{"id":49431,"date":"2021-09-06T15:49:06","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T07:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=49431"},"modified":"2021-09-06T16:16:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T08:16:43","slug":"stashaway-malaysia-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review","title":{"rendered":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Is This Robo Advisor Worth Using?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block\"><div><strong>Table of contents<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#how\">How does StashAway work?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#safe\">Is it safe to invest through StashAway?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#what\">What does StashAway invest in?<\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<li><a href=\"#optimisation\">How does StashAway re-optimise your portfolios?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#performance\">How have StashAway\u2019s portfolios performed?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#fees\">StashAway fees<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#like\">What we like about StashAway<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#consider\">Things to consider<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#alternatives\">StashAway alternatives<\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<li><a href=\"#open\">How to open a StashAway account<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Looking for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/online-investment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">robo advisor<\/a> to help you start your investing journey?<\/p>\n<p>StashAway is a good option if you want to start investing internationally. It automatically picks investments for you, helps you quickly set up financial goals and estimates how you can reach them. It has competitive fees, no minimum investment amount and a sleek user interface.<\/p>\n<p>However, investing with StashAway can mean giving up a lot of control over your portfolio, as you can\u2019t pick individual investments. You also can\u2019t opt out if StashAway decides to change the allocation of investments in your portfolio.<\/p>\n<div class=\"block\"><div>StashAway is a good option for beginner investors who want to diversify their investments internationally.<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"product \"><div class=\"product__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/30155137\/Stashaway-logo.png\" alt=\"StashAway\"><\/div><div class=\"product__description\"><h4><a data-position=\"mid_1_text_cc_product\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/ref\/imoney-3ece930e-5e69-492c-adb4-9b0ddb2a1dda?src=internal_article_robo-advisor-comparison\" target=\"_blank\">StashAway<\/a><\/h4><p>Invest in low-cost, risk-managed portfolios of ETFs<\/p><em>Get 50% off on your fees when you sign up through iMoney<\/em><\/div><div class=\"product__cta\"><a data-position=\"mid_1_text_cc_product\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/ref\/imoney-3ece930e-5e69-492c-adb4-9b0ddb2a1dda?src=internal_article_robo-advisor-comparison\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"btn btn-lg btn-apply\">Apply Now<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"how\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-does-Stashaway-work\"><\/span>How does Stashaway work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>StashAway is a robo advisor that invests your money in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/invest-exchange-traded-funds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exchange-traded funds<\/a> (ETFs). Each ETF is like a collection of investments like stocks, bonds, precious metals or other assets.<\/p>\n<p>Like other robo advisors, StashAway makes you complete a short assessment before investing. You\u2019ll be assigned a risk profile based on your assessment results. This helps StashAway figure out if it should recommend lower-risk or higher-risk portfolios to you.<\/p>\n<p>StashAway uses an internal measure of risk, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/what-is-the-stashaway-risk-index\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">StashAway Risk Index<\/a> (SRI). If you\u2019re a more conservative investor, StashAway will recommend a portfolio with a lower SRI, though you can still choose a different risk level outside its recommendation. But depending on your assessment results, you may not be able to choose the highest-risk portfolios.<\/p>\n<p>You can create portfolios to meet specific goals, such as retirement or buying a new home. StashAway will suggest how much you may need to invest every month to meet your goal, although you can choose to invest however much you wish. You can also create portfolios for general investing, without specifying any goals.<\/p>\n<p>As you invest, StashAway may periodically re-optimise your portfolio in reaction to economic trends.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"safe\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is-it-safe-to-invest-through-StashAway\"><\/span>Is it safe to invest through StashAway?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>StashAway is licensed under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sc.com.my\/development\/digital\/digital-initiatives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Securities Commission Malaysia<\/a>, so it\u2019s perfectly legal.<\/p>\n<p>But what if StashAway closes down? Well, when you deposit money into your StashAway portfolio, the funds are kept in a Citibank trust account. Then, the purchased assets go to a custodian account through Saxo Capital Markets. This means that StashAway doesn\u2019t actually hold your money or investments &#8211; so if the platform shuts down, you\u2019ll still have access to them.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What-does-StashAway-invest-in\"><\/span>What does StashAway invest in?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/stashaways-etf-selection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">full list of ETFs<\/a> that StashAway invests in.<\/p>\n<p>StashAway has 12 portfolios based on different risk levels ranging from 6.5% SRI to 36% SRI. But what do these numbers mean? Basically, an SRI of, say, 10% means that there\u2019s a 99% probability that the portfolio won\u2019t lose more than 10% of its value in a year.<\/p>\n<p>Here are examples of its lowest and highest risk portfolios:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lowest-risk portfolio (6.5% SRI)<\/strong>\n<table id=\"tablepress-1670\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-1670\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Type<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Name<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Allocation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Government bonds<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares International Treasury Bond ETF (IGOV)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Government bonds<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Government bonds<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares J.P Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Corporate bonds<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (FLOT)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Fixed income<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Commodities<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">International equities<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Cash<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">-<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-1670 from cache -->Its lowest-risk portfolio is mostly made up of bonds. The rest is allocated to gold (12%) and Japanese equities (8%).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Highest-risk portfolio (36% SRI)<\/strong>\n<table id=\"tablepress-1671\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-1671\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\"><strong>Type<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"column-2\"><strong>Name<\/strong><\/th><th class=\"column-3\"><strong>Allocation<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">International equities<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares MSCI Australia ETF (EWA)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">International equities<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Equity sectors (US)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares Core S&amp;P Small Cap ETF (IJR)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Equity sectors (US)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Equity sectors (US)<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">16%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Corporate Bonds<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">8.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Real Estate<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">7.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-9\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Real Estate<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate Index Fund ETF (VNQI)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">12.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-10\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Commodities<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">4.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-11\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Cash<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">-<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-1671 from cache -->On the other hand, its highest-risk portfolio is largely allocated in the US (45.7%), China (20.4%) and Australia (10.8%).<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"optimisation\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-does-StashAway-re-optimise-your-portfolios\"><\/span>How does StashAway re-optimise your portfolios?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>StashAway automatically re-optimises your asset allocation when it identifies a change in the economic cycle. It uses a fancy-sounding framework, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/stashaways-asset-allocation-framework\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation<\/a>, to do so. For example, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/economy-inflationary-disinflationary-growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">latest re<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/economy-inflationary-disinflationary-growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">&#8211;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/economy-inflationary-disinflationary-growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">optimisation<\/a> in July 2021 (at the time of writing), StashAway has maintained or increased exposure to China tech, as well as made new allocations to assets that protect against inflation. When an optimisation happens, the platform will apply the changes to your portfolio &#8211; and you can\u2019t opt out of it. Since its launch in 2017, it\u2019s re-optimised its portfolios four times.<\/p>\n<p>Some users may have gripes with this, as it sounds similar to active management &#8211; an investment strategy that buys and sells individual investments to try to get better returns than the market. This strategy usually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/7e4c0d91-8b6d-419b-9be3-80131d5cb462\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">underperforms<\/a> compared to just buying and holding an ETF for a long period of time.<\/p>\n<p>However, StashAway notes that it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/stashaway-active-or-passive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">invests passively<\/a> when it comes to individual stocks, and takes an active approach when it comes to deciding which market to invest in. But we don\u2019t know yet whether this strategy will be effective in the long term, as StashAway has only been around for a few years.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"performance\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-have-StashAways-portfolios-performed\"><\/span>How have StashAway\u2019s portfolios performed?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You can check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/how-we-invest#performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">performance details<\/a> of each portfolio on the StashAway website.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how the lowest-risk and highest-risk portfolios have performed since StashAway\u2019s launch in July 2017:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>StashAway Risk Index 6.5% &#8211; 3% annualised return<\/li>\n<li>StashAway Risk Index 36% &#8211; 17.6% annualised return<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>However, existing StashAway investors may have noticed that their higher-risk portfolios have experienced dips in performance this year. This is partly due to StashAway\u2019s allocation to the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF, which has plunged thanks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/07\/27\/chinese-tech-stocks-extend-losses-ways-to-play-the-sell-off.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">China\u2019s regulatory crackdown<\/a> on tech companies. StashAway expects these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/whats-behind-chinas-falling-stocks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">stock prices to recover<\/a> in the long-term.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019re looking for a robo advisor to invest with, try not to get caught up with short-term investing performance. It\u2019s hard to evaluate a robo advisor solely based on its daily or monthly (or even yearly) performance, as these portfolios are typically built with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theedgemarkets.com\/article\/cover-feature-roboadvisors-playing-long-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">long term<\/a> in mind.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"fees\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"StashAway-fees\"><\/span>StashAway fees<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>StashAway\u2019s fees range from 0.2% to 0.8%, depending on your portfolio size. The bigger your portfolio, the lower your annual fee.<br \/>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-1672\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-1672\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Total investment<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Annual fee (including GST)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-striping row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">First RM50,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM50,000, up to RM100,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM100,000, up to RM250,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM250,000, up to RM500,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-6\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM500,000, up to RM1,000,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-7\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM1,000,000, up to RM3,000,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-8\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Any additional amount above RM3,000,000<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><center>0.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-1672 from cache --><br \/>\nThis doesn\u2019t include the annual expense ratio charged by the ETFs themselves, which is approximately 0.2% p.a. On top of that, there\u2019s a currency conversion fee of 0.1% when you deposit your money, as StashAway converts your ringgit into USD to invest.<\/p>\n<p>StashAway\u2019s fees are fairly competitive. Of course, to get the best rates, you\u2019ll need to invest a few million, which is out of reach for most Malaysians. But even at lower tiers, it\u2019s slightly cheaper than competitors like MyTHEO and Wahed Invest. It\u2019s also a lot cheaper than investing in unit trusts &#8211; these charge annual fees of 0.5% to 2.5% and upfront fees of 1.5% to 5%.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"like\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"We-like\"><\/span>We like<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Competitive fees. <\/strong>StashAway\u2019s fees start at 0.8% per year, which is lower than some competitors. It\u2019s a cost-effective way to start investing globally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Easy access to international stocks. <\/strong>To invest internationally, you\u2019d either need to sign up for an international brokerage, or invest in international ETFs or unit trusts through local institutions. This can be intimidating to a complete beginner &#8211; StashAway makes it a bit easier to start investing internationally.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Goal-based investing. <\/strong>StashAway makes it easy to invest for your financial goals. It can help you estimate how much you may need to reach your goal, and how much you may need to invest every month to reach it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Good UI, user-friendly app. <\/strong>Financial apps can sometimes be slow and clunky, but StashAway\u2019s platform makes signing up and investing super easy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lots of free learning resources. <\/strong>StashAway publishes market commentary, articles on how to invest and insights into how it makes certain investing decisions. It even offers free investing webinars! These resources make it easier to learn and grow as an investor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Access to a cash management portfolio. <\/strong>Signing up to StashAway also gives you access to StashAway Simple, which is useful for getting interest on your spare funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"consider\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Things-to-consider\"><\/span>Things to consider<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cannot opt out of re<\/strong><strong>-optimisation.<\/strong> Investing with StashAway means giving up a lot of control over your portfolio. A re-optimisation may change allocation in your portfolio, but you can\u2019t opt out if you disagree with it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dividend withholding tax. <\/strong>When you invest in US funds, your dividends will be subject to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/faq\/115010107948-do-my-dividends-get-taxed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">30% withholding tax<\/a>. This tax is applicable when you invest in US securities as a non-US citizen, not just when investing through StashAway. But it\u2019s worth noting, as StashAway has a high exposure to the US (almost half of its highest-risk portfolio is invested in the US). However, StashAway is able to claim back some of these taxes for you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Currency fluctuation risk. <\/strong>StashAway portfolios are denominated (i.e. held) in either USD or GBP. When you deposit funds in StashAway, it converts your MYR into either USD to GBP to purchase the ETFs that make up your portfolio. This means that your investments will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/r\/how-currency-impacts-your-stashaway-portfolio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">impacted<\/a> when the USD or GBP rises or falls against MYR. For example, if the USD rises against the MYR, your portfolio will now be worth more in ringgit. But if the USD falls against the MYR, your portfolio will be worth less in ringgit. However, currency fluctuations risks aren\u2019t specific to StashAway &#8211; it\u2019s something you\u2019ll have to keep in mind every time you invest in a foreign currency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not Shariah-compliant. <\/strong>The ETFs that StashAway invests in are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/faq\/360009324913-are-stashaways-portfolios-shariah-compliant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">not strictly Shariah-compliant<\/a>. However, the underlying fund in StashAway Simple is Shariah-compliant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"alternatives\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"StashAway-alternatives\"><\/span>StashAway alternatives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Interested in passive investing, but not keen on StashAway? You could try these other options.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you want to invest through other robo advisors: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Robo advisors Akru, MyTHEO and Wahed Invest are good alternatives to StashAway, as they also invest in international ETFs. But if you prefer your robo advisor to invest in unit trusts instead, consider BEST Invest or Raiz. Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/robo-advisor-comparison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">robo advisor comparison<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you want to go the DIY route:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Instead of investing through a robo advisor that invests in ETFs, you could just directly invest in ETFs yourself. You could open an international brokerage account (for example, with Interactive Brokers or TD Ameritrade) and invest in the same ETFs that StashAway invests in.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to invest through a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/open-stock-brokerage-account\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">local brokerage<\/a> instead, Bursa Malaysia has a range of ETFs that could give you exposure to international equities. For example, you could invest in US equities through the MyETF Dow Jones U.S. Titans 50 or focus on US tech companies through the TradePlus NYSE FANG+ Daily (2x) Leveraged Tracker. You could also invest in Chinese equities through the Principal FTSE China 50 ETF or TradePlus S&amp;P New China Tracker.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, when you go the DIY route, you\u2019ll be responsible for researching every ETF you\u2019ll be investing in. You\u2019ll also need to rebalance your investments periodically on your own.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"open\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How-to-open-a-StashAway-account\"><\/span>How to open a StashAway account<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to get started with StashAway. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/ref\/imoney-3ece930e-5e69-492c-adb4-9b0ddb2a1dda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Use this link<\/a> to get 50% off your management fees for your first six months.<\/li>\n<li>Click on \u201cInvest Now\u201d or \u201cGet Started\u201d.<\/li>\n<li>Register a new account.<\/li>\n<li>Provide personal information (so StashAway can verify your identity and customise your portfolio).<\/li>\n<li>Wait for your identity to be verified, then start investing!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div class=\"product \"><div class=\"product__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/30155137\/Stashaway-logo.png\" alt=\"StashAway\"><\/div><div class=\"product__description\"><h4><a data-position=\"mid_1_text_cc_product\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/ref\/imoney-3ece930e-5e69-492c-adb4-9b0ddb2a1dda\" target=\"_blank\">StashAway<\/a><\/h4><p>Invest in low-cost, risk-managed portfolios of ETFs<\/p><em>Get 50% off on your fees when you sign up through iMoney<\/em><\/div><div class=\"product__cta\"><a data-position=\"mid_1_text_cc_product\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stashaway.my\/ref\/imoney-3ece930e-5e69-492c-adb4-9b0ddb2a1dda?src=internal_article_robo-advisor-comparison\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"btn btn-lg btn-apply\">Apply Now<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A great option for beginner investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":49433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,731],"tags":[772,849,666,819,337,812,543,850,851],"class_list":["post-49431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investment","category-review","tag-investing","tag-passive-investing","tag-review","tag-robo-investing","tag-robo-advisor","tag-roboadvisor","tag-stashaway","tag-stashaway-malaysia","tag-stashaway-malaysia-review"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iMoney Malaysia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153608\/stahaway-review-.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"629\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen-Li Lim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen-Li Lim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jen-Li Lim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4\"},\"headline\":\"StashAway Malaysia Review: Is This Robo Advisor Worth Using?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review\"},\"wordCount\":2002,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/06153556\\\/stahaway-review.png\",\"keywords\":[\"investing\",\"passive investing\",\"review\",\"robo investing\",\"Robo-advisor\",\"roboadvisor\",\"StashAway\",\"stashaway malaysia\",\"stashaway malaysia review\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Investment\",\"Review\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review\",\"name\":\"StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/06153556\\\/stahaway-review.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4\"},\"description\":\"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/06153556\\\/stahaway-review.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/09\\\/06153556\\\/stahaway-review.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":629,\"caption\":\"Hand holding a mobile phone, with the Stashaway app shown on screen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/stashaway-malaysia-review#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/category\\\/review\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"StashAway Malaysia Review: Is This Robo Advisor Worth Using?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"iMoney Malaysia\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4\",\"name\":\"Jen-Li Lim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jen-Li Lim\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/imoney.my\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.imoney.my\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/jen\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?","description":"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?","og_description":"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review","og_site_name":"iMoney Malaysia","article_published_time":"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":629,"url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153608\/stahaway-review-.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jen-Li Lim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jen-Li Lim","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review"},"author":{"name":"Jen-Li Lim","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4"},"headline":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Is This Robo Advisor Worth Using?","datePublished":"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review"},"wordCount":2002,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153556\/stahaway-review.png","keywords":["investing","passive investing","review","robo investing","Robo-advisor","roboadvisor","StashAway","stashaway malaysia","stashaway malaysia review"],"articleSection":["Investment","Review"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review","name":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Should You Use This Robo Advisor?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153556\/stahaway-review.png","datePublished":"2021-09-06T07:49:06+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-06T08:16:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4"},"description":"StashAway is a great option for beginner investors as it makes investing easy and affordable. But it does mean giving up some control over your portfolio.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153556\/stahaway-review.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/06153556\/stahaway-review.png","width":1200,"height":629,"caption":"Hand holding a mobile phone, with the Stashaway app shown on screen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/stashaway-malaysia-review#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review","item":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/category\/review"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"StashAway Malaysia Review: Is This Robo Advisor Worth Using?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/","name":"iMoney Malaysia","description":"Everything you need to know about improving your personal finances.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/b161cd233681c3b0bd593dde40c951c4","name":"Jen-Li Lim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32f8c87a3692aaaa223aaca10bbdea3e956dd69147f2cb193a1e73ba902f0247?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jen-Li Lim"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/imoney.my"],"url":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/author\/jen"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49431"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49698,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49431\/revisions\/49698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}