Residents with Global Mindset are Financially Fitter

3 in 10 Singapore residents (30%) are considered “very fit” with a score of 80 or above, almost half (48%) of those surveyed are considered “moderate” with a score of 50 to 79, while 2 in 10 (22%) are “unfit” with a score below 50. HSBC FinFit Index financial fitness score shows a strong correlation to an individual’s level of satisfaction in relation to their quality of life, well-being, and retirement confidence.

Our survey reveals that respondents with a higher FinFit score tend to be more knowledgeable about financial products, do more research before making any investment or wealth commitments, and deploy more methods to educate their children about financial management. Overall, 78% of respondents need to take care of others financially (e.g. spouse, children, parents, grandparents, siblings).

Strong correlation between having a global mindset and FinFit score

Overall, both the Fittest (79%) and Fitter (72%) groups view themselves as global citizens.

In particular, international-minded respondents¹ have a higher FinFit score of 69/100 compared to those that do not plan or have any intentions to invest or fund children’s education overseas who have a FinFit score of 63/100. They tend to do more active financial planning (67%) compared to those that have no such interests (49%). Surprisingly, despite their global exposure and investment experience, respondents with an international mindset actually have a weaker sense of financial security than those without (68% vs 77%). Specially, in terms of cyber security which includes sharing of personal, credit card or banking details via social media, unfamiliar online shopping platforms or public WIFI.

Ms Alice Fok, Head of Customer, International and Marketing, HSBC Bank (Singapore) said: “We see a strong link between having an international mindset and better FinFit score. A possible reason could be having the desire to study or invest overseas forces one to remain disciplined in saving and planning their finances to meet these goals. While being disciplined about their expenses and savings is a good base to start off, people in Singapore need to make a concerted effort to do more active financial planning as it will help them be more financially resilient.”

Implications of financial worries on well-being

HSBC FinFit Index study shows that 66% of Singapore residents have money worries in the past six months. This leads to 1 in 2 (46%) to suffer from anxiety while more than 1 in 3 (37%) have trouble sleeping.

Top Three Financial Concerns:

1. Dealing with unexpected expenses (60%)
2. Education fee, tuition fee, classes fee for children (60%)
3. Supporting parents financially (60%)

Ms Fok added: “When it comes to managing your money, inertia is our greatest enemy. Active financial planning can help you make the most of your assets and generate better long-term returns than keeping cash in the bank. A good starting point for novice investors would be to use financial planning digital tools to learn more about investing and applications such as HSBC FinConnect to obtain a clear view of your total assets and liabilities in Singapore. They should also work with a trusted financial advisor to get a better understanding of their risk tolerance level and map out a holistic plan that can meet their long-term financial goals.”

HSBC Singapore will continue to leverage these insights to improve digital banking solutions and enhance its investment platform to help our customers get more financially fit.

In particular, HSBC customers can get a 360 view of their financial holdings including equities in Singapore via HSBC FinConnect which taps on SGFinDex, an industry platform for open banking. They can now open investment accounts for various asset classes including unit trusts and equities; execute equity trades in key markets such as Hong Kong and the US; get a consolidated view of their investments via Wealth Dashboard; perform risk analysis on their Unit Trust investment portfolio via Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service; gain investment insights and manage their foreign currencies and remittance needs, by using their mobile.

In addition, customers can also leverage HSBC Premier Family which provides their immediate family access to the full suite of benefits and privileges - both within Singapore and abroad - with no minimum balance requirement. Launched in 2021, HSBC is the first bank in Singapore to extend privileges to Premier customers’ children between the ages of 12 and 30². Besides supporting their children who are studying overseas on their banking needs, HSBC Premier Family can also help customers’ adult offsprings to kick-start their financial planning journey as they grow their career.

Conducted from 2 December 2021 to 12 January 2022, HSBC FinFit Index took the views of more than 1,100 respondents residing in Singapore including employment pass holders. It aims to assess the current status of Singapore residents on personal finances management.

Media enquiries to:

Betty Fong, HSBC Singapore | +65 6658 4103 | betty.c.y.fong@hsbc.com.sg