Vanilla Money: How’re The Returns 3 Months On?

A few months ago, I talked about my little experiment with Vanilla Money, putting a test amount of S$1,000 to dip my toes into the pool:

Now that it’s been 3 months since, it’s time for me to look at how it’s been doing and where I take this portfolio from here.

What exactly is Vanilla Money?

For an introduction to Vanilla Money, it is best to watch the video above where I explain what I feel are the pros and cons of investing funds into the investment grade short-term bond funds.

Annualised return of >6% p.a. so far

Back then at the 1-month mark, the annualised returns on my capital was an impressive 6.08% p.a.

As of 10th July 2025, 3 months after my initial S$1,000 investment, the current value stands at S$1,015.77. For an absolute return of 1.58% in 91 days, the annualised return is approximately 6.4% p.a. by my calculation. Not too shabby.

Of course, past performance is not indicative of future performance, so don’t just blindly invest in something just because it looks good for a particular time period. As an investment, there is always some volatility and risk involved.

The figure above is after fund-level fees. There are also platform fees that would be deducted from the portfolio, though I have fee waivers as a result of referring people to the platform so it does not impact my number. If I had incurred a 0.5% p.a. fee, my post-fee returns would be approximately 5.9% p.a.

Platforms to look at

I’ve been using Endowus to run this experiment because the interface is really easy to use and it has access to the Dimensional fund that I want. Granted, there are some platform fees of 0.4% p.a. for CPF and SRS and 0.6% p.a. for cash (or lower with higher amounts), but I don’t think the fees are excessive. If you want to invest CPF or SRS, 0.4% p.a. is pretty much standard these days (but do let me know if you find cheaper alternatives) for such investments.

In any case, there is a fee waiver if you use my link (not sponsored, but as with most things you sign up through my site, there is usually an affiliate/referral fee):

Moving forward

I’ve been meaning to add some bond exposure to my overall investment portfolio, so Vanilla Money has been a fun way for me to explore funds that I can use to do so before I increase my holdings significantly.

For the longest time, I’ve been in just cash and equities. With rates for cash deposits like bank accounts and fixed deposits dipping every other week, I will most likely shift a great proportion of my cash holdings towards bonds for higher potential yields with some short-term volatility. Stay subscribed for updates on my investment approach and portfolio if you’re keen!

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Seth Wee was a licensed financial adviser representative from 2009 to 2025, with over 16 years of experience in Singapore’s financial advisory industry.

He started Sethisfy.com in 2019 to share practical insights on credit cards, banking products, and miles strategies, helping readers identify financial products that deliver the best value. Seth has been featured in CNA, Channel 8, Today, and a host of other publications. In 2025, he was also part of a panel at CPF’s Ready For Life festival.

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