> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.equity-edit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 72% in Cash: Is Our Love of Safe Money Holding Us Back? - URL: https://www.equity-edit.com/singapore-affluent-cash-72-percent/ - Published: 2026-10-28T07:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T07:00:00.000Z - Description: A new Citi Wealth report finds that among Singapore’s affluent, most wealth sits in cash and deposits, far more than in the US. Cash feels safe. But with inflation at 2.2%, safety has a price. - Author: Editor - Tags: Modern Lifestyle, Life, #custom-hero, #Import 2026-10-28 14:23 ![Bank towers in Singapore’s Marina Bay financial district behind pink bougainvillea.](https://www.equity-edit.com/content/files/images/2026/10/affluent-cash-hero.jpg) Singapore’s financial district at Marina Bay. #### TL;DR - **Singapore’s affluent are cash-heavy.** 72% of affluent clients’ onshore assets sit in cash and deposits, compared with 42% for affluent and wealthy clients in the US. - **Cash is barely keeping pace with prices.** Headline inflation was 2.2% in September. The best 12-month fixed deposits pay about 2.1%, and 6-month T-bills 1.95%. - **The question isn’t whether to hold cash, but how much.** An emergency fund and money for near-term plans belong in cash. Long-term money left idle quietly loses value. Singapore’s affluent are getting richer. But much of that wealth is not being put to work. A white paper released on 22 October by Citi Wealth and research firm RFI Global found that average assets for affluent clients in Singapore, those with US$100,000 to US$1 million with the bank, rose 5% over the past year to just over US$565,000. But most of that money is sitting still. **72% of affluent clients’ onshore assets are held in cash and deposits.** For assets booked offshore, the figure is 74%. Only around a quarter is invested. In the US, affluent and high-net-worth clients hold 42% in deposits and 58% in long-term investments. #### Where the money sits Singapore affluent, onshore *72%*28% Singapore affluent, offshore *74%*26% US affluent and HNW *42%*58% Cash and depositsInvestments Share of assets. Singapore offshore figure is for assets booked offshore. Source: Citi Wealth and RFI Global, October 2026. ![Pedestrians crossing a road in central Singapore.](https://www.equity-edit.com/content/files/images/2026/10/affluent-cash-street.jpg) Pedestrians in central Singapore. ## Why We Love Cash There are good reasons to hold cash, and the report points to two of them: liquidity and capital preservation. Cash is there when you need it. Its value does not drop overnight because markets fall. And in a city where big expenses arrive in large lumps, a home down payment, school fees, a renovation, a parent’s medical bill, having money on hand feels prudent. Rates have also made cash look respectable. For much of the past few years, fixed deposits and T-bills paid enough that keeping money in the bank felt like a reasonable decision rather than a lazy one. Cash feels safe because its risk is invisible. ## The Cost of Feeling Safe The risk of cash is not that it falls in value. It is that it quietly buys less. Singapore’s headline inflation was 2.2% in September, with core inflation at 2.0%. Compare that with what cash is earning today: #### What cash earns vs inflation Best 12-month fixed deposit**\~2.10%** 6-month T-bill (22 Oct auction)**1.95%** Singapore Savings Bond (Nov), year one**1.67%** Headline inflation (Sept)**2.2%** Rates as of late October 2026 and change frequently. Sources: MAS, MTI, Beansprout. In other words, even the best-paying safe options are roughly treading water after inflation. Money left in an ordinary savings account is going backwards. Over time, that adds up. If prices rise by 2.2% a year for a decade, S$100,000 would buy only what about S$80,400 buys today. ![A grandmother, mother and young child walking along Orchard Road.](https://www.equity-edit.com/content/files/images/2026/10/affluent-cash-family.jpg) Shoppers on Orchard Road. ## How Much Cash Is Enough? None of this means cash is a mistake. The question is what each dollar is for. **Money you might need soon** belongs somewhere safe and accessible. That includes an emergency fund, typically several months of expenses, and savings for plans in the next few years, such as a home purchase or a sabbatical. **Money you won’t need for many years** is different. Leaving it in cash protects against short-term swings, but at the cost of long-term growth. There are signs that attitudes are shifting. The same report found that mutual fund ownership among Singapore’s high-net-worth clients rose from 11% in 2022 to 31% in 2026, the highest rate in Asia. ## THE EDIT As Singaporeans, we are good at saving. The harder habit is putting our savings to work. Holding cash is not wrong. Holding cash without a purpose often is. A useful exercise is to split your money into three buckets: what you need now, what you need in the next few years, and what you won’t touch for a decade or more. Only the first two really need to be in cash. > Cash buys peace of mind. The question is whether you are paying more for it than you realise. *Sources: Citi Wealth and RFI Global, "Singapore at Heart, Global in Possibilities" white paper (22 October 2026), as reported by The Straits Times and The Star; Singapore consumer price index for September 2026 (MAS and MTI, 23 October 2026); MAS T-bill auction results (22 October 2026); Singapore Savings Bonds November 2026 issue; fixed deposit rates as compiled by Beansprout (October 2026). Rates change frequently. This article is for general information and education, not personalised financial advice.*