IBKR vs FSM Global RSP for UCITS ETFs: Which Is Cheaper?
Comparing IBKR and FSM Global for recurring investments into VWRA, CSPX and other LSE UCITS ETFs.
This article contains referral links to Interactive Brokers, FSM Global and IG Markets. If you sign up through my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own. I have personally used IBKR since 2020. I am not a licensed financial adviser under Singapore's Financial Advisers Act, and this article is for general information only.
If you're investing regularly into USD-denominated UCITS ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange, things like VALL, VWRA & CSPX, both Interactive Brokers and FSM Global (formerly FSMOne, I'll call it FSM for the rest of this article) can work out to be low-cost options. The difference is in how the costs are structured.
FSM currently offers 0% processing fees for eligible ETF Regular Savings Plan (RSP) purchases, including supported LSE-listed ETFs. IBKR charges a minimum commission for LSE trades, but its automatic FX conversion is noticeably cheaper than what FSM's exchange rate typically works out to.
So for smaller monthly RSP amounts, FSM's zero processing fee looks attractive. As the monthly investment amount increases, IBKR's FX advantage matters more. The question this article answers is simple: at what RSP amount does IBKR become cheaper overall?
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For this comparison, I'll use the following working assumptions:
FSM assumed FX spread: 0.33%
IBKR auto-FX cost: 0.03%
Difference: 0.33% − 0.03% = 0.30%
For USD-denominated UK-listed securities under IBKR's Tiered pricing, the minimum commission is US$1.70. Assuming 9% Singapore GST applies to that commission, US$1.70 × 1.09 ≈ US$1.85.
The breakeven is therefore US$1.85 ÷ 0.30% ≈ US$618 per RSP.
For every calculation in this article, I use a fixed rate of US$1 = S$1.28, the rate at the time of writing, so the numbers are simple to follow. Exchange rates fluctuate constantly, so the actual rate you get will differ. Treat every SGD figure below as an example, not a live quote.
At US$1 = S$1.28, US$618 × 1.28 ≈ S$791. For simplicity, I'd remember it as roughly S$800 per RSP.
Below roughly US$618 / S$791, FSM can have the lower estimated transaction cost under these assumptions. Above roughly US$618 / S$791, IBKR starts becoming cheaper.
Why the IBKR Minimum Commission Matters
I covered this in more detail in my previous article, How Much Should You Invest Per IBKR UCITS ETF Trade?
For USD-denominated UK-listed securities under IBKR Tiered pricing, the first commission tier is 0.05% of trade value, with a minimum of US$1.70 per order.
This minimum commission isn't a major issue when your trade size is large. If you're investing US$2,000 or US$5,000 at a time, the minimum commission is a relatively small percentage of your total investment. But it becomes much more noticeable if you're investing US$200, US$300 or US$500 per month. That's where FSM's 0% processing fee becomes more competitive.
FSM ETF RSP: 0% Processing Fee
FSM Global's ETF Regular Savings Plan currently supports ETFs listed on markets including the London Stock Exchange, and its official FAQ confirms support for LSE ETFs and fractional units.
Their FAQ states that the RSP processing fee has been waived since 2021 and will continue at 0% until further notice. There's also a specific FSM page covering LSE availability and RSP access.
For the purposes of this comparison, I'll model the FSM RSP processing fee as US$0. There may still be applicable exchange-related fees, taxes or other charges depending on the product and market.
The Less Transparent Part: FSM FX
FSM doesn't appear to publish a fixed SGD/USD FX spread as a single headline percentage. So I wouldn't describe 0.33% as an official FSM fee, it isn't one.
Instead, I looked at online user datapoints and forum discussions about the effective SGD/USD FX spread. The figures mentioned generally fell in the 0.25% to 0.36% range, depending on timing and the FX rate being compared.
Because there's no official fixed percentage, I need a working assumption for this comparison. For simplicity, I'll use 0.33%. This sits within the range of online observations and gives a clean comparison against IBKR's 0.03% auto-FX cost.
0.33% is an assumption, not an officially published FSM FX fee. The actual effective spread may be higher or lower. If the FX spread changes, the breakeven changes with it.
IBKR Auto-FX Cost: 0.03%
IBKR is more transparent here. For automatic currency conversions, Interactive Brokers states that it will typically adjust the exchange rate by 0.03%, without charging a separate commission for the automatic conversion.
So for an SGD-funded purchase of a USD-denominated UCITS ETF, I'll model IBKR's FX cost as 0.03%. That gives FSM's assumed FX cost of 0.33% versus IBKR's auto-FX cost of 0.03%, a difference of 0.30 percentage points. That gap is the key number in this comparison.
Finding the Breakeven
IBKR saves approximately 0.30% of the RSP amount on FX compared with FSM under these assumptions. But IBKR also charges around US$1.85 in minimum commission. The breakeven is where these 2 effects cancel out:
US$1.85 ÷ 0.30% = US$617 to US$618
At US$1 = S$1.28, that's approximately S$791
For an easier number to remember, I'd round this to about S$800 per RSP.
Why the Calculation Uses 0.30%, Not 0.33%
It would be easy to simply calculate US$1.85 ÷ 0.33%. But that assumes IBKR's FX cost is zero. It isn't, IBKR's automatic currency conversion still carries an approximate 0.03% cost.
So the fair comparison is FSM's 0.33% minus IBKR's 0.03%, which gives 0.30%. That's why the correct, simplified breakeven formula is US$1.85 ÷ 0.30%, not US$1.85 ÷ 0.33%.
Worked Examples
Since we're discussing USD-denominated UCITS ETFs listed on the LSE, I'll use USD as the primary unit, with the SGD equivalent shown using US$1 = S$1.28.
FSM: US$200 × 0.33% = US$0.66 FX cost, plus US$0 processing fee = US$0.66 total.
IBKR: US$200 × 0.03% = US$0.06 auto-FX, plus ~US$1.85 minimum commission = ~US$1.91 total.
At US$200 a month, FSM is clearly cheaper under these assumptions.
FSM: US$400 × 0.33% = US$1.32
IBKR: US$400 × 0.03% = US$0.12, plus ~US$1.85 = ~US$1.97
FSM remains cheaper.
FSM: US$600 × 0.33% = US$1.98
IBKR: US$600 × 0.03% = US$0.18, plus ~US$1.85 = ~US$2.03
FSM remains slightly cheaper, but the difference is now very small.
FSM: US$618 × 0.33% ≈ US$2.04
IBKR: US$618 × 0.03% ≈ US$0.19, plus ~US$1.85 ≈ US$2.04
The 2 are approximately equal. This is where the "around S$800" rule of thumb comes from.
FSM: US$800 × 0.33% = US$2.64
IBKR: US$800 × 0.03% = US$0.24, plus ~US$1.85 = ~US$2.09
IBKR is now cheaper by approximately US$0.55 per RSP.
FSM: US$1,000 × 0.33% = US$3.30
IBKR: US$1,000 × 0.03% = US$0.30, plus ~US$1.85 = ~US$2.15
Estimated saving with IBKR: US$1.15 per RSP, or about US$13.80 a year (~S$17.70) across 12 monthly investments. IBKR is cheaper, though the absolute dollar difference is still relatively small.
At US$2,000, IBKR's underlying percentage commission is US$2,000 × 0.05% = US$1.00, still below the US$1.70 minimum, so the minimum commission continues to apply.
FSM: US$2,000 × 0.33% = US$6.60
IBKR: US$2,000 × 0.03% = US$0.60, plus ~US$1.85 = ~US$2.45
Estimated saving with IBKR: ~US$4.15 per RSP, or about US$49.80 a year (~S$63.75). The difference becomes more meaningful at larger RSP amounts.
Cost Comparison at a Glance
| Monthly RSP | Approx. SGD | FSM @ 0.33% | IBKR @ 0.03% + ~US$1.85 | Lower Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US$200 | S$256 | US$0.66 | US$1.91 | FSM |
| US$400 | S$512 | US$1.32 | US$1.97 | FSM |
| US$600 | S$768 | US$1.98 | US$2.03 | FSM |
| US$618 | S$791 | ~US$2.04 | ~US$2.04 | Breakeven |
| US$800 | S$1,024 | US$2.64 | US$2.09 | IBKR |
| US$1,000 | S$1,280 | US$3.30 | US$2.15 | IBKR |
| US$2,000 | S$2,560 | US$6.60 | US$2.45 | IBKR |
The main threshold to remember is ~US$618 / S$791, or simply, around S$800 per RSP.
What If You Buy More Than One ETF?
The US$618 breakeven assumes 1 ETF order per RSP, for example, US$1,000 entirely into VWRA. If you split your monthly investment across several ETFs, the comparison changes.
Suppose you invest US$1,000 per month across 4 ETFs, for example SPYL, EXUS, EIMI and IGLN. If each IBKR order attracts the minimum commission, the approximate commission becomes US$1.85 × 4 = US$7.40, before considering FX. FSM's 0% RSP processing fee becomes much more competitive in this situation.
So the S$800 rule shouldn't be read as "above S$800, IBKR always wins." The correct interpretation is: for 1 USD-denominated LSE UCITS ETF order, the breakeven is approximately US$618 / S$791 under the assumptions used here. If you buy multiple ETFs every month, calculate the cost for each order separately.
What If You Already Hold USD?
This article assumes a common Singapore investor workflow: earn SGD, fund your brokerage in SGD, then buy a USD-denominated LSE UCITS ETF. If you already hold USD inside your brokerage account, the comparison changes.
If no currency conversion is required, the assumed 0.33% FSM FX cost and 0.03% IBKR auto-FX cost don't apply to that particular purchase. At that point, you're mainly comparing trading commissions, ETF availability, RSP features, execution, platform experience, custody and transfer flexibility instead. So the US$618 breakeven is specifically relevant when both platforms need to convert SGD into USD.
What About IG Markets?
There's 1 more platform worth mentioning. IG Markets offers an interesting structure for investors buying shares and ETFs. Its Singapore share-trading account currently offers S$0 commission, S$0 platform fees and S$0 settlement fees, with access to UK shares and ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Its main differentiator is 3% p.a. interest on eligible holdings, up to the first S$50,000. IG states that at least 1 qualifying trade per calendar month is required to receive the monthly interest payout. At the full S$50,000 cap, that's S$50,000 × 3% = S$1,500 per year, a meaningful benefit. IG Markets can also be used for recurring investing, so it can serve a similar DCA use case.
IG states that a spread is applied to FX conversion for international share trades. Its temporary 0% FX markup promotion ran from 22 June to 31 August 2026, after which standard FX conversion pricing resumed.
The issue is that IG doesn't appear to publish 1 fixed percentage for the standard FX spread on its normal share-trading account. Online community datapoints also vary quite widely, some discussions mention figures around ~0.2%, while more recent observations estimate around ~0.4% to 0.6%. These are anecdotal datapoints, not official IG pricing.
Because of that, I wouldn't include IG Markets in the precise IBKR vs FSM breakeven table above, there aren't enough reliable datapoints to assign 1 clean assumed FX percentage with confidence. For now, IG's proposition is S$0 commission, S$0 platform fees, S$0 settlement fees, LSE ETF access, recurring investing available, and 3% p.a. on eligible holdings up to S$50,000, with FX cost less transparent than IBKR's.
The 3% interest benefit can be meaningful enough that it outweighs small differences in trading and FX costs for investors who intentionally keep close to the S$50,000 holdings cap.
My Practical Framework
For someone funding in SGD and buying 1 USD-denominated LSE UCITS ETF per month:
FSM can be cheaper under these assumptions.
IBKR starts becoming cheaper.
Recalculate each IBKR order separately, because each order may attract another minimum commission.
The FX comparison becomes much less relevant.
Potentially attractive because of zero trading fees and 3% p.a. on eligible holdings up to S$50,000, but I'd want more reliable FX-spread datapoints before calculating a precise breakeven.
Do Not Over-Optimise Small Differences
At US$600, the difference between FSM and IBKR under these assumptions is only around US$0.05. At US$800, IBKR's estimated advantage is only around US$0.55. I wouldn't redesign my entire brokerage setup around amounts that small.
There are other factors worth weighing too: ETF availability, automation, FX transparency, execution, user interface, transfer-out flexibility, custody structure, account consolidation, whether a promotion continues, how many ETFs you buy each month, and eventual selling costs. The purpose of this comparison isn't to identify a universal winner, it's to understand at what point the cost difference becomes large enough to matter.
Ask Me Your IBKR Question
This article is part of my IBKR Singapore Q&A series. My previous article, How Much Should You Invest Per IBKR UCITS ETF Trade?, covers the minimum commission side of this topic in more depth.
Got an IBKR question you want answered? Post it in the HoneyMoneySG Telegram chat, and I'll pick the best ones for future articles.
Final Thoughts
For a single SGD-funded RSP into a USD-denominated LSE UCITS ETF, the main number from this comparison is ~US$618 per RSP, using FSM's assumed FX spread of 0.33%, IBKR's auto-FX of 0.03%, a difference of 0.30%, and IBKR's minimum commission after assumed 9% GST of ~US$1.85. At US$1 = S$1.28, that's roughly S$791, or simply, around S$800.
Below that amount, FSM can have the lower estimated transaction cost for 1 ETF RSP under these assumptions. Above that amount, IBKR starts becoming cheaper. If you split your monthly investment across multiple ETFs, FSM can remain competitive at a much higher total monthly investment, since each IBKR order can attract another minimum commission. And if you're considering IG Markets, its 3% p.a. interest on eligible holdings up to S$50,000 is a separate benefit worth considering, though I'd want more reliable FX-spread datapoints before putting it into the same mathematical comparison.
The main takeaway: 0% processing fee doesn't necessarily mean 0% total cost. For international investing, FX can matter just as much as the headline trading commission.
- FSM offers 0% processing fees on ETF RSP, including LSE-listed ETFs, but its SGD/USD FX spread isn't officially published, this article assumes 0.33% based on online datapoints
- IBKR charges a US$1.70 minimum commission (~US$1.85 after assumed GST), but its auto-FX conversion is much cheaper, around 0.03%
- The breakeven for a single ETF RSP is approximately US$618, or roughly S$791 at US$1 = S$1.28
- Below ~US$618, FSM tends to be cheaper; above it, IBKR starts to win, though the dollar differences are small until larger amounts
- If you buy multiple ETFs each month on IBKR, each order can attract its own minimum commission, pushing the practical breakeven for FSM much higher
- If you already hold USD, the FX comparison mostly disappears, and the decision comes down to commissions and platform features instead
- IG Markets offers S$0 commission and 3% p.a. interest on eligible holdings up to S$50,000, but its FX spread is not yet reliable enough to include in a precise breakeven
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Disclosure: This article contains referral links to Interactive Brokers, FSM Global (referral code P0352323) and IG Markets. If you sign up through these links, HoneyMoneySG may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Promotional rewards and interest offers are subject to each platform's own eligibility requirements and latest terms and conditions, and may change or be withdrawn without notice. Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd. is licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Licence No. CMS100917). FSM Global and IG Markets' Singapore entities are separately licensed by MAS; please verify current licensing status on each platform's own website. Figures in this article, including the assumed FSM FX spread of 0.33% and IG FX spread estimates, are illustrative assumptions based on published pricing and online datapoints at the time of writing, not official published rates for every platform, and actual costs may vary. Exchange rates fluctuate constantly. I am not a licensed financial adviser under Singapore's Financial Advisers Act. This article is for general information and educational purposes only, does not take into account your personal financial situation or objectives, and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any specific product. Please conduct your own research, and consider seeking advice from a licensed financial adviser, before making any investment decision.