Endowus Fund Smart highlights 2024 — year in review

The Endowus Investment Office wishes all our clients a Happy New Year, and good health and prosperity in 2025! We are wrapping up 2024 with some “fun(d) facts” for the year with our annual Fund Digest Wrap-Up.

In 2024, we introduced 31 new funds on the Endowus Fund Smart platform. That brought the total to 243 best-in-class funds across 499 share classes of various currencies and distribution features to suit your investment needs. For a quick overview in a single glance, refer to our investment funds list.

We also added 8 new alternative funds, across asset classes such as private credit, private equity, and more — available only to accredited investors. For more information on opting in to become an accredited investor or to explore the options available to them, please contact us for a consultation.

Top performing funds of 2024

By absolute returns

In 2024, the top-performing equity funds were predominantly those focused on tech or US equities. 

This trend mirrored the market’s positive momentum, driven by advancements in the tech sector, particularly in AI. Including Magnificent 7 stocks, mega-cap tech giants, many of which are based in the US, reaped significant benefits from these developments.

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Top performing equity funds

Top performing fixed income funds

In the fixed income space, riskier sub-asset classes like frontier markets, emerging markets, and high yield bonds are in the spotlight in 2024. This outperformance was fueled by investor appetite for risk and a trend of rate cuts throughout the year. Many investors turned away from developed markets and investment grade in search of higher yields, boosting these higher-risk options.

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By popular geographies

Single-region funds, such as Japan and India equities, saw good returns and gained popularity among Endowus clients in 2024. 

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Most popular funds** of 2024

Endowus clients continued to see merit in adopting a broadly diversified, low-cost investment strategy. 

Equity funds

The passive, index-tracking funds from Amundi and iShares were especially useful in serving this purpose — in addition to the funds also being eligible for CPF investments. Dimensional’s flagship global core equity fund, which uses a systematic, factor-based process, also made it among the top contenders.

Fixed income funds

A similar trend was observed in the fixed income space, with investors allocating to globally diversified and dynamic mandates from PIMCO to capitalise on evolving market conditions. 

Additionally, investors shifted away from money market funds, opting for slightly longer-duration funds like United SGD to benefit from rate cut gains.

Others — Multi-asset, commodities, and more

Income-generating funds performed well in 2024, gaining both in returns and popularity among Endowus clients. Crowd favourites like Allianz Income and Growth, and Franklin Income garnered significant traction, appealing to investors seeking reliable income streams.

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Spotlight on new funds introduced in 2024

Looking for new funds to invest in? Here are some funds added to the Fund Smart platform during 2024.

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Where are we at as 2025 starts?

2024 was a volatile year for equity markets, with regional returns proving to be as unpredictable as previous years. 

Japan equities started strong early in the year, while China equities lagged due to growth concerns. However, by the third quarter, Japan equities turned negative, whereas China equities rebounded strongly with surprise stimulus packages. 

Despite not leading in any single quarter, US equities ultimately emerged as the overall winner of 2024, as other regions experienced rollercoaster performances.

Equity sectors showed sporadic movements in 2024. Technology leaders drove the communications and IT sectors, but financials also stood out with consistent returns throughout the year.

Amid the prevailing uncertainty and unpredictability, one thing remained constant: the value of a disciplined and diversified portfolio. Long-term investors who adhered to this approach have consistently been rewarded.

A well-structured portfolio not only allows for capitalising on market outperformance, but also cushions against underperformance. 

On the Fund Smart platform, the Best-in-Class funds — curated by the Endowus Investment Office — are available for building your own diversified investment portfolio. These funds serve as the building blocks for a single or concentrated satellite position in sectors that you want to express views with, to complement your broad investments.

Customise your portfolio in minutes with Endowus Fund Smart

Endowus takes a unique path in curating best-in-class funds. The Investment Office selects these funds by implementing a strict, institutional-grade screening process that is rigorous, thorough, and continuous — we call this proprietary framework SMART+.

Whether you’re looking to invest your cash, CPF, or SRS, there’s something for everyone at Endowus. Want to explore the funds available on our Fund Smart platform? Refer to our investment funds list in a single glance. 

The Endowus Fund Smart platform comes with wide currency selection and dividend payout options. These give you more flexibility and information in selecting your own funds and building your own portfolios. 

You can transfer your funds from other banks or platforms into Endowus, potentially saving you 40% on average on your fees. Fee is more transparent, and in most cases much lower cost, to invest and grow your wealth with Endowus than it would be to replicate your portfolio and similar services at a private bank, online "low cost, no fee" platform, or retail bank.

Customise your ideal investment portfolio in minutes with Fund Smart. The Endowus Fee for Fund Smart Goals starts at 0.3% p.a., reinforcing our commitment to reduce the cost of investing. 

Not sure how to invest with Fund Smart? Find out everything you need to know in our FAQs. 

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*Return refers to the net fund-level returns after fees, and before the Endowus trailer fee rebate, calculated using the monthly returns of the retail SGD ISIN of the fund available on Endowus between 1 Jan 2024 and 31 Dec 2024. Where the share class is incepted after 1 Jan 2024, the oldest share class returns were used as a proxy during the period in which the target ISIN did not exist. For more information, refer here. Where there is no SGD retail share class available, the USD retail share classes were used as proxy.

**The most popular funds were determined based on the net inflows on Endowus Fund Smart in the one-year period between 1 Jan 2024 and 31 Dec 2024. This analysis excludes in/outflows through the Endowus advised portfolios, and only includes funds available for retail investors to best represent an average Endowus client.