(Asked by an user via private message. Decided to write my response here as it might be useful to others. Plus would allow other experienced users to give their opinions as well)
Essentially, there are two types of brokerage account in Singapore. Custodian or via CDP.
CDP basically means that the shares are traded under your name and you would have all the goodies like voting rights and invitations to attend AGMs etc but it typically comes at a higher brokerage fees. Custodian, on the other hands, means that the shares are kept under the custody of your brokerage firm. It usually is cheaper. To learn more about Custodian vs CDP, please read this article.
Personally, I have three brokerage accounts.
- Standard Chartered - I had this account since my student days. As a student, I love it because it used to have no minimum commission. Now, it is still one of the lowest with minimum commission of SGD10 for stocks traded in SGX and in SGD or 0.20% of total traded value for SGX (whichever is higher).
I would recommend Standard Chartered if you do not mind not attending AGMs and trading value per trade is not too high. This is the cheapest option I currently know of if you trade less than SGD10,000 per trade per counter. Learn more about Standard Chartered here.
- Saxo Trading - I love this because the user interface is sleek. And with one account, you have access to a wide range of products and markets. Also, their commission can be lower than Standard Charactered if you trade more than SGD10,000 per trade per counter.
By the way, StocksCafe have an affiliate program with them where you gain free 5 years of StocksCafe if you open account via StocksCafe and trade with them. Please read here for more about the affiliate program.
- DBS Vickers - For a while, I tried DBS Vickers because it is a CDP brokerage account and seems to have reasonable fees. However, I stopped soon after because I could not get used to their interface and they have higher fees than both Standard Chartered and Saxo.
Please feel free to chip in if you have recommendations or opinions about brokerage accounts.
Cheers,
Evan