DBS, Fundsupermart among those which now charge just 1%
A PRICE war seems to have broken out in the unit trust industry in Singapore, with at least three fund distributors now slashing their sales charges to just 1 per cent.
DBS Bank started the ball rolling in early October when it cut its sales charge on all unit trusts to 1 per cent - a move the bank says has already resulted in a two-fold increase in unit trust sales.
Last Tuesday, online fund distributor Fundsupermart.com reduced its sales charge for its 11 best performing funds over a period of three years to 1 per cent.
And The Straits Times has learnt that even though it has not advertised this, Standard Chartered Bank (Stanchart) is also offering a 1 per cent sales charge to selected customers quietly.
Unit trusts are typically sold by banks, insurers, stockbrokers and other independent financial advisers.
These distributors levy an upfront sales charge, which is deducted straightaway from the principal amount an investor puts into a unit trust.
Read the full story in Saturday’s edition of The Straits Times @ Dec 19, 2009
By Sylvia Paik
