How to buy S&P 500 from Singapore (step-by-step)

Investing in the S&P 500, one of the world’s best-known stock market indices, has long been a popular way to get exposure to US stocks.

If you are based in Singapore, you might be wondering how to access it and what the best approach is. This guide shows you, step by step, how to invest in the S&P 500 from Singapore: how to choose an S&P 500 ETF (including why the fund’s domicile matters for your taxes), how to pick a broker and how to place your order.

1. Pick an ETF tracking the S&P 500

The S&P 500 measures the performance of around 500 large US companies, such as NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, across all sectors. Investing in it gives you exposure to a broad range of companies and can be the cornerstone of a diversified portfolio.

Buying each of these 500 companies separately would be costly and impractical. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) solve this by giving you the whole index in a single investment.

Since the S&P 500 is so popular, many ETFs track it, listed on different exchanges. If you prefer to stay on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is listed there under the ticker S27 (it’s the same US-domiciled fund as SPY, traded in US dollars).

The table below shows some of the largest S&P 500 ETFs available to Singaporean investors. You can explore more options with the Morningstar ETF screener.

Biggest S&P 500 ETFs available in Singapore

US or Irish domicile? This is one of the most important choices for Singaporean investors:

• Dividend tax: Singapore has no tax treaty with the US, so dividends from US-domiciled ETFs (such as VOO, IVV and SPY) are taxed at 30% at source. Irish-domiciled ETFs (such as CSPX and VUAA) benefit from the US-Ireland treaty and pay 15% on US dividends inside the fund, and Ireland doesn’t tax the dividends it pays to non-resident investors.
• US estate tax: non-US investors who hold US-situs assets, such as US-listed ETFs, worth more than $60,000 when they die may face US estate tax of up to 40%. Irish-domiciled ETFs are not US-situs assets, so they avoid this risk.

That’s why many long-term investors in Singapore prefer Irish-domiciled ETFs like CSPX or VUAA, even though their TER (0.07%) is higher than VOO’s or IVV’s (0.03%). Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with “use of income” and the other terms: we explain them later in this guide.

2. Choose a good ETF broker

After choosing an ETF, the next step is to find a reliable broker that lets you buy it. Not all brokers give access to the London Stock Exchange, where CSPX and VUAA are listed:

Fees and access to different exchanges are also important when choosing a broker. Here is a summary for each one:

3. Place a “buy order”

Once you have chosen a broker and funded your account, you are ready to place a buy order for your S&P 500 ETF. In this example, we use Interactive Brokers, but the steps are similar with any broker:

a) Search for the S&P 500 ETF you chose

Use the search function to find the ETF you selected, using its ticker (in our example, we searched for SPY):

Some ETFs are listed on several exchanges and in different currencies, such as USD or GBP. Choose the listing in the same currency as your account cash to avoid currency conversion fees. For example, if you hold US dollars, pick the USD listing.

b) Click on “Buy”

The buy button is usually easy to find on the ETF’s page, next to the chart and key information.

c) Choose the order details

Now choose the order type and size:

• Limit order: the default on IBKR. You set the maximum price you’re willing to pay, and the order is only executed at that price or lower.
• Market order: executes the trade immediately at the current market price.
• Amount or units: the amount of money or the number of shares you want to buy.

d) Place the order

Finally, click “Submit Buy Order”. The broker then processes your order and executes it according to the parameters you set.

What to look for in any ETF?

Not all ETFs are the same, so consider these factors before deciding:

1. Fees (TER)

Asset managers such as BlackRock (iShares), Vanguard and State Street (SPDR) charge a small annual fee, deducted directly from the fund’s assets. A lower fee means higher returns for you, all else being equal. This fee is usually called the expense ratio, ongoing charges figure (OCF) or total expense ratio (TER).

Taking the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) as an example, you can see its net expense ratio of 0.0945% in the fund’s factsheet:

2. Replication method

ETFs can replicate their index in two ways:

• Physical replication: the fund buys the actual shares in the index.
• Synthetic replication: the fund uses derivatives, usually a swap with a bank, to deliver the index return.

Given how liquid the S&P 500 companies are, physical replication is the most common choice, as it avoids the counterparty risk of derivatives. All the ETFs in our table use physical replication.

The SPY factsheet doesn’t state the replication method explicitly, but SPY holds the shares of the index directly, which means physical replication. The FAQ on the State Street Global Advisors website confirms this:

3. Use of income

ETFs also differ in how they handle the dividends paid by the companies in the index:

• Accumulating ETFs reinvest the dividends inside the fund, which is reflected in a higher ETF price. You don’t pay any trading costs to reinvest them, since it’s done automatically.
• Distributing ETFs pay the dividends regularly into your brokerage account.

The right choice depends on your goals. If you plan to hold your investment for a long time and don’t need regular income, an accumulating ETF may be more suitable. If you want a regular income, a distributing ETF is the natural choice.

For Singaporean investors, taxes are an important part of this choice. Singapore doesn’t generally tax capital gains or foreign dividends received by individuals, but US-domiciled ETFs lose 30% of their dividends to US withholding tax, because Singapore has no tax treaty with the US. An Irish-domiciled accumulating ETF, such as CSPX or VUAA, pays 15% inside the fund and reinvests the rest. Tax rules can change and depend on your situation, so consider seeking advice from a tax adviser.

SPY is a distributing ETF:

4. Size

Consider the fund size when choosing an ETF. Larger funds generally carry a lower risk of being closed down. If a fund is liquidated, it sells its holdings, settles its obligations and pays the remainder to investors.

SPY has around $799 billion in net assets (September 2026). The factsheet shows the fund’s net assets:

5. Currency and hedging

All the ETFs above hold US stocks and are unhedged, so your returns in Singapore dollars also depend on the USD/SGD exchange rate. Some ETFs use derivatives to hedge currency movements, which reduces short-term swings but comes at an additional cost. You will also usually need to convert Singapore dollars to US dollars to buy these ETFs, so compare your broker’s currency conversion costs.

Bottom line

Investing in the S&P 500 from Singapore is a popular way to get exposure to the US stock market. Here’s a summary of the steps:

1. Pick an ETF tracking the S&P 500: US-listed ETFs such as VOO, IVV and SPYM have the lowest fees, while Irish-domiciled ETFs such as CSPX and VUAA are usually more tax-efficient for Singaporean investors (15% instead of 30% on US dividends, and no US estate tax risk).
2. Find a suitable broker: compare fees and check whether the broker gives access to the exchange where your ETF is listed. In this example, we used IBKR.
3. Open an account and deposit money: go through the account opening process and fund your account.
4. Send a buy order for the ETF you chose: just fill in the order details and submit it.

We hope this guide answered your questions. Remember to do your own research to find the best investment strategy for you.

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