The best broker for REITs in Singapore, on buying cost alone, is a custodian broker: a S$3,000 order costs S$0.80 at Webull and under S$2.50 at most others, as at November 2026. But REITs pay out several times a year, and some custodian accounts charge a fee on every payout. Count both before you choose.
Investing can lose money. REIT prices fall with property markets and interest rates, and distributions can be cut. This page compares broker charges. It does not suggest any REIT.
How We Compared REIT Brokers
The measure: commission plus platform fee, before GST and SGX fees, for one S$3,000 order of an SGX-listed REIT, plus any published fee for handling distributions and other corporate actions. All from each broker’s own pricing page, read in November 2026.
The list: MAS-licensed brokers widely promoted in Singapore that publish SGX fees we could read, plus one managed REIT portfolio for comparison.
Left out: sign-up rewards and waivers that end. How REITs themselves work, including gearing and payout rules, is in our Singapore REITs guide.
Best Broker for REITs: Cost Table
| Broker and account | S$3,000 REIT order | Fee on distributions | Other corporate actions | Regular plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webull | S$0.80 | Not published | Not published | Not found |
| Longbridge | S$0.99 (commission waived, terms apply) | Not published | Not published | Not found |
| uSMART Trader | S$1.50 | Not published | Not published | Not found |
| moomoo | S$1.98 | No moomoo fee; third-party charges passed on | Same | Not verified |
| Tiger Brokers | S$1.99 | Not published | Not published | Auto-invest, 0.03% (min S$1) |
| POEMS Cash Plus | S$2.40 | 1%, min S$1, max S$50 | S$10 plus GST | Share Builders Plan, 0.3% a year |
| moomoo CDP / Tiger Cash Boost / POEMS Cash Management | S$9.98 / S$9.99 / S$10 | Paid via your CDP account | Handled in your name | Not applicable |
| Syfe REIT+ (managed) | No trading fee | Included | Included | Yes |
“Not published” means we did not find the fee on the broker’s pricing page. Ask the broker before you assume it is zero.
Syfe’s REIT+ is a managed portfolio, not a broker account. It charges 0.65% a year on total assets below S$50,000, falling at higher tiers.
The short version: REIT investors pay twice: once to buy, and again, at some brokers, every time a distribution arrives. Check the payout fee, not only the trading fee.
Worked Example: Four REITs, Paid Quarterly
Our illustration: you hold S$20,000 spread equally across four SGX-listed REITs, each yielding 5% a year and paying quarterly. Yields are assumptions, not forecasts, and distributions are not guaranteed.
Each REIT pays S$250 a year, so S$62.50 a quarter. That makes 16 payouts a year, totalling S$1,000.
- In a POEMS custody account: 1% of S$62.50 is S$0.63, so the S$1 minimum applies to each payout. That is S$16 a year plus GST, about S$17.44, or 1.7% of the income.
- In a CDP account: distributions go to you directly, with no broker handling fee. Buying the four REITs costs about S$10 each instead of S$2 to S$3.
- In Syfe REIT+: 0.65% of S$20,000 is S$130 a year, with no separate trading or payout charges.
Over ten years, the POEMS payout fee in this example comes to about S$174, a one-off CDP premium on four purchases to roughly S$30, and the managed fee to about S$1,300 if the balance stays the same. Our compound interest calculator helps you test how a yearly cost changes the end result.
Rights Issues and Preferential Offerings
REITs raise money from unitholders more often than most companies, through rights issues and preferential offerings. How you take part depends on where your units sit.
With a CDP account, your entitlement is recorded in your own name, and you deal with it directly.
In custody, the broker acts for you. It may set an earlier internal deadline and may charge a fee: POEMS lists S$10 plus GST for corporate actions other than dividends. moomoo says it charges no processing fee on Singapore corporate actions but passes on third-party charges.
If you hold REITs for income over many years, these events add up. Ask the broker how it handles them before you buy.
REITs With CPF or SRS Money
Under the CPF Investment Scheme, Ordinary Account savings above S$20,000 can be invested, and shares and property funds together are capped at 35% of investible savings. moomoo and Tiger Brokers publish CPF and SRS trading fees of 0.10% plus 0.12%, with minimums of about S$5 each. That puts a S$3,000 order at about S$10 before SGX fees and GST.
IRAS lists REIT distributions as not taxable for individuals, except through a partnership in Singapore or a trade in REITs. Inside CPF or SRS, distributions are paid into that account, not to you. Our CPF Investment Scheme explainer has the rules.
Who This Comparison Does Not Suit
- People who want a steady, guaranteed income. REIT payouts change. Compare T-bills, Savings Bonds and fixed deposits if certainty matters.
- Anyone chasing a high yield. A high yield can signal a falling price; our explainer on how dividend stocks work shows why.
- Leveraged traders. We do not compare brokers for REIT CFDs or margin.
For SGX shares in general, see our SGX broker comparison and the guide to the best investment platforms in Singapore.
What To Do Next
- List the REITs you might hold and count how many payouts a year they make.
- Read the “other fees” or “corporate actions” section of each broker’s fee schedule, not only the trading rates.
- Decide whether you want units in your own CDP account before you open anything.
- Confirm a broker’s licence in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
