StashAway vs Buying ETFs Yourself: What Each Really Costs Over 20 Years
In November 2024, StashAway Malaysia told reporters it had passed RM1 billion in assets and had saved Malaysians more than RM130 million in fees. The comparison was with unit trusts, which often take a 5% sales charge on day one and around 2% a year after that.
That claim is fair. Against a typical unit trust, StashAway is a big step up.
But the people who search "StashAway vs DIY ETF" aren't comparing it with a unit trust. They're asking a harder question: "If I just bought the ETFs myself, how much more would I keep?"
Here is the plain answer, worked out to the ringgit.
The short answer Put RM100,000 to work for 20 years at a 7% yearly return. After every fee, tax and currency cost, StashAway leaves you about RM295,600. Buying an Irish-domiciled S&P 500 ETF yourself through Interactive Brokers leaves you about RM364,500. That's a gap of roughly RM68,900, nearly 70% of your starting money. StashAway still beats a typical unit trust by about RM49,000. DIY only wins if you can sit still when markets crash. |
The rest of this guide shows exactly where that RM68,900 goes, the three hidden costs most comparison articles skip, what StashAway's fee really buys you, and a simple way to decide which road fits you.
In this guide:
The two roads, in plain words
Road 1: StashAway. You answer a few questions, StashAway picks a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for your risk level, and it handles everything else. It buys, rebalances, reinvests and reports. You never place a trade. It's licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia, and your assets are held by a custodian, separate from the company's own money.
Road 2: Do it yourself (DIY). You open a brokerage account, move your money in, and buy one or two low-cost index ETFs yourself. Many Malaysians use Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and buy the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (ticker CSPX) or the Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (ticker VWRA). Others use Moomoo or Rakuten Trade and buy US-listed ETFs such as VOO or IVV.
Both roads end up in the same kind of thing: low-cost index funds. The difference is the layers of cost wrapped around them, and who does the work.
If you're new to index funds, start with how many index funds you actually need. The answer is probably fewer than you think.
Every fee on the StashAway road
StashAway's headline is simple: a yearly management fee of 0.2% to 0.8%, with no sales charge, no exit fee and free withdrawals. That's true, but three more costs ride along with it.
1. The management fee (tiered by how much you invest)
Your total investment (RM) | Fee on that slice each year |
First RM150,000 | 0.8% |
RM150,000 to RM250,000 | 0.7% |
RM250,000 to RM350,000 | 0.6% |
RM350,000 to RM500,000 | 0.5% |
RM500,000 to RM1 million | 0.4% |
RM1 million to RM3 million | 0.3% |
Above RM3 million | 0.2% |
Source: StashAway Malaysia pricing page, checked 3 November 2026. The fee is worked out on each slice, like income tax brackets.
Here is the part the "0.2%" headline hides. Anyone with RM150,000 or less pays the full 0.8%. You need RM3 million before your blended rate gets near the low end.
There's also a minimum fee of RM5 a month at account level. It doesn't apply in your first six months, or in any month you add more money than you take out. If you hold a small balance and stop adding to it, this can push your real fee above 0.8%.
2. The ETF costs inside the portfolio
StashAway's fee doesn't include the ETFs' own running costs. StashAway says these average about 0.2% a year. You never see this as a charge. It's taken quietly from the fund's value, just like every ETF.
3. The 30% US dividend tax
Most StashAway portfolios hold US-listed ETFs. StashAway's own help centre says that all dividends from US-listed securities are taxed 30% at source, whether you buy them through StashAway or your own broker. Malaysia has no tax treaty with the US, so there's no discount.
We'll come back to why this matters so much.
4. Currency conversion
StashAway's portfolios are in US dollars. Each time ringgit is converted, StashAway applies a spread of 0.35%. That's genuinely cheap compared with banks (often 1% to 3%), but you pay it on the way in and again on the way out.
Quick math: StashAway's real yearly cost 0.8% management fee + about 0.2% ETF costs + about 0.33% lost to dividend tax = roughly 1.33% a year, before the 0.35% currency spread on deposits and withdrawals. |
Every fee on the DIY road
DIY isn't free either. Here's what a typical Malaysian pays to buy CSPX through Interactive Brokers.
Getting money in. IBKR doesn't take ringgit directly, so most Malaysians fund it through Wise. NoMoneyLah measured Wise's cost at about RM10.46 on a RM1,000 transfer (1.05%) and RM61.46 on RM10,000 (0.61%). Personal Wise accounts in Malaysia are capped at about RM20,000, so big sums go in several batches.
Buying. IBKR charges 0.05% of the trade for US-dollar ETFs on the London Stock Exchange, with a minimum of US$1.70 per order on its tiered plan (plus small exchange fees), or US$4 on its fixed plan.
Holding. CSPX has a total expense ratio of 0.07% a year. There's no platform fee and no management fee.
Dividend tax. CSPX is domiciled in Ireland. Under the US–Ireland tax treaty, the fund pays 15% on its US dividends instead of 30%. That leak is cut in half, and you never fill in a form for it.
Quick math: DIY's real yearly cost 0.07% fund cost + about 0.17% lost to dividend tax = roughly 0.24% a year, plus about 0.6% currency cost each time you move money in or out. |
What about Moomoo or Rakuten Trade?
They're easier to fund (ringgit, local bank transfer) and both are licensed in Malaysia. Moomoo Malaysia charges 0.03% commission plus a US$0.99 platform fee per US order (new users get the commission waived for 180 days). Rakuten Trade charges 0.10% per US trade, minimum US$0.88, capped at US$25.
The catch: they sell US-listed ETFs such as VOO and IVV, not London-listed CSPX. So you're back to the 30% dividend tax and the US estate tax problem (both below). On RM100,000 over 20 years, holding VOO instead of CSPX leaves you about RM9,100 poorer, because the extra dividend tax outweighs VOO's lower fee.
For the full side-by-side, read CSPX vs VOO: which S&P 500 ETF to buy if you don't live in the US, and the step-by-step guide to investing in the S&P 500 from Malaysia.
The 20-year bill: RM10,000, RM100,000 and RM500,000
Now the numbers everyone wants. Same market, same 20 years, same 7% yearly return before costs. The only difference is the road you take.
Starting sum | StashAway | DIY (CSPX via IBKR) | Gap | Typical unit trust |
RM10,000 | RM29,447 | RM36,432 | RM6,985 | RM24,634 |
RM100,000 | RM295,570 | RM364,481 | RM68,911 | RM246,341 |
RM500,000 | RM1,550,307 | RM1,822,421 | RM272,114 | RM1,231,704 |
RM1,000 a month (RM240,000 total) | RM434,241 | RM484,215 | RM49,974 | RM381,953 |
All figures are after every modelled cost, including converting the money back to ringgit at the end.
How these numbers were worked out
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Look at the shape of those lines. In year 1 the gap is about RM500. Nobody notices. By year 10 it's about RM18,700. By year 20 it's nearly RM69,000.
That's how fees work. They don't hit you once. They take a slice every month, and then the slice they took can never grow again.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission shows the same effect in its investor bulletin. On US$100,000 growing at 4% for 20 years, a 0.25% yearly fee leaves about US$208,000. A 1% fee leaves about US$179,000. You can test your own numbers with the free Hidden Fee Calculator.
Where the RM68,900 actually goes
Here's what each road takes from the RM100,000 investor over 20 years.
Cost (RM100,000, 20 years) | StashAway | DIY (CSPX) |
Management fee | RM28,064 | RM0 |
Dividend tax | RM11,945 | RM6,777 |
ETF running costs | RM7,239 | RM2,875 |
Currency and commissions | RM1,388 | RM2,994 |
Total charged | RM48,636 | RM12,646 |
Growth those costs would have earned | RM42,762 | RM9,841 |
Total lost vs a cost-free portfolio | RM91,398 | RM22,487 |
Two things jump out.
First, the management fee is the biggest single cost. It's more than every other StashAway cost combined.
Second, look at the second-to-last row. Nearly half of what fees cost you is the growth they would have earned. RM48,636 is charged directly. Another RM42,762 is the compounding that money never got to do. That second number appears on no statement.
Notice, too, that DIY's currency cost is *higher* than StashAway's. StashAway's 0.35% spread beats Wise. DIY wins because of what happens every single year, not on the day you deposit.
We covered this hidden-compounding effect in detail in the "tiny" 1% fee that can steal a quarter of your retirement.
Hidden cost No. 1: the 30% dividend tax most people never see
Let's slow down on this one, because it never shows up on a bill.
When a US company pays a dividend to a US-listed ETF that you, a Malaysian, own, the US keeps 30% before the money reaches you. Amarjeet Singh, EY's Asean tax leader, put it bluntly in The Edge in 2026: direct holdings in US-domiciled ETFs face a 30% dividend withholding tax, as Malaysia has no tax treaty with the US.
An Irish-domiciled fund like CSPX holds the same US companies. But Ireland *does* have a treaty with the US, so the fund pays 15%. Ireland then charges nothing extra when it passes returns on to non-Irish investors.
For every RM100 of US dividends US-listed ETF (VOO, IVV, most robo portfolios): you keep RM70. Irish-domiciled ETF (CSPX, VWRA): you keep RM85. |
With the S&P 500 yielding only around 1%, this sounds small. It's about 0.17% a year. But over 20 years on RM100,000, it adds up to over RM5,000 in tax, and more in lost growth.
We explain the legal ways to cut it in the 30% dividend tax you didn't know you pay on US stocks.
Hidden cost No. 2: the US estate tax trap
This one doesn't cost you anything while you're alive. It can cost your family a lot after you're gone.
The US taxes the US assets of foreigners when they die. According to the IRS, if a non-resident, non-US citizen dies holding more than US$60,000 of US-situated assets, the estate must file a US estate tax return (Form 706-NA). Tax rates above that line climb as high as 40%. US shares and US-domiciled ETFs like VOO count.
US$60,000 is only about RM246,000. Plenty of disciplined savers will pass that.
Irish-domiciled ETFs such as CSPX and VWRA are not US assets, so this rule doesn't reach them.
What about StashAway? Its help centre says the estate tax rule applies "if you invest in US assets directly as an individual". In a robo-advisor, the ETFs are held through the platform's custodian, so the position is less clear-cut. If your StashAway balance is heading past RM250,000, ask StashAway in writing how this applies to your account, and speak to a tax adviser.
For the full story, read how your family could lose up to 40% of your VOO to the US taxman.
Hidden cost No. 3: small monthly top-ups on the DIY road
Here's where DIY can quietly cost more than people expect.
Say you invest RM1,000 a month. With Wise, a RM1,000 transfer costs about 1.05%. Then IBKR's minimum commission of US$1.70 on a US$240 purchase is another 0.7% or so. Together, that's about 1.7% gone from every monthly deposit.
Over 20 years of monthly top-ups, that adds up to about RM7,300 in transfer costs and commissions. StashAway would charge about RM2,400 in currency spread on the same deposits.
DIY still wins in the end, by about RM50,000, because the yearly costs matter far more. But you can do better:
Batch your money. Save in ringgit and move it every three months instead of monthly. Your costs drop to about RM5,400.
Use the right IBKR plan. For small orders, the tiered plan's US$1.70 minimum beats the fixed plan's US$4.
Buy whole positions, not pieces. One RM3,000 purchase costs far less per ringgit than three RM1,000 ones.
If you're unsure whether to invest monthly or all at once, see lump sum or monthly: how to put money back into the market, or watch what RM2,000 or US$500 a month becomes over 10, 20 and 30 years.
What StashAway's fee actually buys you
So far this might sound like a case against StashAway. It isn't. A fair comparison has to ask what that 0.8% pays for.
It buys a portfolio you don't have to build
StashAway's General Investing portfolios mix shares, bonds and gold across regions, and its ERAA system shifts the mix as economic conditions change. Over the 12 months to 30 September 2026, StashAway reported that these portfolios returned 7.8% on average in US dollars, against 6.8% for their benchmarks.
In the third quarter of 2026 alone, though, they fell 1.1% while their benchmarks fell only 0.5%. Some periods it beats the benchmark, some it lags. That's normal.
To fully close the gap with DIY, StashAway's choices would need to add about 1.1% a year above a plain index, every year, for 20 years. That's a high bar. Very few professional managers clear it over long periods, as we showed in stock picking vs the S&P 500: what 20 years of results say.
It buys automatic rebalancing
If shares boom, StashAway trims them and tops up bonds, bringing you back to your chosen risk level. Most DIY investors say they'll do this. Many never do. If you only hold one ETF, though, there's nothing to rebalance.
It buys a seatbelt for your emotions
This is the big one, and it's real.
Every year, Morningstar measures the gap between what funds earn and what their investors actually earn, after the timing of their buying and selling. In its 2026 "Mind the Gap" study, the average dollar in US funds earned 8.7% a year over the decade to 2025, while the funds themselves returned 9.9%. Investors lost 1.2 percentage points a year, mostly by buying high and selling low.
Morningstar also found the gap was smaller in allocation funds, the ready-made, rebalanced mixes most like a robo-advisor. To be fair, a recent study from the University of Arkansas argues the real cost of bad timing may be much smaller than this. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
But a robo-advisor isn't a magic shield either. Malaysian writer Elizabeth Tai described StashAway as her "training wheels" for investing after she started in 2019. In a candid review, she listed her mistakes: changing her portfolio's risk level again and again (which sells your holdings each time), including during falling markets, and diving into a technology-themed portfolio, the sector hit hardest when markets fell in early 2022.
The app makes good behaviour easier. It can't make it automatic.
The one scenario where StashAway wins
Run the numbers one more time on RM100,000 over 20 years.
If you buy CSPX and leave it alone, you end with about RM364,500.
If you go DIY but lose 1.2% a year to panic-selling and chasing, the Morningstar-sized gap, you end with about RM286,800. That's less than StashAway's RM295,600.
Even a smaller 0.5% behaviour gap drops DIY to about RM329,900. That's still ahead of StashAway, but by less than half as much.
So the real question isn't "Which is cheaper?" DIY is cheaper. The question is: "Will I actually sit still?"
Be honest with yourself here. If you sold in March 2020 or in 2022, a robo-advisor's fee may be cheaper than your own reflexes. If you want to fix those reflexes instead, start with why smart, hard-working people sell at the very bottom.
If you live in Singapore
The same logic applies, with different numbers.
StashAway Singapore charges 0.8% on the first S$25,000, 0.7% up to S$50,000, 0.6% up to S$100,000, 0.5% up to S$250,000, and lower above that. GST of 9% is added on top. On S$100,000, the blended fee is about 0.675%, or about 0.74% with GST.
DIY is a little easier in Singapore. You can fund IBKR in Singapore dollars directly, with no Wise step, and IBKR's own currency conversion costs about 0.002% with a US$2 minimum. Singapore also has no tax treaty with the US, so the 30% versus 15% dividend tax story is the same.
StashAway Singapore's ETF Explorer is worth knowing about: about US$1 per buy or sell (plus 0.09% for SGX-listed ETFs) and no yearly management fee. In Malaysia, ETF Explorer charges US$1.99 per order. For a buy-and-hold investor, that's a middle road: StashAway's convenience without its yearly fee. Check which ETFs it offers and where they're domiciled before you rely on it.
Which one should you pick?
Pick StashAway if:
You know you've panic-sold before, or you're scared you might.
You'd rather pay someone to handle rebalancing and reinvesting.
You're starting small and investing a little every month.
You'd never actually open a foreign broker account. A good plan you follow beats a perfect plan you don't.
Pick DIY if:
You can hold one or two ETFs through a 30% crash without selling.
You're comfortable opening an IBKR account and funding it through Wise.
You have, or will soon have, more than about RM50,000 to invest.
You want Irish-domiciled funds to cut dividend tax and avoid US estate tax exposure.
A third option many people use: keep StashAway for regular monthly saving, and move larger lump sums (a bonus, an EPF withdrawal, an inheritance) into a DIY account once or twice a year. You get the habit-building of the robo and the low cost of DIY where the money is biggest.
And whichever road you choose, both are far better than a unit trust charging 5% up front and 2% a year. If that's where your money is today, read unit trust vs ETF in Malaysia: the fees your agent never showed you first.
Your 20-minute action plan for tonight
Find your real StashAway rate. Open the app, check your total invested, and use the tier table above. Under RM150,000, you're paying 0.8% plus about 0.2% in ETF costs.
Check your fund's home country. Look up each ETF you hold. If the ISIN code starts with "US", you're paying 30% on dividends. If it starts with "IE", it's Irish and you're paying 15%.
Add up your US assets. If your US-listed holdings (in any account) are heading past US$60,000, read up on estate tax and speak to an adviser.
Look back at your worst year. Did you sell, pause or switch to "safer" when markets dropped? Your honest answer decides your road more than any fee table.
Run your own numbers. Plug your balance into the Hidden Fee Calculator, then use the Stock Time Machine to see how investors who stayed put through past crashes really did.
Change one thing, not everything. You don't need to sell your StashAway account tonight. Selling has its own costs. You can simply point new money down the road that fits you.
Frequently asked questions
Is StashAway cheaper than buying ETFs myself?
No. On a like-for-like basis, StashAway costs about 1.33% a year (0.8% fee, about 0.2% ETF costs and the 30% dividend tax), while buying an Irish-domiciled ETF like CSPX costs about 0.24% a year. On RM100,000 over 20 years, that's a gap of roughly RM68,900.
What is StashAway's fee in Malaysia?
StashAway Malaysia charges 0.8% a year on the first RM150,000, falling in steps to 0.2% above RM3 million. ETF running costs of about 0.2% are extra. A RM5 minimum monthly fee can apply if you stop adding money after your first six months.
Is StashAway worth it for beginners?
It can be. If a robo-advisor stops you panic-selling, its fee may cost less than the mistakes it prevents. Morningstar's 2026 study found fund investors lost about 1.2 percentage points a year through bad timing. If you can hold steady on your own, DIY keeps more of your money.
Does StashAway pay 30% withholding tax on dividends?
Yes. StashAway says all dividends from US-listed securities are taxed 30% at source, whether bought through StashAway or your own broker, because Malaysia and Singapore have no tax treaty with the US. Irish-domiciled ETFs like CSPX pay 15% at fund level instead.
What is the cheapest way to buy ETFs from Malaysia?
For long-term investors, a common low-cost route is Interactive Brokers, funded through Wise, buying Irish-domiciled ETFs such as CSPX or VWRA on the London Stock Exchange. Expect about 0.6% to 1% in currency costs per transfer, and a minimum commission of US$1.70 per order on IBKR's tiered plan.
Can I move my StashAway portfolio to Interactive Brokers?
Generally you'd sell and withdraw your StashAway holdings, then fund IBKR and buy again. StashAway charges no withdrawal fee, but you'll pay currency costs both ways. Consider leaving existing money where it is and sending only new money to DIY.
Is my money safe with StashAway?
StashAway Malaysia is licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia, and client assets are held by a custodian, separate from StashAway's own funds. That protects you if the company fails. It doesn't protect you from market falls. For more, see what happens if a fund company goes bankrupt.
Do Malaysians pay Malaysian tax on foreign dividends?
Resident individuals currently enjoy a tax exemption on foreign-sourced income brought into Malaysia until 31 December 2036, subject to conditions, including that the income was taxed where it came from. The US 30% or 15% dividend tax is taken at source either way. Rules can change, so check with LHDN or a tax adviser.
A calm final word
If you've lost money in the stock market before, a fee table like this can feel like one more thing you got wrong. You didn't. Most people are never shown these numbers.
StashAway is a fair product, much fairer than the unit trusts many of us were sold. Buying low-cost Irish ETFs yourself is cheaper still. But the investor who wins over 20 years isn't the one with the lowest fee. It's the one who keeps investing through the bad years and never sells in a panic.
Pick the road you'll actually stay on. Then give it time to work.
About the author Stephen Loke has been a student of the market for more than 15 years. He is also an agritourism entrepreneur whose farm has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general education, not personal financial advice. I'm not a licensed financial adviser. Fees and rules change, so check each provider's current pricing before you invest. |
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Sources
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