Why you shouldn’t put all your money in T-bills and SSBs (answer: you won’t beat inflation)

TREASURY bills (T-bills) and Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) have captivated retail investors in Singapore with their attractive yields.

SSBs have been oversubscribed since the July tranche last year, while a T-bill auction in November attracted a record 92,000 bids worth a total of S$14.2 billion – causing the results of the auction to be delayed by over five hours. The amount applied for was 3.2 times the amount available.

The excitement is natural given the rapid rise in yields for Singapore government-backed instruments over 2022. Six-month T-bills were paying less than 1 per cent at the start of 2022. By the end of the year, they were paying over 4 per cent. Yields were last above 4 per cent in 1989, according to data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).