Endowus Fund Performance Review 2026: Flagship Portfolios vs the Market Benchmark

Digital Banks · October 2026

Endowus publishes a monthly performance review for its Flagship portfolios, and in 2026 the 100% Equity Portfolio has mostly tracked or modestly beaten its global equity benchmark (outperforming in January, February and Q1, roughly in line in May, and trailing slightly in April and July). But headline returns exclude the Endowus advisory fee of 0.15% to 0.60% p.a., which varies by account source and size. Here is what the numbers actually show, and how to read them before you invest.

Not financial advice. All figures are for educational reference only. Data as at October 2026 unless noted.

In This Review

How Endowus Reports Fund Performance

Endowus publishes a monthly Portfolio Performance Review on its Insights page, breaking down how each Flagship model portfolio performed against a comparable benchmark. A Singapore investor with S$50,000 in the Flagship 100% Equity Portfolio can check these reviews to see, in plain percentage terms, whether the underlying funds Endowus selected (mostly Dimensional and low-cost index funds) are earning their keep versus simply buying a broad global equity index fund directly.

Two things matter when reading these reviews. First, the published monthly return is the fund-level return — it already reflects the fund managers’ own fees (the Total Expense Ratio, or TER) baked into the fund’s net asset value, but it does not subtract the separate Endowus advisory fee charged on top. Second, “benchmark” at Endowus usually means a broad global equity index (an MSCI World or similar composite), not a Singapore-specific index like the Straits Times Index — so the comparison tells you about global diversification skill, not local market timing.

For context on how CPF and SRS funds fit into this picture, see our SRS Account Singapore complete guide before committing a lump sum.

2026 Monthly Performance: Flagship Equity vs Benchmark

Here is how the Endowus Core Flagship 100% Equity Portfolio compared with its global equity benchmark across the months Endowus has published reviews for in 2026:

Source: Endowus monthly and Q1 2026 Portfolio Performance Reviews, endowus.com/insights.

The pattern across six published months: Endowus beat its benchmark three times, matched it once, and trailed it twice — by small margins each time (0.2 to 0.5 percentage points). This is consistent with what you would expect from a portfolio built on evidence-based factor investing (Dimensional funds tilt toward value, size and profitability factors) rather than an attempt to time the market. It is not a case for or against Endowus on its own; it simply shows the fund-selection layer is doing roughly what a diversified, factor-tilted global equity allocation should do — tracking closely, with modest deviation in either direction.

Fee Drag: How Much of Your Return Endowus Keeps

The published fund-level return is not what lands in your account. Endowus charges its own advisory fee on top, ranging from 0.15% to 0.60% p.a. depending on the investment objective, the source of funds (Cash, CPF or SRS), and your total assets under advice (AUA). A Singapore investor holding S$30,000 in a CPF OA Multi-fund portfolio at the 0.40% flat tier pays roughly S$120 a year in advisory fees alone, on top of the underlying funds’ own TER (typically 0.07% to 0.20% for the index-tracking building blocks Endowus uses).

Source: Endowus pricing page, endowus.com/pricing, as at October 2026. Fees step down at higher AUA tiers; excludes underlying fund-level TER.

Cash Smart is the cheapest wrapper at 0.15% because it holds mostly money-market and short-duration bond funds rather than equities, and the fee is already netted into the published yield (1.2% to 2.4% p.a. as at October 2026 across Secure, Enhanced and Ultra). For a full breakdown of those yields, see our Endowus Cash Smart Singapore 2026 review.

Cash Smart vs Flagship: Which Portfolio for Which Goal

The performance review numbers above only apply to the Flagship equity portfolios — they say nothing about whether Cash Smart or Flagship is the right starting point for your money. The two serve different jobs:

• Cash Smart is for money you need within 6 to 24 months — an emergency fund, a house deposit, or short-term CPF/SRS parking. It targets capital stability over growth, with net yields of 1.2% (Secure) to 2.4% p.a. (Ultra) as at October 2026.
• Flagship portfolios are for money with a 5+ year horizon where you can tolerate drawdowns. The 100% Equity option is the highest-volatility, highest-expected-return tier; Endowus also offers blended equity/bond allocations (e.g. 80/20, 60/40) for investors who want less variance.

A Singapore investor in their 30s saving for retirement 25+ years out would typically sit in a higher-equity Flagship allocation inside their SRS or CPF OA, while keeping 6 months of expenses in Cash Smart Secure outside any investment account. Mixing the two based on time horizon — not performance-chasing month to month — is the core discipline the monthly reviews are meant to support, not replace.

CPF OA/SA and SRS-Specific Considerations

Endowus’s ability to invest CPF Ordinary Account, CPF Special Account, and SRS monies — not just cash — is one of its most-cited advantages over competitors like Syfe and FSMOne, which have more limited CPF support. But the performance numbers need an extra layer of context inside these wrappers:

CPF OA money currently earns a guaranteed 2.5% p.a. (subject to CPF Board revision) if left untouched. Moving it into a Flagship equity portfolio only makes sense if you have genuine conviction in beating that floor over your investment horizon, net of the 0.30%–0.40% advisory fee shown above — the CPF Investment Scheme rules also cap how much OA you can invest and require a minimum balance be retained. See our Endowus CPFIS 2026 CPF OA guide for the exact caps.

SRS contributions already carry a tax-relief benefit at the point of contribution (dollar-for-dollar reduction in chargeable income, subject to the S$15,300 annual cap for Singapore Citizens and PRs), so the investment return inside SRS is effectively a bonus on top of the relief already banked — this materially changes the “is it worth it” calculation compared to judging Flagship performance on a standalone cash basis.

How to Read a Performance Review Before You Invest

Four checks worth running on any robo-advisor performance review, Endowus included, before treating a good month (or bad month) as a signal:

1. Check the time horizon. A single month of outperformance or underperformance is statistical noise. Look at rolling 12-month and since-inception figures where available, not the latest print in isolation.
2. Confirm what “benchmark” means. A global equity benchmark is not the same comparison as the Straits Times Index or a single-country ETF — make sure the benchmark matches your own alternative (what would you otherwise have bought?).
3. Net out all fees, not just the headline one. Add the Endowus advisory fee to the underlying funds’ TER to get your true all-in cost, then compare that total against a DIY alternative (e.g. buying a global index ETF directly on IBKR).
4. Separate the portfolio decision from the platform decision. The 100% Equity allocation itself (not Endowus specifically) is what drives most of the return and volatility. The fee you pay Endowus is for fund selection, CPF/SRS integration, and rebalancing — weigh that against doing it yourself.

Endowus vs Syfe vs FSMOne: Where Performance Stands Out

Endowus, Syfe and FSMOne are not direct substitutes — they differ in what they let you invest (CPF/SRS access), how actively they manage the portfolio, and what you pay for it:

If what you value is a hands-off, fee-transparent, CPF-and-SRS-friendly portfolio with a published monthly scorecard, Endowus’s Flagship range is purpose-built for that. If you want to pick your own unit trusts or ETFs at the lowest possible transaction cost, FSMOne’s self-directed shelf gives more control. You can compare current sign-up terms on our Endowus referral code page, Syfe referral code page, and FSMOne referral code page.

For a broader view of where these platforms fit into a full retirement plan, our Singapore retirement calculator and CPF investment strategy guide walk through sequencing CPF, SRS and cash across platforms.

Open an Endowus Account

New sign-ups can check the current welcome offer on our referral page below.

Endowus Performance: Frequently Asked Questions