futures platform allows you to trade in 8 different asset classes: index futures, metal futures, forex futures, equity futures, treasury futures, energy futures, agriculture futures, and Bitcoin futures.
Options. Tiger offers both call and put options to its investors.
Warrants. A warrant is a right rather than a liability. It is used to buy (call warrant) or sell (put warrant) the underlying stocks, which can include stocks, currencies, and indexes, at a pre-determined strike price on the expiry date.
CBBCs. Tiger Brokers investors that purchase a callable bull contract are bullish on the underlying asset's prospects and aim to profit from its future price growth.
REITs. Tiger Brokers REITs are funds that invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate assets such as retail malls, offices, or hotels, with the goal of generating income for the fund's unit holders.

Tradable markets

Tiger Brokers clients can invest and trade in the following global marketplaces:

Stocks, warrants, stock options, CBBCs, and futures are all available in Hong Kong (Hong Kong Exchange)
A-Shares in China (Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (via HKEX)
Stocks, ETFs, Rights Issues, Futures, REITs, and DLCs are all available in Singapore (Singapore Exchange)
Stocks, ETFs, Stock Options, Futures, and Over-the-Counter (OTC) in the United States (New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market and American Stock Exchange)
Stocks in Australia (Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)

Fees

Custody costs, deposit or withdrawal fees, currency exchange fees, inactivity fees, and account maintenance fees are all waived at Tiger Brokers. Your trade, however, is not carried out for free.

Fees for stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs):

Stocks in Singapore: 0.08% commission fee each trade, with a minimum of S$2.88 per trade currently waived
US stocks: $0.01 per trade with a minimum of $1.99
Stocks in Hong Kong: 0.06% each trade, with a minimum of HK$15 per trade
A-shares in China: 0.06% each trade, minimum CN$15 per deal
Stocks in Australia: 0.10% each trade, with a minimum of AU$8 per trade

For CBBCs, Options, and Warrants:

Stock options in the United States start at $0.65 per contract.
Options on Hong Kong stocks start at 0.2% of the market value.
CBBCs and Hong Kong Warrants - 0.03% of transaction value

For Futures:

Futures on equities - $8 per contract
Futures on Treasury Bills - $1.99 per contract
Futures on foreign exchange start at $1.99 for large pairs and are commission-free for tiny pairs
Index Futures - start at $0.99 per contract and vary by index, including the China A50 Index
Energy Futures — prices start at $0.99 per contract and go up from there, including e-mini crude oil.

Third-party fees apply when trading US stocks:

External agency fee plus trading activity fee = US$0.00396/share, with a minimum transaction fee of US$0.99
ADR (American Depositary Receipt) fee = between US$0.01 and 0.03/share
SEC membership fee (only charged when selling shares) = 0.00051 percent

Funding your account

Following the approval and opening of your account, the next step is to fund your account. The following is a step-by-step guide for you to follow:

Log in to your Tiger Trade account.
Go to the bottom right corner and select ‘Me' > Tiger Account.
Select ‘Deposit' from the drop-down menu.
Select the currency you want to deposit in (SGD/USD/HKD).
Select ‘Other Overseas Bank Accounts' from the drop-down menu.
The remittance/transfer details will be displayed. When you execute your transfer in Step 7, remember to type in the payment reference accurately.
Make a FTT remittance from your bank. Every FTT transfer will be subject to a standard fee.
Notify Tigers Brokers that your deposit has been received and upload the transfer receipt.
You're done! Once your deposit has been accepted, you will receive an email.

Useful features

Real-time stock quotes and newsfeed

Tiger Brokers' platform gives consumers real-time access to market data, as well as 24-hour updates on financial, industry, and company news. Its real-time newsfeed allows investors to make informed trading decisions no matter where they are in the world.

Tiger Coins rewards

It is a mini-game that rewards you for merely signing in and completing various tasks on a daily basis. You can earn tiger coins in one of three ways after landing on the Tiger Coins page:

Clocking in everyday (10 - 20+ coins). To get started, simply launch the Tiger Broker app and sign in. On weekdays, clocking in earns you 10 Tiger Coins, but checking in on weekends earns you more.
Complete Daily Tasks (10 - 20 coins). There are a set of daily tasks (refreshed at 00:00 daily) that you can do to earn 10 coins for each activity, just like in games. Tasks include things like sharing one stock, posting one remark, reading five news stories, and so on.
Complete Achievement Tasks (100 - 300 coins). They are more one-time in nature, in that they reward you with a large quantity of Tiger Coins (100 - 300 coins) when you complete them. Completing a deposit, creating an account, and so on are instances of tasks.

Pros and cons

Pros

Trade markets in Singapore and internationally in USA, Hong Kong, China, and Australia.
Free access to Level 2 data in real-time, so you can do better due diligence on investments.
Diversify your investment portfolio into ETFs, REITs, indices, precious metals and other commodities.
Very rewarding sign up bonus with additional bonus for trading.
Low trading fees means you can keep more of your capital gains.
Excellent website and dedicated app for mobile and desktop.

Cons

Not cheapest option for trading US markets.
Choice of tradable markets is somewhat limited, although what markets can be traded are substantial.

Alternatives

Moomoo. It is a low-cost broker that has lately entered the Singapore market. Tiger Brokers, unlike Moomoo, gives you access to the ASX, SZSE, and SSE. Both platforms have modest trading fees, however depending on the market you're buying into, one platform may have significantly cheaper fees.
FSMOne. It offers regular savings plans, cash management, and managed portfolios. You may invest your CPF and SRS funds in FSMOne in addition to cash, making it a good broker to use if you want to consolidate your investments.
Saxo Markets. Saxo offers a greater range of markets, high-quality in-house commentary on a variety of market sectors as well as quarterly reports summarizing their performance. However, when compared to Tiger, Saxo has a significant disadvantage in terms of investment fees.
Standard Chartered. It only allows you to trade stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are listed on various exchanges. While it has a larger selection of exchanges, its costs are greater than those of Tiger Brokers.

Comparisons

See how Tiger Brokers compares against the following brokers in Singapore.

FAQs

What is Level 2 market depth?

While Level 1 data gives you the best bid and ask for an individual stock along with their volumes, Level 2 market depth lists all the price levels and quantities of quotes submitted to an exchange, showing the depth of aggregate volume & price distribution at each price.

Tiger Brokers' LV2 full depth data is based on real-time NYSE ArcaBook Exchange Entry Order and quotation data. Level 2 full depth market quotations display full depth data, the volume & price distribution diagram, and large order prompt data.

Can you day trade on Tiger Brokers?

Yes. Intraday trading, often known as day trading, is a trading strategy in which a client purchases or sells stock or stock option positions inside a single trading day. T+0 trading is a term used to describe intraday trading.

Clients with Tiger Brokers accounts are not subject to frequency or capital limits when trading intraday.

Can you trade premarket with Tiger Brokers?

Yes. Premarket hours are 4 a.m. to 9.30 a.m (US EST); 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Singapore Time); and 5 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. (WT).

Do Tiger Brokers support shorting?

Yes. If you have a Margin Account, margin trading and short selling (intraday leverage up to 4 times; overnight leverage up to 2 times) are both possible, as well as trading all Tiger products. T+0 trades can be made in any quantity and at any frequency.

However, the answer is NO if you only have a Cash Account which allows cash trading. In a Cash Account at Tiger Brokers, short selling and margin trading are not available and Cash Accounts cannot be used to trade products that require financing, such as futures and options. T+0 trades can be made in any quantity and at any frequency.

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