Three banks pull $3.0b in net retail inflows

DBS Group Holdings was the largest recipient of net retail inflows.

Retail investors recorded $2.0b (S$2.62b) of net buying in Singapore equities in 2025, bringing cumulative net inflows over the past six years to about $13.3b (S$17b), with activity heavily concentrated in bank stocks.

In the first half of 2025, net retail inflows totalled $1.7b (S$2.2b), followed by a further $322m (S$413m) in the second half.

DBS Group Holdings was the largest recipient, with almost half of its full-year inflows concentrated in the two weeks after “Tariff Liberation Day” in April.

United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation also saw strong demand, with the three banks together attracting $3.0b (S$3.88b) in net retail inflows.

Excluding the STI banks, the rest of the market recorded net retail outflows of $1.0b (S$1.26b) for the year, comprising $637m (S$817m) in the first half and $349m (S$448m) in the second half.

The shift towards banks coincided with April’s market volatility and with their dividend yields trading at a premium to falling domestic interest rates.

($1.00 = S$1.29)