My Experience with DBS Treasures

I signed up for DBS Treasures in September this year after seeing a promotional notification on my DBS digibank app. The promotion stated that, upon successful sign-up, Multiplier account holders would receive the Multiplier tiered bonus interest on account balances of up to $200,000.

Since it's an easy opportunity for my idle cash, I figured—why not? I could simply transfer funds from my UOB Stash account, especially since UOB had reduced its effective interest rate to 2.045% (and would be reducing it further to 1.5% from 1st December).

From the Welcome email, these were the highlighted benefits of being a DBS Treasures client:

A Unique Blend of Personalised Advisory and Digital Capabilities

• Bespoke Solutions for Accredited Investors

As an Accredited Investor, you gain access to a wider range of sophisticated investment products, such as investment-grade bonds, equity-linked notes, and more—beyond the usual retail offerings. This expanded range is meant to enhance your portfolio’s performance.

Note: Being a Treasures client does not automatically makes you an accredited investor. You will need to fulfill other criteria and apply for it separately.

• Comprehensive Market Insights from Wealth Investment Experts

Insights from the Chief Investment Office, Group Research team, and Investment Counsellors are shared regularly to support your portfolio strategy with up-to-date market views and opportunities.

• Exclusive Invites to DBS Treasures Wealth Events

Clients enjoy curated events and webinars designed to broaden investment knowledge and facilitate networking with like-minded peers and industry professionals.

• Wealth Management Account (WMA) in DBS digibank

Treasures clients gain access to a Wealth Management Account, providing a holistic view of their portfolio along with market analysis and investment tools.

My first contact with my relationship manager (RM) after sign-up was via the Welcome email. I had asked about the Terms and Conditions of the sign-up promotion, as oddly enough, I could no longer find the details on the app or website. The DBS website now showed a different promotion starting in October.

Fortunately, I had taken a partial screenshot of it on my phone.

A Meet-Up for Product Selling

There was no email reply to my query (so much for sharing more details per stated on the screenshot eh?), but a meet-up was proposed. So I had a meet up with my RM who was accompanied by a Product Manager (PM). Before the meeting, I was under the impression that the RM would review my financials and risk appetite to recommend suitable investments for my portfolio or perhaps discuss a mortgage refinancing. That was not the case.

My original query about the promotion remained unanswered; the RM said she wasn’t aware of the details and needed to check. Meanwhile, I was pitched an annuity plan (a DBS–Manulife tie-up) bundled with a DBS loan “exclusive to Treasures clients.” The minimum single premium was $500,000, and the loan component was meant to boost the monthly payouts.

After being persuaded to take it up at first, I thought it through again that night and decided not to. My reasons being:

The DBS loan offered does not have a fixed interest rate. The strategy relies on earning the difference between the annuity portfolio returns and the bank loan interest—meaning the payout isn’t fixed. I might be enticed by the falling interest rates now but that does not mean interest rates will stay low forever. The rate of returns from the annuity portfolio is also not guaranteed.
It is essentially a life insurance (which I don't need) and requires a 10-year commitment before I can surrender the plan without penalty. A lot of things and life circumstances can change in a decade, and I might need the capital elsewhere.
The capital is locked up for a year with no tangible return. Payouts begin only from policy month 13 to age 120. Being relatively young and capable of managing my cashflow, I questioned whether I even needed an annuity plan now.
Being tied down by a long-term special loan with the bank would mean that I must maintain a certain sum of money there and remain as a Treasures client. I cannot just close my Wealth management account and switch out as I like.

Missing Promotional Interest Payout

I was told that my Treasures account was successfully opened in September, so it should have been eligible for the promotion which I saw. Since my RM seemed clueless, I dropped a message via iBanking when the promotional interest didn’t appear in my account last month.

This was much more efficient—I received a call a few days later. The customer service officer informed me that additional interest for my increased holdings in Multiplier account would only be credited at the end of the following month. This applies to all eligible months: October, November, and December.

I’ll wait and see.

Wealth Management Account Experience

After the conversion to Treasures, my banking interface—both online and in the app—changed. I can’t say it’s simpler. The Treasures web interface has an additional top menu bar curated for its features, from which I have to click on "Banking" in order to access the normal interface

I can no longer purchase Unit Trusts in lump sums through the regular investment page; it only shows me the RSP options. I am not sure if it's due to the set up of the Wealth Management Account (which is not automatically assigned, clients need to signed up for it after joining Treasures).

To get around this issue, I have to first top up cash into my WMA and then purchase Unit Trusts from there—an unnecessary inconvenience.

Another slap of surprise, the minimum lump-sum investment that I can place for the Unit Trust fund that I have been purchasing has now been risen from $100 to $1,000

Will I Stay with DBS Treasures Next Year?

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on whether I can derive any real value from it beyond the sign-up offer. Perhaps I will go for some DBS Treasures Wealth Events in my free time and review again.

Thanks for reading!

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Rainbow on FI

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